So we are going to Isaiah chapter
17, and we're going to read from verse 1. The burden of Damascus. Behold,
Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous
heap. The cities of Arrua are forsaken,
they shall be for flocks which shall lie down, and none shall
make them afraid. The fortress also shall cease
from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant
of Syria. They shall be as the glory of
the children of Israel, saith the Lord of hosts. And in that
day it shall come to pass that the glory of Jacob shall be made
thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean. And it
shall be as when the harvest man gathereth the corn, and reapeth
the ears with his arm. And it shall be as he that gathereth
ears in the valley of Rephaim. Yet gleaning grapes shall be
left in it as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries
in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful
branches thereof, saith the Lord God of Israel. At that day shall
a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to
the Holy One of Israel. And he shall not look to the
altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which
his fingers have made, either the groves or the images. In that day shall his strong
cities be as a forsaken bough and an uppermost branch which
they left because of the children of Israel, and there shall be
desolation. Because thou hast forgotten the
God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock
of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and
shalt set it with strange slips. In the day shalt thou make thy
plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish,
but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate
sorrow. Woe to the multitude of many
people which make a noise like the noise of the seas, and to
the rushing of nations that make a rushing like the rushing of
mighty waters. The nations shall rush like the
rushing of many waters, but God shall rebuke them, and they shall
flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains
before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. and
behold at evening tide trouble, and before the morning he is
not. This is the portion of them that
spoil us and the lot of them that rob us. Amen. May the Lord bless to us this
reading from his word. We often hear the Lord's people
express their concerns and their anxieties concerning the way
that the church and the gospel that is preached and the cause
of Christ is going in our society and in our day. It's not an uncommon
thing to hear the Lord's people complaining about this. And sometimes I think we sound
a little bit like Jeremiah and we might say something like,
he might say, the ways of Zion do mourn All her gates are desolate. Her priests sigh. Her enemies
prosper. Her children are gone into captivity. Could it be any worse? Well, yes, it could be worse. It could be a lot worse. It was
probably worse. for the elect in the day of Jeremiah
that he was referring to when he spoke those words. It certainly
appears to have been worse in the days of Isaiah. And I personally know many people
for whom I have a good hope that they are the Lord's elect. that they have tasted the salvation
of the Lord. Elijah, when he was alive, did
not know a single one. Think about that. He did not
know another single believer in the whole of the country.
Now, I'm not accusing anyone of something that I am not myself
guilty of. We all find it easier to tell
one another how bad things have become than to say how good the
Lord is to us. But I wonder if it should be
like that. Does our pessimism not reinforce
a sense of fear and foreboding in our brothers and sisters rather
than perhaps a sense of courage and hope. Isaiah lived in dark
days, he had a burden of terrible destruction that would be coming
upon the lands, the nations, the peoples, both of Judah and
Israel and all around that region. And yet the prophet was careful
to remind the elect of God that Christ is on his throne, that
God is faithful to his promises and that victory is assured. We do not deny the trials that
we face or the rough roads that many of us have to travel. But
let us be circumspect in these things. Let us frame our little
troubles in the context of big gospel blessings. Let us endeavour
to hear the words of William Cooper, the poet and hymn writer,
who said, Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take, The clouds
ye so much dread Are big with mercy and shall break In blessings
on your head. We fear for the cause of the
Gospel. We become anxious for the state
of the churches and the well-being of individual believers and yet
Isaiah is telling the faithful remnant of his day but the promises
of God concerning the coming of Christ and the establishment
of Christ's kingdom and the defeat of Satan and evil is not at all
in jeopardy, though the circumstances seem dark and gloomy. Isaiah is effectively saying
to them and to us The gloomy darkness is the very best way
of God accomplishing his purpose, honouring his holiness, blessing
his people. I hope that we never think that
we could do better than God. I hope We never imagine that
God could do better than he is doing. Soon Christ's church, God's elect
and every man, woman and child of faith will enter the eternal
realm of glory. With the apostles we will worship,
with the angels we will serve, and we will reign together with
all the beloved of God and the ransomed people of God, ransomed
by the blood of Christ. Then we shall know with certainty,
and we shall say without fear of contradiction, Christ is on
his throne. He doeth all things according
to his will in the army of heaven among the inhabitants of earth,
and surely he hath done all things well. I want to look today at three
things that Isaiah tells us concerning the gospel day in which we live. Three things about Christ. Christ
the Messiah, whose coming was revealed to the people so many
years ago. About the sacrifice for sin,
known to these ancient believers, three things that reveal and
declare to the elect of God, long ago and now. that steals our nerves, that
comforts our hearts, and that undergirds our faith. These three
things are these. At that day, says the prophet,
at that day shall a man look to his Maker. His eyes, secondly,
shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel. And thirdly, he
shall not look to the altars, the work of his hand. These verses are found in 7 and
8 of chapter 17. These are the verses in which
we will endeavour to see the Lord Jesus Christ in the book
of Isaiah today. So the first one of these found
in verse 7 is that, in that day shall a man look to his Maker. Here is Isaiah. once again directing,
by the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit, the Old Testament
people to look to God Himself. telling them, just as he had
told them previously, that God himself would come to earth in
the form of a man to establish and build his kingdom. Now as
we have seen, this information was not completely new. There
were many evidences already given that had been previously supplied
to God's elect people. For example, we're told that
a man would bruise the serpent's head. We were told that one would
be raised up from the midst of thee, from the midst of the children
of Israel, of thy brethren, and that a Redeemer would stand upon
the earth in the last day. We've been told that a child
would be born of a virgin, a son would be given, who would be
a father to his children, a governor to his citizens, a shepherd to
his flock, and yet this man would also be the mighty God. so that there was no getting
away from the fact that the Old Testament scriptures repeatedly
and clearly told of the incarnation of God. And Old Testament believers
knew it. Indeed it is what the name Emmanuel
means. God with us. Christ, he who had
been foretold, the Messiah who would come, this one of whom
Isaiah so generously and comprehensively preached, was himself the consolation
of Israel that Simeon was looking for the day that he went into
the temple when Mary and Joseph brought the Lord Jesus Christ
into the temple to thank God for him. Simeon was looking for
the consolation of Israel. He was waiting faithfully as
generations of the elect of God had for that day when Christ
would be revealed, when the God-man would come into this world. Simeon had been told that he
would not die before he had seen the Lord's anointed. But here
we see that the prophets had long anticipated, true Israel
had long known from an ancient time, that a man shall look to
his maker. And this is what Isaiah is telling
us once again in chapter 17 and verse 7. A man shall look to
his maker. He shall see his maker. He shall
see the creative God with his own eyes. Now we know that Christ
is the maker who made all things, created all things, and upholds
all things by the word of his power. The Apostle John tells
us in his Gospel, all things were made by him and without
him was not anything made that was made. So that this is Christ
that is being spoken of here in this verse. The uncreated
eternal God who came into the world to save sinners. Who by his death generated a
new creation. David the psalmist could say
in Psalm 51 verse 10, creating me a clean heart, O God, and
renew a right spirit within me, which is exactly what the Lord
Jesus Christ did by his perfect life, his sacrificial death. And Isaiah tells us that this
is what the people were to look forward to. He says, for your
comfort, for your encouragement, let it be known that there will
come a day when a man shall look upon his Maker, when the God-man
shall be revealed, when Almighty God will walk upon this earth. So that's the first point that
Isaiah is telling us concerning Christ in this chapter. He goes
on to say something else. Not only shall a man look to
his maker, but his eyes, says Isaiah, his eyes shall have respect
to the Holy One of Israel. The Holy One of Israel. And this
again is speaking of our Saviour. This is a precious title for
the Lord Jesus Christ. There could, in truth, be no
other candidate for this title, for this name. Christ alone is
the essential Holy One come among men. And Christ the Redeemer
is identified in Isaiah's prophecy as the Holy One of Israel. So that when we read of the Holy
One of Israel, we must also include within that name the role of
redemption, because Isaiah tells us in chapter 43 in verse 14,
Thus saith the Lord your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. So whenever the Holy One of Israel
is mentioned in Isaiah, and it is not exclusively, but certainly
most predominantly a title that is used by Isaiah, with reference
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Whenever Isaiah refers to the
Holy One of Israel, he is including in that title the redemptive
work of Jesus Christ. So this verse tells us, this
seventh verse says, at that day shall a man look to his Maker
and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah
is telling us that God the Creator is coming to earth to be our
Redeemer and Saviour. That is what that verse is saying. It can mean no less. It tells
us that these Old Testament believers knew that Emmanuel would come,
knew that he would redeem and deliver his people, set up his
kingdom, establish peace with God on the earth. So let us never
despise or underrate underestimate the knowledge and insight of
these Old Testament saints with respect to the person of Christ. These Old Testament believers
knew much of the identity of the Lord Jesus Christ. And just
as Simeon waited for the consolation of Israel, so generations of
the Lord's elect, generations of believers, from hundreds and
thousands of years before the coming of Christ, anticipated
with a growing and deepening revelation, the coming of the
God-Man. whose feet would walk the streets
and the cities of this world and who would redeem his people
from their sins. But Isaiah goes on to say more
also in this point here. He says that God's elect should
have respect. They would have respect to such
a one. And that means that not only
would their eyes look on him, but they would recognize and
revere him for who he is. They would discover, they would
discern, and they would defer to Christ in his saving capacity. Now the scriptures have a name
for that. They call it regeneration. It's the quickening work of the
Holy Spirit. It's the spiritual enlightenment
that comes by the Holy Spirit upon men and women in this world
to lead us out of darkness and the bondage of sin into the light
of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And it is a divinely gifted grace
from the Holy Spirit that the eyes of God's elect are spiritually
illuminated with a divine light that we may discover the true
identity of Jesus Christ. Why do I know who the Lord Jesus
Christ is and what he has done when so many others around about
me do not? What is it that I have that they
do not that enables me to see and understand who the Lord Jesus
Christ is and what He has done? Nothing in myself let us not
be so proud as to imagine such a thing, but rather it is the
gift of God, it is the illumination of the Spirit, it is the light
that shines to lead us into truth. And this discerning of the true
identity of the Lord Jesus Christ and this understanding that we
have of his accomplishments and his pardoning grace and his atoning
sacrifice is because the Holy Spirit has taught us and led
us in conversion to the forgiveness of our sins and salvation from
the Lord Jesus Christ. We have respect to the Holy One
of Israel because the Holy Spirit has taught us who the Lord Jesus
Christ is. And Isaiah prepared his troubled
age with all the burdens that he's speaking about here in this
series of burdens, this series of chapters where he is speaking
about Assyria and Babylon and Damascus and Edom and the other
nations that he refers to. He is preparing this troubled
age in which he lives with these prophecies concerning the Messiah
that he might comfort the Lord's elect in the midst of their sufferings
with promises of Christ. He calls the Lord's people of
his day to look to the God-man Redeemer who has been promised
by God. that they should understand his
accomplishments, understand that he would come and successfully
fulfil the offices of prophet, priest and king. And so, Isaiah quotes God as
saying in chapter 42 verse 1, behold, saying to his people, behold,
behold with respectful eyes and understanding hearts, behold
my servant whom I uphold, mine elect and whom my soul delighteth. I have put my spirit upon him. He shall bring forth judgment
to the Gentiles. And then again in chapter 45,
verse 22, look unto me, says the Holy One of Israel,
and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God and
there is none else. You see how the Lord's people
have always been comforted by being shown the Lord Jesus Christ. Hundreds of years before he came,
these Old Testament saints were being built up in the faith by
having their eyes turned through the gospel in Isaiah and the
Holy Spirit's power of quickening regeneration to see the Lord
Jesus Christ, to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and to have
faith in his accomplishments. What authority, what power there
is in the title, the Holy One of Israel, thy Redeemer. If the Lord God performs a saving
work, will it lack any efficacy? If the Holy One purchases a sinner
and redeems them with His own blood, shall He fail to achieve
what He has purposed to do? Isaiah is pointing the people
of his age to a sovereign God. He is painting a picture of perfect
redemption, complete atonement, full, free, plenteous pardon
for the sins of the people of God through the work of Jesus
Christ. That's the gospel in Isaiah. And as the prophet's readers
pondered his words, Their meaning was illuminated by the Holy Spirit
who opened their eyes to look forward in faith to the coming
of the Divine Person and their hearts were enlightened to discern
the Saviour of their souls. Their spirits were quickened
and it caused them it caused them, whether they were cowering
in the caves of Moab, whether they were boxed up under siege
in Jerusalem, whether they were in exile in Babylon or in Assyria,
wherever they were, it caused these people to have respect
to the true identity and work of the Holy One of Israel and
by faith they were comforted in their lives and in their circumstances. But Isaiah's not quite finished
yet and he says thirdly that not only will these people in
that day look to their maker Not only will they have eyes
that understand and discern the true identity and work of the
Holy One of Israel, but he says, these people shall not look to
the altars and the work of their hands. And here we see that even
for these Old Testament times, the elect of God properly distinguished
the nature of free grace and the benefits of complete salvation. I cannot interpret these words
in any other way. What does man-made religion do?
man-made religion builds altars to make sacrifices upon. Man works with his hands to please
God, but the elect of God, the loved of the Father, the redeemed
of the Lord, they look neither to their own altars nor to the
works of their hands, because they see in Christ rather complete
salvation, complete pardon for sin, complete righteousness and
justification with God. The elect of God believe it to
be so. They do now, and they always
have done. How about these two verses from
Isaiah chapter 17 for a 7th century BC sermon on sovereign
grace and particular redemption. That's exactly what they are
saying. Every man and woman who believes
that they must put forth their hand to build an altar to please
God or to offer a service to please God does not grasp what
Isaiah's readers had respect to. God made them fit for his presence. The closing hymn that we're going
to read in a few moments has a verse in it which says, In
thy surety thou art free. His dear hands were pierced for
thee, with his spotless vesture on, holy as the Holy One. Isaiah was pointing out exactly
what John Kent in his hymn repeats. No one whose eyes have respect
to the Holy One of Israel shall look to altars or the works of
their hands. Why? Because they know, they
realise, they understand, they don't have any need to. What
can we add to perfect redemption? What can we contribute to full
pardon and the righteousness which justifies a sinner with
God? In fact, truth be told, looking
to altars and works of our own hands is to deny the sufficiency
of Christ's sacrifice and to doubt the quality of divine righteousness. It is, as we remarked with the
younger people earlier, literally treading underfoot the blood
of Christ. It is the height of ingratitude
and betrays a lack of faith. One more little point and then
I'm done. Isaiah begins this sermon, this burden, this prophecy
with a word. Behold. And whenever we see the
word behold in scripture, we should take note of it because
it has a significance greater than perhaps we might in the
first instance give it. It means look or see. But it's more than that. It's
an exclamation point as well. It's actually a statement of
astonishment. Last Wednesday, I was sitting
in my living room with a friend who had called. And there was
a little swallow, a bird. It's a migratory bird. It comes
into the United Kingdom every springtime from Africa. So it
just arrives. And I always like to notice when
they arrive. And on Wednesday, a swallow flew
past my window. It was the first swallow of spring
for me. And I jumped up out of my seat
and I said, look, look! And the poor man almost spilled
his coffee. He wasn't as interested as I
thought he might be in the fact of this swallow. I was excited. And Isaiah was excited too when
he wrote this prophecy. It's as if he is saying, look,
look. He's saying, this is remarkable. God, give us ears to hear and
eyes to see the remarkableness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Damascus
would be destroyed That was remarkable. Israel, Ephraim, would be laid
waste. That too was remarkable. Jerusalem
would survive, thinly, but it would survive. An Assyrian army
would be slain in a night. And it's all very remarkable.
But the Word of God says, Behold the man. Behold a greater than
Solomon is here. Behold the Lamb of God that taketh
away the sin of the world. Look, look, that's remarkable. Behold Jesus Christ and live. There is nothing more remarkable
in all the world than a sinner seeing Christ and having respect
to the Holy One of Israel as their Redeemer and as their Lord. May the Lord bless these thoughts
to us. Amen.