May it please Almighty God to bless us together this evening. Let us turn in His words to the prophecy of Isaiah, chapter 45, and we'll read verse 17.

The prophecy of Isaiah, chapter 45, and reading verse 17. But Israel shall be saved in the Lord, with an everlasting salvation. Ye shall not be ashamed, nor confounded, world without end.

The Word of God is wonderfully positive in so many places. And here we have a wonderful statement that God gave to Isaiah to write down and that which should be encouraging for us to know such a great truth.

And of course this verse follows on from the 16th verse which is really almost the opposite. Because in that 16th verse we read, they shall be ashamed and also confounded, all of them, they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols. So we have that very solemn statement really which the prophet writes and then we come to a wonderful different statement.

But Israel shall be saved in the Lord with everlasting salvation. He shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end. And how important it is that you and I have the wonderful evidence that we are indeed saved in the Lord, saved by the Lord, saved in the Lord, and that we are amongst those for whom our glorious Saviour died upon that cross at Calvary in order to take away our sins.

Well, these things are always personal. And each one of us needs to understand the relevance and the importance of such a statement. And yet there is a wonderful authority and confidence in this, but Israel shall be saved in the Lord. What a mercy then if we form part of spiritual Israel.

Throughout the Word of God, Israel is mentioned very strongly as the people of God, the Hebrew nation, and they were wonderfully blessed. And of course that typifies the spiritual Israel, the spiritual people of God. And what a blessing if you and I therefore form part of this true spiritual Israel.

and to have the evidence that God in his love, which it is amazing love, has looked upon us and has called us out of darkness into the marvellous light of his gospel.

Now of course only you and only I know whether that has come to pass in our lives. But what a glorious facts and favorites to realize that we have been saved the Lord has made us aware of our condition and that condition of course is in opposition to God we're sinners of the earth we've done all those things which condemn us And naturally, there's no hope for us.

We need that which the Prophet goes on to tell us, as he says in this verse, be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation. Again, that's a wonderful truth to realize that salvation which God gives, it's his prerogative, the saving of our soul, and it is an eternal, it is an everlasting salvation.

It cannot be taken away. Once God has given it to us, we are possessors of it. We're possessors of the free and sovereign grace of God. and we can therefore believe that what this verse goes on to tell us then that we shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end it is an eternal blessing and so tonight we're here before God and God looks into our hearts and what a blessing it is if you and I can search our hearts and we are told to do that to see whether we are in that covenant, that covenant of grace or not, whether we are those who are born again in the Spirit of God, those who have tasted these blessings and favours and to be found therefore that we are amongst those for whom God has saved. God has redeemed. God has taken us and set us aside and preparing us for that great and wonderful blessing to live eternally with the Saviour in glory.

Well, then says the word, but Israel shall be saved. so we can rely upon the promises of God and to think that therefore the Lord will not let us down, the Lord doesn't cause a work to appear and touch hearts and revive spirits and grant the light of the gospel to shine and then cast us off. That which God does is done forever. It is an everlasting blessing it is a wonderful favor and what a mercy then to be within that covenant of grace you know the apostle in this chapter he speaks of wonderful blessings doesn't he and he tells us as the lord writes these words through his prophet i am the lord and there is none else There is no God beside me. I girded thee, though thou hast not known me, that they may know from the rising of the sun and from the west that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else.

This is the great God that we are privileged to worship, privileged to come to, and to bow down and to acknowledge that he is the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings, the great God. I wonder whether we really appreciate the greatness of God. I've often mentioned it to you and it's so important for us to have high views of God. Isaiah, he said, didn't he, in an earlier chapter, I saw the Lord high and lifted up. He saw the greatness of Almighty God. And how humbling it is if God shows to you and me the greatness of God, and the mercy of God, and the compassion of God, and the love of God, that he doesn't deal with us as our sins deserve. Because if he did, there would be no hope for us. We would be cast out, eternally from his side.

But what a wonderful mercy to indeed come within the words of this verse. And the next verse tells us that they may know from the rising of the sun and from the west that there is none beside me. I am the Lord and there is none else. I form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. I the Lord's do all these things. No one else can do these things. No one else has done these things as our great and glorious God has. And how humbling it is to realise if this great God has condescended to show us his truth and has directed us to come unto Him, to cry for mercy.

Oh, my friends, what a blessing it is if you and I have come there to cry for mercy, to cry to this great God and to realise He is a God who indeed humbles us. He tells us, Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel and His Maker, Ask me, of things to come concerning my sons and concerning the work of my hands, command ye me. I have made the earth and created man upon it. I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded. Gives us a little insight, doesn't it? To the greatness of this God. We mentioned this morning He knows everything about everybody in detail. There's nothing escapes His knowledge. And yet, so often, people treat God as just a little God. Somebody who can be put aside and and obeyed if they want to or not if they don't. And yet this God commands that you and I do His will. And we follow His pattern. We follow His decrees and truly desire to be a true follower of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

the prophet tells us then but Israel shall be saved don't forget this but comes after that solemn verse about those who are really unbelievers those who are not amongst those who are concerned about the salvation of their souls but follow their own inclination follow their own path and by nature my friends by nature Our way, left to ourselves, would be destruction. We're in this far from God, in that terrible place of hell, to spend everlasting eternity with the devil and his angels. And there's no escape. There's no escape. It's a terrible thought, isn't it?

And how we should be so concerned to have the evidence, the evidence from God that he has indeed called us, that he has indeed saved us, because he's paid the price necessary to redeem our souls. There we are, born into this world, we're told, We're born in sin and shapen in iniquity. And what does that tell us? It tells us that unless we're saved, we shall perish in our sins. Because as you well know, there is no sin in heaven, not the smallest vestige of sin. It is a holy place. It's where the Saviour reigns. It's a place of perfect unity. Sin has no place there. Sin could not be found there. And so anyone with sin cannot enter into the glorious place of heaven.

And yet, by nature, we carry on. By nature we're not very concerned about our eternal state. And the great adversary of souls would have it so. He would have us concentrate on the things of time. He would have us serve him rather than serve God. And how wonderful it is, therefore, when the Holy Spirit of God comes and quickens us. It's a wonderful word that, quicken, to make alive. And yet every true born soul is quickened by the Spirit. That's why the Apostle, when he wrote to the Ephesians, said, and you hath, he quickened, who were dead. in trespasses and in sins. We were born dead in trespasses and sins.

How wonderful, how glorious it is if the Holy Spirit has made us spiritually alive. That means that we're a changed person. We're a different creature. We now desire spiritual blessings. We desire heavenly realities. We desire to know Jesus Christ and Him crucified. It's a wonderful change, a change brought about by the Holy Spirit of God to deliver us from the wrath to come, to deliver us from all our sin, to wash us clean, to have that wonderful revelation that we're clean, just God. We're clean, we're washed in the blood of the Lamb.

The cost of our salvation is and was enormous. It cost the life of God himself, the Lord Jesus Christ, the second person in the Trinity. He gave his life. He had to give His life. There was no option. There was no other way. There was no one else who was good enough. There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin. He only could unlock the gate of heaven to let us in. What a great and glorious Saviour we have and how kind and how undeserving we are.

If you and I look at our lives, day by day. Are we truly serving our God or are we serving ourselves and in effect are we serving the devil? The devil doesn't want us to serve God. He doesn't want us to think upon the things of God. He brings everything before our eyes which tempt us to turn away from God. And what a blessing, therefore, it is if we are one of those whom God has graciously saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation.

Now, if you and I have the evidence of that in our hearts, we can indeed praise God, from whom all blessings flow. we can thank God for his amazing love and amazing mercy to come and save such an unworthy sinner. And therefore we can understand in some measure at least what the prophet says here when he tells us, but Israel shall be saved in the Lord an everlasting salvation and ye shall not be ashamed. nor confounded. We won't be ashamed of our salvation. We won't be ashamed of our God. And yet you know in our little lives how many things we've done to make God ashamed of us. How often we've turned away from God. How often we've desired to just follow our own inclinations. and not to serve the ever-living and true God.

The children of God are his servants. They're there to serve him. And it's a great blessing to be a servant of the ever-true and living God. We should not think that servants only refer to ministers. Ministers are, of course, servants. But every born-again believer is a servant of God. And that should resonate with us to realise the relevance that as we are on the earth today, are we truly serving God? Are we doing that which is for his honour and for his glory? Or do we do those things which just please ourselves.

Well there's no evidence really of a true life of God if we concentrate on serving ourselves. But what a blessing if God gives us that grace, that wonderful grace to be found serving our God and therefore we shall not be ashamed not be ashamed nor confounded, world without end.

There is no end in eternity. It goes on forever and ever and ever. And so, if we are amongst those who are saved in the Lord, we will never be confounded. We will always be safe in the arms of Jesus. We will always, by his grace, be found walking with him. There will be those times when, sadly, we fall. Sadly, we turn away. But in those situations, what occurs is that the compassion of God gives us that godly repentance. And that Godly repentance means that we are truly sorry for our sins. Truly sorry for offending Almighty God. Truly sorry for disobeying His word, His commands.

You see, that shows to us His goodness toward us. That shows to us that we are amongst those who are saved in the Lord because it gives us a tender conscience a conscience that is affected by considering these things we don't have a seared conscience do you know what a seared conscience is? a seared conscience is one which has been hardened and therefore has when faced with these statements just turns away from it has no effect it's a very tragic thing to be left to have a seared conscience to turn away from the great things of God but it's a great blessing on the other hand to have a tender conscience a tender conscience which desires to do God's will and turns against Any other ways, those ways which Satan puts before us with an endeavor to turn us away from God?

The devil always wants you and me to doubt the work of God, to doubt his grace, to doubt his favor. And yet the word of God tells us so clearly, those that honor me, I will honor. and those that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Oh, we don't want to be lightly esteemed, do we? We don't want to turn away from God. We do want to be amongst those who truly desire to love God and to follow Him and to therefore not be confounded.

Well, we have a God who is kind and gracious and merciful And we should be very thankful, very thankful to realize that we have the Bible to direct us in every avenue in our little life. You know, there's nothing really in our life that we won't be able to trace out in the Word of God. And tracing that out will show to us whether we are walking in the narrow way which leads to eternal life, or if we've strayed into the broad way, which ends up in perdition.

It's a great blessing then if God takes us in hand and brings us back. You see, God is so kind and gracious. He's so merciful. He's so long-suffering. And so to have this understanding that God brings about, Israel shall be saved. There's no doubt about that. The Church of God will be saved. They won't be left. God won't leave us on the side. He won't forget about us. He knows from before the foundation of the world who will be redeemed. He knows for whom he shed his most precious blood. It was never wasted. It was never shed in vain. That's why it is called the precious blood of Christ.

It is invaluable to think that this is the blood of God himself that was willing to die on Calvary's cross so that you and I, by His grace, might be blessed with the wonderful favour of eternal life. What an exchange. What an exchange. God takes upon Himself our sin. And in exchange, he gives to us the wonderful gift of his righteousness. Well, it's an exchange which our natural minds can't really comprehend. Doesn't seem any justice, does it, in such a wonderful exchange? My friend, it's because God has loved us with an everlasting love. He's loved us in the eternity past before we were born. And yet, you see, now we sinners on the earth, how easy it is for us to turn our back upon God and in essence we say, we will not have this man to reign over us. It's just too narrow. The way is just too hard. I want to do this and I want to do that.

Well, what a blessing it is if the Holy Spirit comes alongside us and directs us in the right way. The Word of God tells us, there is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Let's not lean to our own understanding. Let's follow the clear directions we have in the scripture. They may appear perhaps sometimes difficult. They may almost appear impossible. But remember what the apostle tells us. I can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth me. Left to ourselves, we have no strength. We have no ability. but remember those gracious words. And the apostle knew what it was, the fight of faith. He knew what it was to have the enemy at his elbow all the time, and yet he's able to give us those glorious words of advice.

So may you and I lay such grand and glorious truths to heart and desire, therefore, to be a true follower of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and not a follower of the devil. Don't underestimate the power of the devil. He's very cunning, he always has been, and he always will be, down to the end of time. And he does everything within his power to turn us away from the things of God. His desire is for you and me to dishonour our great and glorious Saviour, to disown Him. And yet, you see, it's a wonderful blessing to have such a kind and gracious God, who nonetheless deals with us in love to our soul, because it was determined before the world was created who would be saved, who would be called, who indeed would be amongst those who are saved in the Lord. There's no surprises with our God, no surprises.

And yet what a wonderful blessing it is to experience what Peter tells us in his first epistle, kept by the power of God. And my friends, you and I need that. Without it, we would fail. Without it, we would fall. But we can believe, as Peter was able to declare, by the grace of God, you and I will also be able to humbly declare, kept by the power of God, through grace, Unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. What will that do? It will bring honour and glory to our God. And what a wonderful evidence it is that our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life, where every true believer's name is written there. There's none left out. God doesn't make any mistakes.

Yes, but love, everlasting love, means that our names from eternity past were written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Indeed, they are very wonderful words that we read in the 31st chapter of Jeremiah, where he tells us this wonderful love which God has to his people. And he sets it before us in this way, and he says, Thus saith the Lord, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness, even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest. And then he goes on, The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee. And he goes on, again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O Virgin of Israel. Thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets. and shall go forth in the dances of them that make merry. Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria. The planter shall plant and shall eat them as common things.

Well, it's a wonderful thing to realize this is the same God that Jeremiah knew that by God's grace we know. For there shall be a day And the watchman upon the Mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion, unto the Lord our God. For thus saith the Lord, Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations. Publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Lord, Save thy people, the remnant of Israel. Well, just a few verses there in the 31st chapter of Jeremiah. You can read that, read the rest of the chapter when you go home. It's a long chapter, but it's well worth reading. It sets forth God's amazing love. And that's really what this describes to us here in this verse. with Israel shall be saved in the Lord with everlasting salvation. Why? Because of His love. Nothing in ourselves. Nothing in ourselves.

As God gives us grace to examine ourselves. What do we see there? Nothing pleasing really to God. We see sin and sin. Why should God have looked upon me? Why should God have called me out of the darkness of nature into the marvellous light of the everlasting gospel? Why? Because he loved my soul. That's a great statement, isn't it? And how wonderful it is. to realise that this God is our God our God personal relationship I wonder whether we can look into our lives into our spiritual life into our hearts and find those evidences of God's love toward us those evidences are to be seen They are to be thanked God for. We are to praise God for it and how wonderful it is therefore to search out God's work. Those things which God has done for us that we could not do for ourselves.

You see, you and I cannot make ourselves spiritually alive. The reason? We're dead in trespasses and in sins. Naturally, there's no life. But what a blessing it is that our kind and gracious God gives life so that we are alive and we have the evidence of it. And that truth shows itself when God shines his light into our heart. And that light does two things. It shows us our failure. It shows us our sinfulness. It shows us the evil of our heart on the one side. And on the other side, it shows us God's amazing love, his wonderful grace, his glorious mercy. And when the Holy Spirit shows you and me those two sides, we stand amazed that God should have ever looked upon us. He should ever have had mercy upon us. He should have ever displayed his love toward us and given us that good hope that one day by his grace, We should indeed be with Him in glory and not be ashamed.

Israel shall be saved in the Lord. Remember, there's no other way. It's only through what the Lord has done in order to redeem our soul. You and I won't be able to justify ourselves. No, my friends, all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. We won't be able to justify ourselves, but how wonderful it is to have the good hope that we are made just by the death of the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.

He it is, then, that claims all the honour and all the glory. And then we can truly praise him from whom all blessings flow. The true believer desires to praise God. The true believer desires to honour God for all that he's done to such an unworthy person. You see, there's such a debt that we owe that you and I will never be able to repay. And yet, how willing was Jesus to die that we fellow sinners might live. The life they could not take away, how willing was Jesus to give. It's very humbling, isn't it, to think that almighty God looks down upon unworthy sinners and draws them to himself, draws them to himself.

You and I wouldn't, come to the Saviour by ourselves we need the drawing power of God but bless God that drawing power is irresistible and it's sovereign and it's glorious because it takes hold of us and does that for us which we could not do for ourselves naturally wouldn't have any desire but through the grace of God We're born again of His Spirit and are thankful for it and can walk before Him in the light of His counsel.

But Israel shall be saved. There are so many shells in God's Word. I often mention it, don't I, when I preach. It's a shell which is so encouraging to us. And here we have a fundamental shell in this verse here. But Israel shall be saved. None left out, none forgotten. God knows exactly when each one is born, where they're gonna live, how long they're gonna live for, when they're going to die. Everything is planned out to the minutest detail. This is the great God. Never underestimate. the greatness of God. Never underestimate the detail that God deals with in our little lives. It's a very humbling consideration, as you and I walk on this earth, to realize we have this great God looking upon us.

But Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation. I think that's a wonderful two words, everlasting. Salvation. It doesn't disappear. It can't be taken away. It is everlasting. And it was ordained in eternity past. Everlasting salvation. And then, ye shall not be ashamed, nor confounded. My friends, you and I will never be ashamed of what our God has done for us. We'll never be confounded in the way that God does it. We shall never criticise the way that it comes about. We shall be thankful for it. Nor confounded world without end. No end. No end. What a mercy then to be found eternally with Christ.

As the Apostle Paul said, For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Well it's a blessing if you and I are favoured to come into that path and understand what the Apostle truly meant. For me to live is Christ, that is to have union with Christ every day. For me to live is Christ. and to die is gain because we are then forever with the Lord. Oh, no possible separation, no devil to bring us into a sinful condition, but peace and joy and eternal happiness. Well, may we ponder these things and rejoice in the great work of our God and to thank him for such a word as this, but Israel shall be saved in the Lord's, don't forget that, it can only be in the Lord, with an everlasting salvation, not something which fades away, and ye shall not be ashamed, we'll never be ashamed of God's work, never be ashamed. of God's work, nor confounded world without end.

Well, may God bless his word to us and may we ponder these great truths. Amen.