May God be pleased to bless us
together this morning as we meditate in his word. Let us turn to the
prophecy of Isaiah in chapter 54, and we'll read verse 10. The prophecy of Isaiah, chapter
54, and reading verse 10. For the mountains shall depart,
and the hills be removed. but my kindness shall not depart
from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed. Saith the Lord that hath mercy
on thee. In our natural life, we often
need something to be secure with, something that we can rely upon. Perhaps when we are young and
children we rely of course on our parents and when we have
needs we go to them and we have confidence in them that they
will indeed do that which we need. And We can think in a wider field
really, if we are perhaps in a storm and we're likely to be
blown away, we need something to hold on to. And also perhaps
if we were on the sea in a ship, we would need an anchor and we
would need something to put that or let that anchor come into,
which would be strong enough to support the boat and keep
it in a safe place. So we can see that naturally
there are many things that we need perhaps in our natural life
that we can rely upon to keep us safe. Well, it is of course
far more important that we have something secure, something sure,
something certain that you and I can rely upon with regards
to our soul's eternal safety. We're often concerned about natural
safety and I suppose in the day and age in which we live there's
so much time and effort spent upon natural safety. The difficulty is and the problem
is that there's little time or no time spent upon concern about
spiritual safety. Well, spiritual safety is only
to be found in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. Now, the Prophet here gives us
an illustration of the certainty and the security that is to be
found in Christ in the things of God when he tells us for the
mountains shall depart and the hills be removed so that if there
are those elements which are appear to be so firm and strong
can be removed yet we have something which is firmer than that and
the prophet tells us If the mountains shall depart, and the hills shall
be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither
shall the covenant of my peace be removed. Saith the Lord that
hath mercy on thee. So we have here in these words
three very wonderful and certain words of encouragement to us
as we journey on through life. we might perhaps just comment
here that for the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed
because there will be a time of course when that will happen
when the earth will be destroyed when it will be burnt up with
a fervent heat and that will occur the mountains will depart
and the hills indeed will be removed and that will be very
terrible time and it's a certain time and it's something which
will occur and something which nobody will be able to escape
from and so we should be concerned when the Word of God tells us
about these things that we are truly instructed by them. Because Jesus was asked the question,
tell us when shall these things be and what shall be the sign
of thy coming and of the end of the world and Jesus of course
spoke to them and said take heed that no man deceive you but many
shall come in my name saying I am Christ and shall deceive
many and you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars see that you
be not troubled for all these things must come to pass but
the end is not yet, but there will be a time when the end does
come, when the mountains will depart and when the hills will
be removed, when there will no longer be this earth as we know
it. But the great blessing for the
Church of God is just this, the Lord's kindness we can really
consider that to be his loving kindness, will not depart from
us and the covenant of his peace will also not be taken away,
saith the Lord that hath mercy on us. So whatever the situation,
whether in time or at the end of time, we can be confident
that we have a God who is mindful of us. Of course the question
is to realise that we do have a God who is mindful of us, a
God who has looked upon us, a God who has blessed us, a God who
has not cast us aside as we so richly deserve. We don't deserve
to be taken notice of really. If we are able to look at ourselves
and realise the true state of our hearts. Well, we'll never
be able to fathom or find the bottom of the true state of our
heart. But nonetheless, there is so
much evil, so much sin, that we don't deserve any mercy. We don't deserve any favour.
And what a wonderful thing it is then to realise, here we have
a God who speaks to us through the Prophet of these wonderful
favours and these wonderful blessings. And the Prophet uses the illustration
of the flood also to confirm us in this truth. And it's good
to realise that Isaiah refers to the flood, which of course
was many years after it occurred, For this is as the waters of
Noah unto me, for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should
no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I would not
be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. And there's a very clear
proof of the goodness of God, of the faithfulness of God, and
the things that he speaks are followed, those things which
he says. are true because that which he
spoke about no more flood has of course continued to this day. And so then we can move on to
this question. Are we amongst those who are
true believers, who are resting and relying upon the promises
of God? And we have this statement here.
but my kindness, or my loving kindness, shall not depart from
thee." Well, we understand this means that it will not depart
from us, it will not depart if we have known it. And if we haven't
known it, of course, then There is nothing to stop it departing
because it's never been there. But what a blessing for us today
if we have the evidence of God's loving kindness toward us. Because if we have, it is that
which will not depart and that which we can be so thankful for. this loving-kindness of the Lord. There are many references in
the Word of God, but just to refer to one or two, and in Psalm
89, verse 33, we read of this wonderful truth, and what a blessing
it is. 89th Psalm, verse 33. Nevertheless, my loving-kindness
I will not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness
to fall." And this is a very wonderful statement because it
follows on from obviously the previous verses, which speak
very solemnly to the people of God. And perhaps if we start
at verse 26, where the psalmist says, He shall cry unto me, Thou
art my Father, my God, and the rock of my salvation, dependence
upon God. Also, I will make him my firstborn
higher than the kings of the earth. My mercy will I keep for
him forevermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. His
seed also will I make to endure forever, and his throne as the
days of heaven. And then he comes and says, if
his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments.
If they break my statutes and keep not my commandments, then
will I visit their transgression with a rod and their iniquity
with stripes." So we note that God here observes our lives,
observes the things that we do, observes the things that we say,
and observes the things that we think. And to realise how
this is true, so often, forsaking his law, breaking his statutes
and not keeping his commandments. And then we're told the Lord
then comes and visits such. We're not passed by. The Lord
doesn't say, well that's okay, you can just forget about that,
that's irrelevant. It is relevant. And God says
then when I visit, their transgression with a rod and their iniquity
with stripes. And that will bring us to realise
what we've done, what we've said, what we thought was against God. And God is bringing it to our
remembrance by correction. by instruction to us, and we
may not like it really, we may not be very happy, but you see
the blessing is, whom the Lord loveth, he correcteth, corrects. And therefore we go on to this
33rd verse, which then says, nevertheless, notwithstanding
how bad we've been, how we've turned away from God, how we've
disobeyed him, Have we fallen on our own way? Nevertheless,
my loving kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer
my faithfulness to fail. My covenant will I not break,
nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips." Here again you
see our words of comfort. Words that we can rely upon. They're God's promises. to us,
and we would have to say, unworthy of any notice, unworthy of any
favour, unworthy of any blessing. And yet you see, here is the
promise of God, here is the favour of God, and then also Just turning
to Jeremiah 31, it's a very well-known verse in the third verse of Jeremiah
31. This is what we read. The prophet there tells us, and
he says, The LORD hath appeared of old to me, saying, Yea, I
have loved thee with everlasting love, therefore with lovingkindness
have I drawn thee. You see, it's not that which
we've done, it's not something that we've earned, it's not something
that we've merited, it's that which God has given to us because
of His love. Yea, I have loved thee with everlasting
love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee. What a mercy
it is to realise that we have such a kind and gracious God. But my kindness shall not depart
from thee. And so as we travel on through
this world, and this world of course is not an easy world to
live in. Perhaps the ungodly think it
is an easy world. The true Church of God realise
it's not an easy world. It is, as we're told, Jacob in
his position, he was called in a waist howling wilderness. Well, that's just a natural description
of a wasteland wilderness, not a very comfortable place to be
found in and to live in. And yet to the people of God,
this world, although we have many things to enjoy, the Lord
has given us to realize that this is not our rest. As Micah tells us, it is polluted,
polluted with sin, that sin which is in us by nature, the sins
which do so easily beset us, in us by nature, those sins which
deserve us to be cut off forever, cut off from the Kingdom, cut
out from the Lamb's Book of Life, and yet to realise that these
words are so wonderfully true. But, my kindness, my loving kindness
shall not depart from thee. We may not always realise it.
The Lord is looking on us. The Lord is watching over us.
And the Lord is dealing with us for our eternal good. It may be sometimes we come into
those paths of darkness. We may find sometimes we find
our hearts are hard. We find sometimes we are Rebellious
against God, but in all these situations, the Lord is still
the same. I am the Lord, I change not.
Therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. And although we
perhaps are found like that, yet to realise his kindness does
not depart from us, his loving kindness does not. And he waits
to be gracious to us, He waits to show His mercy to us. He waits
to embrace us and to draw us to Him and to show to us the
wonder of His loving kindness. We need to just ponder His loving
kindness toward us. So great, so wonderful that He
loved us so much that He would deliver us from the wrath to
come. He would take away all our sins,
and that was to be ordained, and that was to be accomplished
by none less than the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself,
standing in our place. Condemned before God as we are
by nature. And there the Saviour stood and
He bore the punishment instead. He was condemned, wasn't He?
Condemned before Pilate. Condemned in that judgment hall. Condemned on our behalf. My kindness shall not depart
from Thee. What a mercy that is, to think
of that. that His kindness has not departed
from us, and that wonderful kindness that the Lord came to die and
to give His life that you and I might live forever. The love of Christ is rich and
free, fixed on His own eternally, and it does not change. My kindness
shall not depart even if we depart perhaps in our lives perhaps
we walk contrary to him perhaps we wander away perhaps we do
depart but I think that this gracious God because of his love
toward us does not depart his kindness does not depart from
us forever what a blessing that is so there we have then this
statement but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither
shall the covenant of my peace be removed." The covenant of
my peace. The covenant of course is a sworn
conditional promise. It's something which cannot be
broken and God's covenants cannot be broken. That's why you see
we can rely upon the promises of God. That which is spoken
cannot be altered, it cannot be broken. What God has said
is done forever. And so we have this statement
here, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed. So it is a promise which can't
be removed, it's there, it will remain, and it is a promise of
peace. And that's a wonderful blessing,
surely, to know that this is peace toward us, those who are
unworthy to receive any blessing. And it is sure and it is certain. And this peace is brought about
through, again, the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. The hymn
writer has it put very succinctly, peace by his cross as Jesus made. By nature, we are at war with
God. By nature, we say, we will not
have this man to reign over us. We will not obey the word of
God. We will not obey his instructions,
we are going to follow our own way. Rebellious thou hast been, and
art rebellious still, but since in love I took thee in, my promise
I'll fulfil, I've bound thee up secure. Safety in Christ,
the covenant of peace. That peace which God brings into
the hearts of his people and it's a glorious peace and it's
a wonderful peace and it's a peace which cannot be removed. Now
we may lose perhaps much of the effect of it as we journey on
but nonetheless it is still there because we are at peace with
God not because of what we've done We're at peace with God
because of the covenant, because of what Jesus has done. And therefore,
what a blessing for us today to realise this. It is something
which is secure. It can't be removed because Christ
died and he rose again. He conquered sin, death, hell
and the grave. And that cannot be revoked, that
which he accomplished on the cross at Calvary was so complete. He was able to say in those wonderful
words, it is finished. And because it was finished,
peace was procured. Eternal peace for the Church
of God. The covenant of my peace be removed. It cannot be removed. It is there
forever and ever. Now the Apostle Paul when he
wrote to the Hebrews, he wrote some very wonderful words and
tremendous statements really for encouragement. And he tells us, in the eighth
chapter and he says on the fifth verse who serve unto the example
and shadow of heavenly things as Moses was admonished of God
when he was about to make the tabernacles for see saith he
that I'll make all things according to the pattern showed to thee
in the mount but now We move on. But now hath he obtained
a more excellent ministry, by how much more also he is a mediator
of a better covenant, a better testament, which was established
upon better promises. And then he explains it a little. For if that first covenant had
been faultless, That means if you and I have been able to have
kept the law of God without any fault, if the first covenant
had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for
the second. But finding fault with them, he saith, behold,
the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. not according to the covenant
that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by
the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they
continued not in my covenant. And I regarded them not, saith
the Lord, for this is the covenant that I will make with the house
of Israel. After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my
laws into their mind and write them in their hearts. And I will
be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. Just reading on, just the end. And they shall not teach every
man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the
Lord. For all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. Isn't that wonderful? All the
church of God. shall know the Lord, however
small, however insignificant we may feel to be, and rightly
so. For I will be merciful to their
unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember
no more, washed away all because of the covenant, in that he saith,
A new covenant he hath made the first of all, now that which
decayeth and waxeth old, is ready to vanish away. Well, you know,
there is so many great truths about this covenant. He goes
on and speaks about it in the ninth chapter. We won't read
all the ninth chapter, but just picking out perhaps one verse,
verse 15 in the ninth chapter. And for this cause, he is the
mediator of the New Testament that by means of death, his death,
for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament,
the first covenant, they which are called might receive the
promise of eternal inheritance. Well that's a grand truth, isn't
it? These things are so firm and sure and may we have faith
to lay hold upon them as the promises of God and to bless
Him for them because they are life and they are life to our very souls. And are they food and drink to
our souls? On the 13th chapter of this epistle
of Paul to the Hebrews we read from verse 20, Now the God of
peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ,
that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting
covenant, make you perfect in every good work, to do His will,
working in you, that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through
Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Oh, you see, this peace,
it's only through the knowledge of Christ. It's only through
given faith to believe in what Christ has done to deliver us
to take away all our sins. And neither shall the covenant
of my peace be removed. Surely this is an anchor to the
soul, is it not? Something you see which is established,
which cannot be taken away. It is there. Sometimes we do not enjoy the
peace. Sometimes we do not realise what
this really means. The covenant of my peace should
not be removed. Sometimes we find ourselves looking
to ourselves. Well the hymn writer says, pour
not on thyself too long, lest it sink thee lower. Look to Jesus,
firm and strong, glory joined with power. my friends what a
blessing it is when although we are often cast down and we
should be cast down we deserve to be cast down but to realise
when perhaps we're in a storm the devil perhaps is tossing
us about harassing us and telling us there's no life we're dead
there's no life we're lost So remember, that which Christ has
done is finished. That which Christ has done is
complete. And that which Christ has done
is done for everyone who calls upon the name of the Saviour. Everyone who feels their need. Everyone who confesses their
sins. everyone who relies upon the
finished work of Jesus Christ, everyone whose hope is in the
great value of the precious blood of the Saviour, so that we stand
and say, yes, I to the end shall endure, because I am redeemed
with the precious blood of Christ. Yes, I rely upon This covenant
of peace which shall not be removed, this promise of Almighty God,
this sure and certain testimony, that which now has come into
play because the Lord Jesus Christ died. It didn't come into play
until he died, as we are told. But you see, when somebody dies,
then the testament comes to fruition. So it is with the death of Christ. Do we this morning rejoice together
in what Christ has done? To realise it will not be removed,
it cannot be removed, because it is done forever. Remember
what the Lord Jesus said when he was speaking to his disciples
in the upper room On that Passover night, just before he was going
to be arrested and taken into the judgment hall, and he speaks
such wonderful words. In the 14th of John, he says, These things have I spoken unto
you, verse 25, These things have I spoken unto you, being yet
present with you. But the Comforter, which is the
Holy Ghost, whom the Father shall send in my name. He shall teach
you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever
I've said unto you." And that's a wonderful blessing when the
Lord brings things back to our remembrance. Sometimes we forget
what a blessing when God brings them back to our remembrance. Whatsoever I've said unto you,
those words which the Lord has spoken, that we are relying upon. Then he says, peace I leave with
you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give
I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid. You see we have these sure and
certain promises and of course it really He follows the opening
verse in his 40th chapter where the Lord tells the disciples,
let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God. Believe also
in me. In my Father's house are many
mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again. and
receive you unto myself that where I am there ye may be also. This is the promise of God. This is the short testimony of
the word of God. And may we therefore not be able
to rely upon it and bless God for such a truth as this and
neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed. The peace which God gives to
his people The devil never wants you and me to be blessed with
peace. He wants us always to reject
it. Well, what a mercy when God comes
to us and speaks peace into our heart. Peace into our heart. That's not something which you
and I can produce ourselves. It's something which is brought
to us. It's something which is given
to us. And it's a wonderful blessing to be blessed with a peace of
God which passes all understanding. It's not something that you and
I can't comprehend naturally. What a favour it is when God
brings it into our hearts, something that we give God thanks for. Neither shall the covenant of
my peace be removed. Let us remember this great truth,
the covenant His promise of my peace be removed. And remember,
he says, the mountains shall depart, the hills be removed,
but this peace will not be removed. This will remain eternally. What a favor that is. And then
he goes on to say, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed,
saith the Lord, that hath mercy on thee. Now then this morning,
has God had mercy upon our souls? Has God looked upon us and caused
us to see ourselves as lost and ruined sinners of the earth?
Has his mercy come to us? Has his mercy made us spiritually
alive so that we can say along with the Apostle when he spoke
to the Ephesians, you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses
and sins. There we were in that condition,
dead, spiritually dead and still and there in trespasses and sins
and taken up with the poor things of time, the poor things which
perish with the using concentrating on those things which will never
do us any real good. What a mercy then, to know mercy,
to know the Lord made us spiritually alive to realise how we stood
before a holy God. Now then, the blessing is if
from that position then the Holy Spirit leads us to the Lord Jesus
Christ, and leads us to Calvary, to view there the Saviour, to
view there our Saviour, dying for us, suffering for us, enduring
the curse of God for us, so that we might be set free. And as the Lord Jesus says, and
if the Son therefore shall set you free, you shall be free indeed,
because it is an eternal freedom. And it is because of God's mercy
toward us. Mercy indeed is welcome news
indeed to those who guilty stand. What a blessing it is then, if
the Holy Spirit has come to us and shown us the mercy of God. It's a wonderful blessing. It's
essential that all of us know the mercy of God. My friends, if you do, praise
God, bless God for it, because if you do know the mercy of God,
and therefore you do know the love of God, you do know His
loving kindness. He has given you faith to believe
the great truths of the gospel. And it is true that this covenant
of his peace will not be taken away. All these things because
he has had mercy upon you. Well, my friends, I believe we
shall be found there if we understand what the publican said in his
prayer, God be merciful to me a sinner. And that wasn't a prayer
of theory, that was a prayer from his heart. You see the Holy
Spirit has directed us to pray that prayer earnestly, that we
might find mercy, mercy, mercy. then the Lord will lead us and
bring us into this great place of blessing so that we can say
and rejoice in that his loving-kindness will not depart from me, neither
his peace be removed. What a comfort, what a strength
that is. And we were able to understand
also what the prophet said when he commenced the 40th chapter
of this same prophecy. And he said, comfort ye, comfort
ye, my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem
and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, because Christ
has died. He rather is risen again. that
iniquity is pardoned for she hath received of the Lord's hand
double for all her sins. Mercy, mercy is welcome news
indeed. And so this morning, may we come
together and rejoice in such soul strengthening truths and
be able to trace out in our life the application of them so that
we may go on our way today rejoicing in what Christ has done, and
have that humble confidence that it is well with our soul. For the mountains shall depart,
and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart
from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed,
saith the Lord, and hath mercy on thee. Amen.