May it please the Lord to bless
us this morning as we consider his word together. Let us turn
to the prophecy of Isaiah, chapter 62, and we'll read the first
verse. Prophecy of Isaiah, chapter 62,
and reading the first verse. For Zion's sake will I not hold
my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the
righteousness thereof go forth as brightness and the salvation
thereof as a lamp that burneth." The prophet Isaiah did live in
a dark day. It was a day which was preceding
the time when Israel would be beaten and turned out in Jerusalem
and taken captive and go down into the land of the Chaldeans
into Babylon. And so it was to be a very sad
and difficult time for Israel. And of course the real reason
this came to pass was because Israel, and particularly Judah,
had turned their back upon the truth of God's Word. They wanted
to perform their own way of religion. They didn't want to have to confirm
to the various ceremonial laws which existed, which the Lord
had given to Moses so many years previously. But they wanted to
please themselves and go their own way. Well, there were many
prophets, of course, who were raised up by God to proclaim
the great truths of the gospel prior to that time when they
would go into captivity. And one of them was Isaiah. And
we see how the Lord moved him to speak like this. And we see
here the concern that he had for the Church of God. And surely,
although that was written and was so appropriate and applicable
to Israel many years ago, it is still so appropriate to the
Church of God. It has been year by year, and
it's still as necessary today in the age in which we live.
that we may realise there is a word that speaks to us like
this. And we see here in this verse
the earnestness of the Prophet and the concern that he had.
He tells us that he wouldn't hold his peace and he wouldn't
rest. Well, that's a great statement,
isn't it? And it does set forth, does it
not, zeal for the things of God. And I suppose the day and age
in which we live, we seem to lack so much the true zeal of
God, the true concern for the health and the well-being of
the Church of God. We're so concerned about many,
many peripheral things, very many things which are not so
important. The Prophet here, he outlines
two of the things which are very essential and he speaks about
righteousness and he speaks about salvation. Well, how concerned
you and I should be about that personal knowledge of righteousness
and salvation and also that we may be able to spread these great
truths abroad. so that many people may be led
by the Holy Spirit of God to embrace them as great and blessed
truths and be concerned that they have the knowledge of them
in their souls. Because how important it is for
all of us to have a right, a God-given religion. and not to be left
to wander on really aimlessly through this sinful world and
come to the end of our life, not possessing the grace of God
in our souls, not knowing what it is to be clothed with the
righteousness of Christ, and not to know what it is to possess
that great blessing of salvation in our souls. These are the important
things. Everything else, relatively speaking,
in the world in which we live is unimportant. And yet it is
so, so difficult for us to really concentrate upon the things of
God. The devil is so active today,
he always has been, but it seems he's far more active today, especially
in the Western world, in the material world in which we live,
in bringing before us again and again many things of which do
not profit our souls. And it's so hard, perhaps, to
really get our head round the truth of these things, and we
are sidetracked on so many occasions to things which do not profit. You know, sometimes we just need
to, as it were, come aside by ourselves, to sit down and just
ponder carefully and prayerfully the truth of God's Word, and
to consider what things are important and what things are not important. And we have, of course, to live
in this world. We have to work. We have to earn
our bread. We know that. The Word of God
tells us that it's not easy. It's by the sweat of our brow.
But we are, on the other hand, to concentrate on those things
which are so important, which concern our and our fellow men
and women's eternal state. We seem to lack the understanding
of what eternity really means. There is a line, a couplet, which
says, eternity, tremendous sound. Well, it is a tremendous word,
and it does set before us that scene where there is no time,
into all of us must one day be found. And if we have an appreciation,
an understanding of the, I can only say vastness, we can't really
use words to describe eternity, it stands by itself. But nonetheless
to try and bring it down to our natural understanding, eternity
is a vastness which is beyond our comprehension, a place where
there is no return, A place where we cannot then say, well, I must
reconsider my situation because time will have ended. We will
not be in that position where we will be able to seek unto
the Lord. A place where we will not be
able to pray for God's mercy. A place where we will not come
to know the blessing of salvation and the righteousness of God.
And so perhaps if we have some understanding, and pray God you
and I may have an understanding of the vast importance of these
things, to then understand why the Spirit of God moved Isaiah
to speak like this. He says, for Zion's sake will
I not hold my peace? He wouldn't stop speaking about
the things of God. And we perhaps can assess it
in a little way with the situation which has developed in many countries
in the world today, where to actually hold one's peace would
ensure safety. to speak out would not ensure
safety. And yet we know there are those
today who are bold in the Lord's to speak strongly and to speak
fervently and to speak openly about the great truths of God.
And so, as we think of these words, may they lay hold of us,
as no doubt they laid hold of the Prophet Isaiah, and he had
to speak in these terms. For Zion's sake will I not hold
my peace? I expect in your life and my
life there have been many times when we've held our peace. When
there were opportunities to speak, opportunities to speak about
the things of God, But as we weighed up the position, we realised
that we might not be thought very well of if we spoke about
the things of God. Indeed, it might be costly for
us. Indeed, we might lose our jobs,
we might lose our friends. And yet you see, here was Isaiah,
he wasn't concerned about that. He was only concerned to speak
of the things of God which would be profitable for the people. And therefore he speaks in this
way, he says, I will not hold my peace. He would speak. he would declare the truth of
God. And surely we live in an age
when that is so necessary, isn't it? The Church of God is in a
desperate state really in our nation. If you look around and
you see the vast multitudes worshipping idols, Indeed they are, you've
only got to think of that which is occurring this weekend over
at Glastonbury. You know vast multitudes worshipping
really, bowing down and worshipping evil things. And you see there
are vast multitudes with no concern about their eternal state. Well we know thankfully there
are one or two witnesses even in that great congregation who
stand for the truth of God. But that's just one little example. We see many people today demonstrating
to vaunt their beliefs which are contrary to the Word of God.
And you see there's very little opposition, very little from
the true Church of God. and the true Church of God are
often asleep, or lukewarm, or more satisfied with spending
their time in pleasing themselves, in basically worshipping idols. There are many idols, you know,
in your life and my life, which we spend too much time, perhaps,
worshipping. And we think, well, I can do
that, there's nothing wrong in that. Well, if you think that,
just remember what Paul the Apostle said. And it's good to remember. He said this, all things are
expedient, but all things were not beneficial, all things were
not profitable. And we might justify ourselves,
well, I can do that. Well, are they profitable for
our souls and are they profitable for other people? If we have
opportunities to serve the Lord, are we serving him or are we
serving ourself? So here the prophet speaks in
this way. They're powerful words, aren't
they? And what is he doing it for? He's doing it for the Church
of God. It's for Zion's sake and it's
for Jerusalem's sake. Those two words depict the Church
of God. That was his concern about the
health of the souls of the Church of God. And there might be those
who were made spiritually alive, quickened and alive, as he was
able to declare the truth of God. And so he says he would
not hold his peace, not hold his peace, for Jerusalem's sake
he would not rest. Again, he was obviously very
active in the things of God. And sometimes we may think, well,
I need a rest. I must rest. Well, perhaps we've
been spending our time not profitably. We've been occupying on things
that don't profit. And that's why we need a rest. It would
be good, wouldn't it, if we spend ourselves so strongly and so
desiring to serve the Lord in this way that we say, I will
not rest. He says he would not hold his
peace, and he would not rest. Well, they're good words, aren't
they? They're good things to ponder in our lives. We may look
back in our lives. We probably do have to. And we
probably have to admit that we haven't spent our lifetime very
well. We've spent our life, perhaps,
not well at all. We may have to come and confess
our sins before God, that we wasted many, many moments, many
hours perhaps, many days, weeks, perhaps years. We have a statement
in the Minor Prophets which says it's the years that the locusts
have eaten. Yes, those years which have been
wasted, wasted away. Perhaps when we were young, we
wasted many years. We didn't spend them well, and
we regret them now. Those wasted years. But nonetheless,
if that is so, to now have such a word placed before us, that
we concern therefore that from this time forth, May our desire
be to recognize the importance of such statements as this, and
be concerned to follow in the footsteps of the Prophet Isaiah. For Zion's sake will I not hold
my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest until... Now then, there were two statements
then that he makes. And he's not going to hold his
peace or rest until these blessings are accomplished. There was a
great desire here to be found doing that which is right for
the people's good and for God's honour and glory. And therefore
he speaks like this, until the righteousness thereof go forth
as brightness and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. He wanted the position to be
that there was righteousness which was set forth, and it was
bright, it wasn't dim, and then there was the salvation as a
lamp, as a light that shone forth. Well, the things of God are not
darkness. The things of evil are darkness. And sometimes we might think,
There's much darkness about. Yes, there is. But perhaps we're
following the ways of darkness. I know we, of course, only spoke
last Lord's Day about those that walk in darkness and have no
light. But what they are told to do is to wait and to stay
upon their God. They're not to go anywhere else. They're to stay upon their God.
And so here, this prophet was doing just that. He was waiting
upon the Lord, he was going in the strength of the Lord God.
He was conscious that he wasn't able to do these things himself. And how needful it is that you
and I need for that spirit of prayer to pray that we might
be able to walk in this way. You won't be able to suddenly
change course and think, well, I'll just change my lifestyle,
I'll change and do that. If you're relying on your own
ability to do that, you'll fail. You'll need the strength of God. You know, the Apostle Paul was
able to speak so faithfully, wasn't he? If you read the Acts
of the Apostles, and God willing, we're coming on to those blessed
parts soon in our meditations on a Friday evening. When the
Apostle Paul was able to go forth and to spend his time and his
energy, whenever the opportunity presented himself, in speaking
about the things of God. But of course, there was much
opposition, as there always will be. But it didn't go in his strength.
He went in the strength of the Lord, and we know it's true because
he tells us, I can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth
me. There was his strength, there
was his support, there was his encouragement as he looked to
the Lord for the help he needed to be able to go forth and speak
the truth of God. Well, we have therefore a wonderful
testimony and a wonderful example in the Apostle Paul. And let
us not limit it to the Apostle Paul. Let's think of the many
people in the history of the world who we can read of in the
Word of God, like Isaiah, who was a faithful witness. Remember,
Isaiah also tells us, ye are my witnesses. You know, you and
I can't hide and think, well, these things don't apply to me.
You might think, well, these things only apply to preachers.
Well, they don't. They apply to the whole Church
of God, and I'll tell you why. Because we are all called to
serve the Lord. And the sad state is that many
people have forgotten God's calling. It's a very wonderful position,
a wonderful blessing to be called by God. And if you and I are
called by God, we are called to serve the Lord. It's a very
humbling situation, isn't it? And we might just go on and say,
well, what is the reason? I'll tell you the reason. The
reason is if we are God's children, we're not living at home. This
world is not our home. It's not our rest. We don't have
any abiding city here. What are we doing? We're seeking
one to come. We have the many examples in
Hebrews 11. We have the example of Moses.
We have the example of Abraham. Yes, they look for a city whose
builder and maker is God. They looked for that heavenly
place, to that place they were journeying to. They weren't settling
down in the comfort of their homes in this life. No, they
were travelling. They were travellers. They were
pilgrims. They were strangers. They were
travelling on that path home to God. Now, that'll make the
wonderful difference in our lives if we have an appreciation that
we're like them. that we are following on. We
have these examples before us in the Word of God. And so here
we have these words of the Prophet Isaiah instructing us like this,
to not hold our peace or to rest until The righteousness thereof
goes forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp
that burneth. Now, I know we might perhaps
say, well, of course, this was prophetic with regard to the
times of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, that's absolutely true.
It was. And we know, of course, that when the Lord Jesus Christ
came, he was that lamp. He was that great and glorious
light. And he was that wonderful righteousness
by his perfect example that he set before us. But nonetheless,
we are to move on and we are to realize that these words still
have an application to your life and to my life today. You see,
the more we know of the Word of God, the more we study the
Word of God, and it is good to study the Word of God. It's the
most wonderful book in the world. It's the oldest book in the world.
It's the most blessed book in the world. And we are wonderfully
privileged to have this book in our hands and are able to
read it and maybe read it really prayerfully and really carefully
and study it. You know, it's so easy just to
pick up the Bible and read a few verses and think we've done our
duty and shut the book up and then get on with the things that
we think are more important. The most important part of our
days is really our time of prayer and our time of reading the Word
of God. That's really the most important
time in our daily occupation. And yet so often it's put to
the background and it's put in a small space and sometimes it
may even be forgotten about. We may carry on, oh I've forgotten
to pray, I've forgotten to read the Word of God. You see, it
doesn't have the position that it should. Well, our blessing
is that we have the blessed, holy Word of God. And isn't it
a favour? And so we're instructed by it.
And so we have the instruction here, as the Prophet says, until
the righteousness therefore go forth as brightness. Well, we
might consider that in this way. As we examine ourselves, And
then as we look around, what do we see? We see people, we
see ourselves, trying to justify ourselves, make ourselves just
in the things that we do and the things that we say. Well,
we often try and we think, well, I've made mistakes and I've done
this, perhaps I shouldn't have done, and then sometimes we just
stand back and we try to justify what we've done. knowing in our
heart that it's probably not right, it's probably not true,
it's probably not good, but we try to justify ourselves. It's so simple and of course
it's the work of the devil. It's far better to be able to
come and acknowledge immediately that we've made a mistake, that
we haven't done that which is right, and to realise that what
the Word of God tells us is true, that all our righteousnesses
are as filthy rags. They're not clean. They're not
pure. No, they're just like that. And
as the Spirit of God may shine into our hearts to show us what
we really are, we then realise that we're all unrighteousness
in and of ourselves. And we need to understand that.
And we need to know it. And the men and women, boys and
girls that we come in contact with, need to realise that we're
all in and of ourselves, by nature, unrighteousness. We're all unrighteous,
every one of us. What's the prophet saying here?
Until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness. Well, where is righteousness? Where is brightness? surely it
is only in the Lord Jesus Christ. What does it mean? It means this,
we are to be pointed, we are to be directed, we are to consider
the Lord Jesus Christ and His righteousness, the pureness of
His life, the perfection of His life. Now my friends, you and
I will never measure up to that perfection. because sin is mixed
with all we do. And as the Apostle said, in me,
that is in my flesh, is no good thing, in our flesh, not in our
new nature, in our flesh. And so therefore, what is it
that we need? We need a righteousness which
is not of ourselves, because we are not righteous ourselves.
Where does that righteousness lie? It lies in the finished
work of the Lord Jesus Christ, His righteousness. And so, what
do we need? We need to be clothed with His
righteousness, His pure, unspotted righteousness. And what a great
blessing if you and I have an understanding of our true condition
before God. It's not before man. Sometimes
we're very concerned how we appear to men. Well, it's good that
we are concerned, but my friends, it's more important as to how
we appear before God. And whether we come before God
confessing what we are, who we are, exactly what we are, and
not pretending to be what we're not. Because God sees us inside
out. He sees everything about us.
He knows all our prevarications. He knows all the evil. He knows
all the sin. We cannot fool God. God's great. He knows all about us. Well then,
we need, don't we, not to pretend that we're any good thing in
ourselves, but that we seek that which is from Almighty God. And if we are in that desire,
we need to be justified by God. Yes, made righteous, made just. We can't make ourselves, but
God can. And to know the work of the Holy
Spirit, directing us to Christ, and depending upon him for our
righteousness, not on ourself. It means we look out of ourselves,
we know we're bad, we know we're terrible, we have to confess
our sins and look to Christ that he will give us His righteousness,
that wonderful robe, which is pure and spotless. What does
it do? It covers us. It covers our nakedness. And what a great, wonderful blessing
it is to know that we possess this wonderful favour from Almighty
God. The Apostle Paul, when he wrote
to the Corinthians, he gave them a catalogue. He described what
they were like. And he didn't leave them with
any false impression. And he told them, he says, be
not deceived. And we must be careful that we
are not deceived. Remember the devil is the greatest
deceiver. He always wants to deceive us.
And so the apostle comes and says, be not deceived. You see, God is not mocked. He tells us, Know ye not that
the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived,
neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate,
nor abusers themselves of mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor
drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the
kingdom of God." That's a very comprehensive statement of evil,
isn't it? And I expect you're thinking,
well, perhaps I don't quite, I'm thankful I don't really I
haven't committed all those sins, so I'm all right." Well, the
Apostle doesn't let us off. He tells us very clearly, and
such were some of you. If you and I come into that category
and have to say, well, yes, I know, in my heart, I've been utterly
evil. I've thought so much wrong, so
many evil things. What does he say? And such were
some of you. It's a wonderful word, but what's it going to
say now? But ye are washed. What does that mean? It means
made clean, washed of our sins, washed in the blood of the Lamb. Those are so wicked and evil. Yes, this is the grace of God,
this is the favour of God, this is the mercy of God, but You
are washed, but ye are sanctified. You are made holy, but ye are
justified. We're made just. We're not just
in ourselves, are we? Surely we understand that with
this list here and if we analyse it carefully and if we're guilty
in, remember, guilty in one sin, we're guilty of all. and in the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the secret, you see. How
we washed, how we sanctified, how we justified, in the name
of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God. You see, and it's interesting,
the Apostle just moves on to the words we've already spoken
of this morning, when he says, all things are lawful unto me,
but all things are not expedient. Yes, all things are lawful for
me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. And he goes on, and you can read
the sixth chapter of the first epistle of Corinthians, which
gives you some indication of the awfulness of our natural
state and also the blessedness and the favor that God brings
to the Church of God. And the Apostle in an earlier
chapter, the first chapter of the Corinthians, he's speaking
in this chapter about the foolishness of the Jews and the Greeks and
how he comes and he speaks to us He says, for you see your
calling brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh,
not many noble are called. But God has chosen the foolish
things of the world to confound the wise, and God has chosen
the weak things of the world to confound the things which
are mighty, and base things of the world, and things which are
despised hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not to bring
to naught things that are, that no flesh should glory in his
presence." The Word of God is so, so clear. You and I will
never be able to glory in what you and I have done. We'll never
be able to stand before God and say, well, I'm a great person.
Or, well, I'm not very great, but I've done this and I've done
that, you see. No, we'll have to come with nothing before a
holy God. And so he tells us that no flesh
should glory in his presence, but of him are ye in Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption. according as it is written, he
that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." Well, the great
aim, very clearly, of the Apostle was that through the great work
of God, it would bring glory to Almighty God. And really,
it's no less here in this statement by the Prophet, when he speaks
like this, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness.
And it's really when our spiritual understanding is brought to that
position where we see the necessity of not having our own righteousness,
but the necessity of also having the righteousness of the Lord
Jesus Christ. so that we are covered with it
and it's given to us. It's not something that you and
I can pay for. You see, if we paid for it, then
we would have claimed something ourselves. We can't pay a thing. It's when nothing, yes, nothing
in our hand, we come to the Lord. nothing empty, yes, without anything,
and then to seek that we might be clothed then with this, and
how bright it is. The glorious truth and doctrine
of Christ's righteousness shines brightly when we view ourselves,
and the Spirit of God will have to show to us ourselves first,
because we won't see any need for Christ's righteousness, there
won't be any glory or beauty in it. But when we see ourselves
as lost and ruined in the fall, and we recognise the need we
have, and we are blessed with that understanding that Christ
has died, that he might give to us this wonderful blessing
of his righteousness, to be clothed in that, well, how bright it
is. Now, the prophet, remember, what
is he saying here? won't hold his peace, he won't
rest until this knowledge is proclaimed, until this knowledge
shines forth as brightness. And it is attractive, and it
is the desire of the Church of God that he might receive it,
that he might be clothed with it, that he might rejoice in
the great and finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ which has
brought them to this knowledge. Well, let us not forget then
the real concern and the desire the Prophet had here to go forth
in this way, the righteous go forth as brightness and the salvation
thereof as a lamp that burneth. A lamp that burns brightly. We can think of it, can't we,
as the New Testament speaks of it as something like a candle.
You know, it's not to be hid. It's to burn. It's to shine light. And where, of course, is the
greatest light? Who is the greatest light? Well,
I'm sure we know. Lord Jesus, I am the light of
the world. My friends, what glorious light
there is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Outside of Christ, there's darkness. But you see, as the Spirit of
God directs us to look to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God, the Scriptures,
as it were, become alive. Because as we read it, we read
the Old Testament, we read the New Testament, what do we see?
It directs us to Christ. What does it do? It directs us
to the death. directs us to the resurrection,
directs us to the ascension and the intercession of the Lord
Jesus Christ. What does it do? It makes the
Lord Jesus Christ a living reality. What does it do? It makes him
precious to our souls. What does it do? It makes him
needful for us. The Lord Jesus Christ shines
forth. My friends, is he a light to
you and me today? Do we view Christ as a glorious
light? Do we see in him the wonder of
the finished work of redemption? Do we recognize how necessary
it was that Christ should come and should die and should be
raised from the dead. It's not just an historical account
of some wonderful person that lived some 2,000 years ago or
so. It's the Lord of life and glory. It's God himself, the almighty
God, the one who created all things, the condescended, to
come down and to be born of that Virgin Mary in those poor, humble
circumstances in that manger in Bethlehem, who was to be the
Saviour of the world, the Saviour of mankind. Oh, my friends, to
save your soul and my soul. Do we then look to this morning,
to the wonderful work of the Lord Jesus Christ, as that One
who has come to live that perfect life, to save my soul from eternal
death? Yes, to save my soul, that so
by His grace I shall one day be found with Him in glory. Heaven would not be heaven, would
it, without Christ? Surely the attraction must be
Christ in glory. Surely to think and to view him
as that one who suffered so greatly and who condescended to die in
your place and my place, that we might be delivered from the
wrath to come It's all of Christ's work. This is indeed salvation. And the salvation, which is as
a lamp that burneth, or this light that shines. Well, bless
God today, if you and I have passed out of that scene of darkness
into the glorious light of the everlasting Gospel. And that
we rejoice therefore today in what Christ has done. Yes, and
it is It burns, it doesn't go out. You see, the light of God
never goes out. It's ever bright, it's ever shining. Well, isn't it a great truth?
or great truths rather, that we read here as Isaiah says,
for the church of God's sake, it's analyzed like this, for
Zion's sake, would I not hold my peace? And for Jerusalem's
sake, I will not rest. These things were so important
in Isaiah's day. They are so important today. They are most important for you
and for me. They are most important for all
of mankind. Mankind doesn't care. Mankind wants to carry on in
the world, doing their worldly things, following the cunning
devices of the old devil. They want to be satisfied with
the world. They never will be. They never will be. You may think, you may remember,
when Queen Elizabeth I was dying, And she said, half of my kingdom
for a moment of time. Not worth anything though. A
moment of time gone. Eternity then. Well the important
thing is surely for all of us and for all mankind to be ready
to stand before that judgement seat of God and to be clothed with his righteousness
and to have the glorious knowledge of salvation in our hearts, that
which we have been enlightened by, by the Holy Spirit of God,
so that we have the evidence, the walking in the light, that
light which God alone can give, that glorious light which will
never go out. My friends, if we have the evidence
of it in our souls. What a comfort, what a blessing,
what a favour to know that Lord God Almighty has come to us and
He's chosen us to eternal life and that one day by His grace
we shall be with Him in glory, praising Him forever and ever. And so let us ponder these words
this morning and recognise the relevance of them to each of
us today And may we thank God we have words like this in the
Word of God to encourage us and to direct us in what we should
do and what we should say. For Zion's sake will I not hold
my peace and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest until the
righteousness thereof go forth as brightness and the salvation
thereof as a lamp that burneth. Amen.