I would like to draw your attention
to that chapter that we read together from the Book of the
Prophecy of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 12. I noticed that I will be,
in the will of the Lord, with you one Lord's Day morning in
October. And so I thought that I would,
as I've been reading through Isaiah this week, This last week,
I should say, I thought I would take a passage and start with
a few thoughts thereon and continue on the same passage next time
that I'm with you in about four weeks' time. So we're looking
at this chapter, this short chapter, six verses in the book of the
prophecy of Isaiah. There are some, of course, some
theologians that tell us that Isaiah is not written actually
by Isaiah, perhaps the first 39 chapters, and then from chapter
40 to the end of the book, they say there are perhaps two other
authors that that wrote the remainder of the book and tacked them on
to the end of the first 39 chapters and called it One Isaiah but they neglect to think about
the inspiration of the scriptures it is possible to write in one
manner and then on another day it is possible for the same person
to write in another manner and give the impression that there
are two people writing but of course this is not so. Isaiah
wrote from chapter 1 verse 1 right through to the end of the of
the book of Isaiah right through to the end of chapter 66. There
is no question about it. He is the evangelical prophet.
He is the one who wrote about the coming of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He prophesied under the inspiration of the Spirit of
God. And in the first 39 chapters,
he actually speaks about the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. We'll come onto that shortly.
and then from chapters 40 through to the end he also speaks about
the Lord Jesus Christ and as we read in the epistle to Timothy
all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, that the man of God may be throughly
furnished unto all good works. We know exactly when Isaiah spoke,
when Isaiah prophesied, because he tells us, as he commences
this book of prophecy, the vision of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, which
he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham,
Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. So knowing the history
of the East from archeology and the like, we can tell that he
prophesied in the eighth century before the birth of the Lord
Jesus Christ. he was contemporary with three
other prophets he wrote at the same time as Hosea and Amos who
prophesied in the northern kingdom and also with Micah in the southern
kingdom two in the northern kingdom of Israel and two prophesied
in the southern kingdom Isaiah and Micah were both probably
a priest but we are not told and Isaiah was possibly related
to the royal family and he is warning these people, he is warning
the nation that they are going to come under the judgment of
God from chapter 7 onwards he is telling them of the judgment
of God that was to fall upon that nation if it didn't repent
of its sinfulness and follow the Lord Jesus Christ but he
also speaks of the of the nature of God in these chapters. He
speaks that God is the God of all the world, the God of all
nations, and that is something that we should take note of.
The God whom we worship and serve, the Triune God is not just the
God of the Jews and the Christians, he is the almighty God, he is
the one that rules in the nations, indeed Daniel speaks, if memory
serves me right, in the 7th chapter of his prophecy No, I can't see it off hand,
but he prophesied that the Lord, he spoke that the Lord rules
in the kingdoms of heaven and he rules over all the earth.
In fact, we just have to turn back to the book of Genesis to
see that God was there right in the beginning, in the beginning
that God created the heaven and the earth and he is in control
of all things now we are living in a time of political instability
we have wars and rumors of wars going on throughout this world
and we can take comfort in this that almighty God rule us in
all the affairs of men. Paul writing to the Ephesians,
he tells us that God worketh all things after the counsel
of his own will. He says that in the dispensation
of the fullness of times that he might gather together in one
all things in Christ both which are in heaven and which are on
earth even in him in whom also we are obtained an inheritance
being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will So as we take
notice of the media today, whether there's going to be warfare,
whether there's going to be peace or whatever in the world today,
God is in control. our God rules in everything he
works all things after the counsel of his own will and he brings
everything down to his providential mercies that are daily bestowed
upon us that we are awake in the morning and we see the goodness
of God and the things that are going on round about us we rest
in his sovereignty we rest in the sovereignty of God in his
sovereign purposes that he will one day rule over all things
and he rules over all things and one day this will come to
pass when we see that the whole earth shall be filled with the
knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the
sea and that passage that I read from the book of Acts of Paul
being in Athens, he told the Athenians that God is the one that rules for
in him we live and move and have our very beings the Athenians
had built this altar to the unknown God and he says that there is
a God who can be known He can be known through our Lord Jesus
Christ. He is the triumphant God who
ruleth all things. He governs all things. And so these chapters in the
opening part of Isaiah tell us of those things that are happening
and that God is in complete control. the almighty is in complete control
and he brings forth his promises the lord brings forth his promises
of the deliverer who would come and who would take care of his
people Isaiah 7 verse 14 therefore the Lord himself shall give you
a sign behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall
call his name Emmanuel and then we turn over to Isaiah chapter
9 and verse 6 there is further indication of the Messiah who
would come for unto us a child is born unto us a son is given
and notice how the prophet speaks of the coming of the child that
he is a child that was born and that speaks about his inhumanity
but the second clause of this verse speaks about the eternal
nature of the Lord Jesus Christ. For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given. He was born, he became incarnate,
and we'll be thinking of that later on in the year, about the
incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he is also the eternal
Son of God, he has always been the eternal Son of God, he did
not become the son of God when he was born upon this earth. No, he has always been the eternal
son of God. The hymn writer says, our God
contracted to us man, incomprehensibly made man. And then his offices
and nature are then described in this verse, for as a child
is born, unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon
his shoulder and his name shall be called Wonderful. and as we
look upon the Lord Jesus Christ we no doubt feel like the Shula
might make when she looked upon her beloved she said, yea, he
is altogether lovely and the Lord Jesus Christ is that wonderful
saviour he brought us from the miry pit as the psalmist speaks
in Psalm 40 He says, I waited patiently for
the Lord, and He inclined unto me and heard my cry. He brought
me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the mighty clay,
and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. He is the wonderful Saviour,
and we'll come on to that shortly, even further. He is the Counsellor,
he is the one who gives his people wisdom he counsels them and he
brings them out of nature's night into the glorious light and liberty
of the gospel and then he is called the Mighty God he is the
second person of the Holy Trinity he is the Mighty God the one
who is with his father and with the Holy Ghost or the Triune
God who are mighty in their work in bringing this world into the
holiest space into being and bringing that redemption to the
sinner and then he is the everlasting father he is the one who brings
us to be his children and he is the prince of peace men are
looking for peace these days Although, if you listen to the
politicians, they are those who are far from peace. But the peace
that they bring is not eternal. It is a temporary peace if they
are able to negotiate it. in Gaza and the West Bank they
are trying to get together to bring peace they've been trying
to do this since 1947 when the state of Israel came into being
but there's never been any peace there there is the problem in
Central Europe between Russia and the Ukraine it's doubtful
that peace can be brought to a successful negotiation but
peace of God, oh that's a different matter that's a different matter
there is that peace, that real peace for the child of God The
Apostle Paul writes to the Roman Church and he writes in that
fifth chapter, therefore being justified by faith we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. He came down to this
earth, he was incarnate upon this earth. and he went to Calvary. His purpose was to go to Calvary. His purpose was to give his life.
He was not overtaken by events. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
give his life a ransom for many and to bring peace in the gospel. Isaiah speaks about the coming
of the Lord Jesus Christ and he speaks once more in that 11th
chapter of Isaiah. and he says and there shall come
forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse and a branch shall grow
out of his roots and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him
the spirit of wisdom and understanding the spirit of counsel and might
the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. So Isaiah,
he is the one who speaks both in that part that is attributed
to Isaiah and those parts that are supposed to be written by
other people, which we reject of course. It is speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ
in all the trials and the tumults of the nation of Judah there
is that promise of the one who would come and this chapter 12
it opens with this word, and in that day thou shalt say, O
Lord, I will praise thee." It is a thanksgiving to Almighty
God for that work that will be accomplished in future days by
the Lord Jesus Christ. In that day, we could think of
course of many days in the scripture. We could think about the day
of creation in the beginning, God created the heaven and the
earth and then in six days the world was created and then it
was fashioned. The earth was without form and
void and darkness was upon the face of the deep and then the
remaining days of the sixth day creation, we believe it was a
6 day creation, days of 24 hours, not extended over many years,
but it was a 24 hour day, God said and it was done. those again
who would tell us that when it speaks about day it speaks in
the book of Genesis it speaks about an age and so they try
to match archaeology up with the word of God well it can't
be done the word of God was spoken and in the beginning was the
word and the word was with God and the word was God the same
was in the beginning with God and all things were made by him
and when he spake it was done he who created the world also
recreates the sinful man he brings the person out of the pit of
sin and brings them to knowledge of saving grace so we could think
about the day of creation and also we can think about the day
of redemption when our Lord Jesus Christ gave his life for many
where he shed his precious blood that sinners might go free the
price was paid the price was paid in the blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ says the Apostle Paul to the Hebrews that this
man after he had made one sacrifice for sins, sat down at the right
hand of his father. He made one sacrifice for sins. He gave his life a ransom for
many. And in that glorious cry, I know
very little Greek, but I understand that the word that the Lord Jesus
spoke was teteleste, finish, complete, complete. the work
of redemption was completed by the Lord Jesus Christ that word
is also used, I'm told, in the Septuagint in Psalm 22, the last
verse of Psalm 22 they shall come and shall declare his righteousness
unto a people that shall be born that he hath done this now if
you look in our authorised version you'll see the word this is there
is in italics what it means is that the word this in italics
is not there in the original Hebrew or the Septuagint translation
and so the text should properly read they shall come and shall
declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born that
he hath done that word done means completion that he hath finished
and the Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross finish that work of
redemption there is nothing more for us to do so we can think
about that that day of redemption, the day of creation, the day
of redemption. And we could also think about
the day of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. We turn to
Thessalonians and we read about the return of the Lord Jesus.
But prior to that, of course, there is that verse in Acts chapter
one where the disciples were there on the mount where the
Lord Jesus Christ was ascended into heaven and those angels
appeared to those disciples and said to them, ye men of Galilee,
why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken
up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye
have seen him go into heaven. there is that promise of the
return of the Lord Jesus Christ, the return of the day of God,
when the Lord Jesus Christ will come again in power and in glory,
when he will take his people up to be with himself, for the
Lord himself, as Paul writes to the Thessalonians, for the
Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of the archangel and with the trump of God and the dead
in Christ shall rise first. And then we can think about that
day of judgment, when we all will stand before Almighty God
we can think of many days in that day thou shalt say in that
day thou shalt say O Lord I will praise thee and again the prophet
is speaking about the covenant God when you see the word Lord
in capital letters in our authorised version then you know he is speaking
about Jehovah the covenant God of Israel he is speaking about
that covenant that covenant of God's everlasting grace in that
day we address you as the covenant God of Israel David speaks about
the covenant of God and he says on
his deathbed to 1 Samuel 23, he speaks about about that covenant he says,
although my house be not so with God yet he hath made with me
an everlasting covenant ordered in all things and sure the covenant
is that which is dependable if salvation was left to you and
I we being fickle human beings we would one day be in salvation
the next day we would be out of salvation we would wander
about hither and thither but no, the covenant of God is sure
and so Isaiah says in this chapter in that day thou shalt say O
Lord he addresses him as the covenant God of Israel and every
believer has that same covenant God and he says I will praise
thee, praise thee for what? well praise thee for that redemption
that redemption that is in the Lord Jesus Christ for that work
of grace that we have experienced in our being shown our sinfulness
and our rebellion against God and we praise God that we are
brought to see that state for unless we know that we are sinners
we are without God and without hope in the world the Lord Jesus
said I am come not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance
they that are whole need not a physician but they that are
sick do we know something? have we been taught something
of our sinfulness? of our corruption? have we been
brought to see something of the holiness of God as I was? He
saw something of the holiness of God. In the year that King
Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and
lifted up, and his train filled the temple. And when he'd seen
this vision, when he'd had this vision of Almighty God, he says,
woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and
I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. For mine eyes
have seen the King, the Lord of hosts, and then he was cleansed
of his sin. that chapter goes on to say that
the seraphim came with a live coal in his hand and placed it
on his mouth and he touched his lips and he said, thy iniquity
is taken away and thy sin purged what a mercy it is that there
is forgiveness with thee that thou mayst be feared as the psalmist
says there is that forgiveness and how is that forgiveness attained?
by the blood and the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ he it
is who took upon himself he who knew no sin He who knew no sin
was made sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God
in him. Our sin was imputed to him, as the songwriter says,
all my iniquity on him was laid. He nailed it all to the tree.
Jesus, the debt of my sinfully paid, he paid the ransom for
me. I will praise thee for that redemption. I will praise thee for that redemption."
Oh, do we know that redemption? Have we been brought to see our
sinful state? And have we been brought to call
upon the name of the Lord? What shall I do to be saved?
says the Philippian jailer. on the Lord Jesus Christ, put
your trust in him, believe in what he has done, have faith
in that work of Calvary and look to the Lord Jesus Christ. And
then he goes on to say, though thou wast angry with me, though
thou wast angry with me, the anger of God, God is a God
of love, but he was angry, he was angry. Psalm 7 tells us about
that anger that is displayed by Almighty God. Psalm 7 and
verse 11, God judgeth the righteous But God is angry with the wicked
every day. Earlier in the psalm, he writes,
Arise, O Lord, in thine anger. Lift up thyself because of the
rage of mine enemies. And so he goes on and he speaks
about the anger of God. bombarded by theologians and
ministers so-called ministers of the gospel saying God is a
God of love he will not send anyone to a lost eternity he
will not send anyone to hell because he is a God of love and
so on they watered down the gospel God is a righteous God God is
a righteous God a judge in the court does not delight in sending
transgressors of the law into prison. He doesn't find enjoyment
in doing that, but it is a necessary duty. And it's the same with
Almighty God. He doesn't take pleasure in the
death of the wicked, but He's a righteous God. and the the
righteous standard is set before each one of us there in the 20th
chapter of the book of exodus of the law of the law that i
shall have no other gods before me and so on. I'll turn very quickly
to that chapter. Thou shalt have no other gods
before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. And
so it goes on. Honour thy father and mother.
Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt
not commit adultery. Thou shalt not bear false witness.
Thou shalt not cover thy neighbour's house and so on. It is a standard. too high for us to reach we cannot
touch the righteousness of the law it is too high and too holy
for us but there was one who was able to and he came from
the glory of heaven the Lord Jesus Christ, he came to keep
the law, he kept the law in every jot and every tittle, every minute
act of his was a fulfilling of the people, of the law I should
say, he fulfilled everything. for a multitude that no man can
number, for the election of grace, for the church, for Christ loved
the church and gave himself for it. The church was given to Christ
in eternity past and every one of his people, every one of those
for whom Christ died, shall and will be brought to faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ. They will be brought to see the
Lord Jesus. So as Paul says, in another context. Let us run with patience the
race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher
of our faith. We look to him, we constantly
look to him, and when we look to him we will win that prize,
that prize of eternal life. Though thou wast angry with me,
Oh, but it's in the past. It's in the past. It's been dealt
with in the past by the death and resurrection, by the atonement
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Though thou wast angry with me,
thine anger is turned away. all the mercy it is when the
anger of God is turned away from a sinful man and he is unable
to have that fellowship with God Adam and Eve had that fellowship
but when they disobeyed Almighty God they were banished from the
garden and they were banished from heaven
until that redemption was paid but that anger is turned away
and because the anger is turned away we know and experience something
of the comfort of the gospel Paul writes to the church at
Corinth, he writes two epistles, and the second epistle speaks
about the comfort of the Gospel. Blessed be God, even the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God
of all who comforteth us in our tribulation, that we may be able
to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith
we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of
Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ." It's
all in Christ. It's all in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Oh, what a mercy. You see, if it was within us,
we would fail. we would fail in that which we
wanted to do we would fail in our walk Bunyan writes in the
Pilgrim's Progress of Pilgrim going into By-Path Meadow we
would go automatically into By-Path Meadow we would fail in our attempt
at walking in the grace of God but the Lord Jesus Christ he
holds us he holds his sheep John tells us about the Lord Jesus
being the good shepherd of the sheep, and he holds his people,
he holds his sheep in the hollow of his hand, and he says, and
none can pluck us therefrom. We can never be plucked. out of the hands of Almighty
God. Remember how Jude ends his epistle. He says, Now unto him
that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless
before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. He keeps
his people and he presents his people I love that verse in,
I think it's Isaiah, where he says, I am the children which
thou hast given me. And the picture that I imagine
in my mind is that the Lord Jesus Christ is there before his father.
The church are behind him, and he stands, as it were, to one
side, and he passes his hand over a whole multitude that no
man can number, and he says, I am the children which thou
hast given me everyone brought in to everlasting salvation in
heaven itself and because they have been kept by the Lord Jesus
Christ in that 17th chapter of John the Lord Jesus and says,
Father I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with
me where I am that they may behold my glory which thou hast given
me for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world that
I will that they be with me where I am the Lord Jesus Christ is
in heaven and so every one of those for whom he died Everyone
given in covenant bond will be there and they will hear the
words of the Lord Jesus Christ. Come ye blessed of my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world. Our time has gone, so as I said earlier, I trust
to look at the whole of the chapter next time we come, so next time
we're here in October, I will take the chapter up from verse
two. But in that day, thou shalt say,
O Lord, I will praise thee. Though thou wast angry with me,
thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortest me. Just a word
in closing. We know the comforts of the gospel. Do we know the comfort of Christ?
Do we know what it is to be like John, to lean upon the breast
of the Lord Jesus, to lean upon him? Do we know what it is to
be like the Shulamite maid, coming up out of the wilderness, leaning
on her beloved? Or are we leaning upon the Lord
Jesus Christ? Are you weary of sin? Are you
weary of self? Well, says the Lord Jesus, come
unto me all ye that are weary, and I will give you rest. God grant that we might each
one rest in the Lord, and know the Lord Jesus Christ whom to
know is life eternal. The Lord add his blessing to
these few thoughts for his name's sake. Amen. Our closing hymn this morning
is the hymn 676.