Well, with the Lord's help, I'd
like to draw your attention to that chapter that we read together
from the book of the prophecy of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 40,
and to think particularly from verse 11 of this chapter, where
we read, he shall feed his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather
the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom. He shall gently
lead those that are with young. a couple of weeks ago I was at
the prayer meeting at Hedge End and your pastor taking the prayer
meeting he read this chapter and as he read this chapter these
words stood out on the page for me and I just jotted down a few
thoughts at the time and yesterday I turned it back to those notes
that I made on this verse and expanded it
and I thought that it would be the word for today. He shall feed his flock like
a shepherd. We're told right at the beginning
of the book of the prophecy of Isaiah how Isaiah started to
minister the word of God, 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
we know exactly when Isaiah prophesied, we know where he prophesied,
and as we read through the book, we know what he prophesied. what a mercy it is that the Old
Testament does tell us about the Lord Jesus Christ and particularly
the book of the prophecy of Isaiah tells us very much about the
Lord Jesus Christ it tells us about his suffering for rebels
and for sinners he was the servant but behold my servant shall kneel
prudently he shall be exalted and extolled and be very high
and of course it goes on to chapter 53 which tells us about the passion
of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Ethiopian eunuch as recorded
in the 8th chapter of the book of Acts he was reading that and
one went up to him and asked him if he understood what he
read and he said, how can I? I have no one to show me and
he opened his mouth and preached unto him Jesus. We have the authority
then in the New Testament to look at the Old Testament and
to see pictures of the Lord Jesus Christ. This verse tells us something
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course in John chapter 10
we have the Lord Jesus speaking about the good shepherd and we
have him saying I am the good shepherd and so when we read
these words he shall feed his flock like a shepherd we know
automatically that Isaiah is speaking prophetically of the
Lord Jesus Christ that he is speaking of the one who would
come I mentioned in prayer the words of the Apostle Paul how
that he was found in passion as a man he humbled himself and
became obedient unto death even the death of the cross and through
his death the Lord Jesus Christ gathers his people we will come
on to that shortly we know also when Isaiah prophesied it tells
us in that verse that I read just
a few months ago of the kings that through whose reign Isaiah prophesied. We know that Isaiah preached and
prophesied about 700 or 800 years in the 8th century before the
birth of Christ. He was contemporary with three
other prophets, Micah, Isaiah and Micah were both priests and
they prophesied in the southern kingdom and Hosea and Amos prophesied
in the northern kingdom and all four of them had this message
of God's judgement upon a rebellious people both in the northern kingdom
and also in the southern kingdom Amos was the shepherd of Tekoa
he prophesied in the Northern Kingdom and Hosea likewise prophesied
in the Northern Kingdom but we are told very little about Hosea
but Isaiah and Micah we know were prophets in the Southern
Kingdom and it seems likely that Isaiah was also related to the
royal family that ruled, but we cannot be certain about this. So this book of the Prophecy
of Isaiah is divided quite clearly into two sections. The first
39 chapters are mainly historical, although there are prophetic
utterances. but it is mainly historical. But from verse 1 of chapter 40
we have the prophet speaking of those things that would happen,
preaching and also prophesying of those things that would happen.
mainly foretelling of the coming of the Redeemer, the coming of
the Messiah, the one who would liberate people from their sins. And so this chapter begins with
a word of comfort. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,
saith your God. Speak ye comfortably unto Jerusalem. and he is speaking to the children
of Israel that they can rest in the assurance that God has
forgiven sins what a mercy it is that God forgives we are rebellious
remember how the hymn writer says prone to wander Lord I feel
it prone to leave the God I love and he goes on to say here's
my heart O take and seal it, seal it from thy courts above
but there is that message of forgiveness again the psalmist
says there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared
what a mercy it is that there is the forgiveness of sins and
we look to that fountain that has been opened for sin that
Zechariah speaks about that fountain is there in the 13th chapter
if memory serves me right of the book of the prophecy of Zechariah in that day there shall
be a fountain open to the house of David and to the inhabitants
of Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness what a mercy it is that that
fountain is in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ I remember
in days of Sunday school I used to sing a chorus I know a fountain
where sins are washed away I know a place where night is turned
to day burdens are lifted blind eyes made to see there's a wonder
working power in the blood of Calvary or as William Kelker
says there is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's
veins and sinners plunged beneath that blood lose all their guilty
stains do you know something about the cleansing of the precious
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ do you know that cleansing in
your own heart that your own heart has been cleansed from
the guilt and the power of sin let the water and the blood from
thy riven side which flowed be of sin the double cure cleanse
me from its guilt and power and so in this chapter we have not
only the word of comfort but we have the mentioning of John
the Baptist the voice of him that crieth in the wilderness
prepare ye the word of the Lord setting the scene for the coming
of the Lord Jesus Christ and he is speaking also, Isaiah is
speaking also of the Holy Trinity. If you look through this chapter
you'll find that the word Lord is mentioned nine times, that
the word Lord in capital letters is the Jewish way of saying Jehovah. They considered the name of Jehovah
was too holy for it to be put on human lips and so they substituted
the word Lord. Nine times you will see the word
Lord written there in verse two, verse three, verse five, verse
seven, verse 10, verse 13, verse 27, 28, and 31. And this is a reminder that God,
our God, is the covenant God. And he is speaking of the triune
God as being the covenant God. In verse five, there is the reference
to God the Father. The glory of the Lord shall be
revealed and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth
of the Lord hath spoken it. what a gracious thing this is
that God has spoken God has spoken to us it reminds us of the words
of the Apostle Paul to the Hebrews in that opening chapter of his
epistle to the Hebrews God who at sundry times and in diverse
manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets hath
in these last days spoken unto us by his Son by his Son if we
would know God If we would know eternity, if we would know the
presence of God, it is in and through the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Know the prophets. whether it
be popes or our pretended modern day prophets or other kinds of
prophets there is no other access to God but through our Lord Jesus
Christ having these last days spoken unto us by his Son whom
we have been appointed heir of all things by whom also he made
the worlds and later on in that epistle Paul exhorts the Hebrew Christians
and every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ to consider him,
to consider the Lord Jesus Christ. So it speaks of the covenant
God, of the father, of the first person. in the Holy Trinity. Then in verse 11, we'll come
to this shortly, he speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ as being
the second person of the Holy Trinity. Verse 10, I should say.
Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand. And the Lord
Jesus Christ came. Oh, he had strong hands. he had the hands that were able
to heal the sick to give sight to the blind to raise the dead
we think of that occasion where the the widow of Nain brought
her son out on a bier out of the village to bury him the hands
of the Lord Jesus Christ were put on the bier and he lifted
him up raised him from the dead he has strong hands behold the
Lord God will come with strong hands and those strong hands
were taken and nailed to the cross and the nail went through
his palm there are those that say that it's impossible for
the weight of the body to be held by a nail through the palm
of the hand because the bones of the hand go horizontal so
the flesh would have been ripped but it wasn't the nail that held
the Lord Jesus to the cross it was our sin it was the Lord Jesus
willingly giving his life a ransom for many oh he gave his life
so that sinners like you and i might go free free from the
burden of sin And when we see the Lord Jesus on the cross,
as Bunyan describes it in his Pilgrim's Progress, he goes by
way of the cross to the holy city, and as he looks at the
cross, the burden upon his back rolled away into the abyss. I know the burden of our sin
by looking to the Lord Jesus and it says elsewhere look unto
me all the ends of the earth and be saved I look unto the
Lord Jesus Christ when we look to the Lord Jesus Christ the
burden of sin rose away from us and we are forgiven from our
sin. Why? Because the Lord Jesus Christ
took the penalty of our sin upon him, upon the sin of the church,
was laid upon the Lord Jesus Christ. For Christ loved the
church and gave himself for him. Or as another hymn writer says,
all my iniquity on him was laid. He nailed them all to the tree.
Jesus, the debtor of my sinfully paid, he paid the ransom for
me. And then in verse 7 we have the
reference to the Holy Spirit. The grass withereth, the fire
flayeth, because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it. And
again in verse 13, who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being
his counsellor, hath taught him." Here in this chapter then, we
have the Holy Trinity revealed, particularly in the work of redemption,
and this chapter is to do with the redemption of the sinner. There is set forth in this chapter
from verses 3 to 8 the frailty of man and from verses 9 to 11
we have the good shepherd set forth and his care for his people and then we have from verse 18
through to verse 27 the setting forth of the uniqueness I shall
say for want of a better phrase the uniqueness of Almighty God
that there is none other like him To whom will ye liken me,
or shall I be equal, saith the Holy One? And then from verses
28 to verse 31, there is the calling of the sinner to walk
in the ways of God. The Creator of the ends of the
earth, fainteth not, we can rely upon God. but we cannot rely upon the deities
of this world there are those who set themselves up as being
great leaders but they fail in due time but the almighty God
he will never fail Jesus never fails Jesus never fails heaven
and earth will pass away But Jesus never fails. And so the
chapter ends with that. Waiting upon God. For they that
wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount
up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not vain.
What a mercy it is. But we come to this verse itself. It's quite clearly divisible
into four sections concerning the shepherd. The shepherd first
of all feeds his flock. He shall feed his flock like
a shepherd. then he gathers his flock he
shall gather the lambs with his arms thirdly he carries his flock
and carry them in his bosom and leads his flock and gently leads
those that are with young but who is it that is speaking here? if you've got a margin in your
Bible in front of you verse 9 you will probably see an alternative
translation of the original Hebrew O thou that tellest good tidings
to Zion get thee up into the high mountains O thou that tellest
good tidings to Jerusalem lift up thy voice with strength lift
it up, be not afraid say unto the cities of Judah behold your
God and it is a calling of Isaiah to both Judah to Zion and to
Jerusalem that there is one who comes with that message of salvation
and the Lord Jesus Christ came with that message of salvation
He comes with the invitation of the Gospel. Come unto me all
ye that are weary and are heavy laden. And you notice that the
invitation that the Lord Jesus, and throughout the scripture
as well, the invitations of the Gospel are always particular. It's not indiscriminate. It is
to particular cases. Come unto me all ye that are
weary. Do we know something about the weariness of sin? Do we know
something about the tiredness of our hearts of living a life
that is not of holiness but a life of corruption? Do we know something
of these things? well if we know something of
these things the Lord Jesus Christ is set forth in the gospel and
he says come unto me all ye that are weary and are heavy laden
so the shepherd then is the one that feeds his flock the shepherd
it is his duty to look after his flock there in the 10th chapter
of John's gospel We have the Lord Jesus speaking about himself
and about the hireling, the hireling shepherd, the one that has no
responsibility. He looks after the sheep and
at the end of the week, or the end of the month as it would
be these days, he will receive his salary, his payment, and
he walks away from at the sheep, he has no real care for the sheep. But he that is in Highling, and
not the shepherd, whose only sheep are not, seeth the wolf
coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth, and the wolf catcheth
them, and scattereth them. The Highling fleeth, because
he is in Highling, and careth not for the sheep. He has no
responsibility, he looks after himself, but he does not look
after the sheep. Again in Ezekiel chapter 34 there
is that reference to the Highland shepherds. Woe be to the shepherds
of Israel that do feed themselves, should not the shepherds feed
the flock? you eat the fat and you clothe you with the wool
you kill them as a fed but you feed not the flock and he goes
on to speak about the sheep being scattered and then he goes on
to say for thus saith the Lord God behold I even I both search
my sheep and seek them and he goes on to say in verse 14 of
chapter 34 of Ezekiel I will feed them in a good pasture what
a mercy it is to be fed in a good pasture and what a mercy it is
to have an under-shepherd that feeds his flock you are privileged
here to have a faithful land of shepherds one who has been
in the ministry of the gospel for many years and faithfully
ministered the word of God well the shepherd feeds his flock
and our Lord Jesus Christ is the one that feeds his flock
going back to John chapter 10 we read of the nature of the shepherd but he
that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep
he looks after the sheep and the Lord Jesus goes on to
say when he put forth his own sheep he goeth before them and
the sheep follow him for they know his voice and a stranger
will they not follow and it appears that the various shepherds of
the various flocks they would work together and they would
have one fold And at the end of the day, after the sheep have
been grazing, the shepherds would bring their sheep into the fold. So you've got a mixture of different
groups of sheep belonging to different owners. And the shepherds
would take it in turn to keep the fire burning outside,
to keep the wolves away, and also to block up the entrance
to the fold. but when the shepherd comes in
the morning he goes to the door of the sheepfold and he calls
his sheep those he calls, whether it be by a whistle or by name,
I don't know but when he calls them, his own sheep would come
the sheep would recognise the voice and the sheep would come
to him and he would take them out and find pasture for them
and they would eat that grass that is before them but
the other sheep they would just sit still until their shepherd
came and called them to himself it is the same with the Lord's
people he calls his people to himself and he knows them by
name he has known them from eternity past what Jeremiah tells us,
doesn't he? he says, yea I have loved thee
with an everlasting love and therefore my memory is not what it once
was I have loved thee with an everlasting love therefore with
loving kindness have I drawn thee he draws his people to himself
John Kent puts it like this there is a period known to God whenever
a sheep redeemed by blood shall leave the hateful ways of sin
turn to the fold and enter in the appointed time rolls on apace
not to propose but call by grace to turn the mind, renew the will
and turn the feet to Zion's hill or have you been called by God's
grace? Do you know something of the work of God in your hearts? And as the Lord Jesus cares for
you, so he feeds you. He feeds you with good pasture
and Jeremiah likewise speaks of the sheep being fed in good
pasture. Jeremiah chapter 33 and verses
9 through to 14, turn it up at your leisure, but he is speaking
about the return of the sheep of the children of Israel from
Babylon after exile. And he says, thus saith the Lord
of hosts, again in this place which is desolate without man
and without beast, and in all the cities thereof. He's speaking about the ruins
of Jerusalem and the ruins of Babylon. of a land that has been
plundered by a ruthless army and he's speaking about the children
of Israel going back and he says and in all the cities thereof
shall be inhabitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down
the provision that is made what a wonderful thing it is that
for the children of Israel there is provision made and likewise
for the people of God as we walk through this veil of tears as
we walk through this world there is provision made there is provision
made for the people of God so he calls his people by their
name but not only does he feed them with pasture but he also
feeds them with food convenient Proverbs chapter 30 verse 8 remove
far from me vanities and lies give me neither poverty nor riches
feed me with food convenient for me suitable that's what the
word convenient means he feeds us with food that is suitable
just as a mother feeds her children with suitable food when we're
a babe so big the mother feeds the child with milk then convenient
food at the time of weaning and then as the child grows into
youth and manhood the full food that adults eat is food convenient
what a mercy it is that the Lord feeds us with spiritual gems
the children of Israel walked through the desert from Egypt
on pilgrimage to the promised land and the Lord fed them with
food convenient for them manna from heaven, day by day, six
days in the week they had manna provided for them and on the
sixth day they would gather twice as much and it was always sufficient
for them Likewise, the Lord provided the water for them. The rock
was struck and the water gushed out of the rock. But the children
of Israel, in unbelief, they questioned God and they moaned
at Moses for for what they received. Yeah, they speak against God.
They said, can God furnish a table in the wilderness? Yes, he can. It's a rhetorical question. The
answer is there. He does and he can feed us. So
when you're feeling weary in the pilgrim path, turn to the
word of God. How does the Lord feed us from
the word of God? he feeds us as we come to worship
the Lord in his courts week by week he feeds us when we attend
the prayer meeting and Bible study each week he feeds us when
we read the Word of God daily as we should do as Christian
believers and he feeds us when we have fellowship one with another
there's that lovely hymn in Gadsby 911 and it speaks about the two disciples as they walked
on the road to Emmaus and how the Lord Jesus Christ himself
drew near and went with them. When saint to saint in days of
old their sorrows, sins and sufferings told, Jesus the friend of sinners
dear his saints to bless was present there his former visits
we recount on Mises hill and Herman's mount yet still our
souls desire in you his sweetest loveliest face to view when you
get home this afternoon read have a read of that hymn and
see the blessing that is there of fellowship with the Lord Jesus
Christ what a mercy it is that verse in Luke 24 Jesus himself
drew near and went with them and that's such a blessing for
the people of God so the shepherd feeds his flock and then in the
second place, I must hasten on he shall gather the lambs with
his arms, he gathers his flock, he gathers them one by one the
Lord Jesus told the parable of the lost sheep, Luke chapter
15 verses 4 to 7 and it says that he left the
99 in the fold in the care of the other shepherds they were
safe but he went out until he found it and he found the sheep,
and he lifted it up and put it on his shoulders and he carried
the sheep until it was saved back in the fold. Back in the Song of Solomon,
chapter 6, verse 2, the daughters of Jerusalem ask the Shulamite
maiden, Where is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? Whither is thy beloved turned
aside, that we may seek him with thee? And she answers, My beloved
is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed
in the gardens, and to gather lilies. The lilies, of course, are a
reference to his people. As you know, the Song of Solomon
is a love poem about the love of Christ for his church, and
their beloved is there gathering his lilies. He gathers them one
by one. I've already referred to Kent's
hymn about the period known to God. whenever a sheep redeemed
by blood shall leave the hateful ways of sin turn to the fold
and enter in the Lord gathers his people one by one and he
gathers them by the preaching of the gospel he gathers them
by the with great mercies Isaiah 54
verse 7 tells us for a small moment have I forsaken thee but
with great mercies will I gather thee and the preaching of the
word is a great mercy it was a great mercy to David that Nathan
the prophet came in and pointed at him and said thou art the
man thou art the man preaching the word and you'll find in Psalm
51 the reaction that was by the grace of God in David's heart
that he was gathered in by the preaching of the Word
of God by great cataclysmic events Paul is riding, driving his way
riding his way to Damascus to persecute Christian believers
and he saw this great light and the light was so strong that
he fell off his horse and so Ananias came and laid
hands on him and he was brought to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
or the great mercy of quiet work such as the Lord opened the heart
of Lydia all those years ago but each one is brought, each
one are given to Christ in covenant bond is brought to the Lord Jesus
Christ and they are given that gift of faith to believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ. And the Lord Jesus Christ gathers
his people as they are gathered by, in great mercies they are
gathered and he gathers his jewels, every one of his jewels. You'll
be seeing a lot about jewels in the next few months, especially
if you watch the coronation of our King, King Charles III. He will have great jewels. He'll have the orb and the sceptre
in his right hand with that great diamond in it. He'll have the
imperial state crown encrusted with jewels. Well, the Lord has
his crown. the Lord Jesus has his crown
it's a crown of thorns that he wore but it is a crown that will
be full of jewels and they shall be mine saith the Lord of hosts
in that day when I make up my jewels and I will spare them
as a man spareth his own son so the shepherd feeds his sheep
he gathers his sheep he carries his sheep I've referred already
to the parable of the lost sheep, how the sheep was carried on
the shoulder. But here in this verse, he says,
and carry them in his bosom. He carries the little lamb in
his bosom. The little lamb has been lost,
it's been bleating, it's frightened of all around, and the shepherd
comes and he picks him up. and he puts the lamb in his arms
and he carries them and the word that is here translated carry
it also means cover and the picture that he's given us is that the
little lamb is cold and it's shivering and the shepherd in
tender care puts the little lamb in his arms and covers him with
his garment and he receives the warmth from the shepherd and
he receives the heat insulated by the covering of his garment
and he keeps that little lamb there until it has regained its
strength and is able to be put back in the fold. This is the
care that the shepherd has for his little lambs. How much more
of the Lord Jesus for his people. He cares for each one. The hymn writer puts it like
this, he speaks, and listening to his voice knew life the dead
received. the mournful broken hearts rejoice
the humble poor believe and then finally the shepherd leads his
flock he shall feed his flock like a shepherd he shall gather
the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom and shall gently
lead those that are with the young he gently leads them in
other words they never get lost what a mercy it is that we never
get lost or we might wander just as Bunyan's pilgrim wandered
into Bypath Meadow but he was drawn back and once we're in him once in
him, in him forever thus the eternal covenant stands so much
so that the psalmist says nevertheless I am continually with thee Thou'st
holden me by my right hand Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel
and afterward receive me to glory afterwards oh we might wander
away but the Lord brings his people back the son the prodigal son he went
away he would fain have filled his belly with the husk that
the swine did eat but he knew where he could get a decent meal
he came to his senses says the Lord Jesus and he went back to
his father he knew he would be be welcomed there but he went
with the words in his heart and on his lips Father I have sinned
against heaven and against thee make me as one of thy hired servants
and what happened to that young man we presume he was a young
man Luke chapter 14 in chapter 15 I should say he
came back his father saw him and had compassion and the father
said bring forth the best robe put it on him and put a ring
on his hand and shoes on his feet and those symbols that he
had first of all he was clothed when we come to Christ we have
nothing but filthy robes The robe of sin, the robe of corruption,
the robe of a fallen nature. Oh, but that is taken away and
we're clothed with the robe of Christ's righteousness. We're
clothed in the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. In
the book of the Revelation it tells us how the saints are clothed
in white linen and it goes on to say that the white linen is
the righteousness of saints not the righteous acts of saints
as the New King James tells us but it is the righteousness of
saints and the righteousness of saints is that which is imputed
put upon us we are clothed and we are covered in the robe of
his righteousness we have the ring put on the hand he has the
ring put on his hand saying that he is part of the family and
he has shoes on his feet the slaves in New Testament times
didn't have shoes they walked about barefooted but the son
he had shoes given him he was welcomed back into the family
you and I, if we're brought by faith to the Lord Jesus Christ
if we've been convicted of sin by the Spirit of God if we've
been convicted of our fallen nature and if we flee to Christ
then we are welcomed the dying thief I love to think about the
dying thief because it reminds me so much of my own fallen nature
he had nothing he had absolutely nothing and
everything he had possessed was probably that which he had stolen
from other people but he saw in the Lord Jesus Christ on that
occasion he saw something that was there he saw the divinity
of Christ he saw the forgiveness of Christ he saw the sacrifice
that was being made by Christ and he said to his fellow companion
we deserve eternal death we deserve death but this man he's done
nothing wrong he's the perfect saviour and they turned to the
Lord Jesus and said Lord remember me when thou comest into thy
kingdom and just as the father embraced the wayward son so the
Lord Jesus embraced spiritually that dying thief and he said
today enough word can be said to every awakened sinner today
thou shalt be with me in paradise what a mercy it is that the shepherd
feeds his flock he shall feed his flock like a shepherd he
shall gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom
and gently lead those that are with the young saviour like a
shepherd lead us more we need thy tender care
in thy pleasant pastures feed us for... I'm sorry I can't even
read my own writing now but I think you probably know the hymn to
which I'm referring but he brings his people to himself he cares
for them He looks after them and he guards them, he guides
them and brings them safe to glory. God grant that we might
each one be brought to that happy position. May the Lord add his
blessing to these few thoughts for his name's sake. Amen.