Let us turn to God's Word and
turn again to the chapter we were considering in the morning
hour Isaiah 58 Isaiah chapter 58 we were considering
this morning the verses 3 through to 7 which is clearly marked
as a paragraph And turning now to the following
paragraph that begins at verse 8 and runs through to verse 12. Isaiah 58 reading verses 8 to
12. Then shall thy light break forth
as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily,
and thy righteousness shall go before thee. The glory of the
Lord shall be thy reward, Then shalt thou call, and the Lord
shall answer. Thou shalt cry, and He shall
say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst
of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking
vanity, and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy
the afflicted soul, then shall thy light rise in obscurity,
and thy darkness be as the noonday. And the Lord shall guide thee
continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat
thy bones, and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like
a spring of water, whose waters fail not. And thou that shalt
be of thee shalt build the old waste places, thou shalt raise
up the foundations of many generations, and thou shalt be called the
repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to dwell in. Remarkable words, in many ways
it's a feast of gospel promises. Whenever I come to this passage
I always think of that 10th verse and I think of it really in terms
of the work of the Huntingtonian Press because it was about over
20 years ago that we published a book on the life of John Rusk. You won't know much about John
Rusk. He was not a famous man, a famous minister or anything,
but he was a faithful servant of God. And the book that we
published, his biography, we gave the title to it of A Soul
Drawn Out. A Soul Drawn Out to the Hungry. And he comes from that 10th verse,
If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted
soul, then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness
be as the noonday. As I said, Rusk was not a minister
but he was a spiritual writer and many of his writings did
appear in the early copies of the gospel standard particularly
during the editorship of Mr. Philpott but those writings were
so rich and so full in gospel truth and abounded really in
the great promises of the gospel and there that man really gave
himself His soul was drawn out as it were. Two hungry souls. And I think of the comment that
John Gill makes on this 10th verse. He says the true minister
imparts not only the gospel but his own soul. The true minister
imparts not only the gospel but something of himself. as his
soul is drawn out. And we can think also of the
language of the Apostle, not just Dr. Gill, but the Apostle
Paul writing there in 1 Thessalonians 2.8 says to those believers,
So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have
imparted unto you not the gospel of God only, but also our own
souls, because ye were dear unto us. What a remarkable word then
is that we have in this 10th verse concerning the way in which
God conveys his truth to his people and brings his promises
to them. If thou draw out thy soul to
the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then shall thy light rise
in obscurity and thy darkness be as the noonday. But the whole passage that we've
read from verse 8 through to verse 12 is what I really want
us to consider because I think there's so much of gospel truth
in these verses. This morning we were looking
at the previous part, as I said just now, we were considering
those verses from 3 through to 7, and I thought to say something
with regards to God's past. God's past. in verse 6, is not this the fast
that I have chosen? And we thought of that and all
that was entailed they imagined that by their religious observances
and they did observe various fasts and they certainly kept
the different ordinances appointed in the book of Leviticus. We
read also this morning in the opening chapter, didn't we? and
how God rebukes them there at verse 11 following to what purpose
is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me saith the Lord I am full
of the burnt offerings of rams and the fatter fed beast and
I delight not in the blood of bullocks or of lambs or of he
goats when you come to appear before me who has required this
at your hand to tread my courts bring no more vain oblations
and so forth repeatedly rebuked them because they were the people
who had a form, a form of godliness, but they knew nothing of the
power of those things. They were satisfied with the
outward aspects and so it was with regards to what they imagined
were their fasts that seemed to put God in their debt, so
they thought. But now God is rebuking them
in that passage we were looking at earlier. from verse 3 following,
and God speaks of that that is the true fast, and what lies
behind it. It's spiritual in its very nature.
It involves, as I said this morning, that soul humiliation. Is it such a fast that I have
chosen, a day for a man to afflict his soul, the afflicting of the
soul, and the guy there at the end of that fifth verse is it to bow down his head as
a bulrush to spread sackcloth and ashes under him will thou
call this a fast an unacceptable day to the Lord and then God
goes on to say what the fast is that he has chosen and there
are certain positive aspects practical aspects to it as we
observed this morning there in verses 6 and 7 it involves serving
others as there is that soul humility as there is that denial
of self So there's a positive outworking of that in the readiness
to address the needs of others, to lose the bands of wickedness,
to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free. That
ye break every yoke, is it not to do thy bread to the hungry,
and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest a naked, that
thou cover him, and that thou hide not thyself from thine own
flesh." Very practical words spoken there then concerning
that farce that the Lord God himself delights in, soul humiliation,
the serving of others, and the true and the real seeking after
God. Or to make your voice heard to
the Lord on high. Where there is that real fast,
in there will be that true seeking after God. The fast will be associated
with prayer. The fast is not something in
and of itself. But where there is that laying
aside of legitimate things, laying aside food, it goes with doing
something instead, the seeking of God, the calling upon God.
As Daniel did. There in the great prayer that
we have recorded in the ninth chapter of the book. he seeks
God by prayer and fasting with sackcloth and ashes he gives
himself in over to that seeking of God while turning as it were
from that fast that is God's delight to consider something
of the feast of the gospel the promises that follow here in
verses 8 through to 12 then shall thy light break forth as the
morning and thine house shall spring forth speedily, and thy
righteousness shall go before thee. The glory of the Lord shall
be thy reward. Then shalt thou call, and the
Lord shall answer. Thou shalt cry, and he shall
say, Here I am." All what promises these are. So let us for a while
consider something of the promises that we have in these verses
contained in the section before us. the promises that God has
made, the language is rich and different figures various metaphors
are being used in the verses as they lie there on the page
of holy scripture they answer of course the various cases and
different needs of people but that is the way of God's words in the psalm we just sang that
hymn of what? it's really a paraphrase of the
part of the 119th Psalm including that 96th verse I have seen an
end of all perfection but thy commandment is exceeding broad
I have seen an end of all perfection but thy commandment is exceeding
broad there is such a breadth in the in the word of God how
it reaches man wherever he is and exposes man wherever he is
Man can never measure up to what God states here in His words. But God has given to us the Gospel,
the Gospel of His grace, exceeding great and precious promises.
And what do we have here? Well, we have the promise of
light. Then shall thy light break forth
as the morning. we read in the beginning of verse
8. And then again in that 10th verse
that I referred to. Then shall thy light rise in
obscurity, and thy darkness shall be as the noonday. Now, when the light first comes
to the people of God, they only witness really the darkness,
and they feel the darkness. that they're in, they have to,
as it were, grope their way along. They cannot see clearly, though
the light has come. Later in chapter 59 and verse
10, we grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if
we had no eyes. We stumble at noonday as in the
night. We are in desolate places as dead men, or when the light
begins to dawn. Isn't that what we see? We see
what we are. and how far from God we are and
how sad and solemn our condition is but that was the true light
the light of every man that cometh into the world, the light of
the Lord Jesus Christ the light of the world, I am the light
of the world he says he that followeth me shall not walk in
darkness but shall have the light of life and we need that light
to come, that light to shine, that light to lead and guide
and direct us in the narrow way that leads unto eternal life. But the light also is something
that is to shine in order that it might be seen by others. We can think for example of the
purpose of a lighthouse to warn the mariner against rocks and
shells, the danger that is at hand. And isn't that, in many
ways, the promise that is being made in this 10th verse? Then
shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness shall be as
the noonday. How the believer's light is to
shine before men. Think of the ministry of the
Lord Jesus again, and the words that Christ speaks in his sermon,
the Sermon on the Mount there, in that 5th chapter of Matthew.
In the language that we have at verse 14, following ye are
the light of the world, says Christ. A city that is set on
a hill cannot be hid, neither do men light a candle and put
it under a bush or put on a candlestick, and he giveth light unto all
that are in the house. Let your light so shine before
men that they may see your good works. and glorify your Father
which is in heaven." And isn't it those sort of good works that
are being spoken of when the Lord speaks of that fast in which
He delights, that fast that He has chosen, here in verses 6
and 7. Or there is a promise of light,
the light comes when the light comes into our souls and we're
brought to see that there is salvation only in one and that
is in the Lord Jesus Christ. then we are to follow him and
there will be those fruits those fruits of the Spirit that they
may see your good works it says or Christ himself says and glorify
your father and glorify your father which is in heaven there
is the source of all that good that has ever come into the soul
of the sinner nor the Lord will have his people, you see, sitting
together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. They will shine
as lights in this foreign world. There's a promised end of light.
There's a promise here of real spiritual prosperity. Look at the language that we
have here in the middle of the 8th verse. Thine house shall
spring forth speedily. or a promise of spiritual prosperity. They'll have an influence for
goods. That's what it says in verse
12, "...they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste
places, they shall raise up the foundations of many generations,
they shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of
paths to dwell in." or there will be fruit, the fruit of many
prayers. That's what it says, isn't it?
The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. Those who are the
followers of that light which is in the Lord Jesus Christ,
those whose souls are prospered by the gospel of His grace, how
they will not only serve their own generation but they'll serve
all the following generations they'll be the fruit of all their
prayers I often think of that one remembers gracious souls
one knew in previous days and maybe they prayed much over their
own families after their own children they'd see no real fruit
of those prayers they were saddened But I don't know, I think sometimes
maybe the fruit will come in previous generations. We know
that that praying breath is not wasted breath. They that shall
be of thee shall build the old waste places. Thou shalt raise
up the foundations of many generations, it says. Or we're not to be limited
with regards to what our expectation is concerning the answer to our
prayers. We might pray for children, for
grandchildren, for brothers, for sisters, for the multitude
of relations and friends and we wonder do we see any real
result of those prayers. Well we know not. We're praying
for the generations that follow. And there is that promise that
there will yet be some spiritual prosperity. Or there's a promise
here isn't there also of the Lord's wondrous provision. The Lord will provide. the Lord
will provide. Verse 11, the Lord shall guide
thee continually and satisfy thy soul in drought and make
fat thy bones and thou shalt be like a watered garden and
like a spring of water whose waters fail not. Oh, the Lord
makes that provision for His people. He never fails His people.
Oh, remember Abraham. there back in the 22nd of Genesis
where Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-Jireh.
And what does Jehovah-Jireh mean? It simply means the Lord will
provide. The Lord will provide. He called
it Jehovah-Jireh as it is said to this day in the Mount of the
Lord it shall be seen. which is seen, it's seen in the
mount of the Lord. And what is the great promise
of the Gospel? Well, we have that language previously here
in chapter 25 and verse 6. In this mountain shall the Lord
of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast
of wines on the lees, of fat things, full of marrow, of wines
on the lees, well refined. In this mountain, that's Mount
Zion. Isn't that the Church of the Living God? And the Lord
will make this feast for all nations. Oh, in the mount of
the Lord it shall be seen. The Lord will provide. And the Lord does provide for
all His people. My God, says the Apostle, shall
supply all your needs. All your needs. How does He supply
them? In the Lord Jesus Christ. It's
always by the Lord Jesus Christ. God is not withholding His Son,
His only begotten Son. Or will He not also with Him
freely grant us all things? He could grant us nothing better
than what He has already given in the person and work of His
dear Son. what will God then withhold?
He promises that He will make every provision. And there is
that promise of a righteousness. Thy righteousness shall go before
thee, we read here again in the 8th verse. Thy righteousness
shall go before thee. I referred to the 10th verse
in relation to that dear man John Rusk and something of his
writings and I've read some of them in the Old Gospel Standards
and they are full of marrow and they feed the soul now Rusk
was a poor man in many respects he was not a minister as I said
was of Danish extracts. His father was a Dane and his father settled in the East
End of London and was a sailmaker. And John Rosk followed his father
in that same profession. This is in the latter part of
the 18th, the early part of the 19th century when sailships of
course were still very much in use. so father and son they were
sailmakers but often after the Napoleonic wars there was not
the demand of course during those wars there were many ships required
and there was a great demand for sailmakers but when the trade
fell off our poor Rask fell into abject poverty but he was a man
who was attending the ministry of William Huntington, and as
he attended that ministry he did find food for his soul. But
not only food for his own soul, he certainly had an ability to
write, and he wrote many pieces, remarkable pieces. He'd obviously
had some little education, and he was a fine writer, and he
used to wonder whether he was going to eventually get called
into the work of the ministry. It never came to pass. But amongst
some of his expositions he does refer to a verse here in Isaiah
that I often think of in terms of dear John Rusk. It's those words I spoke or referred
to them previously in chapter 45 and verse 8 concerning righteousness. Drop down ye heavens from above. and let the skies pour down righteousness
let the earth open and let them bring forth salvation and let
righteousness spring up together I the Lord have created it or
is it not a prophecy of the Lord Jesus Christ is coming He's coming
to accomplish all righteousness He's coming as that one who is
made of a woman and made under the law who honours and magnifies
the law both in living and in dying honouring it in his death
of course by bearing all the penalty that was due to the sins
of the people whom he was a substitute for but honouring it also in
life by obeying every precinct and magnifying that law in a
life that was holy and harmless and undefiled and altogether
separate from all sins or the only truly righteous man that
ever lived. Although Adam, of course, created
in righteousness when he was made in God's image and created
after his likeness. But how quickly Adam fell, how
quickly Eve fell also. But then in the Gospel, and this
is a prophecy of the Gospel surely, drop down ye heavens from above
and let the skies pour down righteousness, let the earth open, let them
bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together.
I, the Lord, have created it. It's the work of the Lord, and
it's the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. As Paul says,
to be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness which
is of the Lord, but that which is through the faith of Christ,
the righteousness which is of God, by faith. And that's the righteousness
here, isn't it? And whose righteousness is it? It's the believer's righteousness. Thy righteousness shall go before
thee. Thy light shall break forth as
the morning, thine house shall spring forth speedily, and thy
righteousness shall go before thee. It's thine because it is
that that has been given by thy husband. What is his name? Oh, this is a name whereby he
shall be called the Lord, our righteousness. There in Jeremiah
23.6. And then just a few chapters
further on, Jeremiah 33.16, this is the name wherewith she
shall be called the Lord our righteousness the bride takes
the name of the bridegroom he is her righteousness and you
know that expression the Lord our righteousness it's the it's
the translation of the Hebrew Jehovah Sidkenu Jehovah Sidkenu
and I often again think of that lovely hymn of Robert Murray
McShay I know it's not in Gatsby's. I'm not sure what book it might
be found in. I think it might even be in Sankis.
I once was a stranger to grace and to God. I knew not my burden
nor felt not my load. When friends spoke in raptures
of Christ on the tree, Jehovah said, Can you? meant nothing
to me. And so it goes on. It's a lovely
hymn. by McShane, on Jehovah said, can you the Lord our righteousness. And here is the promise, it's
a gospel promise. Thy righteousness shall go before
thee. So many promises. The promise
of light, a promise of spiritual prosperity, a promise of every
provision, a promise of righteousness, a promise of protection. As we
see there at the end of that eighth verse. the glory of the
Lord shall be thy reward. The Lord is that one of course
who leads his people in the way. There in the book of Exodus when
the children of Israel come out of the bondage, it was Egypt
what do we see, in Exodus 13 the Lord God goes before them
in a pillar of cloud by the day and a pillar of fire at night
and so he continually leads them in the way and what is that pillar
that fiery cloudy pillar associated with its associated with the
the angel of the Lord it's the angel of the Lord who is there
in that pillar in the 23rd chapter there in in the book Exodus chapter
23 verse 20 God's promise behold I send an
angel before thee to keep thee in the way and to bring thee
into the place which I have prepared beware of him obey his voice
provoke him not for He will not pardon your transgressions for
My Name is in Him. Why the Cloudy Fiery Pillar directs
us to Christ who is the Angel of the Lord, who is the Eternal
Son of the Eternal Father. And what does He say here? Beware of Him, obey His voice,
Provoke him not, for he will not pardon your transgressions,
for my name is in him. Oh, he is God of gods, very God
of very gods, begotten, not made, of one substance with the Father,
and is one who can pardon sins. So be careful not to provoke
him, lest he pardon not your transgressions, this is the one
who goes before and remember what happens with the children
of Israel when the armies of the Pharaoh would pursue the
angel comes before the camp of the Hebrews and the camp of the
Egyptians he goes from being before them and he is behind
he is their rearward he is the one who is keeping them safe
the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward or what provisions
the Lord God speaks of then here in this passage? They're gospel
promises. It's that feast of fat things.
And then also here, isn't there a promise of God's very presence?
I know in a sense we can say what I've just said concerning
that angel of the Lord who is in the fiery cloudy pillar, that's
the presence of the Lord. But what do we see? How God is
pleased to answer. He answers His people. Then shalt
thou call, and the Lord shall answer. Thou shalt cry, and He
shall say, Here I am. There's the answer of prayer,
first of all. None seek His face in vain. None cry, and He doesn't answer
their call. Why, what does He say in another
part of this prophecy in chapter 65 and verse 24, that great statement,
before they call I will answer. While they are yet speaking I
will hear. Before they call. He answers
before ever we open our mouth in prayer. It's not that we come and expect
to be heard for how much speaking. It's because we recognise that
prayer is God's own ordinance and He knows what's in our hearts.
He knows before ever we speak to Him. But we seek to do honour
to that provision that God has made whereby we who were in that
state of alienation and separation and enemies now brought to made
nigh by the blood of the Lord Jesus. All we answers He answers
prayer. But He more than answers, because
here we see how He promises His very presence. He promises Himself. Thou shalt cry and He shall say,
Here I am. Here I am. When we come to the last chapter
of Scripture, there in, well, the last but one chapter, I suppose,
not chapter 22 of the Revelation, but chapter 21. And we have something
of a description, of course, of heaven in that chapter. And
what makes heaven such a glorious place? Well, it's what we have
there in verse 3 of that chapter. John says, I heard a great voice
out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with
me. and He will dwell with them. Oh, that's what makes heaven.
It's God's presence. It's all that the children of
Israel had in type in the Old Testament. What was the glory
of the tabernacle? It was such a kind of glory.
It was God who had said that He would come and He would dwell
in the midst, in the Holy of Holies. There was His throne. There was the Mercy Seat. the
glorious presence of God how sacred it was only once in the
year could the high priest and only the high priest ever enter
before that throne of grace that mercy seat and he must always
go with the blood of sacrifice the great voice out of heaven
saying behold the tabernacle of God is with men he will dwell
with them and he dwells with his people forever and that's
what makes it heaven Oh, it's the presence of God, it's the
presence of God as He has fully and finally revealed Himself
in the person and work of His Son, and He has gone before to
prepare a place for His people, that where He is, there they
may be also. And all these promises, of course,
all that we have in these verses, the promises of God in the Lord
Jesus Christ, they're all Yah, and they're all Amen. to the
glory of God by us God's promise and how personal
how personal it is when we read through this passage right from
verse 8 to verse 12 it's those singular pronouns that continually
keep coming forth Thou, They, Thine, Thy it's personal I think of that question that
the Lord put to the man born blind whom he had given sight
to dust. Thou believe on the Son of God. It's personal. And that's why
I like the retention of these singular pronouns. I know we're
not wont to use them now in our everyday speech. I suppose there
are some parts of the country Country areas, I'm told up in
the Yorkshire Dales, they might still use these and those. But you know the significance
of them. It's distinguishing the singular from the plural.
You is the plural. Thou is the singular. And here
we see how personal it is. and it all has to do with the
soul as I was attempting to say this morning a day for a man
to afflict his soul oh that's a true fast soul humiliation,
soul affliction denying self serving others how personal it is And think
of the language of the Apostle. We mentioned it before there
at the end of Romans 7, that great chapter which we time and
again feel we have to thank God that it's ever been left on record
in Holy Scripture. How that the believer so feels
that conflict in himself. The old nature, the new nature,
the flesh lusting against the spirit, the spirit lusting against
the flesh. and thou poor cries out all wretched
man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death
where is deliverance I thank God through Jesus Christ our
Lord so then I myself with the mind serve the Lord of God and
with the flesh the Lord of sin but I like the emphasis and it's
so so much there in that last verse of Romans 7 I myself he
says that's the real me all the real me is the new me the man
of grace yes I have an old nature but I myself with the mind I
do serve the Lord of God but all the flesh it still wants
to serve that Lord of sin it doesn't want to serve God but
I'm not a split personality real religion is so personal
and so God's promises come to us in that personal way and how
that fasting that we were speaking of this morning involves such
soul affliction and self-humiliation but how God responds to all of
that because he comes to us with all these great blessings of
the gospel and look at the language How there's a connection, you
see, between the paragraphs. We have that paragraph from verse
3 to 7, and then we come to this next paragraph that we've sought
to say a little of tonight. How does it begin then? Then
shall thy light break forth as the morning. And again in verse
9, Then shall thou call, and the Lord shall answer, and thou
shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. there's a consequence, there's
a connection it's as we know that real fast that the Lord
has chosen that we come into the possession
of the promises that self-affliction, that soul-affliction that denying
of self God takes account and God ministers
so graciously to those who heed His voice and desire
to walk in obedience to His precepts and His commandments well this
is what we see here He says He will satisfy thy soul in drought
and make thy bones fat there in verse 11 the Lord shall guide
thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in droughts, and make
fat thy bones, and there shall be like a watered garden, and
like a spring of water, whose waters fail not." All what promises
are these then that the Lord is pleased to give His people.
He will satisfy them. Or that we might be those then
who would Heed the call of the gospel of His grace taste and
see that the Lord is good and blessed is that man that trusteth
in Him. And how solemn how solemn those
passages that we read remember in the passage in in Matthew
22 there was a man at the wedding feast without the wedding garment He didn't have that robe of righteousness
that the Lord gives to his people, those garments of salvation.
He crept in as it were. But also in the other passage
that we read, there in Luke 14, and those who made light of the
gracious invitation that the Lord had issued What does he say at the end?
We read those verses, the passage through from 1 to verse 24. The Lord said unto the servant,
Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come
in, that my house may be filled. For I say unto you, that none
of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper. Those
who were bidden, those who made light of it, those who refused,
they taste nothing. they taste nothing of the provision
that the Lord God has made or that we might not be found in
such company as that but know what it is to taste and to feed
upon the good things of grace and to feed upon the gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ as we come to his word desiring that the
Lord himself might come and not only inform our minds that satisfy
our souls or that we might be those then who would come to
his word and read it and meditate in it and that it might ever
be our delight and that we might taste and see how good the Lord
is well the Lord be pleased to bless this portion of his word
to us for his namesake