or the Lord helping me, let us
turn to the book of Isaiah, the prophet. We shall consider Isaiah
chapter 42, verse one. Behold, my servants whom I uphold,
mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth. I have put my spirit upon him.
He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. Behold my servant
whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth. I have
put my spirit upon him. He shall bring forth judgment
to the Gentiles. Now we began to consider this
verse on a previous occasion two weeks ago. Actually today,
two weeks ago, we began to consider this verse and we saw on that
occasion that this verse and the verses following are speaking
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, there are some who deny
this. Some have suggested that the
prophet Isaiah is speaking of himself. Some have suggested
that he's speaking of Cyrus, the Persian. There are some who
have suggested that he's speaking of national Israel. But, you know, it does not matter
what men might think, or what men might say, because we have
the testimony of the Holy Spirit we have the testimony of the
Holy Ghost Matthew chapter 12 from verse 14 then the Pharisees
went out and held a council against him how they might destroy him
But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence, and great
multitudes followed him, and he healed them all, and charged
them that they should not make him known, that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by Isaias, that's Isaiah the prophet, saying, Behold
my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved, in whom my soul is
well pleased. I have put my spirit upon him.
He shall show judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive
nor cry, neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not
quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. And in his name
shall the Gentiles trust. Matthew is here quoting under
the direct inspiration of the Spirit of God, he is quoting
from the book of Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 42 and verses
1 to 4. These verses are clearly referring
to the Christ of God. The Holy Ghost himself teaches
us that these verses are to be applied to the Lord Jesus Christ. And we saw last time, I trust,
something of the marvellous construction of this book of Isaiah the prophet.
We are not as the modernists who cut it into pieces and say,
ah well, various parts of the book were written by various
people. We reject the hypothesis of a deutero-Isaiah, or second
Isaiah. No, our eyes have been opened
to see the unity of this book, that it was written by one prophet
under the inspiration of the Spirit of God. Faith sees the
unity of this book, and faith sees that it is God-breathed. And this is to be discerned even
in the construction of the book. There are three parts to this
book, two clear prophetic divisions, separated by a historical narrative,
in chapters 36 to 39. The first major division of the book,
from chapter 1 to chapter 35, is a record of the failure of
the Jews under the Old Covenant, and of God's righteous judgment.
against that nation, because of their transgression of that
covenant, together with the promise of a better covenant. In the
second major division of the book, from chapter 40, following
the historical interlude, chapters 36 to 39, from chapter 40 we
see the bringing in of that better covenant. We see the establishing
of a new Israel. not after the flesh, but after
the spirit, comprising both Jew and Gentile. Now that's not to
say that there was no gospel promises in the first part of
Isaiah's prophecy. Of course there were. Just as
throughout the Old Testament, throughout the whole of the Old
Testament, under the legal dispensation, there were intimations of gospel
mercy. As Paul says in Romans, but now
the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being
witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness
of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon
all them that believe. Isaiah, through the Spirit, teaches
us law and gospel. Before faith came, we were kept
under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards
be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster
to bring us unto Christ that we might be justified by faith."
So it is in our experience. And so the prophet Isaiah shows
us by the Spirit, before the light and liberty of the gospel,
there must be the ministration of death, the condemnation of
the law, Before the good news of the gospel, there must be
conviction of sin. Before the manifestation of Christ to
our souls, there must be the manifestation of our own sinful
hearts, and what they really are by nature. You see, the gospel
is good news for sinners, convinced and convicted under the law.
And that's what Isaiah shows us by the gracious teaching of
God the Holy Ghost. I like Albert Bond's comment
in his preface to the first edition of his commentary on Isaiah.
He says this. No man can be a close student of Isaiah and remain
an infidel. No man can study his writings
with prayer who will not find his faith confirmed, his heart
warmed, his mind elevated and purified, and his affections
more firmly fixed on the beauty of the everlasting truth of God.
Or may it be so with us this morning as we consider this portion
of Isaiah the prophet May our faith be conferred. May our hearts
be warmed. May our minds be elevated and
purified. May our affections be more firmly
fixed on the beauty of the everlasting truth of God. Here is the everlasting
truth of God. We've previously seen how this
second major division of the prophet Isaiah, which commences
at chapter 40, begins with a word of mercy and of forgiveness. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,
saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem,
and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity
is pardoned. For she hath received of the
Lord's hand double for all her sins. And then in the following
verses we see the ministry of John the Baptist. Verse 3 of chapter 14, the voice
of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall
be exhorted, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low,
and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places
plain, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh
shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken
it." Well, here is the beginning of
the gospel of Jesus Christ. As Mark tells us, The beginning
of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as it is written
in the Prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face,
which shall prepare thy way before thee, the voice of one crying
in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his
path straight. John did baptise in the wilderness
and preached the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Luke
again, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, plainly tells
us that these words in Isaiah chapter 40 are to be applied
to John the Baptist. Luke chapter 3 from verse 2,
the word of God came unto John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness
and he came into all the country about Jordan preaching the baptism
of repentance for the remission of sins as it is written in the
book of the words of Esaias the prophet. the voice the same the
voice of one crying in the wilderness prepare ye the way of the Lord
make his path straight every valley shall be filled and every
mountain and hill shall be brought low and the crooked shall be
made straight and the rough places shall be made smooth and all
flesh shall see the salvation of God here is the beginning
of the prophetic the second prophetic part of the book of Isaiah we
see here In Isaiah chapter 40, the beginning of the gospel of
Jesus Christ, the son of God. And we noted last time as we
came to chapter 42, the similarity between the first part of this
verse, which is our text, and Matthew chapter three in verse
17, where we read of the baptizing of the Lord Jesus Christ by John. and there in Matthew chapter
3 verse 16 we read and Jesus when he was baptized went up
straightway out of the water and lo the heavens were opened
unto him and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove
and lighting upon him and lo a voice from heaven saying this
is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased there in Matthew 3.17 We see the voice of the Father
testifying of the Son. And in the previous verse, the
Holy Spirit is seen descending like a dove and lighting upon
him. And so we read here, in the words of our text, we read
of the Father testifying of the Son. Behold my servant, whom
I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth. Matthew renders
it, in whom my soul is well pleased, in whom I am well pleased. I
have put my spirit upon him. I have put my spirit upon him. There is the Holy Spirit descending
like a dove and lighting upon him. It was after the baptism
of the Lord Jesus Christ that the Lord Jesus commenced his
public ministry. And so we read here in Isaiah
42, behold my servant, whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth,
I have put my spirit upon him. He shall bring forth judgment
to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up,
nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed
shall he not break, and the smoking flats shall he not quench. He
shall bring forth judgment utter truth. He shall not fail nor
be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth, and
the isles shall wait for his law. Thus saith God the Lord,
he that created the heavens and stretched them out, he that spread
forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it, he that giveth
breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk
therein, I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will
hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant
of the people, for a light of the Gentiles, to open the blind
eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that
sit in darkness out of the prison house. Here is the ministry of the Lord
Jesus Christ set before us following his baptism. Here, in Isaiah
42, and then as we proceed through the following chapters of Isaiah,
we see the death of Christ, don't we? We read of the substitutionary
atonement. We read of his resurrection.
We read of his intercession for transgressors. We read of the
calling of the Gentiles, and so on. The second prophetic part
of Isaiah the prophet might well be called the Gospel according
to Isaiah. The Spirit of Christ was in him.
and testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the
glory that should follow. Now we said last time that there
are seven truths concerning our Lord Jesus that we read of here
in Isaiah 42 verse 1 and we considered three of them. Christ is here
revealed to us as the servant of Jehovah. He willingly took
the place of a servant when he came in the likeness of sinful
flesh. as Paul writes to the Philippians
who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be
equal with God but made himself of no reputation and took upon
him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men. The father had given him a work
to do and that work was to render a perfect obedience to all the
holy law of God, and then to make satisfaction to the justice
of God on behalf of his people, by suffering death in their room
instead. This was his great work of redemption,
which he perfectly accomplished, as his glorious resurrection
from the dead clearly testifies. And secondly, we see here that
Christ was upheld in that great work which he was to accomplish.
He was upheld as a man. For he is, as Athanasius says,
equal to the Father as touching his Godhead, and inferior to
the Father as touching his manhood. And he was upheld by the omnipotence
of God. But we also noted that these
words, whom I uphold, could also be translated, upon whom I lean. And this is how Calvin translates
it. Behold, my servants, I will lean upon him. As the master
would lean or rely on his faithful servant to perform all the duties
that were entrusted to him, so the father has entrusted to the
son the great work of redemption. As it is written in the Psalms,
and we sang it in the metrical version just now, I have laid
help upon one that is mighty. And Jesus himself testified,
for I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but
the will of him that sent me. And then we saw here in this
place that Isaiah is here described as mine elect, mine elect. He was appointed to be the mediator
of the covenant before the foundation of the world. He was appointed
to be the Saviour and Redeemer of all those who had given to
Him in that eternal covenant before the world began. And he
testifies in the Proverbs, I was set up from everlasting, from
the beginning, or ever the earth was. Again, in Psalm 89, I have
made a covenant with my Chosen, my Chosen. Peter speaks of Christ
as being disallowed indeed of men. but chosen of God and precious. Oh, he is the Father's first
elect and all the church was chosen in him. Christ be my first
elect, he said, then chose our souls in Christ our head before
he gave the mountains birth or laid foundations for the earth. Well, this was a little of what
we considered last time. Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine
elect. Let us now proceed then, I trust
with the Lord's help and blessing to consider the rest of the verse. In whom my soul delighteth, I
have put my spirit upon him. He shall bring forth judgment
to the Gentiles. We see here that the father delights
in the son. The father delights in the son. Or as it is written in Matthew,
the father is well pleased in his son. Behold my servant whom
I have chosen, my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased.
We read in Matthew, the father delights in and is well pleased
in the son from everlasting, eternally. From all eternity,
the father delights in and is well pleased in the person of
his only begotten son. And so Christ, as the wisdom
of God testifies in Proverbs chapter 8, Then I was by him
as one brought up with him, and I was daily his delight. The
Father loveth the Son, we read. We read it twice in John's Gospel.
The Father loveth the Son. And so we read here in Isaiah,
Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect in whom my soul delighteth. or my beloved, in whom my soul
is well pleased, as it is in Matthew. The Father delights
in the Son eternally, and the Father delights and is well pleased
in the Son in time, that is, in His incarnation. When He came
into this world, the Father is well pleased in the sacred and
sinless humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember when he
was baptized in Jordan, and lo a voice from heaven saying, this
is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased. The father testifies
that he delights and is well pleased in the sacred and sinless
humanity of his dear son, the son of his love. The son of his
love. Oh, if the son had come in sinful
flesh, then the father would not, and he could not, have delighted
in him. Paul says in Romans, so then
they that are in the flesh cannot please God. Now the flesh there
is referring to the carnal fallen nature of mankind. Ah, but Christ, we read, came
not in sinful flesh but in the likeness of sinful flesh. He
is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners. Oh, he
has a real human nature, but that human nature is not liable
to sin. It's a nature which is not capable
of sinning. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ
is the impeccable Savior. You know the meaning of the word
impeccable? Literally, it means not able to sin. Not able to
sin. But how could this be? How could
the Lord Jesus have a real human nature which is not liable to
sin? Well, this was accomplished by
means of the virgin birth. By means of the virgin birth,
Christ's human nature was untainted by Adam's transgression. He was
untainted by original sin. and so the father is well pleased
in his son for his works sake because he has perfectly fulfilled
all the righteous requirements of the law of God who went about
doing good as we read in the book of Acts in Acts chapter
10 verse 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Ghost and with power who went about doing good
and healing all that were oppressed of the devil for God was with
him. The miracles which he did are
an evidence that God delighted in him. Again in Acts, Acts chapter
2 verse 22. Ye men of Israel Hear these words,
Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles
and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you
as you yourselves also know. Remember the testimony of the
man that was born blind in John's gospel, John 9 verse 31. Now
we know that God heareth not sinners. But if any man be a
worshipper of God, and doeth his will him he heareth. Since the world began was it
not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born
blind. If this man were not of God he could do nothing. His miracles attested to the
fact that he was of God, that he was from God, that God was
with him. and that God delighted in him.
He was a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders
and signs which God did by him. Oh, he positively fulfilled the
law of God who went about doing good. And he negatively fulfilled
the law of God too, who did no sin. Not either was guile found
in his mouth. Now these things could be, can
be said of none other This cannot be said of you and it cannot
be said of me. Romans 3, we have the testimony
of the apostle, don't we? As it is written, there is none
righteous, no not one. There is none that understandeth.
there is none that seeketh after God they are all gone out of
the way they are together become unprofitable there is none that
doeth good no not one Jesus said there is none good
but one that is God there is none good but one that is God Because we are the sinful descendants
of Adam and Eve, we cannot but sin. We can of our own selves
do nothing that is really and truly good in the sight of a
holy God. We are incapable of doing good
are but Christ, by virtue of his sinless human nature, and
by virtue of his deity, for he is God. He is incapable of sinning. Incapable of sinning. He can
only do good. And he only can do good. There is none good but one. That
is God. Isaiah describes all our supposed
good works, doesn't he? In chapter 64. In verse six he says, but we
are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are
as filthy rats, and we all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities
like the wind have taken us away, and there is none that calleth
upon my name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee,
for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us because
of our iniquities. Ah, but we read of Christ's righteousness
here in Isaiah 42 and verse 21, the Lord is well
pleased for his righteousness sake. He will magnify the law
and make it honourable. The father delights in the perfect
law keeping of his son. who came as his servant and the
father delights in and is well pleased with the offering which
Christ has made for the sins of his people and so Paul writes
to the Ephesians and walk in love as Christ also have loved
us and have given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice
to God for a sweet smelling savour. Christ's offering, Christ's sacrifice,
was to God a sweet-smelling savour. He delighted in it. He was well
pleased with it. The sacrifice was accepted, and
this was demonstrated by the resurrection of the Lord Jesus
Christ from the dead. Sin has been atoned for. Satisfaction has been made to
divine justice. This is the good news of the
Gospel. It is a finished work, a complete, a definite atonement. Although the Lord God had instituted
all the sacrifices of the Old Testament, they were not good
enough, you know. They could never take away sin. As Paul
says in Hebrews, for it is not possible that the blood of bulls
and of goats should take away sins. And then he goes on to
say there in Hebrews 10, quoting Psalm 40, sacrifice and offering
and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not neither
hadst pleasure therein which are offered by the law.
Oh God had no pleasure in those sacrifices which were offered
under the law they merely pointed to the great sacrifice which
was to come the great sacrifice to end all sacrifices which was
to be offered by Christ In this sacrifice, in Christ's sacrifice,
God is well-pleased. It is to him a sweet-smelling
savour. The Father is well-pleased in
the person and in the work of his dear Son. Behold, my servant,
whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth. And again, we note, as we have
done previously, that the Lord Jesus Christ is the place where
God and His people meet. The Father delights in the Son
and in His finished work. Well, so do all those who are
called by grace. Hear the bride in the song of
Solomon. As the apple tree among the trees
of the woods, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under
his shadow with great delight and his fruit was sweet to my
taste. Oh, the Father delights in Christ
and in His finished work, and all the elect of God delight
in Christ and in His finished work. Here is the meeting place
of God and His saints, for there is one God and one mediator between
God and men, the man Christ Jesus. And of course the Father delights
in all those who are in Christ, He delights in all those whom
the Son has redeemed. The Lord thy God in the midst
of thee is mighty. He will save. He will rejoice
over thee with joy. He will rest in His love. He will joy over thee with singing. Oh, how God delights in His purchased
people and how His purchased people delight in Christ. We see here in the words of our
text, Christ as the anointed one, behold my servant whom I
have chosen my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased I will
put my spirit upon him. I will put my spirit upon him.
The servant of Jehovah is anointed with the spirit of Jehovah and
that of course is the real meaning of the word Christ. The word
Christ is really a transliteration from the Greek Christos and Christos
is a translation of the Hebrew word Messiah. It means anointed
one. Throughout the Old Testament
we read of prophets and priests and kings being anointed with
oil. Now that oil was emblematic of
the Holy Spirit. The offices of prophet, priest
and king all pointed to him who is the mediator of the new covenant,
who is the prophet, who is the priest, who is the king of his
people, the son of the living God. who came as the servant
of God, he's qualified for his office as mediator by the Holy
Ghost. The Lord Jesus Christ testified
in the synagogue, didn't he, at Nazareth. Quoting from Isaiah,
the spirit of the Lord is upon me. because he hath anointed
me to preach the gospel to the poor. He hath sent me to heal
the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives,
and recovering a sight to the blind, to set at liberty them
that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord."
The Lord Jesus Christ is the anointed prophet of the Lord. For he whom God hath sent speaketh
the words of God, for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto
him. He is the anointed prophet. And
Jesus is the anointed priest too of the Lord. It was through
the eternal Spirit that he offered himself without spot to God. And he is the Lord's anointed
King. the kings of the earth set themselves
and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against
his anointed we read in Psalm 2 and then in that Psalm we go
on to read yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion
Jesus is the anointed king of Zion and as the head of the church
which is his body he gives the Holy Spirit to all who are the
mystical members of his body It is like the precious ointment
upon the head that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard,
that went down to the skirts of his garments. This is the anointing that John
speaks of in his first epistle. But ye have an unction from the
Holy One, as ye know all things. He goes on to say in that same
chapter, 1 John chapter 2, But the anointing which ye have received
of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you.
But as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth,
and is no lie, even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in
him. Now the words unction and anointing are both the same word
in the Greek, chrisma, chrisma. We get the word chrism from it,
chrism. And this is the only chrism we
need. We do not need the chrism of
Rome, or of the Greek Orthodox, with their holy water, their
holy oil, we need none of that, no. And we do not need the so-called
second blessing of the Charismatics either. We have that anointing which
we have received of Him, an unction from the Holy One. And that anointing
teaches us to separate from error and to cleave to the truth. It
teaches us to hate. Yes, it does. It teaches us to
hate every false way. Every true Christian has this
anointing. Now, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he
is none of his. Mark the words. Most solemn they
are. You may go to church, you may
go to chapel, but if you have not the Spirit of Christ, you
are none of his. As the head has that anointing,
so every member of the body receives in some measure a portion of
that anointing. as John the Baptist testified
and prophesied concerning Christ, I indeed baptise you with water,
but he shall baptise you with the Holy Ghost. And then, early
this morning, the sixth truth that we see here concerning Christ
is that he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. Behold,
my servant whom I uphold, mine elect in whom my soul delighteth,
I have put my spirit upon him, he shall bring forth judgment
to the Gentiles. Matthew renders it, he shall
show judgment to the Gentiles. Calvin translates it like this,
he shall exhibit judgment to the Gentiles. So how does Christ
exhibit or show judgment to the Gentiles? Well, the word judgment
speaks of government. You know the book of Judges.
It records the history of those whom God raised up to judge or
to govern Israel. Calvin says, by the word judgment,
the prophet means a well-regulated government. and not a sentence
which is pronounced by a judge on the bench. For to judge means
among the Hebrew writers to command, to rule, to govern. That's what
we have here. You see it in the Psalms, don't
we? In the Crucifixion Psalm. Psalm 22, verse 27, all the ends
of the world shall remember and turn unto
the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship
before thee. For the kingdom is the Lord's, and he is the
governor among the nations." He is the governor among the
nations. Christ is given to be the head over all things to the
Church. He is that man-child who was
to rule all nations with a rod of iron. We read of him again
there in the book of the Revelation. Revelation 19. And out of his mouth goeth a
sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations, and
he shall rule them with a rod of iron. And he treadeth the
winepress and fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. He hath
on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of kings
and Lord of lords. We see Christ exhibiting judgment
to the Gentiles by the sovereign disposals of his providence,
acting as the head over all things to the church, the governor among
the nations. But more than this, we see the
Lord Jesus Christ showing judgment, or bringing forth judgment, to
the Gentiles in calling elect Gentiles to repentance. That is, to savingly repent. We read in the book of Acts,
him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a prince and
a saviour for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of
sins. But then, we read later, when
Peter rehearsed how the Gentiles were converted and how the Holy
Ghost fell on them as the word was preached, the brethren that
were there at Jerusalem said, then hath God also to the Gentiles
granted repentance unto life. And we see it here in Isaiah
42, don't we? In verse 6, I the Lord have called
thee in righteousness and I will hold thine hand and will keep
thee and give thee for a covenant of the people for a light of
the Gentiles. A light of the Gentiles. Here is the father speaking to
the son as he comes into the world as the servant of Jehovah.
And it is in this sense that Christ is the savior of the world. The word judgment may also refer
to the word of God, of course. In Psalm 19, which speaks of
the law of the Lord, the word of God, it says, the judgments
of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. So this word judgment
can also refer to His word, and this interpretation is confirmed
for us in verse 4. He shall not fail nor be discouraged till
he has set judgment in the earth and the isles shall wait for
his law. The isles shall wait for his
law. This judgment which he brings forth to the Gentiles is his
law, that is, it's his word, his doctrine, it's his gospel.
And again we see it in Revelation, in Revelation chapter 10, there
we see Christ as the angel of the covenant. And I saw another
mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud, and a rainbow
was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his
feet as pillars of fire, and he had in his hand a little book
open. A little book open. And John is told to take that
book, isn't he, and to eat it up. which he does, and then he's
told, thou must prophesy again before many peoples and nations
and tongues and kings. Here is Christ, you see, bringing
forth judgment to the Gentiles. And you know, he brings forth
judgment to the Gentiles whenever and wherever his word, his gospel,
is preached among the Gentiles. Why? His word is being fulfilled
this very day He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles."
It is by His Word that He governs His people. It's by His Word
that He governs His people. His Word, which proceeds out
of His mouth as a sharp, two-edged sword, is the Christians' and
the Church's sole rule of faith and practice. As the 1689 Baptist
Confession of Faith rightly says, the Holy Scripture Mark the words,
the Holy Scripture is the only sufficient, certain and infallible
rule of all saving knowledge, faith and obedience. By his word, he sanctifies his
people. As the God-man mediator, he prays
the Father for his people, sanctify them through thy truth, thy word
is truth. It is that word, as it is applied
by the power of the Holy Ghost, which works effectually in the
hearts of all the elect, bringing them to true faith, bringing
them to real repentance, and sanctifying them. For this cause also thank we
God without ceasing, because when ye receive the word of God,
which he heard of us, he received it not as the word of men, but
as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh
also in you that believe. Now this brings us to our conclusion.
And to the seventh thing that we see here concerning the Lord
Jesus Christ, and that is this. He is to be beheld. He is to be beheld. Behold my
servant, whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth. I have put my spirit upon him.
He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. Now we have that word behold
many times in the scriptures. It's a word that's used many
times throughout all the scriptures. And I did a quick check on the
computer. And apparently this word is used 1275 times. Behold. And that's not
including all the derivatives. Beholdest, beheld and so on.
And of course it's a word which is often used in connection with
the Lord Jesus Christ. Zechariah 6 verse 12 for example.
Behold the man whose name is the branch. Behold the man whose
name is the branch. Now it seems that there is an
allusion to this scripture at the Lord's trial and at his humiliation
before the Jews. John chapter 19 verse 5, Then
came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple
robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man Behold the man. Now, the word pilot in those
verses, that verse, is actually in italics in our authorised
version. It's not there in the original,
it's been supplied by the translators. And so that scripture could be
read, Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns and
the purple robe, and saith unto them, Behold the man. In which
case, it would appear that the Lord
is pointing to Zechariah chapter 6 verse 12 as being fulfilled
in himself. Behold the man whose name is
the branch and he shall grow up out of his place and he shall
build the temple of the Lord even he shall build the temple
of the Lord and he shall bear the glory and shall sit and rule
upon his throne. We see the word behold used of
course in connection with the Lord Jesus Christ in the ministry
of John the Baptist. Behold the Lamb of God which
taketh away the sin of the world. Christ is to be beheld. He is
to be beheld by faith. The word behold means to see,
it means to look upon, to consider, to examine. He is given for a
light of the Gentiles. Now a light is something which
is to be seen, is it not? Especially in the darkness. And
do we not increasingly feel the darkness of this world? And do
we not increasingly feel the darkness of this present world
to be increasing? I know I do, that's how I feel.
You know, the motto of the city of Portsmouth is, Heaven's Light,
Our Guide. You used to see it on the city
crest. You very rarely see it nowadays, of course, for some
reason, I wonder why. But it's a reference to the city's
nautical history and its connection with the sea. Sailors in the
past would use the stars in the night sky for navigation. Heaven's
Light, Our Guide. There's also a spiritual reference,
of course, in the motto. Befitting a city and a nation
professing the Christian religion. Heaven's light, our guide. Well, for those of us who are
the Lord's people here in this island city, heaven's light is
still our guide. We look to Jesus. And we continue
to look to Jesus as our city and our nation and the world
plunges deeper and deeper into darkness. We believe the promise
of the Lord Jesus Christ because He has set judgment in our hearts
and we wait for His law. I am the light of the world.
He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness but shall have
the light of life. Oh, He is our guide. He is our
guide and He will guide us through all the darkness of this present
world and He will deliver us from all the sinfulness of our
sinful hearts too and He will bring us at last onto our desired
haven to heaven itself. for we are ever dependent upon
his grace. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
be with you all. May the Lord bless his word to
us each. May he grant us grace indeed to behold him by a true
and a living faith. Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth. I have put my spirit upon him,
He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. Amen.