Let us turn to the word of God
having sought his blessing upon us before we turn to him again
in prayer let us turn to his word in Isaiah chapter 66 and
verse 14 Isaiah 66 14 And when ye see this, your heart
shall rejoice, and your bone shall flourish like an herb,
and the hand of the Lord shall be known toward his servants,
and his indignation toward his enemies. I really want to address
the theme that we have mentioned in this verse, in that little
clause towards the end, that the hand of the Lord shall be
known toward his servants, the Lord's hand on his people. In that chapter that we read,
that second chapter in the book of Nehemiah, of course, there
are those two occasions in verse 8 and in verse 18 where he acknowledges
the Lord's good hand upon him as he's engaged in that great
work of the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. It was all
under the good hand of his gods. Now this verse where our text
is found, this 14th verse, really marks a transition in this particular
chapter. In the previous part of the chapter,
certainly from verse 2 following, verse 5 following,
we have various promises that God is making to his believing
people. There, at the end of verse 2
for example, we read to this man, Will I look even to him
that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my words? And then in verse 5, Hear the
word of the Lord, ye that tremble at his words, how God addresses
these tremblers, these people who are awed in his presence,
those who are favoured to receive his words in verity. And then again how he speaks
such comfortable words to them at verse 12 For thus saith the Lord, Behold,
I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the
Gentiles like a flowing stream. 13 Then shall ye suck, ye shall
be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees, as
one whom his mother comforteth. 14 So will I comfort you, and
ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. And we need to remember of course
that Isaiah has many words to speak to those who were involved
in the restoration of the Jews after the Babylonian captivity.
Doubtless a man like Isaiah might find some comfort here with regards
to what is being said concerning the comforts of Jerusalem there
in verse 13. And so previous to the 14th verse
we we see God, as it were, addressing his believing people and giving
them encouragement in the way of various promises. But then,
subsequent to this 15th verse, we have those threatenings that
God addresses to the unbelievers. The end of verse 14 is indignation. We read toward his enemies for
behold the Lord will come with fire and with his chariots like
a whirlwind to render his anger with fury and his rebuke with
flames of fire for by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead
with all flesh and the slain of the Lord shall be many and
so 14th Verse 14, as it were, it's the
turning point in the verse, and I want us to consider what God
is saying in the former part, previous to that verse, and the
significance of what we have here in the clause, and the hand
of the Lord shall be known toward His servants. The good hands
of God on his people. And we see here how that God's
hand is to be seen. And when ye see this, it says, your
heart shall rejoice and your bones shall flourish like an
herb and the hand of the Lord shall be known toward his servants. Of course what we have here is
what's called anthropomorphic language, because God doesn't
have a literal hand. God doesn't have a body. Christ
tells us God is a spirit, and the true worshippers worship
the Father in spirit and in truth. And so when we read of the hand
of the Lord, we're to understand it in a figurative sense. It's
a reference really to the power that belongs unto God. Back in chapter 8 and verse 11,
the Prophet says, "...the Lord spake thus to me with a strong
hand." Our God's words came to Isaiah with great power Doubtless
he was not unlike Jeremiah, God's word was in his bones. He had
to speak those words that the Spirit was inspiring in him. He was the Lord's servant, he
was the Lord's prophet, and so he would speak, thus and thus
saith the Lord. God's and then is associated
with his strength and with his power and wasn't that demonstrated
in the way in which God delivered the children of Israel out of
the bondage that they were suffering when they were there in the land
of Egypt in the days of Moses in Deuteronomy Deuteronomy 26 Moses says, the Lord brought
us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm,
and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders. And he has brought us into this
place and has given us this land, even a land that floweth with
milk and honey. How he is acknowledging that
their deliverance from Egypt, journeying through the wilderness
their entrance into the promised land was all under the mighty
and the powerful hand of God and the psalmist rejoices in
the sign there in Psalm 136 with a strong hand and with a stretched
out hands. That was how the Lord
had delivered them. And we see it in the various
signs and wonders that God did, the plagues that he visited upon
the Egyptians. In Exodus chapter 8 we have mention
of the third of those plagues, the plague of lice, and how it's
referred to in that chapter as the finger of God. The finger
of God, one finger of God's hand, was to be discerned in that awful
plague of lice that came upon all the Egyptians. And doesn't
it remind us of what we read concerning the Lord Jesus Christ
in the Gospel? When the scribes and Pharisees
accused Christ of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub,
the prince of the demons, how the Lord addresses them and challenges
them and corrects them and rebukes them and he speaks of how it
was by the finger of God. That's the expression that's
used in Luke's account, Luke 11 20. He says he cast out demons
by the finger of God, and they're accusing him of doing that by
the power of Beelzebub. But it's interesting because
in Matthew 12 28, where the same incident is referred to, instead
of the finger of God, we have the Spirit of God. He cast out
demons by the Spirit of God. which is likened to the finger
of God. God's hand, God's finger then,
is a figure of speech that is used to convey to us the idea
of God's great power. Here in verse 14 then we read
of the hand of the Lord shall be known toward his servants. And how was it known? Well, their
restoration from Babylon in many ways was as great and as glorious
as what God did when he brought them out of the bondage of Egypt.
It was another deliverance. And as we know that restoration
is recorded in the book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah is involved in that,
the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. Previous to that,
in Ezra, we have another group of Jews who were permitted to
return under Cyrus and Antioxetes, and they were engaged in the
rebuilding of the temple of the Lord. And all of that is associated
then with the good hand of God, the mighty hand of God. And yet, It's not just that we're
to think of it in terms of that historic event, them coming out
of Babylon, but it looks forward to a far greater work of God,
greater than what God did in Egypt or what God did in Babylon,
even the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and the great blessings
of the gospel, the calling of the Gentiles. And do we not see
that here in the context? in that twelfth verse. Thus saith the Lord, Behold,
I will extend peace to her, that is to Jerusalem, like a river,
and the glory of the Gentiles, like a flowing stream. Then shall
ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon
her knees. It ultimately is speaking of
what God will do with the coming of His only begotten Son and
that great work of salvation that Christ has accomplished.
And God, of course, is the only cause of salvation. And that fact that God is the
cause of salvation is so evident in election, and in redemption. Those great doctrines, those
great objective truths that we have set before us in Scripture.
Election. Isn't that the eternal purpose
of God the Father? And now the Apostle brings it
out in the opening chapter of that epistle to the Ephesians.
We have these great chapters in Scripture. We think oftentimes
of Romans 9 as a wonderful chapter setting before us the absolute
sovereignty of God in a double predestination, but Ephesians
chapter 1 is a similar chapter, and there we see the eternal
purpose of God the Father. Ephesians 1.5, having predestinated
us, says Paul, unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. And then
He continues, having made known unto us the mystery of His will,
according to His good pleasure, which He hath purposed in Himself. Here is an objective truth. God
the Father has purposed salvation. And to that end, he has made
choice of people. He has chosen them from before
the foundation of the world, and they're chosen in his only
begotten Son. And doesn't Isaiah remind us
of God's sovereign purposes when he rebukes the children of Israel
for the folly of their idolatrous ways in chapter 46 here? And verse 9, as he speaks of
God, or speaks rather as God's mouthpiece, I am God, he says,
and there is none else. I am God, and there is none like
me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times
the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand,
and I will do all my pleasure. The power of God then is to be
discerned there in his eternal decree, his purpose of salvation
from before the foundation of the world. But not only the great
objective truth of eternal election, but also that great truth of
the work of redemption. And that is the work of God the
Son. When the fullness of the time
was come, we're told how God sent forth His Son, made of a
woman, made under the law. And He came to do a very specific
work, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make
reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness. And this is His work, and His
work alone, here in chapter 63, who is this that cometh from
Edom, with thy garments from Basra, this that is glorious
in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength.
I that speak in righteousness, mighty to say, wherefore art
thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth
in the wine-fat? I have trodden the wine-press
alone, and of the people there was none with me, for I will
tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury, and
their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will
stain all my raiment." All that great work that Christ has done,
He is the One. Not only He has come as the Savior
with His first coming, He is to come again the second time
without sin to salvation, and the Father has committed all
the judgment to Him. But as there is that great objective
truth of the Father's eternal election and then that great
redeeming work that was accomplished by God the Son. So there is also
that work of the Holy Spirit and it's an inward work. It's a great subjective truth.
The Lord's hand is not whacked short That that has been purposed
by the Father, that salvation, and procured by God the Son and
His obedience, His obedience unto death, even the death of
the cross, must be applied, and is applied by God the Holy Ghost. Salvation is of the Lord in every
sense. A man can receive nothing except
it be given him from heaven, says the Baptist, the greatest
of all the Old Testament prophets, and the forerunner of him who
is the great prophet, even the Lord Jesus Christ. A man can
receive nothing except it be given him from heaven. The sinner must be born again.
Or as the Margin said, the sinner must be born from above. That's a sovereign work of God. We do hear strange things, ridiculous
things. Recently, of course, on the news
we've heard of this terrorist who came from the Middle East
and then professed conversion to Christianity. And how did
he come to profess that conversion? Well, it seems he did the Alpha
Course. And because he did the Alpha
Course, that was enough. He was a Christian. He made his
commitment, I suppose. But we can't make ourselves Christians.
It was just a sham, surely. That's all he was. It was nothing
real, nothing genuine. It was not the work of God. It
was part of that easy believism that is so prevalent in so-called
Christian circles. A man has to be born again. Only he that made the world can
make a Christian. It must be that faith that is,
as Paul says in Colossians 2.12, of the operation of God. It's
the work of God in the soul of a man. And it's the exceeding
greatness. The exceeding greatness of that
work. And it's the same as was demonstrated
in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Isn't that what
Paul is saying there at the end of Ephesians chapter 1? the exceeding
greatness of his work to us who do believe, according to the
working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ when he
raised him. Thy dead men shall live, says
Christ. Together with my dead body shall
they arise. It's a great work of God. And
it's the Holy Ghost, the third person in the Trinity who is
so much involved in that blessed work. It's his prerogative. And
what do we have here in the text? We see the hand of God so clearly
stated. When ye see this, your heart
shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb,
and the hand of the Lord shall be known to all his servants. Surely if we've experienced the
grace of God, we have known it and we have felt it. We've been
able to discern something of it. It was what the Lord did.
We didn't make ourselves Christians. We cannot make ourselves Christians. But God does the work, and he
that begins the good work shall perform it till the day of Jesus
Christ. Why we read here in verse 9,
Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth, saith
the Lord? Shall I cause to bring forth,
and shut the womb, saith thy God? I know back in chapter 26 and
verse 18 we find something very different. In that verse we read
we have been with childs, we have been in pain, we have as
it were brought forth wind. We have not wrought any deliverance
in the earth. Just pain, confusion. What is
being said there, well that's the work of man. A man's sinful
meddlings, as it were, in the work of God brings nothing but
that sort of confusion, that disappointment, that pain. We
have been with child, we have been in pain, we have, as it
were, brought forth wind. We have not brought any deliverance
in the earth, these people who were involved in the so-called
conversion of these terrorists. And why is there such confusion? Because men will meddle in the
ways of God and it's sinful meddling and there's an effect where there's
that sinful meddling look at what we have here previously
in chapter 59 behold the Lord's hand is not shortened that he
cannot say neither is ear heavy that he cannot hear but your
iniquities have separated between you and your God and your sins
have hid his face from you that he will not hear God withdraws his good hand you
see because of the willful sinful ways of men but then we do read but the Lord
God will come with strong hands and his arms shall rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him
and his work before him. O the Lord God will come. Salvation
belongeth unto the Lord our God, says the psalmist. Power belongeth
unto the Lord our God. And here we have that assurance
when you see this. Well, when we see the great works
of God, your heart shall rejoice, your bones shall flourish like
an herb, and the hand of the Lord shall be known toward his
servants. And so, as God's hand is to be
seen, God's hand is also something that is felt. And that was very much the case
with Nehemiah in that second chapter that we read in his book. all that came to pass, and he
says it twice in that chapter, verse 8, and again at verse 18,
it's all according, he says, to the good hand of my God upon
me. And what was it? It was an answer
to prayer. We see him praying in the opening
chapter, when he receives the message, the sad news concerning
the solemn state of Jerusalem although Ezra and others had
returned and the temple had been in that commenced the rebuilding
of it but when they tell him of the
general state of the city the walls broke and the gate burned
with fire he says at verse four in that opening chapter when
I heard these words that I that I sat down and wept and mourned
certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the Lord God of
heaven, and said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great
and terrible God, that keepeth covenants and mercy for them
that love him and observe his commandments. Let thine ear now
be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the
prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and
night. For the children of Israel thy
servants can confess the sins of the children of Israel which
we have sinned against thee, both I and my Father's house
have sinned. And so he prays on. It's another
one of these remarkable prayers that we have recorded in Holy
Scripture, the prayer of that gracious man, Nehemiah. And here he is. He's a servant
of King Artaxerxes. and he's the cup bearer what
a solemn thing to be sad in the presence of the king no one should
ever come with a mournful face into his presence but Nehemiah
cannot conceal the grief of his heart and the king says questions him really what it
was that caused him to be so sad and he has to own up and
tell the place of my father's temple is like waste, and the
gates thereof are consumed with fire, he says. And the king says,
for what does thou make requests? And then at the end of verse
four in the second chapter, so I pray to the God of heaven. He prays again. And what is the
answer to the prayer? It's that good hand of God that
is upon him. The end of verse 8, the king
granted me according to the good hand of my God upon me. And when
he's here at Jerusalem, verse 18, then I told them of the hand
of my God which was good upon me. And it's interesting because
what was true with regards to the work of Nehemiah was also
true with regards to the work of Ezra. there in Ezra chapter
7 and verse 6. We're told how Ezra went up from
Babylon and the king, that was at Artaxerxes, granted him all
his requests according to the hand of the Lord his God upon
him. It was granted Ezra like Nehemiah
was granted all his requests. Why? God heard, God answered
prayer, it was all according to the good hand of God. The
restoration of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity was
of course an answer to prayer Ezekiel 36-37 I will yet for
this be inquired of by the house of Israel to do it for them says
God I will increase them with men like a flock and then in
the next chapter chapter 37 we have the vision of the valley
of dry bones it's the restoration of the Jews from that awful exile
and Jeremiah also speaks of it in Jeremiah 29 verse 10 following, Thus saith
the Lord that after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I
will visit you and perform My good work toward you in causing
you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that
I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not
of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall you call upon
Me, and you shall go and pray unto Me, and I will hearken unto
you. And you shall seek Me and find Me when you shall search
for Me with all your heart, and I will be found of you, saith
the Lord, and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather
you from all the nations and from all the places whither I
have driven you, saith the Lord, and I will bring you again into
the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive. God
promises, and what are God's promises intended for, they're
an encouragement to prayer. God is constantly mixing here
His promises and speaking of their prayers. Or He would cause them to seek
His face and they would pray and their prayers would be answered.
Now as I said, all of that that we read concerning their deliverance
from Babylon, ultimately directs us to the New Testament, and
Christ, and the Gospel, and the calling of the Gentiles. It all
applies to us under the Gospel. Why are these things written
in the Old Testament for our learning? That we through patience
and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope, says Paul there
in Romans 15. God's in the fullness of the time sent
His Son. And He that spared not His own
Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with
Him also freely give us all things? He has given already the best
of all His gifts, so what will God withhold from His people?
Is he not able to do exceeding, abundantly, above all that we
ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us? How
we need God to work in us, that good hand of God to be upon us,
to feel God's good hand, to feel God demonstrating something of
His power. Our prayers might seem to be
such poor prayers, But let us not forget who it
is that takes these poor prayers and presents them there in heaven,
not only as a high priest, he's that, he's also our advocate,
with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. And God will not, God cannot
deny His Son. Oh, we're to plead then with
boldness, we're to seek to come with that boldness, that access,
that's with confidence, by the faith of Jesus Christ. And observe how here in this
chapter there is a certain progression. In verse 5, here, hear the word of the Lord,
ye that tremble at his Word. But when we come to verse 14,
it's more than hearing the word of the Lord, it's seeing. For
behold! That's verse 15. I mean, even
that word, behold, of course, has the idea of looking, fixing
the eye. But verse 14. When ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and
your bone shall flourish like an herb, and the hand of the
Lord shall be known toward his servants." Where does God work? Where does God work by His Spirit?
It's an inward work, as we said, it's a subjective work. We have the great objective doctrines
of the Gospel, God's eternal purpose, His predestination. the doctrine of eternal election,
as we said, the great objective truth concerning the work of
Christ and accomplished salvation, the one sacrifice for sins that's
been made forever. It's all accomplished. The day
of that blessed work of the Spirit is something inward in the soul. And here we have it, your heart
shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish. All true religion
is more than notion, something must be known and felt, or that
we might be favored to feel then something of that good and gracious
hand of the Lord upon us as we turn to Him in prayer, not only
now, but as we turn at any time to address to Him our prayers. The hand of the Lord shall be
known towards his servants. May the Lord help us to lay hold
of him by faith as we come to him with our prayers tonight. The Lord bless his word. Let
us, before we pray, sing our second
praise in the hymn 942. The tune is Ashfield 285. O God
of grace, of love immense, O free thy favours to dispense,
I to thy mercy sweet repair, Since thou hast said, I'll meet
thee there, 942, tune 285.