And let us turn to the portion
of scripture that we've read in Isaiah chapter 5 and I'll
read again verses 16 and 17. Isaiah 5 and reading verses 16
and 17. But the Lord of hosts shall be
exalted in judgment and God that is holy shall be sanctified in
righteousness Then shall the lambs feed after their manna,
and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat. And I really want to concentrate
on those words in verse 17. Christ's sheep and their feeding. as we have it spoken of in this
particular verse. Then shall the lambs feed after
their manna, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers
eat. In many ways, it's a solemn chapter
because it's a chapter that speaks very much of the judgments of
God, God's judgments upon Israel because of their sins. We see Israel here as the Lord's
vineyard in the opening verses. Remember, Now will I sing to
my well-beloved, a song of my beloved, touching his vineyard. My well-beloved hath a vineyard
in a very fruitful hill, and he fenced it, and gathered out
the stones thereof, and planted it with the choices vine. and
built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress
therein. And he looked that it should
bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes." And it's
a figure, really, of what God had done for the children of
Israel when He made them a nation. and brought them into the possession
of that land that he had promised to Abraham and to Isaac and to
Jacob. After their deliverance from
Egypt and their wanderings 40 years in the wilderness, God
makes a way under Joshua and they come into the possession
of this land, a land that was flowing with milk and honey. This is the The figure then,
and that's made quite plain in verse 7, we're told, the vineyard
of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel. And the men of Judah
his pleasant plant, and he looked for judgment, but behold, oppression,
for righteousness, but behold, a crime. And It's a figure that's
used also in the 80th psalm. You probably have read that psalm.
You'll see the same figure being used there with regards to the
children of Israel as God's vineyard that he had planted. And yet
there was no fruitful vine. And so after the opening words,
the opening paragraph which runs from verse 1 to verse 7, we read
of God's judgment for sin, and it's a chapter really of woes. In verse 8, verse 11, verse 18,
and then verses 20, 21, and 22. It is woe upon woe. And in many ways it reminds us,
I suppose, of that awful chapter in the Gospel, in Matthew 23,
where the Lord Jesus Christ pronounces many woes upon the scribes and
upon the Pharisees. Woe unto you, he said, scribes
and Pharisees, hypocrites. Well, here also we have a chapter
that is full of the terrible woes that proceed from the mouth
of God. It speaks very much of God's
judgment and it's being written about 100 years before the children
of Israel were taken out of that promised land and removed into
exile where they would languish for 70 years in Babylon. It's about 100 years before that
actual event when Nebuchadnezzar and his armies came and overran
Judah. and laid siege to Jerusalem,
destroying the temple of the Lord. And that is clearly spoken
of in verse 13, Therefore my people are gone into captivity,
because they have no knowledge, and their honorable men are famished,
and their multitude dried up with thirst. And it's interesting
because what we have there in verse 13 is what they call the
prophetic perfect. It speaks of the event as if
it has actually been accomplished and completed. It's a prophecy
of what's going to happen, but so sure, so certain, is God's
word in the mouth of the prophet that he can be spoken of as an
actuality. Therefore my people are gone
into captivity. Oh, it was so certain in the
purpose of God that he would visit judgments. these awful
woes would be fulfilled upon the children of Israel. But then, in the midst of all
of this, we have what in many ways can only be described as
the promise of the gospel. And those two verses that we
read, verse 16 and verse 17, but see how it opens, this 16th
verse, But the Lord of Hosts shall be exalted in judgment,
and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.
All things are for the glory of God. He has made all things
for Himself, even the wicked, for the day of judgment. But
then it goes on, Then shall the lambs feed after their manna,
and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat. Here is the consequence there. It's a chapter that speaks very
much of God's judgments and yet there is a gracious purpose that
God will ultimately fulfill. And we read here at the end of
verse 17 of the strangers. The waste places of the fat ones
shall strangers eat. Who are the strangers? Well the
strangers would be those who were not Jews. The strangers
are those who are Gentiles. And of course, as I'm sure you're
aware, that Isaiah speaks much of the calling of the Gentiles. He speaks so much, does Isaiah,
of the days of the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember how in chapter
42 he speaks of Christ as the Lord's servant. What do we read
there In that familiar passage, the beginning of chapter 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. The bruised reed
shall he not break, and the smoking flag shall he not quench. He
shall bring forth judgment unto truth, he shall not fail, nor
be discouraged, till he hath said judgment in the earth, and
the isles shall wait for his law." The isles, the utmost parts
of the earth waiting for his law, that law that comes not
from Sinai but from Manzion. Verse 6, 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. And here, back in the 5th chapter
of the 17th verse, we read of these strangers, these Gentiles.
As God judges Israel, there is the calling of the Gentiles. The waste places of the fat one
shall strangers eat. Well, as we look at this verse
for a short while before we turn again to prayer, I want to say
something with regards to the lambs that are spoken of, and
then secondly to look at their feeding. First of all, Christ's
lambs. Christ's lambs. And this is a
name, of course, that is given to the election of grace. Then shall the lambs feed after
their manna. Christ says, I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd giveth his life for the lambs. Again, he
says, other sheep I have which are not of this fold. them also
I must bring and there shall be one fold and one shepherd
he's speaking of those lambs of another fold again that is
the calling of the Gentiles they are the lambs they are the
election of grace and we can learn much really with regards
to the characteristics of those who are the people of God when
we think of this particular figure that is used so much in scripture
with regards to the Lord's people Remember right at the end of
time when the great day of judgment comes and Christ sits as that
one to whom all judgment has been committed, he will separate
the sheep from the goat, we are told. And he will set the sheep
on the right hand and the goats on the left hand, and he will
invite those sheep, those lambs, to come and inherit that kingdom
that was prepared of God for them from before the foundation
of the world. whilst the goats go to their
appointed place. But what of the characteristics
that we can gather from this particular figure? Well, we know
that lambs are such feeble creatures. Christ, of course, is that one
who is the Lamb. He is the Lamb of God. that taketh
away the sin of the world. And how do we read of the Lord
Jesus Christ? Here in this book of Isaiah,
in chapter 53, we see him as the Lord's suffering servant,
and we're told how Christ is brought as a lamb, brought as
a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers,
he's dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. The quiet, feeble,
lame. Believers in are those who are
feeble. And it's interesting, we have
other figures that are used that are also compared to conies,
aren't they? Those rabbit-like creatures.
In Proverbs 13, verse 26, the conies, it says, are but a feeble
folk, but make their houses among the rocks. They're so feeble
they need a safe place, a place of security. And so do the Lord's
people. Or they are the righteous and
they run. They run to that tower that they
might dare find safety. They desire that they might be
raised onto that rock that is higher than themselves. They're
so feeble are the Lord's people. Again, the psalmist says the
high hills are a refuge for the wild goats and the rocks for
the colonies, where these creatures find shelter and safety. Lamzen
are feeble, they have no strength in themselves. And that's so
true, is it not, of the people of God. They have to look to
the Lord who is the strength of Israel. and then lambs also
we know are such timid creatures such tender creatures they are
very easily very quickly scared and when we think of young believers
when we think of the lambs and that's what we have here not
full grown sheep but the little lambs as it were and isn't it
a fact that young believers have tender consciences and are so
easily offended. In the Song of Solomon we read
of the watchmen, the ministers. It says the watchmen that went
about the city found me, they smoked me, they wounded me. And
it's a truth that Those who are the little lambs so often take
to themselves the threatenings of the Scripture. When the Lord
begins with them, when there's that quickening in their souls,
they fear that it's not the promises that belong to them, it's the
threatenings. They take heed to these things. They reckon
that there's no real hope for themselves. They cannot stand too many reproofs
or rebukes. Surely those belong to those
who are more experienced, those who are more established in the
faith. It is good, it is right, it is
proper that at times the Lord will come with his rebukes. God's Word is profitable. for doctrine, for reproof, it
says, for correction and for instruction in righteousness.
But how often are those young ones take those severe passages
of Scripture to themselves instead of looking more to the exceeding
great and precious promises. Well, these are the lambs and
the promises belong to them. The promises are there to encourage
them, the Lord has given many exceeding
great and precious promises. And yet these little lambs are
so foolish that they take to themselves more the threatenings
than the promises. They are foolish often times
in that they are prone to wonder. Again we have it there in the
53rd chapter, all we like sheep have gone astray We have turned
everyone to his own way, says the Prophet. How true it is. How really the Lord does need
to pursue his people. He is the Good Shepherd. We have
that in the 23rd Psalm, that familiar Psalm. Probably the
best known part of all. The Book of Psalms, even the
best part known of all the word of God, the Lord is my shepherd.
But what does it say? Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort
me. The lambs need to be rescued
and restored. The Lord needs to come to them
at times with the rod to chasten them. And we are told that whom
the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom
he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God
dealeth with you as with sons. Well, these are some of the marks
then of those who are the Lord's people. They're like these lambs.
And what of the lambs? Well, we're told quite clearly
how they know the shepherd's voice. Oh, that's such a striking
mark of them. My sheep hear my voice, says
the Lord Jesus, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give
unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. And no man
shall pluck them out of My hand, My Father which gave them Me
is greater than all. No man can pluck them out of
My Father's hand. These familiar words that we
have in John chapter 10. Again there at verse 4, When
He putteth 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, but will flee from Him. for they know not the
voice of strangers. Oh, the sheep know the voice
of the shepherds and as was the case with those eastern shepherds
they were so familiar with their flocks they would be with them
through the night season why we read at the birth of Christ
how that there were those shepherds in the fields keeping watch over
their flocks When the Lord Jesus Christ, in that 10th chapter
of John, likens himself not only to the good shepherd, but also
the door of the sheepfold, that's what the shepherd would do. He
would be there, watching over them, putting them in the fold.
There was no proper door, but he would be there in that very
place where they went into the fold. And he would always be
on hand to protect them, to watch over them. He was so intimate
with them, he wouldn't drive them. but he would go before
them and they would follow him because they knew his voice.
Well, these are those then who are the lords, the election of
grace. Then shall the lambs, it says,
feed after their manna, and the waste places of the fat ones
shall strangers eat. Even those Gentiles are brought
in to the fold, and there's one shepherd and there's one foal.
but turning secondly to consider something of their feeding as
we have it here. Remember, at the end of John's Gospel we
see the Lord Jesus Christ restoring Peter to his office as an apostle. He had denied the Lord. Three
times he had denied the Lord. And three times the Lord puts
that question to him there in that 21st chapter of John. Lovest
thou me? Lovest thou me? he asks. Lovest
thou me more than these? And Peter is restored and as
the Lord restores him he gives him a charge and he says feed
my lambs feed my sheep Feed my sheep. Three times he has denied
the Lord. Three times he has given that
charge. He's being restored to his office. And what is his charge
now? It is that to be a faithful pastor. And first of all, he must take
account of the lambs, the little sheep. He says, Feed my lambs. and then it's feed my sheep and
feed my sheep there in John 21 15 16 and 17 so the young sheep
we are to recognize as the lambs and they are placed first they
need the tender care of the shepherd and remember how Peter fulfills
his office as he writes in his epistles He writes there, in
the second chapter of his first epistle, in the second verse,
as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the Word that she may
grow thereby. He's caring for the lambs. He
wants them to see the importance of the Word of God and that they
desire it. It's to nourish their souls. And of course, it is ultimately
the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Great Shepherd. And doesn't
Peter speak of Him as the Chief Shepherd of our souls? And we have the Lord spoken of
here again in chapter 40 and verse 11, "...he shall feed his
flock," it says, "...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 young." Oh, the Lord himself is a good shepherd. And as I said, it's really the
gracious invitations and the faithful promises of God's Word
that are so suited to them. And so, these promises are addressed
to them. We have them here. Remember the
language that we find later in chapter 55. Oh, everyone that
thirsteth, come ye to the waters? And he that hath no money, come
ye by, and each ay come by wine and milk without money and without
price? Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread,
and your labour for that which satisfies not? Hearken diligently
unto me, And eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight
itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto
me. Herein your soul shall live,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure
mercies of David. Behold, I have given him for
a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people,
speaks of the Lord Jesus quite so clearly. And it's that gracious
invitation of the Gospel. Or when it's that that is without
money and without price. These are the promises that belong
unto these lambs when the Lord begins to deal with them. As
I said, they might come to the Word of God and be too ready
to take to heart all the solemn threatenings. and fear that there's
no hope for them but there is and it's no good coming to them
and speaking to these tender lambs of duty fight and what
they've got to do that only distresses them they know that they have
no strength they are but little lambs and they need therefore to be strengthened, to be encouraged
and again this is the language that we find here in this book,
this book that's so full of gospel full of the Lord Jesus Christ,
full of gracious words of promise and of encouragement look at
chapter 35 and verse 3 strengthen ye the weak hands and confirm
the feeble knees say to them that are of a fearful heart be
strong Fear not, behold, your God will come with vengeance,
even God with a recompense. He will come and save you. Oh, this is how these lambs are
to be fed then. They are to suck out of these
breasts of consolation. these gracious gospel words. They need to be dealt with so
tenderly and so gently led along. And again, in another of the
Prophets we see it, there in Jeremiah, Jeremiah 31.3, The
LORD hath appeared of all unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved
thee with an everlasting love. Therefore with lovingkindness
have I drawn Oh how God draws these sheep to himself, these
little lambs, with loving kindness, with tender mercies, with all
his covenant faithfulness. Again in Hosea, Hosea 11.4, I
drew them with the cords of a man, with bands of laugh. That's how
God deals with his children, and so encourages. The Gentiles
are those then who are to be brought into the church in this
remarkable fashion. And when we come right to the
end of the book, there in chapter 66, look at the language that
we find in verse 12, reads of the glory of the Gentiles,
then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides and be
dandled upon her knees. There is initially then that
tender way of the Lord in dealing with his people. Oh, he doesn't
break the bruised reed, he doesn't quench the smoking flax. He's
a kind and he's a compassionate God. He is a good shepherd, and
that's the charge that He gives to those who are His under-shepherds. But, but, we have to remember
it's not always to be like that. It won't always be that gentle
way with the lambs. What does it say here? Then shall
the lambs feed after their manner. There are various manners, various
ways in which God deals with His people. And when Paul who,
like Peter, was a faithful pastor, when Paul addresses himself to
the Hebrews, the language that we have there at the end of chapter
5. In Hebrews 5 verse 12, he says, When for the time ye ought
to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you a game, which
be the first principles, of the oracles of God, and thou become
such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For everyone
that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness,
for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to
them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have
their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Oh, there are in God's kingdom,
in the church of Jesus Christ, there are babes, there are children,
there are young men, there are fathers, there are mothers in
Israel. And this is what Paul is reminding
these Hebrew believers of. They're not to be always like
babes, but they are to be those who are growing in grace and
growing in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. There comes a time when they
have to learn. And sometimes they are hard lessons. God deals
with them in the ways of chastenings and corrections. God issues solemn
warnings to them. God reproves them. All they have
to learn. They have to learn high doctrine.
They have to discover the truth that God's sovereignty is absolute. when it comes to the matter of
salvation. They have to pass through deep
experiences. They have to learn the sinner's
utter impotence and inability to do anything. That all his
salvation is only in the Lord. But how we read again in another
of the prophets in Ezekiel, there in chapter 34, of that good pasture
that the Lord will bring his people into. There in verse 14, Ezekiel 34
and verse 14. This is that chapter that is
addressed to the shepherds of Israel. It's reproving the shepherds
because they're not doing what they should be doing. And God
says this is how he will feed his people. I will feed them
in a good pasture. And upon the high mountains of
Israel shall be their fold. There shall they lie in a good
fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains
of Israel. Oh, it's a high mountain, it's
high doctrine. It's that that is substantial. Are we those who recognize the
importance of that good doctrine? the doctrines of the sovereign
grace of God. Luther says doctrine is heaven. And it is, if we can but understand
or begin to comprehend the wonder of these truths that are set
before us here in God's Word. And as there is high doctrine,
so there is also deep experience. The Lord will bring His people
into situations and circumstances where they are brought to their
wits end. When all their supposed knowledge
completely fails them, they have to look to the Lord. Again in
that 10th chapter of John where Christ is speaking of himself
as the Good Shepherd. And there's the door, I am the
door he says. I am the door by me if any man enter in he shall
be saved. and shall go in and out and find
pasture." John Duncan, Rabbi Duncan as he was called, that
great Scots minister back in the 19th century who was such
a profound Hebrew scholar and had a great love for the Jews
and desired the salvation of God's ancient covenant people.
They called him a rabbi. He wasn't a Jewish rabbi, but
he was the most learned and the most gracious man. and remarking
on those words shall go in and out and find pasture. Duncan says you shall not find
much pasture except you go out as well as in. You have to go
out as well as come in. It's that life, that experience
which is in and out, up and down. that way that seems at times
to be such a perplexing path. Again, the psalmist says, because
they have no changes, therefore they fear not God. God will not
have his people living an easy life. Woe to them that are at
ease, in Zion it says. Woe to them that are at ease.
And again, in the language of the prophet Jeremiah there in
Jeremiah 48, And verse 11, we find these words, Moab hath been
at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his leaves, and
hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone
into captivity. Therefore his taste remained
in him, and his scent is not changed. Oh, the Lord, you see,
will empty His people from vessel to vessel. They'll have to live
the life of faith. They'll have to look to the Lord
from day to day. They'll need saving every day
of their lives. This is the way in which the
Lord deals so graciously with His people and gives them an
appetite. Again, the wise man tells us
in the Proverbs that the fool's soul loatheth the honeycomb,
but to the hungry soul, every bitter thing is sweet. What the
sheep want, they want that the Lord will deal with them. Whatever
be their situation, their circumstances, or their needs. Or there are
those, and they are the Lord's sheep. Who are they? They are
the election of grace. This is one of the marks of those
who are the Lord's own. With all their their feebleness,
or their weakness, or their foolishness, their proneness to wonder. Yet
they are the Lord's, and the Lord deals with them, and He
deals with them in a gracious, tender, and a compassionate way. But He will also at times deal
with them more severely. But all His dealings are only
for their eternal well-being. In the midst then of all these
judgments, all these terrible woes, we find here this gracious
word, this gospel word. Then shall the lambs feed after
their manna, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers
eat. May the Lord bless to us His
own truth. Now, let us sing our second praise
we sing the hymn 804 we're going to omit verses four five and
six the tune is Willingdon 815 ye
lambs of Christ fold ye weaklings in faith who long to lay hold
on life by his death who fain would believe him and in your
best room would gladly receive him but fear to presume. 804 and we omit verses 4, 5 and
6.