Isaiah 33 verse 18 and therefore
will the Lord wait that he may be gracious unto you and therefore
will he be exalted that he may have mercy upon you for the Lord
is a God of judgments blessed are all they that wait for him
for the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem they shall
weep no more He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice
of thy cry, when he shall hear it, he will answer thee. And in particular, I want really
to take as a text those words in verse 19, where the prophet declares, thou
shalt weep no more, He, that is the Lord God, will be very
gracious unto thee with the voice of thy cry. When he shall hear
it, he will answer thee. And the subject matter then that
we have here is simply the cry of faith. And I want to consider
two parts of such a cry. First, the weeping, and then
the waiting. the weeping cry of faith and
then that waiting of faith. But before we come to consider
that outline, can I just apologize? I did break a tooth the other
day and I might slur some of my words tonight. I might be
somewhat shorter in this prayer meeting address because my tongue
gets very sore if I try to speak for any length of time. just
make an apology to you uh... but let's look to the lord as
we look to his word and first of all i want to say something
with regards to the historical context in which uh... these words are found. Now the great threat that was
coming upon the little kingdom of judah with hesychiah as their
king, that godly man, the great threat was that of the Assyrians,
the Assyrian Empire under Sennacherib. They had destroyed the northern
kingdom of Israel. Israel had been in league with
Syria against Judah. And if we go back in the book
to chapter 8, we have that occurrence where the prophet's wife conceives
a child, a son, and the son is to be given this strange name. In chapter 8 of verse 3, Isaiah says, I went unto the
prophetess, and she conceived and bear a son. Then said the
Lord to me, call his name Meir Shalalashbaz. For before the
child shall have knowledge to cry, my father and my mother,
the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken
away before the king of Assyria. Damascus, the capital there in
Syria. Samaria, the capital in that
northern kingdom of Israel. And this name that is given to
this child is part of the prophets. message. The margin tells us what the
meaning of that name is, that it has reference to the
spoil being taken away by the Assyrians. But having overthrown
both Syria, having scattered Israel in the north, Assyria
is now a great threat to Judah. And at that time, instead of
trusting in the Lord, Judah was looking to a confederation with
Egypt, that they might be able to repulse the invading Assyrians. And so we've read at the beginning
of this chapter, woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that
take counsel, but not of me, and that cover with the covering,
but not of my spirit, that they may have sin to sin, that walk
to go. down into Egypt and have not
asked at my mouth to strengthen themselves in the strength of
Pharaoh and to trust in the shadow of of Egypt and so it goes on
in the following chapter also chapter 31. Woe to them that
go down to Egypt for help and stay on horses and trust in chariots
because there are many and in horsemen because they are very
strong but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel neither
seek the Lord. And then at verse 3 there it
says, Now the Egyptians are men and not gods, and their horses
flesh and not spirit. When the Lord shall stretch out
his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is helping
shall fall down, and they shall fall together. Oh, there was
no salvation in entering into such alliances as these. Again, if we go back to that
eighth chapter, we have those words there at verse 12. Say
ye not a confederacy to all them to whom this people shall say
a confederacy? Neither fear ye their fear, nor
be afraid. Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself,
and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. They were not trusting in the
Lord. They were not placing their confidence here, worshipping
him aright, pleading with him aright, but they were looking
to the heathen nations, even looking to Egypt, which of course
previously had been the place of their cruel bondage from which
Moses, under God, had delivered them. It's interesting, we have
that word in Micah, The prophet Micah, who was contemporary with
Isaiah, also ministering to Judah, and that word there in Micah
5, 5, this man shall be the peace when the Assyrians shall come
into our lands. And really, the man being spoken
of there is, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Or there's
a lesson to learn, is there not? We are to look to Christ for
all things, the one in whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwelleth. And we have this assurance in
these verses that I've read. Therefore will the Lord wait,
that he may be gracious unto you. And therefore will he be
exalted, that he may have mercy upon you. For the Lord is a God
of judgment. Blessed are all they that wait
for him. For the people shall dwell in
Zion at Jerusalem. Thou shalt weep no more. He shall
be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry. When he
shall hear it, he will answer thee. Well, let's come to consider
those two headings that I spoke of at the outset. First of all,
the weeping cry of faith, which we have here, of course, in this
19th verse it says there in the middle of the verse so shall
weep no more he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice
of thy cries oh it was the voice of their cry that god heard and
it reminds us of course of the experience of the hebrews when
they were in egyptian bondage as i said they're looking to
those very people in that nation that had dealt so cruelly with
their fathers. And remember what we're told
at the end of Exodus chapter two, when there was that Pharaoh
who knew not of Joseph, and we're told how the children of Israel
sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry
came up unto God by reason of the bondage, and God heard their
groaning. And God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with
Isaac and with Jacob, and God looked upon the children of Israel
and God had respect unto them. And then in the very next chapter,
chapter three, we have the call of Moses, God's man who would
deliver them from that bondage. Now here, coming back to the
words of our text, this weeping and this crying clearly as a
voice we read of the voice of thy cry the voice of thy cry
what what was it what is it well we find answer of course in the
new testament always when we come to the old testament we
have to look to that fullness of the revelation that we have
in the New Testament, the words of Augustine long ago, and the
new is in the old concealed, and the old is in the new revealed. And we read there in Galatians
chapter four and verse six, because your son's God has sent forth
the spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Well, that is the voice of the
cry that God hears, the spirit of Christ in the heart crying,
Abba, Father. That spirit of adoption. He does
not say and call God, Father. That is a truth, of course. The
spirit has to teach us that the great God The creator of all
things is that one who is the father of his people. There is such a doctrine as that
of the fatherhood of God. There's a doctrine of adoption,
but the spirit of adoption doesn't really teach us to say those
words and to call God father. But, and I like this little observation
from Martin Luther, he says concerning this particular verse in Galatians
4.6, he only uttereth a little sound and a feeble groaning as
to say, ah, father. This is the cry. It's that cry
that simply says, Abba. It's that cry that we make when
we cannot speak. It's the language really of a
babe who is just beginning to form sounds. He cannot communicate
to his mother and his father but then he begins to say the
word mama or dada, abba, father. This is the the weeping cry of
faith. And certainly this is something
of what King Hezekiah himself knew. He was there in those days,
he was reigning in Jerusalem, the Assyrians were coming, they
arrived, they laid siege to Jerusalem. to Jerusalem itself, and it seemed
that the city would fall, and then of course, as we read in
the following chapters, even Ezekiel is struck down with a
sickness, and it seems he's not going to live, he's going to
die, but the Lord God spares him. And then in chapter 38,
we have that remarkable prayer, that song of thanksgiving when
he was recovered from his sickness. And what does he say there? In
verse 14 of that chapter, 38 verse 14, he says, like a crane
or a swallow, so did I chatter. I did mourn as a dove. My knives
fail with looking upward. O Lord, I am oppressed. Undertake for me. Well, this
is that cry that we read of then here in the text. He will be
very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry. or the very time when words really
are beginning to fail us, then we have to come like Hezekiah.
We fail to need then that gracious help that can only come by the
Holy Spirit Himself. We know Him then not merely because
we've read the Word of God and discovered that there is a Holy
Spirit, We don't just come with speculation, but we come out
of the depth of our experience. We need the Spirit to help us.
One thinks of those words then in Romans 8 and verse 26, How
the Spirit helpeth our infirmities and maketh intercession for us
with groanings that cannot be uttered. And in the church of
the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he
maketh intercession for the saints, it says, according to the will
of God. All that the Spirit gives is in accordance with that good
and gracious purpose of God. He helpeth. And what a word is
that that we have there in Romans 8.26. He helpeth our infirmities. And that verb, to help, is one
of those remarkable words that we find so many times In the
New Testament, in the original, it's one of those compound words,
and it literally means to take hold with, at the side. To be beside someone taking hold. And it's the word that is often
translated as advocate. It's the work of an advocate.
That's how he helps us. He makes intercession for us.
For those groanings. those signs, those cries, it's
all the work of the blessed spirit of God. And now we see that this
was the experience of the saints of God time and time again. Think of Hannah and what we're
told concerning that dear woman in the opening chapter of the
first book of Samuel. As she fills the barrenness,
and in our so favored, Poor Hannah now, suffering at the hands of
her adversary, and she cries to God, she prays to God, and
the priest accuses her of drunkenness because she seems to be in some
sort of stupor, I suppose. We read there in that opening
chapter of 1 Samuel, verse 13, Now Hannah, she spake in her
heart, only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore
Eli thought she had been drunken. And Eli said unto her, How long
wilt thou be drunken? Put away thy wine from me. And
Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful
spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor
strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord. For she was pouring out her soul
And she could only do it with sighs and cries. She could hardly
begin to articulate any words at all. It was the same with
David in Psalm 38. He says, Lord, all my desire
is before thine. And my groaning is not hid from
thine. This is what the cry is. Hannah's
voice might not be heard by Eli, but it was heard by God. Isn't
that what the text is saying to us, assuring us? He will be very gracious unto
thee at the voice of thy cry. He interprets our poor breathings. Now, going back to those words
in Galatians 4, 6, where we read of the spirit of
his son crying, Abba, Father, that's the Spirit of God's Son,
that's the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ in us, crying, Abba. It reminds us how the believer's
adoption is founded upon Christ's eternal Sonship. He only is the
Son of the Father in truth and love. Doesn't the Father say
on those two occasions, at the baptizing of Christ and again
on the Mount of Transfiguration, this is my beloved son in whom
I am well pleased the word was made flesh says John and dwelt
among us and we beheld his glory the glory as of the only begotten
of the father full of grace and truth and our our sonship is granted in the eternal sonship
of Christ. We're told how he came unto his
own, and his own received him not, but as many as received
him, to them gave he power or authority to be called the sons
of God. Now think of the Lord Jesus Christ,
then, as that one who is truly the Son of God, really the Son
of God, the only begotten Son of God. He was never anything than less
than being one with the Father and with the Holy Spirit, because
there is one God in three persons, and there's no division between
those persons. They are always three, but they
are always one. And yet, what did the Son of
God feel when He came to save His people? He certainly seems
to feel real desertion upon the cross. He cries out in the words
of Psalm 22, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? In all the agony of his soul,
as he is made a great sin offering, he cries out. Now, It has been
well said that no one can say, my, my, who is wholly forsaken
of God. Although there on the cross the
Lord Jesus feels it so derelict in his soul, yet he still addresses
the Father as my God. And likewise, with God's adopted
sons, in all their weakness, In all their weepings, in all
their groanings, in all their cryings, are they not able to
say, Ah, Father? They're able to utter that blessed
sound and to say, Abba. It's that weeping then in prayer
that we see here in the text. But besides weeping, we also
have mention of a waiting. There is a waiting here. I read
verses 18 and 19, therefore it says, will the Lord wait that
he may be gracious unto you? And therefore will he be exalted
that he may have mercy upon you? For the Lord is the God of judgment.
Blessed are all they that wait for him. For the people shall
dwell in Zion at Jerusalem, Thou shalt weep no more, he will be
very gracious unto thee, the voice of thy pride. When he shall
hear it, he will answer thine. We read then at the beginning
of verse 18, the Lord will wait, and then at the end, of those
that wait for him. Or God waits upon his people. And his people, in response,
they wait for him. And we see it so many times,
do we not, when we turn to the book of Psalms, he's waiting
upon the Lord. The language there in Psalm 37,
seven, rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him. And it's interesting, because
the margin gives us an alternative reading for the beginning of
that seventh verse, He says the Hebrew is literally, be silent
in the Lord, and wait patiently for him. Again, then we have
the idea of wordless prayers. Wordless prayers, those sighings,
those cryings, those groanings. Well, certainly Joseph Hart knew
something of that. As he says in the hymn, Jesus,
to thee I make my moan, My doleful tale I tell to thee, for thou
canst help, and thou alone a lifeless lump of sin like mine. Real prayer and true worship
of God. Surely we recognize that it is
much more than an outward form. It's much more than an outward
form. And we're reminded of that here
in the previous chapter. But the language there in verse
13 of chapter 29, the Lord said, for as much as these people draw
near me with their mouth and with their lips to honor me,
but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward
me is taught by the precept of men. Oh, they were those, you see,
who only had a form are nothing more than a form of godliness,
and they do nothing of the power thereof. Now, when we come to
worship God, we desire surely that God would preserve us from
all that formalism. I think of the language that
we have in that hymn of John Berridge's that we often sing
concerning real Worship, 884. And the contrast between the
verses, the verse at the beginning and the verse at the end. The
first verse, with solemn weekly state, the whirling treads thy
court, content to see thy gates and such as there is aught that
are what is the house to me, unless the master I can see. He's speaking there, you see,
of those, the worldlings who just were in the habit of going,
going through the motions of fall, and nothing more than that. And then that last verse, he
says, for thee my soul would cry and send a laboring groan,
for thee my heart would sigh and make a pensive moan, and
each for thee would daily pine, and would be always only thine. That is real, Real worship, is
it not? That's waiting in faith. And that waiting in faith is
not something passive. But there is a great yearning
there. There's a longing. There's a real seeking after
God. There's all that holy inward activity. That waiting in hope. That looking to God in expectation. As I say, we have it so much
in the Psalms. the language of Psalm 130, I
wait for the Lord. My soul does wait, and in his
word do I hope. My soul waited for the Lord more
than they that watch for the morning. I say more than they
that watch for the morning, or looking out for the dawning of
the day, longing for the daylight to appear, that God would come
again. This is that waiting, you see
it says here at verse, the end of verse seven, Their strength
is to sit still. But sitting still is not being
passive and doing nothing. Again, it says in verse 15, the
words of the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, He says, in returning
and rest shall ye be saved. In quietness and in confidence
shall be your strength. And then those awful words, and
ye will not. Or God forbid that we should
respond to God's words in such a fashion as that, that we would
not do the thing that he says we ought to be doing. It's a
fact, is it not, the Lord himself says it, that we're often impatient. The Lord says there in John 7,
6, my time is not yet come, but your time is all the way ready. Or let us be those who would
look to the Lord and wait upon Him and expect that He will appear
in His own time. Here at the end of verse 18,
what are we told? Blessed. Blessed are all they
that waits for Him. Thou shalt weep no more. He will
be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry, when he
shall hear it. He will. answer or the Lord then
bless these truths to us tonight and help us to come and wait
upon him in our prayers even though those prayers we think
to be such poor prayers sighings and groanings but the Lord will
hear and the Lord will answer that's the assurance we have
here in his word the Lord bless his word to us. Let us, before
we do pray and there are matters we need to be in prayer for of
course, we'll sing the hymn 1002.