Isaiah chapter 55, and we're
reading together from verse one. Ho, every one that thirsteth,
come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye,
buy and eat. Yea, come, buy 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 satisfieth
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. Hear, and 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.
Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations
that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord
thy God. and for the Holy One of Israel,
for he hath glorified thee. Seek ye the Lord while he may
be found, call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake
his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him
return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and
to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not
your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher
than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my
thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down,
and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth
the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give
seed to the sower, and bread to the eater, so shall my word
be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto
me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall
prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. For ye shall go out
with joy, and be led forth with peace. The mountains and the
hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the
trees of the field shall clap their hands. instead of the thorn
shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the briar shall come
up the myrtle tree, and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for
an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. Amen. May the Lord bless to us this
reading from his word. As I was preparing today or for
today. My mind returned to Isaiah chapter
one and verse 18. It's a verse that you will be
familiar with, I'm sure many of you. It seems a long time
ago since we were in Isaiah chapter one. But that verse says this.
Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins
be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they
be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. And I thought, how
welcoming the Saviour is. How willing the Holy Lord God
is. to condescend to meet us at our
point of need, to reason with our darkened minds and bring
us good news. And then I thought of this opening
verse and I was linking them both together. Ho, every one
that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. He that hath no money,
come ye, buy, and eat. Yea, come buy wine and milk without
money and without price. What a kind, patient and generous
saviour we have. How forgiving of our wicked pride. How considerate of our weaknesses. When he could command, he invites. When it is his right to demand,
he encourages. When he might enforce, he reasons,
wooing us tenderly to win our hearts and earn our love. And it is true that the Lord
makes his people willing in the day of his power, but his is
soft power, not hard power. We are not forced, we are convinced. The Lord's little ones are not
squeezed in a vice until we acquiesce, until we submit. We're persuaded
by sound argument and we are won over in conversation. The Lord speaks gently and reasons
with our hearts. He addresses himself to our needs. He stirs up our hopes. He courts our affections and
he quells our fears. He meets us in the barren wilderness
of this world. And he calls out to us in a dry,
sun-scorched land. Ho, every one that thirsteth. Come ye to the waters. He meets us at the door of the
court of bankruptcy and he says, he that hath no money, come ye,
buy, eat, come, buy wine and milk without money and without
price. And when this world exploits
us, and cheats us, and robs us, he asks, Wherefore do you spend
money for that which is not bread? And your labour for that which
satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and
eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself
in fatness. and then when it all gets too
much for us and the world is too loud and too busy and too
confusing and we wish that we could just disappear he draws
close to us in the way and he says incline your ear and come
unto me, here and your soul shall live and I will make an everlasting
covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. What a proposal that is, what
an offer the Lord makes to his people. What provision is set
aside and reserved for all who will come. What a great salvation
and what a blessed saviour we have. And if one should ask what are
these sure mercies of David, They are the spiritual inheritance
that the Lord Jesus Christ won for his people on the cross. They are the blessings that he
has secured for us in the everlasting covenant of grace and of peace
of which we have been speaking recently. These mercies are everlasting,
they are the everlasting mercies because they were formed in the
everlasting love of God for his people and they are committed
into the hands of Christ the everlasting word, the mediator
of the everlasting covenant, they are committed into his hands
on our behalf. They're called the sure mercies
of David because David is a name of Christ the Messiah. Remember, that's what the blind
beggars shouted out to the Lord Jesus Christ. Those son of David
have mercy upon us. They knew who they were speaking
to. These are the sure mercies of David and they are vested
in the Lord, the Messiah. It is Christ who holds the blessings
of God's mercy for the church. It is Christ who holds them in
his hand. Blessings. Blessings unfathomable. Blessings profound. Blessings such as justification
and imputed righteousness. Blessings such as redemption
and reconciliation and the enlivening, quickening work of God the Holy
Spirit upon the dead soul of a sinner, regeneration and pardon
and conversion and eternal life. These are the blessings held,
these are the mercies possessed by Christ for his people in the
covenant. Everything in short that is contained
in our full and free salvation. And all these mercies were placed
in the hands of Christ when he fulfilled the terms of the covenant
between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. When he fulfilled
the terms by coming into this world and laying down his life
and dying on the cross, they were given to him to be given
to us and they are dispensed freely to all for whom he died. These gifts of grace are free
at the point of need. Though they were not freely obtained,
they cost the Lord Jesus Christ everything. They were dearly
won on our behalf by the sacrificial work, by the death and by the
payment of Jesus Christ's precious blood for all our debt of sin. So that when the Lord God cries
out, Ho! When the Lord God calls and hails
his people. When he invites his people to
come to the waters, he is calling us to hear and to believe the
gospel that transforms the hearts of sinners and informs our minds
regarding God's way of salvation. and the milk and the wine that
he invites us to partake of freely represent the crucified body
and blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ crucified. That milk and that wine is pure
and potent. It is the milk and wine by which
quickened souls are spiritually fed and nourished. And it may
sound strange to some people, but believers live on Christ. We feed on Christ. For all our spiritual growth
and development must be derived from him. That is why milk and
wine and bread are such good representations of soul. spiritual nourishment for our
souls that is given to us, derived from the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith
in Him, trusting in Him is how we grow and deepen our understanding
of spiritual things. We begin as newborn babes and
we grow and we mature as believers by feeding on Christ and drawing
wisdom and truth from Him. He says, here and your soul will
live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure
mercies of David. Isaiah wrote to comfort the Lord's
people of his day, and he did so, he does so by giving them
A grandstand view! of what the Lord Jesus Christ
was going to accomplish, what the Lord was going to do. Now
we've spent some time thinking about the death of the Lord.
In chapter 53, we saw that the prize that the Lord would be
given was the church, the people. He shall see of the travail of
his soul and shall be satisfied that the Lord would give him
a people. And now we see in this chapter how that union between
Christ who suffered and died and the prize that he obtained
is to be made by God. And this is what Isaiah is showing
the people of the Old Testament, these Old Testament believers,
these remnant people of God. He is showing them by giving
them a grandstand view of the gathering of the worldwide church. to Jesus Christ, the gathering
of the Gentile nations to Jesus Christ as the prize of his sacrifice
and his death, the prize which was his victory. And the prophet's
language in this chapter is energetic, and it's exciting, and it's motivating,
as he describes the scope of the great union of Christ, the
God-man, and his redeemed people. The covenant is fulfilled. Satisfaction,
the blood of Christ, is provided. Reconciliation is made. Christ
is set up as king in his kingdom and his people are gathered to
him. So, from the remainder of the
chapter, here are three things that I want to direct your attention
to that Isaiah told his audience about Christ. for their encouragement,
and I trust it will be for our encouragement too. The first
one is this. Number one, the union of Christ
and his church, and we're speaking here about the Gentile church
particularly, the union of Christ and the church will be wonderful
to behold. And I'm drawing my thoughts here
from verses four to seven. The union of Christ and his church
will be wonderful to behold. And I'm saying it like that because
I want to draw your attention to the use of the word behold
on two occasions. We've remarked in the past how
The word behold is more than simply look. It's more than simply
drawing our attention to something. There's a stronger meaning to
this. It's behold something. Amazing. Behold something astounding. It's as if to punctuate the language
to say, take special attention of what I am about to say. It's
kind of equivalent to the Lord Jesus saying, verily, verily. Or amen, amen. It gives an added emphasis. When we think about this usage,
it is perhaps especially also important that we draw attention
to the fact that when the Lord God is himself the speaker and tells
us to behold, then again, it requires our greater attention. And more again, especially if
the Lord Jehovah is calling upon the church to regard the person
and work of his dear son, and he attaches to it a behold, then
it means that we've got to give attention to it with all possible
care. And in verse four, first of all,
the church is directed to behold the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord
Jesus Christ, who as mediator of the everlasting covenant,
is given, says Jehovah, for a witness, for a leader, and for a commander
to God's chosen people. These three identifications,
these three roles are given to the Lord Jesus Christ within
the covenant. And God the Father draws our
express attention to this fact by preceding his statement with
a behold. Christ is given to the church
as a witness, a leader, and a commander. Now, unfortunately, we're going
to have to move quickly through this and we could spend a lot
longer than I have available today simply unpacking these
three names, these titles, these roles that God identifies, Jehovah
identifies as being laid upon the shoulders of the Lord Jesus
Christ, the mediator of the covenant. But let me just say this quickly
in passing. Christ is our witness. He was given to us as a witness.
He is a witness in as much as he testifies to us of his father's
love. He reveals to us his father's
justice and his holiness and he reveals to us the plan of
salvation. Indeed, we may well say that
all that can be known of God the Father is told only because
the Lord Jesus Christ has revealed him to us in the Gospel. He testifies of his Father's
will, his Father's will to be reconciled by the Son's shed
blood. And the Lord testifies of himself,
who he is in his deity, what his mission is in coming, what
his purpose was in suffering and in dying, and in his resurrection. He testifies to his doctrine. He testifies of his gospel. He
speaks to his people, and he tells us what his will is for
the structure of the church. and he is a leader. He is a witness
and he is a leader to open the way before us, to go before us
and to direct us in the way, to encourage us to follow after
him, to teach us how we should go, to guide and direct and to
nurture his flock. and the Lord Jesus Christ is
a commander within the covenant for his church. He is a commander,
he is powerful, he is brave, he is victorious, he is inspiring,
he is dependable. So that God the Father has given
to his church Christ in all of these capacities and many more
undoubtedly in order to provide and fulfil all the needed help. so that the Lord Jesus Christ
is not merely some abstract figurehead but for each of us individually
a living personal help for his church, for his people, for each
individual member. And behold is affixed to this
messianic role as a cause for wonder and awe. We have constant
access through Christ to a treasury of riches, to an armory of spiritual
weapons, and to a commonwealth of grace and goodness for every
need in Christ. but there are two beholds in
this little passage. And not only is the church addressed
by God to look at Christ, their witness and their leader and
their commander, but Christ is also addressed and he is called
upon by his father to behold Christ. the church. He is called
upon by his father to behold with wonder the prize that he
has won, that he won on the cross as the church gathers to him
from every place, out of every nation, in every age and God
says, my elect will not tarry. They will not be slow, they will
not be reluctant. At Jehovah's bidding, at his
instigation, the elect will, and I love this, run to Christ. The elect will run to Christ. They will run to Him because
running to Him will glorify Him and praise Him. We are not dragged
kicking and screaming to Christ. The elect of God delight to come
to Christ and they will not be held back. They shall not be
prevented. The building of the church and
the gathering of the elect is not about wrestling with a man's
free will. It is about God giving His Son
the glory and the prize that He has won. It is about God giving
His Son the satisfaction He earned on the cross. It's crowning Christ
with glory, the glory He deserves. so that here is a union being
spoken about by Isaiah all those years ago to the people of his
age to encourage and comfort them. A union in which a mutually
eager two parties join themselves in marriage. It is a union between
the Redeemer and the redeemed, the teacher and the disciple,
the leader and the follower, the captain and his host. And it is a wonder to behold. Christ broke the shackles that
bound the church. He set the captive free, and
now God calls his people to run to the Lord, to seek the Saviour,
to flee speedily to Christ, without hesitancy, without reluctance,
and to seek him while he may be found. In conversion, God the Holy Spirit
effects such a change so that the wicked forsakes his way,
the unrighteous man his thoughts, and he runs, he runs, and he
returns to the Lord for mercy and pardon and grace. So this is the first point that
I want to leave with you. Here we see that there is a union
between Christ and his church that is wonderful to behold. The second thing that Isaiah
says, and I'm drawing from verses eight to 11, the second thing
that Isaiah says with respect to the people of his generation
for their encouragement and comfort is this. that these people will
have pardon for their sins. And that is a promise that God
will perform. I've no doubt that Isaiah anticipated
a level of incredulity on the part of his readers, on the part
of his hearers, concerning this great worldwide influx of Gentile
believers into the church. Now remember, the Lord's own
spiritual people, even in the day in which Isaiah wrote, were
just a few, just a remnant. The vast majority of Israel in
that day, Old Testament Israel, the people, had no interest for
the things of the Lord. That was the reason why they
were being taken into captivity. That was the reason for the Babylonian
exile. This was discipline, this was
punishment against a nation that had turned its back on God. But
there was a remnant people amongst them and it was to this people
that these words were written, particularly for their encouragement
during this hard time. But what to make of the fact
that here Isaiah was saying that what was to encourage them was
that there would be a worldwide gathering? to the Messiah, an
influx of Gentile believers into the church. And they must have
wondered, they must have thought to themselves, what? These vicious
people? These immoral people? These idolatrous
Gentiles were to be numbered amongst the just of Israel? Surely not. A nation that knew
not God would run to his side? Men and women with rebellious
hearts would be taught of God, instructed in the faith and led
into all spiritual truth by the Lord's suffering servant? Could
it really be true? Was the Lord going to bring a
great number of men and women and boys and girls from all over
the world into his kingdom? Well, helpfully, the Lord gave
Isaiah the faithful prophet just the answer that he needed for
that question. Wicked, sinful, undeserving,
and guilty as they are. the elect will be abundantly
pardoned upon the merits of the God-man. They will be cleansed
from their sin by God sovereignly and made righteous in God's sight. And here the Old Testament saints
were taught what the scribes and the Pharisees never understood. And what took the Lord's own
disciples such a long time to grasp? The spiritual nature of
Christ's kingdom and Christ's body and the power of the sovereign
God over the hardness of the human heart and the success of
the gospel in the lives of the elect. The Lord says concerning this
union of grace. With men it is impossible, but
not with God, for with God all things are possible. And he tells
Isaiah here in verse eight, my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. We don't think
like God. anything. We don't think like
God as far as sin is concerned, as far as Christ is concerned,
as far as the gospel is concerned. We don't think as God thinks
with respect to the church or religion or holiness or any other
aspect of our Christian life. We don't think as the Lord thinks. But what a reassuring passage
this is. then and now. Because proud men
want to dismiss God and work out their own plan of salvation. But the Lord tells them he has
already established a way and his ways are so far beyond our
knowledge and understanding as to make even the foolishness
of God far exceed the wisdom of puny man. Here is God working
out our salvation and here is God gifting salvation to that
mighty nation whom the Lord Jesus Christ has won and who are his
prize in the covenant of grace. Interestingly, the Lord says,
you know what? He says, it's as simple as the weather. It's as simple as the weather.
He says, the rain falls and it doesn't return to the sky until
it has accomplished the purpose for which it was sent. That is,
to water the earth and to bring forth fruit and food. It's interesting, all those years
ago, Isaiah knew something of what's called the hydrological
cycle. We used to learn about that in
geography. The hydrological cycle. Isaiah
knew about that. He knew that the rain falls and
does not return to the sky until it has accomplished the purpose
for which it was sent. And just as God's creative power
has set in motion the forces of nature, so his saving power
secures his elect, purges our souls, pardons our sins, sets
us free to follow our Saviour. and the word of God that goes
forth out of his mouth shall not return void. It shall accomplish
that which pleases the Lord, and it shall prosper in the thing
which it is sent to do. This is a great encouragement
to preachers who preach Christ. The word Christ is the word of
God. They have God's own promise. My word shall not return unto
me void. Right now, right now, where the
gospel is being preached, it is doing its work. It is fulfilling its role. Right
now, as the gospel is being preached, it is facilitating the witness,
the leading, the commanding power of Christ in his church, among
his people. It is calling lost sinners to
pardon and faith in their Redeemer's blood. It is building up the
church. It is nourishing the Lord's people. It is feeding our souls. I dare
say, It has never yet on one occasion returned void to the
Lord. And here's the third thing that
I want to leave with you from verses 12 and 13. The redeemed
church, the church that Christ has redeemed is an everlasting
sign. As Isaiah preached to the comfort
of the elect remnant of his day, they were given reason for praise
and joy, even while they faced the hardship of their Babylonian
captivity and the struggles that they would endure as a nation
and individually. but they carried with them the
promise of the Messiah's success and of Christ's victory. And
we all should, every day, let us remind ourselves of the Messiah's
victory and of Christ's success. Let no one doubt the success
of our Saviour, even in these days when genuine spiritual hunger
and thirst seems to be a rare commodity. Let us too share in
the positive message of this passage. And let there be an
air of victory in the song of the redeemed. As Judah returning from captivity,
as Judah returning as it left its captivity behind many years,
many decades later. As they left Babylon, we have
left the prison house of death. As the exiles travelled home
with joy, so we rejoice in the Lord always. As we head heavenward,
as we get nearer to glory, there's to be a joy in our heart, there's
to be a skip in our step. And as I mentioned before, Even
these perceived barriers, when people were travelling, we used
to see about the wagon trains travelling across America, the
great plains, heading for the East Coast, heading for California
and Oregon and the, sorry, from the East Coast, heading to the
West Coast of America, the wagon trains going on their journey.
They would come to forests. or mountains and they wouldn't
know how they were going to get across. And mountains and forests appear
to travellers to be obstacles in their way. But our mountains
and our forests, our obstacles will prove not to be hurdles
at all. And the rough roads that we have
to travel in this life, they will be occasions for praise
on our way to glory. and what we most dread will prove
to be unfounded. Instead of a thorn, there will
be a fir tree. Instead of a briar, there will
be a myrtle tree. Isaiah saw the victory of the
Messiah and the glory of the church and he prophesied by divine
revelation and he told the remnant people how the one true God in
whom they trusted would come quickly to do His will and redeem
His people. Brothers and sisters, do not
doubt it. God's covenant people, old and
new, will be eternally happy. We will be to the Lord for a
name. We shall be a credit to Him. for all that he has done, an
enduring, everlasting testimony that shall not be cut off. May
the Lord bless these thoughts to us.