Our reading is Isaiah chapter
46, and we'll read from verse one. Bell boweth down, Nebo stoopeth. Their idols were upon the beasts
and upon the cattle. Your carriages were heavy loading. They are a burden to the weary
beast. they stoop, they bow down together,
they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into
captivity. Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob,
and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are born by
me from the belly, which are carried from the womb. And even
to your old age I am he, and even to whore-hairs will I carry
you, I have made, and I will bear, even I will carry, and
will deliver you. To whom will ye liken me, and
make me equal, and compare me that we may be like? They lavish
gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire
a goldsmith, and he maketh it a god. They fall down, yea, they
worship. they bear him upon the shoulder
they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth. From
his place shall he not remove, yea, one shall cry unto him,
yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble. Remember
this, and show yourselves men, bring it again to mind, O ye
transgressors. Remember the former things of
old, for I am God 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. Calling a
ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel
from a far country. Yea, I have spoken it, I will
also bring it to pass. I have purposed it, I will also
do it. Hearken unto me, ye stout-hearted,
that are far from righteousness. I bring near my righteousness,
it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry,
and I will place salvation in Zion, for Israel my glory. Amen, may the Lord bless to us
this reading from his word. The sovereignty of God. The sovereignty of God in creation
and providence, the sovereignty of God in time and eternity is
unmistakably taught in the book of Isaiah. So evident indeed is it that
one might wonder how anyone who reads Isaiah's prophecy with
any degree of integrity and any honesty is not convinced completely
that we all live under the sovereign rule of Almighty God. The Almighty God who acts with
unhindered power and absolute holiness and authority
to do all his will according to his own good pleasure. I say that the prophecy of Isaiah
clearly speaks about the sovereignty of God. And I want to draw your
attention in proof and evidence of that to just a few verses
from the last few chapters that we have been studying together.
In these most recent chapters, we learn of God's dominion over
nature. both upon earth and in the heavens. For example, we read in Isaiah
chapter 44, so we are now in Isaiah chapter 46, but in Isaiah
44, we read this in verse 24. Thus saith the Lord thy Redeemer,
and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that
maketh all things, that stretcheth forth the heavens alone, that
spreadeth abroad the earth by myself. So here is the Lord God
claiming for himself this complete dominion and sovereignty over
the heavens and the earth as the creator of all things on
earth and in the heavens. Furthermore, we learn in Isaiah
chapter 43 that the Lord God is sovereign in dealing in power
with Christ and with the nations and peoples throughout this world. In verse five of chapter 43,
we read, fear not, for I am with thee. I will bring thy seed from
the east and gather thee from the west. I will say to the north,
give up, and to the south, keep not back. Bring my sons from
far and my daughters from the ends of the earth. This is a
testimony to God's sovereign dominion in this world. Again,
we read about the Lord God directing kings and individuals as instruments
and tools in his hand. In chapter 44, verse 28, that
saith of Cyrus, he is my shepherd and shall perform all my pleasure. Cyrus didn't have free will in
this matter. The Lord said of Cyrus, he shall
perform all my pleasure, even saying to Jerusalem, thou shalt
be built, and to the temple, thy foundation shall be laid. I will direct all his ways. He shall build my city, and he
shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the
Lord of hosts. And one more example, we discover
God's sovereignty in these chapters, in this chapter explicitly, chapter
46, when we consider his disposal of all things according to his
own sovereign will and purpose. He says in verse 10, 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. Now I have drawn these examples
and there are few examples from many that I could have selected,
but simple honesty would seem to require us to acknowledge
God's own words when he declares, I will do all my pleasure. Now let me paraphrase that just
so that we're not getting taken up by, I don't know, some obscure
way of speaking. What the Lord is saying there
is that I will do what I want to do. I will do what I want
to do. I will do what pleases me. I will do all my pleasure. If men and women insist instead
on man's innate right dictate his own destiny rather than to
acknowledge God's freedom to do as he sees fit with what he's
made and if they are determined to
give to fallen creatures the personal freedom to resist God's
decrees then they cannot say that they
are one with Isaiah, nor that they believe what God has said
concerning themselves. Either God is one with God, and
God's will takes precedence and he does all that is his pleasure,
or man's will takes priority and God must accept what man
chooses. It can't be both, nor is it a
mixture. The Lord says, I am God and there
is none else. I am God and there is none like
me. Yea, I have spoken it and will
also bring it to pass. I have purposed it. I will also
do it. Here is the sovereignty of God
in the affairs of men and women and in all things concerning
this world and all things that are created, clearly stated in
the prophecy of Isaiah. And we come to these scriptures,
I trust with a degree of humility to hear the word of God and to
believe it and to trust it. I wonder if you've noticed the
frequency in these chapters also with which Isaiah mentions and
indeed mocks the idol gods of the nations surrounding and influencing
Judah. he frequently exposes the folly
of making, first making, then bowing down to a piece of gold
or silver or wood or stone. However, we would be foolish
to restrict the practice of idolatry to worshipping physical objects. Men and women can just as readily
make false images of God in their head. Men and women can just
as easily make false images of God in their
theology. Men and women can just as easily
make false images of God in their imaginations of how they think
their religion should be and what seems good to them. An imaginary
God who must bend to the will of his creature is no better
than Bel, or Nebo, or Baal, or Ashtaroth, or Dagon, or any of
the other man-made idols of the Old Testament days. It's just
an idea. It's just an idea that filled
the hearts of these heathens in days gone by, and it's an
idol god still in the thinking of men and women today, unregenerate
men and women who create God in their own image by making
him in the image that they think God should be. Idle gods literally
bend to the will of man because they change their shape to suit
our purpose. But Isaiah is telling us, God
is telling us, time after time, repeatedly, the Lord God will
do all his pleasure. And here is a solemn warning
from the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. He says in Matthew
chapter seven, verse 21, the following. Not everyone that
saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.
but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied
in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in
thy name have done many wonderful works? And then will I profess
unto them, I never knew you, depart from me ye that work iniquity. May the Lord be gracious to open
our eyes to the one true God and grant us faith to trust in
the Christ that Isaiah trusted in, the Christ that Isaiah wrote
about the Christ that does all his will according to his pleasure. And may we have grace to acknowledge
his being, his wisdom, his power, his holiness, his justice, his
goodness and truth and sovereignty over all things. That is what
it is to trust in the living God. It is Christ we are seeking
in this prophecy before us today. It is Christ we are seeking and
here are three lovely pictures of the love and faithfulness
of the Lord Jesus Christ that we find from this chapter 46
in Isaiah. The first one is this. Our Lord
Jesus Christ is faithful to keep his people. And I want to just
draw your attention, I did it yesterday in our little note,
and I want to draw your attention to verses three and four of this
chapter once again. And I'm not doing it because
I think a lot of you are old people, but I'll tell you this,
we are all getting older every day. And listen to what the Lord
says via Isaiah to his people. He says, Hearken unto me, O house
of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which
are born by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb
And even to your old age I am he. And even to hoar hares, that
means white hares, we talk about hoar frost, it just means a white
frost that covers the ground. Even to hoar hares, white hares,
will I carry you. I have made and I will bear. Even I will carry and deliver
you. And that is a promise that the
Lord God makes to his people. I'm going to mention once again
so that you all know, so that you all know and there is no
doubt, when the Lord speaks here in these prophetic passages to
the house of Jacob and all the remnant of the house of Israel,
He is speaking to his spiritual people. He is speaking to the
elect. He's speaking to the church.
He's speaking to Christ's bride and the little flock of Jew and
Gentile believers who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is not speaking to the nation
Israel as presently thought of in its national state in the
Middle East, that nation that is embroiled in all the troubles
in Gaza. These promises that are spoken
of in Isaiah in the context of the Gospel Age are spiritual
promises to a spiritual people. Yes, we do have historical passages
like in those passages where we are studying in Judges at
the moment, where the nation Israel and the people of Israel
and the 12 tribes ask Gideon to be their king. Yes, that is
speaking about the 12 tribes of Israel. But this is not, this
is speaking about a spiritual people. It is speaking about
the remnant people. and these are spiritual promises
to a spiritual people. They are yours and they are mine. And I implore you to receive
them as such. Don't be tricked, don't be deceived
into giving these promises to someone else. There are plenty
of Christian organisations, religious groups, preachers and teachers
today who want to take these promises and apply them to the
nation Israel in some eschatological last times way of thinking about
things. That is not the case. These are
yours and these are mine. This is the church. So don't
let them trick you, don't let them deceive you. These are not
someone else's promises. They're yours and they are mine. And I want us to notice this
too. These people are owned and cared for by the Lord all the
days of their lives. He says from the belly, which
I guess is from conception, right up to your days of white hair. I will carry you. I will deliver
you. I will bear you up. I will maintain
and support and provide for you in all of your needs. Our spiritual
blessings do not begin when we are converted. They do not start
when we get saved. the love of God, his care and
his mercy, the grace of the Lord is with his people all the days
of our lives. David, in the 23rd Psalm, he
says, surely, surely, that means assuredly, that means certainly,
that means you can depend upon it, surely, goodness and mercy
shall follow me all the days of my life. And here the Lord
tells his little ones, you and me, his church, his people, that
spiritual people, he tells us that from before they were born,
from the belly, they are under the protection, care and watchful
eye of the Lord. This was true expressly, particularly
of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was true when he was the infant
Jesus. It was true when he was protected
and taken care of and delivered out of the hands of Herod. It
was true when he was a boy growing up in Nazareth and labouring
and working. It was true all through those
30 years before Christ's ministry proper began and it was true
for him during his ministry. And in him it is true for us
all because the same promises, the same blessings that were
given to Christ are given to Christ's people. I've got a little
Christmas present for you. A little Christmas present for
you all. Here's what I would like you to do. Tomorrow morning,
on Christmas morning, I would like you all to read Psalm 91. Take it tomorrow morning as my
gift to you all. And remember, Psalm 91, and remember,
God's promises to his son are his promises to you as well. So what is it that the Lord says
here in this prophecy to Isaiah? He says, I have made and I will
bear, even I will carry and I will deliver you. The Lord Jesus Christ
made all things, but believers are his new creation. We are
made anew as vessels unto honour. And having begun a good work
in us, our Lord Jesus Christ will finish what he has begun,
and he will present us to his Father as trophies of his grace. He bears you in his heart with
a divine love. The deepest love you ever have
known in this life is a pale reflection of the love that Christ
has for you who believe. He bears us on his breast owning
us, owning us as his own, before devils, before angels, and before
men. He says, these are my people.
These are my Judah. These are my Israel. These are the people that I love. He says, touch not mine anointed. He says, touch not the apple
of my eye. He hides us under the shadow
of His wings. He carries us through the trials
of this life. For while we are loved and protected,
yet we are never free from attack and trouble from within and without
in this flesh. From our own hearts and from
the forces of this world we will be attacked And yet even in those
attacks, they will be for our blessing. The remnant people
in Isaiah's day were besieged in their cities. Their cities
were overthrown. They were transported. exiled
to Babylon. They lost their homes. They lost
their family. The nation went into exile. They endured and experienced
much hardship and many tears. And so too, we shall know trouble
in this life. We shall know trouble in this
life. But two things are true. Firstly,
anything that God allows to trouble us serves his purpose for our
good. And second, even in our darkest
times, the Lord will carry us through. We are secure in the
palm of his hand and nothing can touch us beyond the limits
of what he deems good for our soul. Think of yourself as a
lamb on his shoulders. Think of yourself as a lamb on
the shoulders of your good shepherd. He's got you. You are not going
to fall. One principle blessing of being
saved is that you are safe, safe in Jesus' arms. He will deliver
you safe and rejoicing into his Father's presence. The Apostle
Paul says, we are already seated together in heavenly places in
him, in Christ Jesus. And soon we will enter bodily
and consciously to where we are already hid positionally. Think of yourself as a lamb on
the Lord Jesus Christ's shoulders. Or think of yourself as a parcel
and the Lord Jesus Christ is a very careful delivery man.
Even when it says fragile on the box, and a lot of us are
fragile, you can be sure that he will deliver you safely to
your mansion in his Father's house. So that's our first thought,
that the Lord Jesus Christ is faithful to keep his people. Here's our next thought, and
it won't be as long as the first one. He is faithful to fulfil. He is faithful to fulfil all
his promises according to his good pleasure. The Lord admonishes
Isaiah, and Isaiah admonishes the people to whom he writes,
the remnant people of Israel, to remember all that he has done
for you. The Jews had their Egypt, and
their Red Sea and their 40 years in the wilderness. And you and I have our lives
experiences as well. We have our Egypt and we have
our Red Sea experiences and maybe we even have our 40 years in
the wilderness. but it is the spiritual promises
of mercy and grace and truth or the gospel promises, if we
like to call it like that. It is these promises that we
should remember most of all. Yes, remember your Egypt, and
yes, remember the deliverance that the Lord has given you from
the Red Sea, but let us spiritualise these things, and let us think
of his mercy, and let us think of his grace, and his truth,
and his peace. These are what we should remember
most. These are the old things, the
eternal things of covenant promise that shall never go awry and
shall never go undone. He says in Isaiah 46 verse 9,
remember the former things of old for I am God 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, yea, I have spoken it, I will
also bring it to pass, I have purposed it, I will also do it. This is the covenant of grace.
This is the covenant of peace. These are the promises of God
to his people, given first to Christ and in him, yea and amen
to us. These are our inheritances. These are our gifts from the
Lord and he is faithful to deliver all that he has promised to us.
Our God, our God has promised so much to you and to me as an
adopted child. And these are his promises to
us. But they are yours and they are
mine because they were first made to Christ, the dearly beloved
Son. and it pleased God. I will do
all my pleasure, says the Lord. It pleases God to look upon the
obedience of his son and declare himself well pleased. It pleases
God to honour his son, to lift him up, to elevate him. It pleases
the Lord to array his son in glory and seat him at his right
hand. It pleases the Lord to give his
son all the glory of all the world, that he should be worshipped
by angels, feared by devils, praised by the redeemed men and
women, and bowed down to. by all the creatures of this
world. And all of God's promises to
His Son and those that are granted to Him because of the successful
fulfilment of the covenant duties, particularly upon the cross,
are yea and amen to us also. We are heirs together with Him,
joint heirs of all His glory. And maybe you think to yourself,
the father could never give me all those things. If I'm lucky,
I'll just manage to slip in at the back when most of the good
mansions have already been allocated. Well, you might think that, but
not a bit of it. No one in heaven will be more
honoured than you will be. No one will be more blessed than
you will be. No one will be more blessed than
another. We have everything in Christ
because we have all that the Father gives to his Son. Nothing will be withheld. All this nonsense about different
crowns and different degrees of glory in heaven is just that,
nonsense. Nothing will be withheld. everything
it pleases the Father to do for His ever-loved, ever-blessed
Son, it pleases the Father to do for you and for me who trust
in Him. The Lord Jesus Christ said, I
will deliver you unto myself that where I am there ye may
be also. And where is Christ? He says
to his disciples, where I am, there ye may be also. Where is Christ? He is sat down
on the right hand of the majesty on high, and that is precisely
where you will be soon as well. We will be seated at the right
hand of the majesty on high, glorified with the glory that
is our Bridegrooms. And that brings us to our final
point. There's no doubt about all of
these things because our Lord Jesus Christ is faithful to save. The Apostle Paul says in 1 Timothy
chapter 1 verse 15, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. This is a faithful, this is true,
believe it. Believe it, it's worthy of being
accepted because it's true and it's faithful. That Jesus Christ
came into the world to save sinners. Of whom, says the Apostle, I
am chief. And the Lord God says to Isaiah
regarding that great gospel day, that great coming of the Lord
Jesus in verse 13 of our chapter today. I bring near my righteousness. That is the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Lord our righteousness. He says, I bring near my righteousness
and it shall not be far off and my salvation shall not tarry. The Lord would soon be in the
world. We read in Luke's Gospel chapter
2 about the announcement by the angels of the coming of the Lord
Jesus Christ into the world of the incarnation. This is what
Isaiah is being told about here. I bring near my righteousness,
it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry,
and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory. He will place salvation in his
church. Brothers and sisters, our salvation
is certain and sure. In the gospel, In the Gospel,
righteousness is near at hand, it is not far off. God's plan
of salvation did not tarry, but was brought near to men and women
in the incarnation of his Son. Christ's coming was the good
news for which Isaiah and the remnant church waited for generations. and they and us are brought into
Zion, Christ's church and kingdom, to experience and to enjoy the
salvation that Christ won for us. God has placed salvation in his
church for his own glory and for the everlasting benefit and
happiness of God's spiritual Israel. And once again in this
chapter, the Gospel age is foreseen by Isaiah with righteousness
for sinners and the justification of God's elect anticipated in
the coming of Jesus Christ. the things that Isaiah's age
looked forward to have come to pass. Christ the Redeemer is
come among men. The Lord's counsel stands. God has sovereignly and freely
given salvation to his people. He has planted it in Zion. He has made us righteous and
fit for glory in his presence. Why? Because it was according
to his own good pleasure. May the Lord bless these thoughts
to us today. Amen.