Sometimes a preacher feels as
though he must take a pick and a shovel and a large heavy hammer
into his study as he approaches a portion of scripture in order
to get a message He knows that he's going to have to dig deep
and work hard to find a message for the Lord's people. At least
I do. But other times, The passage
is so evidently full of gospel blessing, so strewn with precious
promises and gospel themes that any reader may wander through
the verses collecting diamonds and pearls and nuggets of gold
at every stop. And Isaiah 35 is such a chapter. So let's take a moment or two
and read this chapter and savour this chapter and enjoy this chapter
for the loveliness that it contains. Isaiah chapter 35 verse 1. The wilderness and the solitary
place shall be glad for them. and the desert shall rejoice
and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly and
rejoice even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be
given unto it the excellency of Carmel and Sharon. They shall
see the glory of the Lord and the excellency of our God. 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. Then
the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf
shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap
as an heart, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For in the wilderness
shall waters break out, and streams in the desert, and the parched
ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water,
in the habitation of dragons, where each lay shall be grass
with reeds and rushes. and an highway shall be there,
and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness. The unclean
shall not pass over it, but it shall be for those the wayfaring
men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be
there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon. It shall
not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. and the ransomed
of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting
joy upon their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Amen. May the Lord bless to us this
reading from his word. This chapter 35 is in stark contrast
to the judgements that we were reading about in chapter 34. The judgements meted out by the
Lord in the previous chapter. And the language and the ideas
presented in this passage are really quite exceptional and
beautiful. flowers blossoming in the desert,
the land itself portrayed as singing and praising God. It's got the abundance of Lebanon
with all of its beauty. It speaks of the majesty of Mount
Carmel and the fruitfulness and the beauty of the valley of Sharon. all to be discovered where once
only dry barren wasteland was found. This is a picture of the
Gospel. This is a picture of the transformation
that occurs in a believer's life when the Gospel has its way,
when the Spirit of God moves with power on the soul of a sinner
and brings them to the experience of grace and forgiveness of sins.
The passage speaks of bountiful supplies of water. forming deep pools and lively
springs that transform the desert into lush, fruitful sanctuaries
where peace and prosperity and joy flourish. This is Isaiah
chapter 35. and we see it repeated frequently
in the Gospels. We see it drawn from, we see
the Lord speaking of rivers of living water, fountains breaking
forth, speaking of grace and mercy as coming to enliven and
to regenerate and to bless the Lord's people. And so we find
once again the Gospel of Isaiah being set before us in these
delightful verses. Now it's true that these prophecies
might have some application. for when the Jews returned from
captivity in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah and undoubtedly
there would be joy in the experience of the Lord's people, the remnant
people as they returned out of captivity and they came into
the land of Israel again and rebuilt the walls of Jericho
and rebuilt the temple. But as we know, we will fail
to properly engage with this passage if we only see these
fulfillments in the prophecies of Isaiah. Bible prophecy always
has its principal fulfilment in the Lord Jesus Christ and
its fullest realisation in the Gospel age. And Isaiah 35 is
no exception. We uncover the perils of greatest
price when we consider these verses in the context of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And nor should that be any great
surprise to us. Isaiah himself tells us in the
middle of this chapter that, or verse four at least, that
it is God who is coming to save us. And it doesn't take much to realise
that that is a messianic promise. It was verses like that, it was
prophecies like this that fuelled the expectation and the anticipation
in the minds of God's elect people throughout the ages of the Old
Testament. Isaiah's design in writing this
prophecy was to comfort and encourage the small but faithful remnant
amongst the Jews. And so it was Isaiah's job to
strengthen the weak hands, to confirm the feeble knees, to
say to them that are of a fearful heart, be strong, fear not. You see, Isaiah knew as well
that there would be a lot of us who suffer from what-if-ism. And so even he is writing to
remind the Lord's people that the Lord is in control and that
he is fulfilling his purpose even in the midst of trials,
troubles, and tribulation. We need not fear what man can
do to us. when God is committed to save
and to deliver and to protect his people. So once again, I
want to take three or four phrases from these verses to show how
Isaiah's words can be applied spiritually for our ongoing encouragement
as we face trials and challenges in our own life today. And perhaps
if the Lord will be gracious to us, we shall be able to see
the Lord Jesus Christ a little more clearly and we might be
able to support and to strengthen the weak hands and to confirm
the feeble knees of our brothers and our sisters, saying one to
another, fear not, behold, Your God will come with vengeance,
even God with a recompense. He will come and save you. Come to avenge your hurt and
to compensate your loss. So here are my headings for today. Our Lord Jesus Christ is a saviour
who enables A saviour who secures, a saviour who gladdens, and a
saviour who finishes. A saviour who enables, a saviour
who secures, a saviour who gladdens, and a saviour who finishes. So let's take these and move
on. The Lord Jesus Christ is a saviour
who enables. Isaiah tells us how the coming
saviour will empower and enable his people when he comes to save
them. The eyes of the blind will be
opened, the ears of the deaf will be unstopped, the lame man
will leap, the tongue of the dumb will sing. Now, All these
things did indeed occur when the Lord Jesus Christ came into
the world. There were actual, physical, miracles performed whereby the
very things that Isaiah prophesied were fulfilled in the sight of
the people of the Lord's day. All these things did indeed occur
when the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world. The blind and
the deaf and the dumb and the lame came to Christ for healing
and none were turned away. The Jews knew this. There is
no doubt that this healing ministry was known to be indicative of
the Messiah. The Jews understood what Isaiah
was talking about when he spoke about God coming to save. They
were expecting, they were anticipating the Messiah who would come. There
was great excitement at the time of the Lord's coming because
there was a sense that it was imminent. And when the Lord Jesus
Christ did indeed come, he fulfilled exactly what Isaiah had said
concerning him. And there's no doubt that the
Lord in his healing ministry was known to be fulfilling the
work of the Messiah. When John the Baptist sent his
disciples to inquire if Christ was the Messiah, they asked the
Lord this question. Art thou he that should come,
or look we for another? Now listen to what the Lord did
with an eye to Isaiah chapter 35. We're told in Luke chapter
7 verse 21 And in that same hour, so this is when John the Baptist
sends these disciples, asks the question, art thou he that should
come or look we for another? In that same hour, Christ cured
many of their infirmities and plagues and unto many that were
blind gave he sight. Then Jesus answering said unto
them, go your way. and tell John what things ye
have seen and heard, how that the blind see, the lame walk,
the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised,
to the poor the gospel is preached. You see what the Lord Jesus Christ
did? He did exactly what Isaiah prophesied he would do. He performed
the exact miracles that Isaiah declared he would proof to John's
disciples of his divine identity. Furthermore, Christ said to the
poor the gospel is preached. You see, that's what resonated
with John the Baptist. John the Baptist wasn't asking
if Jesus was the true Messiah. He was showing his disciples
that Jesus was the true Messiah. John didn't have any doubt. I'm
sure of it. John knew that the purpose of
the Lord Jesus Christ was not predominantly the physical miracles
that he performed for the blind and the deaf and the lame, but
it was a picture of the spiritual realities
that would flow from the preaching of the gospel. So the Lord added,
tell John, that to the poor the gospel is preached. Blessed are
the poor in spirit. The preaching of the gospel for
righteousness and for forgiveness of sins was the heart of Christ's
ministry. Yes, he healed those who were
sick, but he did so to point men and women to spiritual transformation. The healings proved his power. They confirmed his identity.
They blessed the recipients. They gathered an audience. They
enlarged his reputation. They infuriated the priests and
the Pharisees. but most of all these pointed
to the spiritual enabling and liveliness that comes to blind,
deaf, dumb, and lame sinners who receive divine energy in
the new birth and are called to follow Christ in the gospel. It's talking about faith. Faith
to believe, faith to trust, faith in our hearts today in yours
and mine as we see the Lord Jesus Christ for who he is and we recognize
that this gift of faith, this ability to believe is Christ's
enabling work in us. This quickening, this enlivening,
this converting, transforming, enabling grace comes to all the
elect by which means we are brought to know and to trust and to love
the Lord. We who were dead in sin, rebellious,
careless and otherwise bound for hell are plucked from certain
destruction by the mercy of God and enabled to follow Christ. It isn't of he that willeth or
of him that runneth. him that runneth or of him that
willeth, it is of God, it is Christ who enables. This is the
salvation of which Isaiah spoke and all the praise goes to the
Son of God who enables his people to see the light, to hear the
truth, to walk in the way and to gladly confess their Lord
and King. Let me make another quick mention
here just in this context, a little application if you will. I want
to mention the pools of water in the desert that are spoken
of and the springs in a thirsty land. Do you ever wonder if the
gospel of free grace is going to survive? If the preaching
of God's sovereign will in salvation will continue, and if imputed
righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ will outlast the onslaught
of free will man-centred suggestions for holy living, that seems to
be so predominant in churches today and prioritises good works
to gain God's pleasure over the free workings of grace in a believer's
life. Well if you ever do worry about
that, let us not be afraid. If God can make dry ground into
a pool and bring forth springs of water in a thirsty land, he
can raise up gospel preachers and ensure that every elect child
of God hears the free grace message that uniquely transforms souls. Do you have loved ones who have
no concern for their soul who are as rebellious and careless
as you once were? Are you not grateful to be able
to commit them into the hand of a saviour who saves all who
come to him and enables all that he saves? Isaiah and his hearers placed
their hope in an enabling saviour, and so must we. Here's the second
thing that I want to draw your attention to. Not only do we
have a saviour who enables, but Isaiah tells us we have a saviour
who secures. Isaiah goes on to speak about
a way of holiness, a highway for travel A way of life, a road
that leads to glory. Now we're going to be returning
to this highway. in chapter 40 again. It's a theme that Isaiah returns
to. So here we are speaking about
it in chapter 35. We're going to come back to it
in chapter 40 in the context then prophetically of John the
Baptist and we're going to read there in chapter 40. Prepare
ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway
for our God. Again, a verse that we're familiar
with in the context of its New Testament fulfilment. But today
I want to point out that this highway, spoken here in chapter
35, spoken of here in chapter 35, is Christ himself. The Lord Jesus Christ tells us,
I am the way. So when we speak about this way
of life, this way of holiness, it's the Lord Jesus Christ who
tells us, I am the way. And there is no higher way than
Christ. There is no other way to the
Father, but this holy, high way. Our Saviour is holy. His life
is holy. His sacrifice is holy. His blood is holy and precious
and pure. Moses stood on holy ground in
the presence of Christ and we walk a holy pathway and follow
a holy pattern in pursuit of Christ. We're filled with the
Holy Ghost. We comprise a holy nation. We pursue a holy conversation. We possess a holy faith. The
people of God are holy men and women heading to heaven on a
highway of holiness. Our holiness is Christ's own
holiness, supplied and bestowed to his people. Everyone, says
Isaiah, everyone who walks this way is holy with God's holiness,
righteous in the sight of God, justified by imputation from
all sin and cleansed with the precious blood of their Saviour. This highway, is our justification. It is our perfection imputed
by Christ on his people. Righteousness imparted to fit
the elect of God for their entrance into God's presence. This highway
is the holiness that we possess in the inward man, where Christ
reigns in his glory. This highway is our hope and
assurance. Remember Zacharias, the father
of John the Baptist, when he gives his song. It's a wonderful
passage. It's a long, long passage at
the beginning of Luke's Gospel. But Zacharias says in Luke 1
concerning the Messiah's coming, verse 74, that he would grant
unto us that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies
might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness
before him all the days of our life. I love the emphaticness
of these verses, these passages. You know, the men and women,
yeah it is women these days, but the preachers of this man-centred
gospel that we have so prevalent in our age is telling men and
women what they need to do to be holy. What they need to do
to serve God properly. What they need to do to please
God in their lives. That's not what the Bible teaches.
That's not what Isaiah says, or Zacharias says, or the Lord
says, or the Apostle says. They say we serve the Lord in
holiness and righteousness all the days of our life. Why? Because
we serve the Lord by faith on the perfections of Christ and
his sacrifice for us. That's all we do. Nothing else
that we do, nothing else we offer, nothing else we give, no other
way that we serve in any way recommends us more to God than
the simple faith of the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now
I'm not saying that we are sinless. We know that isn't so. We feel
our sin, we regret our sin, we confess our sin before God. We know the ease with which temptation
overtakes and overcomes us. Nevertheless, we believe upon
the authority of God's Word and Christ's work, that when God
looks at us, he sees us in Christ and he sees us holy and blameless
before him in love. By saving our souls, by cleansing
our sins, by redeeming us from the curse of the law, our Lord
Jesus Christ has reconciled us to God and secured our eternal
salvation. We are travelling to glory on
a highway of holiness. Where Christ is leading, his
flock follows. And no lion and no ravenous beast
can eat us in this way. Satan may roar all he likes but
he cannot devour us. And no highwayman on the Lord's
highway can steal our hope or disturb our peace. Here's the third thing that the
Lord does for us. We have a Saviour who gladdens
our soul. a Saviour who gladdens our soul. Isaiah would also have his hearers
apply this truth and live upon it day by day. Trust and apply the implications
of our standing and status in Christ. Brother and sister, we are the
redeemed and the ransomed in Christ. We are those who shall
return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon
their heads. Now surely it is that the Lord's
people are not a frivolous people, but we ought to be a joyful people. We are a joyful people. We're not immune from the sadness
of this world as it affects our frame, our humanity and our passage
in this life. But we know the joy of the Lord. We know what it is to mourn for
many reasons, but we do not grieve as others who have no hope. There
are valleys even on this highway where the sun barely reaches
and where for a time we may lose sight of the glory that is set
before us. But every now and again we crest
a hill, we catch a glimpse of the holy city and we anticipate
the fullness of joy and gladness that awaits for us. The Lord's people are music makers. The Lord's people are singers
of songs. We enjoy the old songs of Zion. But, says David, the Lord hath
put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God. praise and
thanksgiving for redemption by blood out of every kindred and
tongue and people and nation. We sing it now and we will sing
it in eternity. It's the song of Moses, the song
of the redeemed. And lastly, we have a saviour
who finishes. Isaiah concludes by telling his
audience that sorrow and sighing shall flee away. If there was a glance in this
prophecy to the return of the exiles out of Babylon, then it
was only a glance and it was only a temporary respite. As is all the joy in this world,
Soon it would be the Romans who would strike fear into Jewish
hearts and again bring sorrow and sadness
into the land. But not for us, not for us, not
for that day when sorrow and sighing shall flee away forever
and the Lord Jesus Christ will take us into his bosom, into
his presence, there to be with him forever. The Lord Jesus Christ
who has redeemed us and fitted us for heaven will wipe away
all tears for all time. and for eternity. May the Lord
bless these thoughts to our hearts. Amen.