So that's Isaiah chapter 9, verse
6 and 7. For unto us a child is born,
and to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon
his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace,
Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end.
Upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom to order it
and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth
even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts
will perform this. Amen. May the Lord bless to us
this reading from his word. Last week we spent a little bit
of time thinking about the promise of the coming of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And I mentioned that I was going
to take a little series in the run up to the Christmas season,
the holiday season, just to think about some of the Old Testament
references to the Incarnation. And as we thought about the promise
of his coming with particular respect to Genesis chapter three
and verse 15. So I want to think about the
prophecy of his coming in today's service. So that's the title
and the theme for today's sermon. Now, the promised coming of a
sun that would bruise the serpent's head and destroy the works of
the devil, which we heard about last week, became a key principle
of divine revelation for the people of God. When God gave
that promise in those early days, as we saw in yesterday's introduction,
the people of God treasured that, held on to that. That became
a source of hope and encouragement for them. In the separation that
they had from God's presence, there was still a light, there
was still grounds for hope in the promise that God had made. And having declared that promise,
the Lord gave faith to believe it. And throughout the history
of the Church, amongst the Old Testament peoples, the expectation
of a coming Messiah grew with each successive age. And we have remarked how especially
Moses prepared the people, telling them in Deuteronomy 18, 15, the
Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst
of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me, unto him ye shall hearken. Now the people of Israel, the
children of Israel had many prophets. Indeed there were prophets in
a number of nations around about and the work of a prophet or
a soothsayer was a known thing. But Moses is speaking about something
particular, something unique. something more relevant to this
promise of God than any of the other prophets who would come
in the history of Israel. And the people were taught to
understand that. God would raise up to the people
a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren. He would be
a man just like them. He would be like Moses who walked
with God, who spoke with God, who had greater insights of God
than any before him. And Moses drew the attention
of the people to this one who was promised. But that is not
to say that many others were second in a line of understanding
on these things. Abraham and Isaac and Jacob had
intimate personal dealings with the Lord which they then also
passed on to those around about them by which Moses learned of
them and by which the record of these dealings are provided
for us in scripture. Job knew that his Redeemer liveth
and that he would stand on the earth in the last day. And together
with Moses we find David and all the prophets contributed
to a deeper awareness and a sharper vision and kept alive from generation
to generation this great hope. Until the fullness of the times
when Christ came, made of a woman made under the law to redeem
them that were under the law. In Christ, our Lord Jesus Christ,
all these ancient prophecies had their fulfilment. Now, the
name Messiah that the Old Testament people cherished, harboured,
look forward to this Messiah, this name means Anointed One. And it's interesting because
in the Old Testament prophets were anointed, priests were anointed,
and kings were anointed. And so in a sense a prophet could
be called the Anointed One, the Messiah. And while all of these
men in their own right and in their own sphere had responsibilities,
yet the one who was looked forward to as the true Messiah, all of
these others being anointed with oil as a mark of their consecration,
as a mark of their calling, yet this Messiah was peculiar to
Christ. because he was the promised seed.
He was the great anointed one, the great Messiah. The name Christ
is the New Testament equivalent of the Old Testament word Messiah.
Christ just means anointed one also. But the great Messiah,
We're told in Psalm 45 verse 7, he would combine all the three
offices of prophet, priest and king and he would be anointed
above his fellows. Psalm 45 is a beautiful psalm. We've read it together before,
but it's a beautiful, what we call a messianic or a Christological
psalm. It speaks of Christ. It speaks
of the Messiah. And again, it's another example
of how David, well, do you know what? I checked this before.
And it doesn't actually say that it's one of David's Psalms, so
it may not be. But the Jews, I think I've mentioned
this also, the Jews have this notion that if it's not mentioned
as being someone else's explicitly, then it's one of David's. Be
that as it may, whether it was David who wrote it or not, Psalm
45 is a beautiful statement of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the wedding or the union of Christ with his church. So that could be your homework
for tonight to read over Psalm 45 in this context. But Christ
would be anointed or this Messiah would be anointed above his fellows
as the preeminent one, as the more excellent one. Because the
Lord Jesus Christ was more excellent than all who went before him
and all who have come after him. And such was the care and the
attention given to this promise and these prophetic utterances
by God's inspired men through the ages of the church that we
find that both the religious leaders and the common people,
you know, even men and women from foreign countries studied
to discern the signs of the times of the coming of the Lord, the
coming of the Messiah. We know, for example, that Herod
had infants all around Bethlehem slain, because wise men came
from a far country and told him of the Messiah's star. And Herod went and asked the
wise men, or his own men, his own wise men, where was this
child to be born? And they told him from the prophecy
of Micah he's to be born in Bethlehem. and Herod out of his malignancy
and his envy and his wickedness killed all the children under
two, all the boy children under two in and around Bethlehem. This was the degree to which
the people were anticipating and especially those of faith
eagerly looking forward to the coming of the Messiah. And I
must also mention just in this context, Simeon and Anna. We're kind of dotting around
a little bit at the moment, but I want to just draw one or two
of these examples to your attention because Simeon and Anna are a
beautiful example, a beautiful witness that epitomises the faithfulness
of the Lord's elect in these Old Testament times who waited
and watched and trusted in the salvation and redemption that
was to be revealed amongst them, the redemption of the church.
So let me give you a couple of references. Simeon, we are told,
in Luke chapter 2, when Mary and Joseph took the child Christ,
the child Jesus, into the temple, which was how the rituals of
those days, what the rituals of those days required, we're
told that they met Simeon. Simeon was just and devout, and
he was waiting, listen, for the consolation of Israel. Now that is a reference to Isaiah
40, where the Lord says, comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith
the Lord. The consolation of Israel was
what Simeon was waiting for. He was waiting for Christ being
manifested. The consolation of Israel is
a title, is a name of the Lord Jesus. And the Holy Ghost, again
Luke chapter 2 says, the Holy Ghost was upon him and revealed,
it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should not
see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ, the Lord's
Messiah. And he came by the Spirit into
the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, he
took him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord,
now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to
thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. which thou
hast prepared before the face of all people, a light to lighten
the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. You see, this
was the fulfilment of the prophecies. This was the fulfilment of the
promise. And here was Simeon, understanding
by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, that the Messiah had come
in the person of this little child. And Anna, a prophetess
of whom Luke says, she departed not from the temple but served
God with fastings and prayers night and day. And she was coming
in that instant when Simeon was speaking to Mary and Joseph.
and gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to
all them." So there were more people. Now, okay, it's possible
that it was just Simeon and Mary and Joseph when it says, all
them. But I don't, for a moment, believe
that. I believe that there was in Jerusalem, there was surrounding
the temple at that time, others like Simeon and Anna. who were,
listen, who looked for redemption in Jerusalem. Redemption, another
name of the Lord, another work of the Messiah. And so here is
this buildup of anticipation, this eagerness for the coming
of the Lord Jesus Christ amongst these Old Testament people. I've
got another example. We're gonna have to move on quickly
here. But do you remember how Andrew, heard the disciple Andrew,
heard John the Baptist describe Jesus as the Lamb of God. John the Baptist saw Jesus walking
and he said to his disciples, his own disciples of whom Andrew
was one, and to the people who were gathered listening to him
preaching, behold the Lamb of God. He pointed out Christ. And
then we're told this in John chapter 1 verse 40. One of the
two which heard John speak that, and followed him was Andrew,
Simon Peter's brother. He first findeth his own brother
Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which
is being interpreted the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. You see what Andrew did? He said,
On the word of John the Baptist, who was a prophet of God, we're
coming to him next week, God willing, in the sermon which
will be called The Preparation for the Coming of Christ, we
will come to John the Baptist. But here John the Baptist was
pointing out to Andrew and to others that Christ, Jesus of
Nazareth, was the Christ, was the Messiah. Remember Messiah
and Christ are the same words in the two different Testaments.
But it was even more broadly anticipated than that. The Samaritan
woman whom the Lord met by the well at Sychar in Samaria, she also understood that the
Messiah was coming. In John 4, verse 25, we are told,
I know that, this is the woman speaking, I know that Messiah's
cometh, which is called Christ. She knew that. When he has come,
he will tell us all things. You know, the Jews, wouldn't
even speak to the Samaritans. They would cross the road. Such
was the disgust, such was the contempt that they held the Samaritans
in. And yet here was a Samaritan
woman and she was saying that she knew that the Messiah would
come and when he does he will tell us all things. She was one
of the Lord's elect. Whether she knew it or not, this
had been taught to her. This had been conveyed to her
because she would hear the good news and the Lord Jesus Christ,
we're told, must go through Samaria. Why must he go through Samaria? Because he had a woman to meet
at a well. The Samaritans too retained this
expectation of Christ's coming. Do you remember what the Lord
said to her? Immediately afterwards she said, we know that the Messiah
will come and when he does he'll tell us all things. Jesus said
unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. So thus we see the promise
and the prophecy of Christ's coming long known, long believed,
long anticipated in Israel and beyond the borders of Israel.
And the elect of God searched the scriptures Then, which spoke
of Christ, with the same eagerness as the Lord's people today, search
the Scriptures, looking for Christ, wherever we may find him. And should anyone ask of us as
they asked of them, what is thy beloved more than another beloved? We say with them, the Old Testament
Church, He is Jesus Christ the Lord. He is altogether lovely. He is the fairest of ten thousand,
my beloved, my friend. We referenced a couple of key
passages in yesterday's little introduction that speak prophetically
of Christ's coming. And we mentioned in our intro
just how clear Isaiah's visions of the Saviour were. And it's
that aspect that I want to speak now about and and take the rest
of my time today just pointing to. Because Isaiah knew that
the coming of the Messiah would be a work of God. And Isaiah
was speaking these words that we read now to his own generation
in his own age as the continuation of that unfolding revelation
of the Messiah And Isaiah left this testimony to those who would
come after him, yet before the incarnation of Christ. Isaiah
knew that this would be a work of God. Hebrews tells us, a body
hast thou prepared me. This incarnation, this coming
of God into a human body was literally a work of God. God
himself formed that body. It wasn't after the Adamic line. This was a body created in the
womb of the woman. Truly human. But this was the
second Adam. Prepared of God. Isaiah knew
of Mary's virginity. Think about that. He knew that
this would be a maiden who did not know a man, who had not been
with a man, who would nevertheless conceive this child. It would
be a miraculous conception. He knew the divinely self-declared
name Immanuel and that that meant God with us. He knew that this
meant God with us in our nature. This was different from God meeting
someone, God talking to someone, God revealing himself to someone
as he did to Abraham at Mamre or to Jacob when he wrestled
or any of the other manifestations, anthropomorphisms as they're
called, that the Lord had given to his people. Now this was different,
this was God with us in our flesh, in our nature, and we the members
of his body, his flesh, his bones. Like Job before, Isaiah knew
that his Redeemer, his God, would walk upon the earth as a man. Jesus was God, united with man,
and his name, Emmanuel, showed that God was dwelling with men. And Matthew chapter 1 and verse
22 tells us concerning the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, in
all of its mystery, in all of its majesty, Matthew says, all
this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of
the Lord by the prophet. Christ's coming was the fulfillment
of all of these lessons and all of these prophecies. So what
I want to do for the next few minutes is to look at some of
the names that Isaiah has recorded for us. These names are applied
to Christ the Messiah by the Lord the Holy Spirit. And it
is those names that we find recorded in Isaiah 6, 9, verse 6 and 7,
particularly in verse 6. Because these are the titles,
the qualities, the attributes, the characteristics that filled
and thrilled the hearts and minds of Old Testament believers until
Christ was fully revealed. There were not names that the
Lord Jesus Christ would be called. He was called Jesus. And there
was particular significance in that because the angel said he
will save his people from their sins. But he was called these
names because they denoted and described his work, his person,
his work and his accomplishments. His name, says Isaiah, shall
be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace. So that, having called him Immanuel,
God with us, Isaiah goes on to characterise the Saviour, the
Messiah, the Christ, with these titles. And my proposition to
you today is that in doing so, he was shading in all of the
beauties of Christ. before the Lord Jesus Christ
actually came in his incarnation. He was teaching the men and women
of his age, the elect, the Church of God, the people of God, the
people who look forward with expectation and anticipation
and hope, teaching them more about the person of Christ. The
first name he gives us is Wonderful. Our Saviour is wonderful. That's not a New Testament realisation. That was known by the Old Testament
people. The Lord Jesus Christ is wonderful. Now we should pause immediately
on that because that's not simply Isaiah's own words like some
subjective opinion that he might have on the matter. This is the
objective reality expressed by God the Holy Spirit. And if God
tells us that something is wonderful, we should believe it. The Lord
Jesus Christ is wonderful. And he is so. in all and every
aspect of his person, his natures, his achievements, his words,
his dealings with God, his dealings with men and women. Recently, We have finished a
series in Mark's Gospel tracing the words and the works and the
miracles and the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. And in
all of those weeks and all of those sermons and all of those
insights, it didn't matter where we looked, there was a wonder,
there was an element of mystery and glory and wonder in everything
to do with the Lord Jesus Christ that we looked at. And that's not just true on earth,
it's true in heaven. Everything about the Lord Jesus
Christ is wonderful and we shall spend eternity in his presence
with a growing admiration for the wonder of the Lord Jesus
Christ. It's not going to stop. His infinite wisdom and glory
and beauty and majesty is revealed now and shall continue to be
revealed. for all of eternity. But let
me just mention one of these great attributes, one of these
wonderful things that the Lord Jesus Christ has done. Our Lord
Jesus Christ obtained for us a great salvation, for he has
overcome our mighty enemies. He has saved us from great sin
and guilt. He has redeemed us with precious
blood. He has bestowed upon us everlasting
righteousness. He has secured for us perfect
peace with God and he has bequeathed to us all the blessings of God
the Holy Spirit freely, graciously to be received and enjoyed by
the enabling gift of his own quickening spirit and the faith
of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a wonderful salvation
given to us by a wonderful Saviour. And if some people cannot see
how wonderful our Saviour is, it is because of the hardness
of their hearts and the blindness of their own souls. It's because
the Sovereign God has most wonderfully elected some to salvation, has
regenerated and quickened some and gifted the gift of grace
to those whom he will, leaving others blind and ignorant in
their sin and in their guilt. Isaiah tells us something else
about the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only is the Lord Jesus Christ
wonderful, but he is a counsellor. Now some readings of this passage
call him a wonderful counsellor. That's okay. He's wonderful and
he's a counsellor and he's a wonderful counsellor. How could it be any
different? Christ is a counsellor and a wonderful one. He stood
for us in the councils of grace and peace, informing, establishing
and executing the terms and conditions of the everlasting covenant of
grace and peace. And when the eternal three agreed
together to save God's elect people by the redemption of blood
and quickening grace, it was the Lord Jesus Christ who stood
and represented you and me as our counsellor. And his counsellor, when he speaks
to his people, with wise healing counsel. He speaks to our conscience
to convict us of our sin and he speaks to us in the gospel
to the saving of our souls. He speaks words of comfort when
we're downcast and he rebukes us when we're puffed up and he
gives us guidance and direction when he says, this is the way,
walk ye in it when ye turn to the right hand and when ye turn
to the left. He is such a counsellor to us. He is a counsellor for us in
the eternal covenant. He is a counsellor to us in his
words of wisdom to our need. And Christ continues to speak
for us in heaven today as our mediator and our advocate and
our intercessor. You see what we're saying here,
brothers and sisters? You see what we're recognising? Isaiah knew this. This isn't
us altogether looking back and overlaying what we now see. These men and women in the Old
Testament knew and understood. They looked forward to the coming
of the one that we look back to. These truths were known then. If they knew that Emmanuel was
a wonderful counsellor, then our Old Testament brothers and
sisters had sufficient to meditate upon the deeper truths also that
these things revealed. The third name, there's five
that we're going to just touch upon, the third name is Jesus
Christ the mighty God. Our Saviour is not limited or
restricted in power and in might by his humanity. He is fully
man, he is God with us and fully God. He is our mighty God and
whether we consider the works of creation the works of providence,
the miracles of Christ, the work of redemption, his resurrection
from the grave, his ascension into glory, his seating at the
right hand of God, his destruction of the devil and all of his works.
He is the mighty God. Hebrews chapter 1, verse 1 to
3. I'm summarising, but let me just
read the summary. God hath appointed his Son heir
of all things, by whom also he made the worlds, who being the
brightness of his glory, the express image of his person,
upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had himself
purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the majesty
on high. He is the mighty God and from
there, seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high, our mighty
God will return to judge the earth in righteousness. He will
separate the nations, He will deliver His redeemed, He will
judge the wicked and He will consign them to outer darkness
and everlasting destruction. and he will lead his people into
the presence of his Father. And as Peter says, present you
holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight to an inheritance
incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved
in heaven for you. This is the power and the wisdom
and the strength And these are the actions of the mighty God. They characterised Isaiah's Emmanuel
as the prophet spoke to the men and women of his own age. And he is, fourthly, the everlasting
Father. Now you might say, wait a minute,
is Christ not the Son? How then is he the everlasting
father? Well, because this is one of
Christ's mediatorial roles for his people. Do you not remember
that he addressed his disciples as his little children? The Lord
Jesus is not the father in the Trinity. He is the son in the
Trinity. but he is our father in his role
as head of his body, the church. And in this role as head of the
body of his church, he provides for us as a father provides. He cares and protects us as a
father. cares and protects. He supplies
our every need. He covers us with his paternal
love as a good father who loves his children. The elect are God's children
from eternity. and having been given to the
Lord Jesus Christ in eternal union, we have this relationship
eternally with Christ. We are His children eternally
in the covenant of grace and peace. We didn't become His children
when we believe Christ came into the world to save his children
from their sins, to save his people from their sins. The elect,
all who believe, always were and always will be the children
of the everlasting Father, Jesus Christ. And finally, Isaiah says,
the Messiah, Emmanuel, is the Prince of Peace. Christ is a
prince because he is the son of a king and because he is heir
of all things. The word prince has got a sense,
it carries a meaning of dominion and governance and We'll see
just in a moment that there is that reference to the government
of Christ and the kingdom rule of Christ. And that's born out
in this word Prince and this phrase, the Prince of Peace. This dominion and governance,
this power, or to use another word, the sovereignty of the
Lord Jesus Christ. and it's a most apt name for
our saviour. He is the sovereign prince, whose
great work is life and peace for his church and people. All things are under our saviour's
control. All things work according to
his will. His great work as the prince
of peace is reconciliation, mediation and bringing God's peace to men
and women by propitiating God's wrath and taking away every sin. Christ is the author of peace
between God and sinners. He has made peace by His blood
on the cross, having taken Himself the chastisement of our peace
and having it laid upon Him according to the terms of the covenant
of peace. He made that covenant with His
Father and His Father was in Him reconciling the world to
Himself. And the Lord Jesus Christ, as
the Prince of Peace, is the giver of peace. Peace with God, peace
in our souls, the peace of mind, the peace and contentment of
knowing our sins forgiven and Christ as our Saviour, now in
time and always for eternity. And that is why Isaiah can say
of the increase of his government and peace, there shall be no
end. This is our sovereign God. One final thought and then we're
done for today. Isaiah tells us in this little
passage here, Isaiah 9, 6, and 7, that all of these blessings
that appertain to the Messiah, appertain to Christ, they arise
by God's zeal. The zeal of the Lord of hosts
will perform this. Did you see that there at the
end of verse seven? The zeal of the Lord of hosts
will perform this. This is God's great love for
his own dear people. That is what the zeal of God
is. It is his zealous love for his
own dear people, his elect. This is not a universal, inconsequential
love, but a zealous love that acts to save, sovereignly accomplishing
the purpose of God's covenant agreements. Now we're going to
return to that another day but suffice now to say this, such
a love, such a zealous love is as wonderful as the Lord who
possesses it and who manifests it and who graciously dispenses
it upon the children of his care. I detest, I abhor the weak and
sippid nonsense that is preached by so many today about universal
love and universal grace and universal salvation. Isaiah knew
no such heresy, nor did the believers of his day. May the Lord preserve
us from all such error by the pure gospel of free and sovereign
grace. Amen. Thank you once again.