Isaiah chapter 42, we'll read
the first eight verses. God, in the first several verses,
is speaking of his Son, and then beginning in verse 6, he speaks
to his Son. Verse 1, Behold, behold my servant,
whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth, I have
put my spirit upon him. He shall bring forth judgment
to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up,
nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised ridge
shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench. He
shall bring forth judgment unto the truth. He shall not fail
nor be discouraged till he has set judgment in the earth and
the owl shall wait for his law. Thus saith God the Lord, he that
created the heavens and stretched them out, he that spread forth
the earth, he that, he that, and that which cometh out of
it, he that giveth breath unto the people upon it and spirit
to them that walk therein. I, the Lord, have called thee
in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and keep thee, and
give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles,
to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison,
and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. I am
the Lord, that is my name, and my glory will I not give to another,
neither my praise to graven images." Let's begin as the chapter begins. Verse 1, Behold, God says. Is that a command? Is it an invitation? Does it matter? May God enable
us to do it. Behold my servant. Consider first who he is, how
he's described. And then in verse 4 we're told
what he will never do, what God's servant will never do. And then
in verse 7, we're told what he will most definitely do and has
done since this prophecy. The title of my message is Christ,
no failure. No failure. First, behold my
servant, God says in verse 1. Who is he? God's doing the speaking
and Christ is the one spoken of. God says, behold. Behold, our Lord told his disciples
on one occasion, blessed are your eyes for they see. Simon, son of Jonah, you are
a blessed man. My father has revealed to you
who I am. What a miracle. What a miracle. May it be repeated, may it be
accomplished, may it be performed by our miracle working God this
morning. God says, behold, behold my servant. He's Jehovah's righteous servant
as our mediator. as our high priest, as our surety,
as the covenant head of all of his people, when he entered this
world, he said, I come in the body, speaking to his father,
I come in the body that thou hast prepared me to do thy will,
O my God. Notice also he's described by
God as mine elect. Mine elect, my chosen one. John read that to us just a few
moments ago in Psalm 89. Let me read a couple of verses
there again. I have made a covenant, verse
3, with my chosen. I have sworn unto David my servant. Is he referring only to King
David? Oh, no, no. He's referring to
the son of David, David's son and David's God. He's speaking
of that One who is Himself alone, King of kings and Lord of lords. He's speaking of the mighty God. I have made a covenant with My
chosen. I have sworn unto David My servant,
thy seed. thy seed. Will I establish forever
and build up thy throne to all generations. The law. Pause. Take a time out. Think about that. Think about
what god just said and then in Psalm in the same Psalm Psalm
eighty-nine verse nineteen. God says, then thou speakest
in and said, I have laid help upon
one that is mighty. I have exalted one chosen out
of the people. With that in mind, let me read
you a few verses from Revelation chapter 5. Revelation chapter
5, a very familiar passage of scripture. But John writing,
says in his vision, I saw in the right hand of him that sat
on the throne a book written within and on the backside and
sealed with seven seals, God's purpose, God's decrees. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming
with a loud voice, Who is worthy? Who is worthy to open the book? God's book, God's purpose, God's
decrees. Who's worthy to open the book
and to loose the seals thereof? Who's able to fulfill God's purposes? God chose to save a people, that's
among His purposes, before the world began. That's plainly taught
in Scripture. But who shall do all that's necessary
to save those people? Who will on their behalf honor
God's holy law? There's a good article in our
bulletin this morning, a brief article. by brother Henry Mahan
along that very line. Who shall satisfy God's justice? God never shows mercy at the
expense of His justice. No, no, no. Never. So who shall
bring that to pass? Who shall honor God's holy law? And who shall bear away the sins
of all those God has purposed to save? Verse 3, no man Mark that down. Mark that down. I get so weary of hearing men trying to persuade sinners and
sadly they have persuaded multitudes that salvation is a simple, easy
thing. Louis, it's easy as ABC. Would you be saved, take this
tract, and at the end of it, sign on the dotted line, I've
made my decision for Jesus. Is that all God Almighty requires? Is that all that's necessary
to save a sinner? Then why did Jesus Christ die? What did His death have to do
with anything? And no man in heaven nor in earth,
neither under the earth, was able, that's you and that's me,
to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much,
because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book,
neither to look thereon. But God said, behold, I have
laid help on one that is mighty. And one of the elders said unto
me, weep not. And again, that blessed word,
behold, Behold, oh helpless sinner, behold. Behold my servant. Behold the Lion of the tribe
of Judah. The Root of David hath prevailed. I like that. I can lay down on
that. I can rest on that. He hath prevailed
to open the book and to loose the seals thereof. God says, My servant whom I uphold,
mine elect in whom my soul delighteth. Delighteth. That word delighteth
is the same one used by God that day when Our Redeemer came to
the river to be baptized by John. And when he came up out of the
water, after being immersed, not sprinkled, but immersed,
buried, he came up out of the water. Many people had been baptized. Many had come to John confessing
their sins and were being baptized. But this had never happened.
This had never happened. When this one, this one, when
this man came up out of the water, the heavens parted. And a dove
descended and lighted up on him. And God Almighty spoke as He
never spoke concerning any other man and said, this is my beloved
son. This is he in whom I am well
pleased. None else. None else. And again,
on the Mount of Transfiguration, when Peter said we should make
three tabernacles, just overwhelmed with what he had seen, Moses
and Elijah talking with the Lord Jesus. And a cloud overshadowed
them, we're told. And a voice said, this is my
beloved son. Not Moses, not Elijah. This is my beloved son, in whom
I am well pleased. Hear ye him when we read in Matthew
17, when the cloud was departed, Jesus was found alone. Alone. Christ is all, all in
all. Christ is all in all. God says, I delight in him. When he appeared into this world,
he did always those things, he said, that pleased the Father. And again in verse 1, I have
put my spirit upon him. Upon him. Look, if you will,
in Isaiah chapter 61. We read this blessed prophecy
concerning our Lord again. Our Lord, even when he went to
Nazareth after his temptation, where he had been brought up,
he went into the synagogue, and they handed him the scroll of
Isaiah. And he found this very place, and he read it, and he
said, today, today, this is fulfilled in your ears. They knew what
he was saying. He was telling them, all those
religious folks, he was telling them, this scripture is speaking
of me. This is talking of me. I'm the
one spoken of here. And they hated him. They hated
him. Verse 61, the Spirit of the Lord
God is upon me. because the Lord had anointed
me to preach good tidings unto the meek. He has sent me to bind
up the brokenhearted. Who else can do that? To proclaim
liberty to the captives, the opening of the prison to them
that are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and
the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all that mourn, to
appoint unto them that mourn in Zion. Oh, did He not say,
Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of
joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness,
that they might be called the trees of righteousness, the planting
of the Lord, that he might be glorified." Yes, God has put
his spirit upon him in Matthew chapter 12. The words that we
read here in Isaiah 42, Matthew quotes them and says, this was
the fulfillment of the Lord Jesus Christ. They were speaking of
him. Behold, he is God's servant. And then again in verse 1 we
read, he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. Repeat it again
in verse 4. He shall set judgment in the
earth. Meaning, he shall satisfy God's
law. He will fulfill God's law and
make it honorable. He will do that which had never
been done before and yet must be done before God can in justice
forgive any sinner. Christ shall do that. He shall
bring forth judgment. He shall fulfill the precept
of God's holy law. And then, blessed be his name,
he shall bear the full weight of its penalty. Awake, O sword,
God says, the sword of divine justice, the sword in the hand
of the mighty God who said to Saul, that's in it, it must die. I will in no wise clear the guilty
or pass by iniquity. Awake, O sword. against the man
who is my fellow, my shepherd, smite the shepherd. And that's
exactly what he did when Christ was made sin for his people. Turn, if you will, to Isaiah
chapter 53. Isaiah chapter 53. Oh, such a clear prophecy of
our Lord Jesus Christ. His death and the outcome of
it. It tells us that he was bruised,
that he bore our sins. He was stricken for the transgression
of my people, God said. Oh, but it also speaks of the
sweet and glorious outcome of it. It wasn't for a perchance
or a maybe. Oh, no. Verse 11. For he shall
see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. God the
Father satisfied, God the Son satisfied. By his knowledge shall
my righteous servant justify many, many, many sinners. Indeed, a multitude of sinners
shall be justified at the throne of God Almighty, have been. shall be declared by God Himself
not guilty, shall be looked upon by the eye of the omniscient
God, He who knows everything, knows who we are, knows what
we've done, but deeper than that, He knows why we do it. He knows
our motive. And concerning all those that
God's righteous servant bore their sins away, the result is
God shall justify many because His righteous servant bear their
iniquities. And God says not guilty. Is that true? Is that true or
is that just religious talk? Is that just a pretty notion?
Is that like a fairy tale? Oh no! Oh no! There are sinners
in this world, every sinner for whom Christ died before the throne
of God are declared perfect. Perfect! with His holy garments
on, as holy as God's own Son. Who else but Christ could accomplish
that? None other name given among men
under heaven by which we must be saved, not of Abraham, not
of Moses, not of David, was it ever said, He shall not fail. Only of one. Only of one. They
all did. So is this sinner speaking to
you this morning. And so have you. But look now,
that brings us to our second point in verse 4. Concerning
God's righteous servant, read these words, child of God. Read
these words with me, weary pilgrim. And rejoice. Cause concerning
him, the captain of our salvation, It says, he shall not fail. What he will never do. Remember,
after saving that woman at the well, his disciples came back. They went into town to get something
to eat and they came back and he said, I have meat to eat that
you know not of. My meat is to do the work, the
will of Him that sent me and to finish His work. And in his
high priestly prayer he said, Father, I finished. I finished,
I've completed, nothing undone, I finished the work that thou
gavest me to do. He did not fail God and he shall
never fail his people. Never, never. Turn if you will
to Deuteronomy chapter 31. Moses' work is done and God is ready to take him
home, take him to glory, and he knows it. He calls the children
of Israel around and speaks to them in verse 6, but then he
calls Joshua aside privately and speaks to him. In Deuteronomy
31 verse 6, Be strong and have a good courage. Fear not, for
often God speaks to us. Fear not, nor be afraid of them,
for the Lord thy God, He it is that doth go with thee. He will
not fail thee, nor forsake thee. And Moses called unto Joshua,
Joshua is just a Hebrew word for Jesus, and said unto him
in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage,
for thou must go with this people into the land which the Lord
hath sworn unto their fathers to give them, and thou shalt
cause them to inherit it. Thou shalt cause them to inherit
it. And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee, he will
be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee, fear
not, neither be dismayed. When Joshua came to die, He called
the elders of Israel around after they've been settled in the promised
land and he said, I bear you witness this day. You know that
everything that God promised, not one word has failed. Brother Loyal, when he brings
all of his sheep home and not one is absent, Not one for whom
He shed His precious blood, not one that He called out of darkness
into His marvelous light, not one who experienced His amazing
grace, not one shall be lost. Not one. We shall all testify
to His everlasting glory. Not one thing that He promised
that He would do for this unworthy sinner, not one word has failed
by the power and grace and might of our glorious Joshua. He brings
us all, all of His redeemed into the promised land. And remember
this, this same Jesus Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today
and forever. That one responsible to seek
and to save and to keep us and to bring us all the way home
will not fail. Bless his name, he will not fail. We sometimes speak of, and it's
true, the perseverance of the saints, the righteous shall hold
on their way. Oh, but because of the perseverance
of their Savior, he shall not fail. He said, all that the Father
giveth me shall come to me. And those that come to me I will
in no wise cast out. I came down from heaven not to
do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this
is the will of Him that sent me of all which He had given
me, I should lose none, but raise them up again at the last day."
Does your concept of God, does your concept of Jesus Christ
imagine Him failing? Does it? The only way. The only way that
such a thing as that is possible is this. Thou thoughtest, God
says, thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself. No. Thank God, our glorious Redeemer
is not so. Behold my servant. Behold him. Consider him. altogether lovely. Him fail? Listen to these words, speaking
of Him, the Son of God, and then ask yourself, Him fail? Unto
us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. And the
government shall be upon his shoulders. And his name shall
be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace. Hymn of Baal. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was
in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him,
and without Him was not anything made that was made. Him fail? Oh no, not our glorious Redeemer. Listen to these words concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ. Speaking of Him, who is the image
of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature, for by Him
were all things created that are in heaven and in earth, visible
and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities
or powers, all things were created by Him and for Him. And he is before all things,
and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body,
his church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased
the Father that in him should all fullness dwell. Him fail? Not so. Nothing but omnipotence. Nothing
but omnipotence, absolute power, can save a sinner. That's what's
required. Oh, what power must He possess
that saves not one sinner, but saves a multitude of sinners
that can't be numbered. So now upon His Father's throne,
Almighty to release us from sin and pain He ever reigns, the
Prince and Savior Jesus. Oh, Jesus, by that matchless
name, Thy grace shall fail us never. Today is yesterday the
same. Thou art the same forever." Forever. Verses 1 and 4, it says, he shall
bring forth judgment. He shall satisfy justice. Not man's idea of justice. Not man's concept of justice. My soul. That's not hard to satisfy. Because if enough people complain
about the law being too strict, then a bunch of ungodly government
officials will just lower the standard. That's not a problem.
That's not a problem. And if anybody doesn't agree
with it, they call that which is Obviously wrong right. And if you don't agree, there's
something wrong with you. No. God doesn't lower His standard. When God Almighty saves a sinner,
He does it justly. He's faithful and just to forgive
us of our sins. Call His name Jesus. He shall
save His people from their sins. And He honored God's holy law. Hebrews 10 we read, Now once
in the end of the world had he appeared to put away sin. Behold my servant Joe, he did
not fail. He did not fail. It is finished. And as Paul said, so all Israel,
all God's sheep, Jew, Gentile, all Israel shall be saved. This is the word of our great
God and Savior. He shall not fail. In Matthew chapter 45, look there
for just a moment. Matthew chapter 45. Look at verse 17. But Israel
shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation. Ye
shall not be ashamed nor confounded, world without end. You'll never
regret casting your immortal soul into the hands of Jesus
Christ. You'll never be ashamed of that.
You'll never be put to confusion by that. There's much now in
God's dealings that we don't comprehend. Now we see through
a glass darkly. Oh, but then, face to face, one
hymn writer said, and when to that bright world I rise, and
join the anthems in the skies, above the rest this note shall
swell, my Jesus, John, My Jesus has done all things well. When He allowed my heart to break,
He was doing everything well. When I was in a deep dark valley
that I didn't think I would ever see the light of day again, He
was doing all things well. Above the rest this note shall
swell. My Jesus has done all things
well. Last of all, look what he will
most definitely do. Verse 7, to open the eyes of
the blind. To open the blind eyes, to bring
out the prisoners from the prison. And them that sat in darkness
out of the prison house. Bartimaeus, you poor blind beggar. What do you want? What do you
want? Preachers today ask sinners,
what do you want? Do you want to be healthy? Do
you want to be wealthy? Do you want to own all this world? Well, you can have it. No, no,
no. When a sinner is awakened by
God Almighty, there's only one thing he wants. One thing he
wants more than anything in this world, God's mercy. It's not this world's wealth
that can give him peace. All this world's wealth cannot
allow him to lie down at night and sleep in peace. Oh no. There's only one thing he needs.
Just what that poor blind beggar sitting by the wayside that day
in Jericho cried out, Have mercy on me. Can you hear
Him? Can you hear Him? Have you ever
been in His shoes? Have you ever been stripped?
Have you ever been deceived that you're a beggar, a beggar, bankrupt
before the throne of God Almighty? You ever been awakened to the
fact that all your righteousness before God is nothing but a filthy
rag? Ever been made aware of that?
Ever been stripped? Oh, bless God, if you have. If
you have, you'll experience His mercy. Because it's in order
to make you cry out, Jesus, have mercy on me. Can you see Bartimaeus
standing there? Can you just see him? He's got
that raggedy cloak wrapped around him. Day in and day out, the
same thing every day. He'd hear the footsteps of someone
passing by. Will you help a poor blind beggar?
One day, this day, oh my soul, what a day. Oh, happy day, happy
day. Jesus of Nazareth, he was told,
is passing by. Oh, I've heard of him, Barnabas
said. I've heard of him. I've heard what he's done for
others. Perhaps he'll do it for me. Jesus have mercy on me. And we're told, I love this,
I love this. Jesus stood still. He stopped. Bring him to me. Behold my servant, he shall not
fail. Bartimaeus, what do you want?
Oh, that I might see. Receive thy sight. receive thy
sight. It's no wonder, it's no wonder
that that old rebel, that old slave trader of years gone by,
that chief of sinners, after experiences God's amazing grace,
sat down and said, oh, I once was lost, but now I'm found. Glory to his name. I once was
blind, oh, but now, now I'm found. I see. Oh, that's amazing grace,
is it not? God, God who calls the light
to shine out of darkness, have shined into our hearts to give
the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. It says he sets the Not simply ask them to come out
of their dungeon. Oh, no, no, no. He goes in, Lord. He goes in. He doesn't stand
down and say, well, I'll do something for you if you can come out of
there. Oh, no, no. He opens the doors. And he goes
in himself. And he brings them out. He fetches
them. He fetches them by his mighty
grace. My sheep. The great shepherd
said, I go in. I go in. I go to where they're
at. And I reach down and I pick them
up. And I put them on the broad shoulders
of God Almighty and I bring them home rejoicing. He said, I lead
them out. Oh, I'm so glad. I wish I could
sing like Dave Coleman. I would treat you to a verse
right now. But I can't. I can't. Oh, one hymn says, I
am so glad God saves great sinners. I know it says old sinners, I
was rather young when God saved me, I'm old now. But I'm so glad
that God saves great sinners. I'm surprised and amazed how
He sets them free. But the biggest surprise in God
saving great sinners is that He would save a great sinner
like me. He shall not fail. His grace
shall reign. His blood shall cleanse from
all sin. And He does save to the uttermost. Turn with me,
and we'll come to a close here. Turn with me to Matthew chapter
17. Matthew chapter 17. Our Lord has been on the mount
of transfiguration, as we call it. talking with Moses and Elijah
about his death that he should accomplish at Jerusalem. Peter
and James and John are there. And while they're on the mount, a poor man brings his demon-possessed
son to his disciples who were waiting below and asked, Heal
my son. Heal my son. Look at verse 14. And when they
were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man kneeling
down to him and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son. Have mercy
on my son. For he is a lunatic and sore-vexed.
For oftentimes he falleth into the fire and oftentimes into
the water. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could
not cure him. They could not cure him. Behold
my servant, he shall not fail. Verse 18, and Jesus rebuked the
devil, and he departed out of him, and the child was cured
from that very hour. Bring him to me, Jesus said. Lost sinner, Christ says this
morning, come to me. Come to me, look unto me, and
be ye saved. Multitudes today, multitudes,
are being told to follow that simple plan of salvation, but
they're still not saved. Right now, all around us, people
are being dragged down the Romans' road and told to make a decision
for Christ, but they're still not saved. Men look to churches
and they look to priests and they look to preachers and they've
all failed. They're still not saved. Behold, the Lamb of God, He shall
not fail. He shall not fail. Turn, if you
will, to Isaiah chapter 45. You know where I'm going. Chapter
45. Look what God's righteous servant says. Isaiah chapter
45 and verse 20. Listen to this. Assemble yourselves and come,
draw near together ye that are escaped of the nations. They
have no knowledge to set up the wood of their graven image and
pray unto a God that cannot save. Tell ye and bring them near,
yea, let them take counsel together. Who hath declared this from ancient
time? Who hath told it from that time? Have not I the Lord? And
there is no God beside me, a just God and a Savior. There is none
beside me. Look unto me and be ye saved,
brother and sister in Christ. Let's pray together that God
would draw back the curtain of memory now and then and remind
us where he brought us from, John, and where we would have
been. Remember that Blessed, blessed
day, he came to you as you sat in darkness and he removed the
scales away and said, look unto me and be ye saved. You remember that? And you saw Jesus Christ as the
Lamb of God. Look and live. Look unto me and
be ye saved for I am God and there is none else. Our Lord,
talking to Nicodemus, said, as Moses lifted up the serpent in
the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting
life. He shall not fail any sinner."
That looks to Him. He'll save them, He'll keep them,
and He'll bring them all to glory. Blessed be His name. He shall
not fail. Amen. God bless you.