Now turn your attention this
morning to prophecy of Isaiah chapter 63 and verse 1. Isaiah 63 and verse 1 where we
read, Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garment
from Bozrah? This that is glorious in his
apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength, I that speak
in righteousness, mighty to save. Who is this that cometh from
Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah, this that is glorious
in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength?
I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. In the Middle Ages, a practice
arose in the Roman Catholic Church called the sale of indulgences. Indulgences in Roman Catholic
teaching are those privileges or pardons which people may earn
from the church by various means. Particularly this might involve
the avoidance of penance or punishment by performing sufficient good
deeds, sufficient good works to be granted an indulgence or
a pardon by the church from some of the forthcoming penances or
punishments which are due to you as a sinner. Now this teaching
of indulgences, this practice, however, began to become so abused
by the church and its priests to the extent that indulgences
were even sold to those who had sufficient money to pay for them.
This was what the sale of indulgences were. If you had the money to
pay, you could go to one of these priests, one of these men who
would sell you an indulgence, and you could pay, as it were,
to be delivered from punishment. In most extreme cases people
were deluded into thinking that they might escape judgement in
hell, that they might actually gain salvation for all eternity
if they paid for the right indulgence. Yet of course in reality nothing
had changed in them. Nothing had changed, their hearts
were just the same. And God had done nothing different
in respect of these people. whether they would go to hell
or not when they died, was not in the slightest bit dependent
upon whether they had paid for such an indulgence. Yet that
is what the church sold to such people, and what it deluded them
into thinking they could earn by paying. This practice and
teaching was one of those, amongst many others of course, which
Martin Luther and the other early reformers objected greatly to. And such abuses and such false
teaching encourage the progress of the Reformation in the 1500s
as a response. For such a practice, this teaching
of indulgences is of course symptomatic of that religion and of those
religions which teach that salvation can be earned in some manner.
That salvation is a reward for good works. Or in this case,
a reward for those who could pay. Well, that was several hundred
years ago. Times have moved on. But in reality,
much hasn't changed. Works religion in some form or
another is still predominant with us today. Most churches,
most religion, preaches and declares a message of salvation which
can be earned, merited, paid for even. But the sales of indulgences,
or the performing of works, or mere decisions in response to
an offer of salvation, all of which are much the same, won't
save. Because the fact is, as we said
before, nothing has changed. You may buy an indulgence, you
may make a decision, But your heart is just the same. The heart
isn't changed. It's just as hard as it ever
was. And the problem is the heart.
Your heart must be changed. And your deciding and your working
and your paying can't change your heart. Our state by nature
is so bad. So desperate. We are so captive,
lost, sold under sin, that we need someone who isn't out to
sell us something, nor someone who comes along to make us an
offer, whether that offer be free or not. But we need one
who pays the price to set us free. We need one who actually
delivers us. one who can truly redeem us,
one who can pay the redemption price to set us free. To be saved
we need one who really saves and our text here in Isaiah speaks
of one who is mighty to save. I that speak in righteousness
Mighty to save. Yes, here is one who actually
saves. Here is one who doesn't stand
by the wayside and wait for a response. Here is one who doesn't just
look upon us helpless, who waits for us to come to him. But here
is one who, as it were, dives into the waters and pulls out
the drowning sinner. Here is one who comes to seek
and to save that which is lost. Here is one who intervenes. Here is one who is mighty to
save. Well, that's just the sort of
saviour I need. It's just the sort of saviour
you need, don't you? One who is mighty to save. Mighty to save. Well consider
the one spoken of in this passage. Who is this that cometh from
Eden, with dyed garments from Bozrah, this that is glorious
in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength? Who is this Who is this that
is mighty to save? He comes from Edom, with dyed
garments from Bosra. He comes, as it were, from battle. From battle, from the battlefield. He returns from the battlefield. Edom and Bosra are typical of
the enemies of God. of the warring armies set against
God. Edom, the descendants of Esau,
all those who are opposed to Jacob, all those who are opposed
to God's people and their God, the enemies of God, the armies
set upon God. And here comes one who returns
from Edom, and from Bosra, one who returns in blood-soaked garments,
dyed garments, garments which are red, one who is red in his
apparel, one who returns from battle, one who returns from
those who would war against him. But he returns not as a defeated,
and overcome, soldier. But he returns as one who is
victorious. He returns as a conquering hero. Who is this that cometh from
Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? He is one who is glorious
in his apparel. He travels in the greatness of
his strength. He speaks in righteousness as
one who is mighty to save. This is not one who's defeated,
but one who's conquered, and one who's conquered all, and
one who's conquered all his enemies. He returns from Edom and Bozrah
as a conquering hero. He is, as it were, him of whom
the psalmist speaks, In Psalm 24, who is this? Who is this that cometh from
Edom, from Bozrah? Well as Psalm 24 verse 8 asks,
who is this? Who is this King of Glory? Who
is this King of Glory? He is the Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord mighty, in battle. Yes, this is the Lord who returns
from Edom and Bozrah, the Lord who is strong and mighty, the
Lord who is mighty in battle, a glorious Saviour, the one whom
the Lord's people, at the end of chapter 62 in Isaiah, pointed
at. We read in Isaiah 62 and verse
11, The words, behold, behold the
Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, say ye to the
daughter of Zion, say ye to the daughter of Zion, say ye to my
oppressed people, my weak and despised people, my afflicted
and broken hearted, those who know they are without strength,
those who are surrounded by enemies, those who are broken and bruised,
say ye to that people who long for salvation, say ye to that
people, say ye to the daughter of Zion, behold, behold thy salvation
cometh, thy salvation cometh, behold his reward is with him
and his work before him, Behold thy salvation cometh, wherefrom? From Edom and from Bozrah, in
the person of one who returns from battle in Edom and Bozrah,
who is glorious in his apparel, who travels in the greatness
of his strength, who returns the mighty conqueror from the
battlefield, having defeated all his foes. Yes, daughter of
Zion, behold, thy salvation cometh in the one who comes, glorious
in his apparel, the Lord mighty in battle, who is this but the
Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ, the one
who went to battle, the one who went to the battlefield for his
people, the one who went to save his people, the one who speaks
in righteousness, who is mighty to save. Here the prophet says,
the Lord says by him to his people, to a needy people, a people in
need of salvation, Behold, behold thy salvation cometh. Here he is, look unto the Lord. Look all ye ends of the earth
and be ye saved. Behold thy Lord cometh. Behold the Lord Jesus. Behold
he cometh from battle, a conquering hero, one who doesn't come unto
you, pleading with you, offering unto you, saying I will save
you if you will, but one who comes returning from that work
of salvation in which he has saved, returning, traveling in
the greatness of his strength, in the gloriousness of his apparel,
speaking righteousness, one who is mighty to say, He is glorious in his apparel. Glorious in his apparel. Consider
his clothing. Consider this sight. He comes
from Eden with dyed garments from Bosra. Wherefore art thou
red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth
in the wine-fat? He hath garments which are, as
it were, covered in the crushed juice of the grapes, splattered,
as it were, in that which appears as blood. He comes in blood-splattered
garments, and yet today are described here as glorious. You might think, what is glorious
about the garments of one who was trod in the winepress? What is glorious about the garments
of a warrior splattered in blood? And yet the Lord says here of
his garments, that they are indeed glorious. He is glorious in his
apparel. Why? Well, firstly, they are
the apparel of a conquering warrior, a conquering soldier. covered
in blood perhaps, but blood which speaks of his victory. The garments
of a warrior, but the garments not of any warrior, but these
are the garments of a king, the garments of a king who went out
to battle. Who is this king of glory, the
Lord strong and mighty, the Lord Mighty in battle. Yes, these are the garments of
a warrior, but this warrior is no ordinary warrior. These are
the garments of a king who returned from battle victorious. He has
defeated the enemy and he returns dressed in the glorious apparel
of a king. But these are also the garments
of a priest. This is one who comes, as it
were, as the priest. The priest had glorious garments
to wear, but when the priest took a sacrifice and offered
up the sacrifice, the blood of that sacrifice, when he slew
it, would splatter all over him. it would be splattered over him,
he would be covered in blood. And these blood-splattered garments
which this one who returns from battle is covered in, are those
garments, those glorious garments of a priest. For this one comes
having made a sacrifice. His was no ordinary battle. His defeat of the enemy was wrought
in no ordinary circumstances, but his battle was raged. It was fought upon an altar. He slew his enemies upon an altar. He went as a priest, carrying
a sacrifice to an altar, and he slew that sacrifice. And with
blood splattered garments, he took the blood of that sacrifice
into the Holy of Holies. And he sprinkled that blood upon
a mercy seat for his people, for whom he fought, for whom
he interceded. And he offered up that blood
on their behalf. And in doing so, he wrought a
great victory. For this speaks of our Lord Jesus.
a mighty conqueror, a mighty warrior, a mighty king, but a
mighty priest on behalf of his people. Yes, they're the garments
of a king, but they're the garments of a priest too. He is glorious
in his apparel. But finally about these garments,
they are also the garments of a servant. They're the garments
of a servant. one who went before his Lord
and did his Lord's bidding, one who did all that he should do,
the garments of a servant, but not any servant, this is a servant
who is a messenger, this is a servant who returns with a message, this
is one who comes speaking, declaring a message, as we read of him,
in response to the question, who is this? Who is this with
dyed garments? Who is this glorious in his apparel? Who is this that travels in the
greatness of his strength? He replies, I that speak in righteousness,
mighty to save. I that speak in righteousness,
these are the garments of a messenger. the garments of a messenger,
the Lord's servant, one sent with a message, one whom the
Lord sends to his people with a message, one who comes declaring
to that people, I am mighty to save. Why? Because I will declare unto
you righteousness. I come with a message of righteousness. Yes, he's a messenger. And not
any ordinary messenger either. but the messenger of the covenant,
the messenger of the covenant, this one of whom is spoken is
the Lord Jesus, the messenger of the covenant, the messenger
of God's covenant, the one who covenanted with his father before
all time to bring salvation to his people, the one who purposed
to save a people, the one who made a covenant that he should
come that he should come into this world, that he should come
as a man in this world, that he should come made a man, made
a little lower than the angels, that he should come as a king,
that he should come as a warrior, that he should come as their
priest, that he should come as their messenger, that he should
come to accomplish to satisfy, to fulfil the terms of that covenant
which he made with his father, which he made with him whom he
served, which he made with him who sent him. He should come
as the one, the messenger of the covenant, the servant of
the Lord, the one who fulfilled the covenant on behalf of his
people, the one who came, who wrought salvation, who accomplished
salvation upon his cross. when he offered up himself as
sacrifice for sin. Yes, he's a messenger. Oh, he's
glorious in his apparel. Glorious in his apparel. Yes,
he comes wearing garments which are glorious. And notice these
garments. They are the garments of a prophet,
a messenger, a servant, a prophet, the prophet of the Lord. They
are the garments of a prophet. the garment of a priest and the
garment of a king. Here comes one who is both prophet
and priest, who is both priest and king. Here comes one who
is indeed our prophet, our priest, and our king, if we are his people,
if we are his, if we are one whom he came to save. Yes, he's
the prophet, the priest and the king of his own. And he comes
glorious in his apparel and he travels in the greatness of his
strength. He is mighty to save. He travels in the greatness of
his strength. This is one who is mighty. He does all the work to save. He needs neither our assistance
nor our permission. He saves. Yes, he saves. He came to save a people and
he saved them. He did all the work. He is mighty
to save. As we read of him, he comes with
garments like him that treadeth in the wine fat. Why? because
at the cross, the Lord Jesus indeed trod in the winepress. He trod in the winepress. He
took the wrath of God against the sins of his people. He was
crushed. He trod alone in the winepress
of God's wrath. But notice what he says in verse
three. I have trodden the winepress
alone. I have trodden the winepress
alone and of the people there was none with me. He says in
verse 5, I looked and there was none to help and I wondered that
there was none to uphold. Therefore mine own arm brought
salvation unto me. and my fury it upheld me. Mine own arm brought salvation
unto me and unto all his people for whom he stood. Yes, he is
mighty to save. He comes in the greatness of
his strength. And when at the cross he died
for his people, he looked and there was none to help. He wondered
that there was none to uphold, but he brought their salvation
by himself. He did it alone. He did all that
was necessary to save them by his own strength. Mine own arm brought salvation. Oh yes, he trod the winepress
alone. he travels in the greatness of his strength. Who is this? He answers, I that
speak in righteousness, mighty to save, I that speak in righteousness,
this is one that speaks in righteousness, He is one who speaks of righteousness. He is one who is righteous. He is righteous, a righteous
savior, a just savior. He is just and the justifier
of the ungodly. Righteousness. Yes, then one
who judged and one who judges between good and evil. one who
declares right, one who speaks right, one who discerns good
from evil, righteous. I speak in righteousness. What do you know of this righteousness
of which this one speaks, of which the messenger of the covenant
speaks? What do you know of this righteousness
Why does he speak in righteousness? Well salvation depends upon it. Salvation depends upon righteousness
and this one who is mighty to save must therefore come speaking
in righteousness. If he is to save and if he is
mighty to save then that salvation of which he declares that salvation
which he has wrought must depend upon righteousness. Righteousness,
justice cannot be set aside. Then sin and our sins and the
sins of all those for whom he came to save cannot be set aside. They cannot be just winked at. They cannot be just ignored. That people cannot be forgiven
without the matter of their sins being justly dealt with. Righteousness
must be upheld if there is to be any salvation. Righteousness
must be upheld in order to save and there is only one who can
uphold righteousness and bring in righteousness and bring in
salvation through righteousness and here is that only one. Here
is that one who brings in righteousness and that is why he speaks in
righteousness. You see, when this one, when
he brings his message of salvation to a poor and a needy people,
when he says unto that people, behold, the Lord hath proclaimed
unto the end of the world, say ye to the daughter of Zion, behold,
thy salvation cometh. When he speaks unto that people,
that needy, that broken, That contrite, that sinful, that guilty,
that rebellious people of their salvation, when He brings a message
to them of their salvation, when He said unto that people, Behold
thy Saviour cometh, behold thy salvation cometh, behold the
One who is mighty to save, When he says unto that people that
their salvation has come, then he is declaring unto that people
that righteousness has been accomplished, that righteousness has been brought
in on their behalf, that their sins have been taken away, and
righteousness is now theirs. Yes, he speaks in righteousness. he comes not to condemn but to
save not to slay but to justify he comes speaking in righteousness
he comes unto sinners and he shows them the blood on his garments
he shows them his glorious apparel He shows them the blood on his
garments and he says, behold thy God. Look at my garments. Look at the one that comes unto
thee. Look at the blood which has been
shed. Behold thy God. Thy sins be forgiven
thee. Thy sins have been blotted out. Look at the blood. Your sins
have been blotted out. Yes, he shows them the blood.
He shows them the garments. He speaks in righteousness because
he shows them the ground and the cause of their justification. that righteousness has been brought
in for them by his own shed blood. Yes he comes and he speaks in
righteousness, he says I have laid down my life, I have shed
my blood, I have satisfied the righteousness of God in my death,
in your place to take away your sins, to bring in my righteousness,
the righteousness of God in me for you. You have been washed
in my blood and you are now righteous in me. As he says this to those
for whom he died, that broken, that contrite, that needy people,
that people who know their sin, that people who know their poverty,
that people who know their need, who know their guilt, who know
that they are lepers from head to toe, who know that they are
black from head to toe, who know that they are sinful from head
to toe, who know that their sins multiply day by day and they
can do nothing to take them away, who know that they are stained,
that they are guilty, and that if they are to be saved, they
must be washed. And here to such a people, such
a broken, such a lost, such a mournful people, on the brink of death,
The Lord comes, the Lord comes as it were riding upon a horse,
riding victorious from battle, riding glorious having defeated
his foe, and the Spirit before him points and cries, pointing
the people to him as he comes unto them and says unto them,
behold, behold the Lord, behold thy salvation cometh, look unto
him, Hear him who comes unto thee, who speaks unto thee in
righteousness, who is mighty to save. Behold his garments,
behold him who is glorious in his apparel, who has washed thy
sins away in his blood. Yes, consider those garments. Look at those garments again,
those blood-stained garments. He comes in glorious apparel,
covered in blood, the blood of his own people, which speaks
of their sins, which speaks of the death which they should die. But he comes as one who has died
for them, one in whom they have died, one in whom their sins
have been judged, one in whom their sins have been washed and
judged away. Oh, there's blood. But that blood has been answered.
Their sins have been answered. This blood also speaks of the
blood of his enemies. He has judged not just his people
and their sins, but he has judged his enemies, those who would
war against him, those who would seek to destroy him. And he has
conquered all his enemies. Oh, his blood stains. Blood of
his own perhaps. Blood of his enemies. And indeed,
when we consider the blood on the garments of our Lord, we
cannot but think of the blood of Christ, that blood which washes,
that blood which was shed, that perfect blood, that blood of
the one who was without sin, of the one who is righteous,
of the one who is mighty to save, that blood which was shed freely,
for a people who deserved it not, that blood which washed
from every sin. That blood. Yes, who is this
that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bosra, glorious
in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength?
It is him that speaks in righteousness. He who is mighty, to save. But notice the context, notice
where this one is spoken of. He comes in this passage, as
it were, in the middle of two peoples. There are those who
wait for him, those who long for him, those who look for him.
That broken contrite bruised, afflicted people of the Lord,
those who look for salvation. those who looked, and here comes
their Saviour, riding unto them, glorious in His apparel, victorious
in His conquests over their enemies, victorious in His conquests over
sin, over judgment, over the wrath of God against their sins.
Oh, He comes as their Saviour mighty to save, and as this one
people on one side, but there's another people on the other side. He comes and He stands between
the two. You see when He comes, He comes
as the Saviour and He comes and He stands between the saved and
the lost. There are those on His left hand
and there are those on His right. At the cross He was crucified
between two thieves both the same as each other, both guilty,
both guilty unto death and yet one he saved and one was lost
for all eternity. Neither did anything different
to the other, neither earned their salvation any more than
the other, what they earned was condemnation, what they earned
was everlasting destruction. Yet to one he turns and says,
today you shall be with me in paradise. And the other perished. Yes, when he dies, he stands
between two people. The one people on one side, the
other on the other. And when he comes to you, when
he comes to you in the gospel, when you hear of this man, I
tell you, you want to be on the right side of him. You want to
be stood on the right side of this man, this one who comes. You want to be at his feet, not
under them. You want to be bowed down in
worship before his feet, not trodden and trampled underfoot
under his fury. Oh, you want to be in the right
place with regard to this man. Hear this day of this one, this
one who is mighty to save, but this one who comes in fury in
the day of vengeance. Where are you with regard to
this man? See on the one side there is
a people who is afflicted, a people who is broken, contrite, poor,
humble, needy, in need of salvation. those who are spoken of as the
redeemed of the Lord, those whose hearts have been changed, those
whose hearts have been broken, those who have been brought under
the convicting pangs of the law of God, under the conviction
of the Spirit, under the conviction of the Gospel, to know that they
are sinners, whose hearts have been broken, who cry out for
mercy, who know they are needy, those who look for a Saviour,
those who know they will be lost unless the Saviour comes unto
them. These are the ones of whom we
read of at the end of Isaiah 62. These are the ones to whom
the Saviour says in that lost condition, in that needy condition. If you're like them today, these
are the ones to whom the Spirit will come and say in the Gospel,
are you needy? Do you need salvation? Do you
know your stake, that you are a sinner? Then behold, behold
thy salvation cometh. Behold his reward is with him. Behold his work is before him. He speaks in righteousness. He
is mighty to save. Yes, these are those, are you
amongst them, who look for a saviour? These are those who have found
one. Are you looking? Have you found? This is one whom they have found,
who in his love and in his pity he redeemed them. It says in
verse 9. It says of them that in all their
affliction he was afflicted. He knew like them what it was
to suffer. He knew like them what it was
to be opposed, to have enemies. He knew what it was to suffer.
Indeed, none have suffered like him. He took on himself their
sins to deliver them from sin. Oh, in his love and in his pity,
he redeemed them, that they might be called the holy people, the
redeemed of the Lord. sought out a city not forsaken. He came unto them to save them. Oh, the loving kindnesses of
the Lord. Oh, the mercies, the mercies. It's all mercy. You see, it's
all of grace. He comes to save these. There's
no debt he owes unto them here. He owes them nothing. He owes
us nothing. Our works, our will, have no
claim on this salvation, have no claim on this mercy, on this
love. All we do, all we have done,
has merely set us at a great distance from Him. And yet to
these, to those in this state, He is mighty to save. He sets His love upon such a
people, His love, His mercy, His loving-kindness. a love with
no beginning, a love with no end, an everlasting love, an
undeserved and unmerited love, and yet a love which brings salvation. Do you know this love? Has it
been shed abroad in your heart? As the Spirit said, Behold, thy
salvation cometh. Oh, His love, the love of one
who is mighty to save, And yet in the midst of that salvation,
when he came for such a people, when he died to save them in
his sufferings, he looked and there was none to help. He wondered
that there was none to uphold. Though he came for that people,
where were they when he died? Where were his disciples when
he died? He looked unto them in his sufferings. He looked in the garden of Gethsemane
when he was in torment. as that hour of judgment approached,
and even his closest disciples slept, there was none to help,
none to behold. Therefore his own arm brought
salvation unto himself and unto all those for whom he died. He
rose from the dead, he conquered death, he conquered hell by his
own salvation. And in him all his people rose
too. And in him they conquered all
that was against them. Yes, on that day of vengeance,
that day of vengeance in which he delivered his people from
the wrath of God, he did it all. By himself he wrought their salvation. He is mighty to save. He needs none of our help, none
of our works, none of our will. None of the withered arm, the
withered helpless strength of the so-called free will of man. He needs none of this helpless
strength. He did it all. He's mighty to
save. Oh, I ask you, are you in need?
Are you desperate this day? Are you guilty, condemned under
the convictions of sin? Are you broken, helpless? Well, look unto him. Here is
one. who is mighty, mighty to save. Oh, do you know this Saviour? Are you one of these who've beheld? Are you one of the redeemed of
the Lord? One of those whom He sought out
and He saved? Are you, or are you, one of those
others of whom we read of here? one of those whom he treads down
in his fury, one of those at the cross when he died in the
day of vengeance, whom he trod down under his feet, and who
at the end of time, if they remain rebellious, if they continue
to despise and reject him, as they will, are you one of those
who in the end he will tread down in his fury, For the other
group of people of whom we read here in verses three to six are
that proud, that rebellious, that hard-hearted people, the
rich, the self-sufficient, the smart, the clever, the proud. Perhaps even those religious
who come unto the Lord saying, Lord, Lord, we have done this
in thy name, and we have done that in thy name. Surely thou
wilt be pleased with us, oh no. Oh no, he needs none of your
help. This is the one who died and who did all the work alone
to save his people. There were none to help when
he needed the help. When he needed the help, there
were none to help. Are you amongst this group? Even
these proud, even if they may be religious, Even if they may
say, Lord, Lord, are you resting in your strength? Or do you come
as those who are broken, who have nothing? For these people
will be crushed by his fury. Oh, which is you? Which are you? Do you still cling on to your
own strength, still proudly rebelling against God and his Saviour,
against his ways, his gospel? Well, know your end. Hear the
alarm. This one, who is mighty to save,
will crush all his enemies in his anger. He will crush them
all in his fury. All his enemies, even Satan,
whose head he crushed at the cross. Yes, all his enemies. If he crushed Satan, he can crush
even you. All his enemies will be crushed.
They were crushed at the cross and they will be forever crushed
and silenced at the end of time. If that state is one in which
you remain in the end, he'll crush you too. Is that you? But if you know your heart, if
your heart has already been crushed, already broken, if you're contrite
in spirit, if you're one who knows your state, knows your
sinfulness, knows your need, if you're one of those needy
people who need a Saviour, then I ask you, have you been brought
to cry out for salvation? If you have, then cry, cry, look
to Him who comes from Eden with dyed garments from Bosra, look
to Him who speaks in righteousness, look to Him who is mighty to
save. Oh behold your God, behold your
salvation, for when he comes to his people and picks them
up and carries them in his arms as those whom he has redeemed,
that people, that redeemed of the Lord, that holy people, that
people sought out, that people, that people will cry out as one
in praise, they will cry out, they will shout in joy in praise
to the one who says, I speak in righteousness, I am mighty
to save, mighty to save. Amen.