Isaiah 62. Some questions have been brought
up concerning the first section of this chapter. Who's speaking? We're going to look at the first
five verses of the 62nd chapter. Is this the prophet? Isaiah speaking
concerning his beloved people, or is this the Heavenly Father
addressing his beloved church? Either way, God will be glorified
and his people helped, not just a little. His people are going
to be helped, not just a little. Look with me at these first five
verses, and see what our God does for Zion's sake. As Bruce mentioned this morning
in Bible class, the natural man looks in the mirror and straightway forgets what
manner of man he is. But the believer who has been shown what he or
she is, does not forget a few things. We do not forget where
God found us. Scripturally speaking, we do
not forget the pit from which we've been hewn. And we do not forget this great
salvation and what it took to redeem us from sin, from Satan,
and from ourselves. With these things in mind, look
with me at these five wonderful verses. God's grace to the likes
of you and I. He says, for Zion's sake, the
church's sake, mine elect, my chosen, my bride, my church. For Zion's sake will I not hold
my peace. For Jerusalem's sake I will not
rest until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness
and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burns. What he is saying here is, for
the good of his elect, and for the sake of his church, our God
will go to the greatest measures. To the greatest measures. The
thought is, is that our sovereign God, in providence, in purpose,
and in grace will work and continue to work and design all things
for the salvation of his beloved children, which is referred to
here as righteousness and brightness. God will in providence and in
his purpose and in his grace through His Son, work and continue
to work and design all things for the salvation of His beloved
children. Did you hear me? Providence. I thought about these things
and there are times when you read through the Scriptures and
your mind takes you back to a time when perhaps you knew not God
and His Gospel My mind went back to high school. I can remember
it like it was the other day. And I've told you this story
before, but God in his providential dealings with his people is going
to make sure that I am going to be in Southeast Missouri in
the year 2007. But the year is 1977. a long time ago. And I am sitting
in the passenger side of a Mustang II, blue. I'm riding with my
varsity baseball friend, Marcus Lozano. Marcus and I were close. The dude was fast. If he couldn't
hit, he would pinch run because nobody could throw out Marcus
Lozano. We'd finished practice. I didn't have to have a ride
home. Marcus drove. We pulled out of the high school
parking lot. He looked left. I looked right. There was nothing there. I said,
go. He about ready to hit the gas
and when Marcus drove it wasn't just a little this, this, it
was either all or nothing. He hesitated. And we start, instead
of putting in the gas, he hesitated enough and our forward momentum
just kind of, we slowly worked our way down into the road. And
as we did so, a 18-wheeler, out of nowhere, went right in front
of us. Well, I had just looked and there
was nothing there. We just sat there and probably thanked luck
or something. But as fast as that semi was
going, both of us would have about been here. For Zion's sake
I will not hold my peace, I will not rest until the righteousness
thereof go forth as brightness and the salvation thereof as
a lamp that burns. If you know Christ this morning,
what did He do What must he do to bring you to the point where
he crossed your path and saves you by his free sovereign grace? I remember another time. My buddy
James Wolfe. We were in 8th grade. I was visiting him in the city.
It was called Waukegan. It's border Chicago. And we were
out late, goofing around. A guy came out, an owner of a
shop. He thought we were doing things
we weren't supposed to be. And he was right. We weren't
going to rob the guy. We were just goofing around. And he came
out with a .38. And he pointed it at us. And
he said, I'll give you the count of five to get off my property. And that was the first of several
times that I've had somebody point a gun at me. One was for
the gospel, but this one wasn't. This was just the way we were.
But in the providence of God, in the purpose of God, in the
grace of God, he, as he says here, for his people's sake,
he will not hold his peace. Christ himself could not be crucified
except at the exact time appointed that he was to be crucified. If you know him this morning,
you know with beyond a shadow and a question of a doubt that
There is a time and a place and a message that God would stir
your heart stir your mind and cause you to come to him bless
our sovereign omnipotent Unforgettable God that he will
not rest nor hold his peace until these three things happen. One, that his people are fetched
up in his everlasting arms. He will not rest, he will not
hold his peace until he has you within his grasp of mercy and
grace. We see that in Luke 15, that
one sheep. He was going to go and go and
go until he fetched that sheep. And then after he fetched that
sheep, that sheep, secondly, Christ would not hold his peace. He would not rest until that
sheep was kept, thrown over his shoulders and kept all the days
of that lamb's life. Truly, we will be kept. You know,
Melinda and I, other things that we speak of, we know folks that
are, you know, everybody's getting older around us, and it used
to be that we would kind of look, yeah, you know, I'm 30-something,
and they're, yeah, people, but now, it's kind of like, well,
no, you know, now we're that, you know, Kara's married, now
we're that next generation. You know, we're that, we've bumped
up a whole nother notch. I don't remember Melinda reading
the obituaries very often. It seems like that's what she
does now. And then she tells me about it.
I don't want to know about it. Especially, oh, look at this
person. He had a heart attack. He was 48. I'm thinking, I'm
48. A lot of things that we want to
do, a lot of things we want to see. There's a lot of sinners
that need to hear this gospel. That's the most important thing. But He says He will not hold
His peace and He will not rest until the righteousness thereof
go forth and the brightness and the salvation thereof as a lamp
that burns. He will not rest, He will not
hold His peace until they are fetched as everlasting arms,
kept by the power of His almighty grace. And finally, one day,
like in John 17, that we are with Him in glory. And these
things must come to pass. We laugh, in a sense, about John
and Betty, especially John, that as long as I've known John, he's
about ready to die. He's got all these issues. But
he will go to sleep when the Lord takes him, at that time,
in his time. And that's the way it is here.
That's the assurance that he's giving us in Isaiah 62. And in verse 1, for Zion's sake,
he will not hold his peace. And for his church's sake, he
will not rest until he's glorified. And then that we are fully at
rest and peace with him. Look at verse 2. That's not all. He said, And the Gentiles shall
see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory. And he's talking
about the church. He's talking about the redeemed.
And thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the
Lord shall name. You see, the church of his choosing
shall also have a glorious new name. Not only will he not rest,
will he not sleep, Will he not hold his peace until he accomplishes
those things for which he has set in motion before the foundation
of the world, but he's going to give his people a new name.
Old things must pass away. Salvation is not new wine in
old bottles, but new wine in new bottles. We are new creatures
and new creatures will have a new name. The new birth speaks of
better things with a better name. Turn with me to Revelation chapter
3. This says it pretty clearly. I don't know at what point, but
it took me years and years to get used to my name. I never
liked my name. Never told you that, probably.
Never liked my name. People made fun of my name. It wasn't Andrew. It was Drew. And I was so angry at my mom
and dad for years. You know, probably was until
after high school or sometime during high school. After high
school, I realized, you know, it's unique. And then I found a way
to be proud of it. But they used to make fun of
that name. You know, there's a guy actually,
I don't know, Johnny Cash, somebody, a man named Sue, that song. Well, they just put my name in
there. They made fun of that name, and
I didn't like that name. And I'm reading this, and I'm
thinking, a new name. A new name not to be ashamed
of, to never be made fun of. And it's given by our Heavenly
Father who does everything perfect. Look at Revelation 3 and verse
12. Revelation 3, verse 12. Well, I make a pillar in the
temple of my God and he shall go no more out and I will write
upon him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God,
which is New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from
my God and look at this and I will write upon him my new name. Turn to Ezekiel 36. If we have a new name, it only
stands to reason that we, because we've been given a new heart.
Look at Ezekiel 36. And starting in verse 25. And notice how it says, just
like the new name, it's all outside of us. It's all by His grace. It's all free. It's all sovereign. It's all by God through Christ. Through Christ. Then will I,
God says, sprinkle clean water upon you and you shall be clean
from all your filthiness and from all your idols will I cleanse
you a new heart. A new heart. which is befitting
the new name. Well, I also give you a new spirit,
not that old spirit, the spirit of self and the spirit of flesh
and the spirit of vain religion, but the spirit, the new spirit
that quickens and gives life through this gospel, which often,
as far as we were concerned, was a new gospel because we never
heard of it. It's an old gospel. This book says it's the old gospel,
but when we hear the gospel, For the first time, it is so
different that we think it's new. I've had a lot of religious
people, and specifically my family, aunts, uncles, mother, well,
I've never heard that gospel before. That's a new one. We're supposed to be leery of
new, and then you go, well, you know, it's the old gospel. It's
the everlasting gospel. But when people hear it, that
have been steeped in false religion, they think it's new. A new heart will I give you,
a new spirit will I put within you and I will take away your
stony heart of your flesh and will give you a heart of flesh
and I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in
my statutes and you shall keep my judgments and do them. A new name. Because reformation
will not do. We must be regenerated and born
again. Reformation will not do. Thirdly, look at verse 3. Back
to our text. Thou shalt also be a crown of
glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand
of thy God. Us? How can this be? We, who
are but common and ordinary, we are no pure cut stones, we
are no crown or position of headship or high spiritual status. Look
at what we are. Paul tells us, you don't have
to turn there, but Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 1, for you
see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after
the flesh, not many noble, not many mighty are called, but God
hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the
wise. God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound
the things that are mighty. and base things of the world,
and things which are despised hath God chosen, yea, and the
things which are not, to bring to naught the things that are.
Why? That no flesh should glory in his presence. That's true
of you and me. Things that are not. foolish, insignificant. He says, because of the righteousness
that is wrought in us and for us because of the perfect righteousness
of Christ Jesus, thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand
of the Lord and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. We are precious in his sight
because of the preciousness of Christ, and therefore we're precious
stones. That's incredible. Through him,
Christ, in Christ, we are his crown of glory, a royal diadem,
and he says we are a royal priesthood. By faith in his blood, we are
justified, and therefore we are as he is now. Bob Coffey preached that out
of John. As he is in this world, so are we. You can just take that and run. Run with that. Because he calls
his people a crown of glory and a royal diadem in Christ. The fourth thought, verses four
and five. This is amazing. This indeed is the wonder of wonders. Thou shalt no more be termed
forsaken, neither shall thy land any more be termed desolate,
but thou shalt be called as Ziba and thy land Beulah, for the
Lord delights in thee, and thy land shall be married. No more forsaken and no more desolate, but rather
we're called the marginal is my delight is in her and Beulah
is married. This is a wonder of wonders and
this indeed is a great mystery that we're no longer going to
be termed forsaken and desolate. Now, this is about as far as
I could get with this because it's just too much. It's too
overwhelming. We are not called forsaken. Because at the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice.
And he said, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani, which is being interpreted,
my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? We are not forsaken because he
was. We are his delight because at
one time, Christ being made sin for us was not God's delight. And in Proverbs, it says that
he was daily the father's delight. I don't understand. I understand. Well, I don't understand the
magnitude of what I'm telling you. But I know that this is
what God's Word says, and I believe it. And He says, though we should
be desolate, though we should be forsaken because of our sins,
even after He regenerates us, we sin so grievously. But He
declares that thou shalt no more be termed forsaken, and the only
reason why I am not forsaken and you, if you know Him this
morning, have not been forsaken and will not ever be, Because
Christ cried Why hast thou forsaken me? The one who is the great I am
in Psalm 22 says I am a worm and no man Now This is so beyond our comprehension,
and I'm so thankful that He gives faith that we can lay hold on
this and be comforted and helped. Because, as I said, this is so
far above us. What could any called and quickened
sinner desire more than to not be forsaken by God, that is to
be shown God's favor, and to be God's delight, and to be married,
as he says here, Beulah, for the Lord delights in thee, and
thy land shall be married. We are not our own, we're bought
with a price. He's married, we are married to him. What more could any sinner desire? To see and understand and express
God's favor, God's delight, and lastly, to be married to the
most tender and loveliest groom in the universe. We close. I'm going to read verses
4 again and then verse 5. Thou shalt no more be termed
forsaken, neither shall thy land any more be termed desolate,
But thou shalt be called, My delight is in her, and thy land
married. For the Lord delights in thee,
and thy land shall be married. For as a young man marries a
virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee. And as the bridegroom rejoices
over the bride, now look at this, so shall thy God rejoice over
thee. So shall thy God, the God of
this book, the only true and living God, the only mediator
between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, The Spirit that
quickens whom He wills, the Trinity, thy God rejoices over thee. Because of
what we've done? No. Who we are? No. Our position, our status,
our accomplishments, our religiousness? A thousand times no. But because
He's redeemed us, He's called us, He's married us, and he will
not rest, and he will not hold his peace
until these things are so. May you read this, may you know
this, and may you believe this. And therefore, believing, you
will rejoice, because it is so. Thus saith the Lord, according
to this book, You in Him and He in you. One with the Father. May God give us grace to rejoice
and to ever look to Him. Let's close.