Isaiah chapter 45. Isaiah chapter
45. Try, if you can, to get a picture
in your mind of a man raised among pagans in the Mideast,
in the land that we now know as Persia, or now know as Iran,
and Iraq, and Saudi Arabia raised in that land, just as dark and
superstitious was the religion of that day, just as barbaric
as it is now, even more so. But this man was raised up in
an unusual manner. The hand of God was signaling
upon him. As he grew into a young man,
he became a mighty warrior, a mighty king. He became the king of Persia,
what we now call Iran. Yeah, he ran, and then he conquered
many, many of the nations around him, so that eventually all the
nations in that realm, every one of them, every one of them
came under the rule of this one man. Now, when he had conquered
Babylon, the area that is now in Iraq, when he had conquered
that, this man found a group of people who were in bondage
in that land. And when he heard that they were
there, he got their records of their religion and began to read
the scriptures. And as he read Isaiah chapter
45, this man who never knew God's name, this man who never knew
the worship of God, This man who had been raised up and given
such great power, such great dominion and such great riches,
read Isaiah chapter 45 and read his own name. And read it in
the word of a prophet that had been written 200 years before
he was reading this text of scripture. Can you imagine what effect it
would have had on him? Well, the man I'm talking about
is not a mythical figure. And the scripture I'm talking
about is not just giving a supposition of what might happen, nor is
it recording a history of what had happened, but it is the word
of God concerning Cyrus and the deliverance of Israel out of
Babylon by the hand of Cyrus. Now we're going to look at this
45th chapter of Isaiah this evening, and we will see here a blessed,
glorious description of our great God and the work which he performs
for his people. Cyrus was a Midian king. He had
become the king of Persia, one whom God raised up specifically
for the purpose of delivering the Jews out of Babylon. Cyrus
was an instrument in the hands of God by whom God accomplished
his righteous purpose in this world. Now though he was raised
a pagan, though he was raised as a base idolater, though he
was raised in a land of darkness and superstition and gross immorality,
Cyrus was anointed of God to be the deliverer of his people.
Now there is a good bit of controversy as to whether or not Cyrus ever
became a true believer, as to whether or not he was ever truly
converted by the grace of God. But insofar as I'm concerned,
the testimony of Ezra, if you want to turn there, hold your
hand in Isaiah 45 and look back at Ezra, the testimony of Ezra
forever settles that issue. In Ezra chapter 1, Cyrus himself
is speaking. And he describes himself in a
remarkable way, though he's not talking about himself at all,
he's talking about God. Notice what he says in Ezra 1
and verse 1. Now in the first year of Cyrus,
king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah
might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus,
king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all
his kingdom and put it also in writing. In other words, he didn't
say this thing in secret. This would be like the Ayatollah
Khomeini, if he had world power, putting this thing in writing.
This would be like Saddam Hussein, if he had world power, speaking
these things. All right, now look what he says.
Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia, the Lord God of heaven, given
me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he hath charged me to build
him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among
you of all his people? His God be with him, and let
him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house
of the Lord God of Israel. He is the God." What a word. He is the God which is in Jerusalem. So Cyrus speaks plainly and he
speaks declaring who and what God is. He says this is what
God has done. Look in verse 4. And whosoever
remaineth in any place where he sojourneth Let the men of
his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods,
and with these besides the freewill offerings for the house of God
that is Now, when Cyrus made this decree and made it public,
he renounced the gods of his fathers. He renounced all the
gods that he had been taught to worship and said, the God
of Jerusalem, he is the God. That is, there is no God in heaven
or earth but this God, who is the Lord Jehovah. He declared
Jehovah alone to be God, and acknowledged him who was the
God who has given me this great kingdom, and this great power,
and this great riches. And then Cyrus used what God
put in his hands for the establishment again of the worship of God,
the building of the house of God, and the preaching of the
word of God in Jerusalem. Well, be that as it may, certainly
it appears from that passage in Ezra that Cyrus was a true
believer. But be that as it may, this prophecy
was written by Isaiah more than 200 years before Cyrus conquered
Babylon and freed God's chosen people from their captivity.
Now, the purpose of God in giving this word of prophecy by Isaiah
was threefold. He tells us plainly in the chapter. First, in verse three, he tells
us that his purpose in this prophecy was that Cyrus himself might
know that the Lord is God. He says, and I will give thee
the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places
that thou mayest know that I the Lord which call thee by thy name
am the God of Israel. So God's purpose was that Cyrus
himself might read these words and be convinced by God's word
and by God's work that he is God. And secondly, he gave this
prophecy so that Israel might be delivered by Cyrus. In verse
17 he says, but Israel shall be saved in the Lord with everlasting
salvation. Ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded,
world without end. That is, God says, I've given
this word so that when Cyrus reads this word, and he knows
and acknowledges that I am God, he will in the strength and confidence
of my word go against Babylon and deliver my people from their
captivity. And then thirdly, this prophecy
was written, and these things came to pass, that all the world
might know that he who is the Lord Jehovah is God indeed. Look in verse 6. That they may
know from the rising of the sun and from the west that there
is none beside me. I am the Lord and there is none
else. Now this man Cyrus, the deliverer
of Israel, stands before us in this passage as an imminent type
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the deliverer of God's elect, our
Savior. Tonight, I want us to just take
a quick survey of these 25 verses. I'll not attempt to expound any
of the passage, but I want to simply call your attention to
several highlights in the scripture and draw some lessons from it.
If the Lord willing, we will come back over the next several
weeks and look at the passage in more detail. In this passage
of scripture, we see a description of God that in many ways is unparalleled
anywhere else. Here we have a description of
the greatness and the glory of our God. Now as we read who he
is and what he has done and promised to do, let us ever remember this
is our God. This is our Savior. As we take these highlights,
I want to, if you might permit me, divide the message into four
points. Really, the message is a message
from God himself. Isaiah was the messenger, but
he was simply delivering what God the Lord had said. I pray
that that will be the case as I endeavor to preach to you this
evening. Let's look then at these four parts to the message. First,
in verses one through four, the Lord God declares the wondrous
mystery of his providence. Nothing, in my opinion, is more
comforting to the hearts of believers in this world than the blessed
apprehension of God's providence. And the more you understand what
God and his providence is doing, the more comfort you will take
when you cannot see exactly what's going on in your present circumstances. When you understand what God's
ultimate end in providence is, you take comfort in it. Now actually
there are two things in these four verses that we need to see.
First, I want you to see that Cyrus is here presented to us
as a type of Christ. Thus saith the Lord to his anointed,
to Cyrus. whose right hand I have strengthened
to subdue nations before him, and I will loose the loins of
kings to open before him the two leaved gates, and the gates
shall not be shut. I will go before thee and make
the crooked places straight. I will break in pieces the gates
of brass and cut and sunder the bars of iron. I will give thee
the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places,
that thou mayest know that I, the Lord which call thee by thy
name, am the God of Israel." Now Cyrus was a type of Christ
in this respect. First, he was God's anointed,
which is what the word Christ means, anointed of God. He is
the one appointed of God to be the deliverer and anointed by
God for this specific work, even as the Lord Jesus was appointed
of God to be the redeemer of his people from all eternity
and anointed by God with his spirit without measure to accomplish
his work. The Lord God strengthened Cyrus
for his work. He said, I have upheld his right
hand. I strengthened his hand to push
against the nations and overcome them, to push against the gates
of Babylon and overcome them. I strengthened his hand. And
so the Lord Jesus Christ Is that one for whom the Lord God had
prepared a body in the womb of the virgin and brought forth
his son into this world and strengthened him as a man all the days of
his life, giving him all power and all authority, ultimately
in his everlasting glory to rule everything to accomplish his
purpose. Cyrus was raised up for the specific
purpose of delivering God's elect out of Babylonian captivity.
He was raised up with this thing in God's mind, and this thing
revealed in the text, that at the appointed time, he would
go against Babylon, and bring Israel out of Babylon again,
and establish them in their own land, the land of promise, the
land of God's covenant blessing. So the Lord Jesus Christ is that
one whose name means he shall save his people from their sins. He is that one whom the Lord
God has sent into this world to bring his children, his elect,
out of bondage and darkness and set them in the land of the glorious
liberty of the sons of God. Cyrus was assured of success. The Lord tells him in this passage,
can't you imagine Josephus speculates in his history that Cyrus read
this chapter as he was making preparations to go against Babylon,
and when he read this chapter, he read this chapter and he said,
I'm going. Because the Lord God 200 years beforehand said, you're
going to succeed. The gates are going to fall before
you. The crooked places are going to be made straight. Everything's
going to work out all right. I will see to it that no obstacle
stands against you. No enemy can resist you. No power
can frustrate you. And so the Lord Jesus Christ,
our great Redeemer of whom Cyrus was attacked, is that one of
whom it is written, he shall not fail. He will accomplish
that which I please. He will do that which God has
purposed. And Cyrus was also given this
word. He was told plainly that the
Lord God gave everything into his hands for the accomplishment
of his purpose. That is, God gave him all the
kingdoms of the world. God gave him all the treasures
of darkness. God gave him all the secret riches
of the earth. For what purpose? To bring his
people out of Babylon. And the Lord God has given to
his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, all the kingdoms of the world,
all the treasures of the world, all the riches of the world,
indeed all the riches of grace and glory and all power to bring
his people into his heavenly kingdom. Look what we read in
verse 13. I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will
direct his ways. He shall build my city, and he
shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the
Lord of Hosts." That is, he will bring deliverance, and he will
bring it to them freely. It'll cost them nothing. It'll
be accomplished entirely by Cyrus. It'll be accomplished entirely
by Jesus Christ the Lord. Nothing kept Christ from redeeming
his people, and nothing can keep him from saving them in time,
keeping them through all their troubles and glorifying them
at last. Now look again at verses 3 and
4. Here is the great blessed mystery of providence. The Lord
says that thou mayest know that I the Lord which call thee by
thy name am the God of Israel. for Jacob my servant's sake,
and Israel mine elect. I have thee by thy name, I surname
thee, though thou hast not known me." That's amazing. That's amazing. The Lord God
says, I determined, and he writes it 200 years before Cyrus came. He says, I determined that your
daddy would call your name Cyrus, though you didn't know me. Now
what is the mystery of God's providence? Into Babylonian captivity because
of her sin. It was their responsibility.
They had committed transgression. and they suffered for it. But
God graciously and wisely overruled their evil to do them good. Now
understand what I'm saying. The cause of all our sorrow,
the cause of all our suffering in this world is our sin. When you trace it back to it,
I don't care whether you're talking about a sniffle or a sinus headache
or death. The cause of all sorrow and all
suffering in this world is our sin. We bring misery upon ourselves
by our wicked deeds. But our great God wisely and
graciously overrules our sin to do us good, eternal good. All these things come to pass
for three reasons. Everything that comes to pass,
comes to pass for three reasons. I'm saying everything that has
ever happened, is happening, or shall happen in this world,
or in your life, or in mine, is brought to pass by the hand
of God for three reasons. First, for the everlasting salvation
of every chosen sinner. In verse five, or verse three
right here, the Lord says to Cyrus, I've done this so that
you'll know me. So that you'll know me. What's
he done? He's conquered nations. He's
defeated empires. He's overthrown kings. He's slain
thousands of people. For what purpose? So that Cyrus
will know him. You reckon God'll do that? I
know he'll do that. I know God Almighty raised up
this man in the midst of Babylonian, or in the midst of Persian paganism,
and raised him up giving him power over nations. He was a
brutal, brutal, brutal Persian king. But God gave him the power,
ultimately, so that God would give him grace. Now what I'm
telling you is, my friends, whatever God does in this world, Whatever
he does, he does to seek to it that each of his elect sees his
grace and his glory in Jesus Christ and comes to faith in
Christ. Everything he does. Everything
he does. If you men and women should take
a survey of your lives and pause to think about the hand
of God's providence and what he's done in his providence specifically
to bring you to his son. Oh, what a wonder of grace. How
he's preserved you in the midst of great evil and seen his angels
to be ministering spirits, ministering to you who were chosen to be
heirs of salvation, keeping you in life until he called you by
grace. That's his purpose. Now then, if that's God's purpose,
And there is no other, if there's no other purpose, that's reason
enough for us to be content with God's providence, isn't it? Isn't
it? In the course of my ministry,
preaching around the world, I have simply been astounded to see
how God in his good providence arranges everything to bring
chosen sinners to hear his word and believe his thought. Now,
whatever he brings to pass, whatever he brings to pass is alright
if it's for the saving of his people. It's alright. Secondly,
everything that comes to pass in this world comes to pass for
the salvation of all God's elect. So the vision of God's providence
in the mystery of what God's doing enlarges as we look at
it. Not only has he purposed to save
each of you, each one of his elect, but he has purposed in
all things the salvation of all his elect, the whole body of
his chosen ones, the great multitude whom he has numbered which no
man can number. So God's purpose is that all
his chosen, all his ransom, be brought to Christ. And thirdly,
God's purpose. He says in verse four, I've done
this for Jacob, my servant's sake, and Israel, mine elect.
But thirdly, God's purpose in all things is the everlasting
universal praise, honor, and glory of his own great name. He says in verse five, I am the
Lord. There's none else. There is no
God beside me. I girded thee, though thou hast
not known me." I'm the one who gave you your strength. I'm the
one who gave you your name. I'm the one who upheld you and
protected you, so you didn't know me. Why has he done all
of this? That they may know from the rising
of the sun in the east and from the west that there is none beside
me I am the Lord and there is none else. Now I pray that God will give
me the grace when trouble comes to say what I'm fixing to say
right now. Knowing this, this is God's purpose. Whatever he
brings to pass he's going to save every one of his chosen.
He's going to save all his chosen. And he's going to get glory to
his name. Let him do what he will. I'll be content. Let him
do what he will. I'll worship him. His purpose
is good. His purpose is good. Now, sometimes
I can't see further than the end of my nose. Sometimes I can't
see beyond my circumstances. Sometimes I can't see how God
is accomplishing good. But Wes, we don't need to see
how he's accomplishing good, only long as he sees it. We don't
need to see how he's accomplishing his purpose, as long as he knows
it. We don't need to see how these things are going to accomplish
the salvation of this chosen sinner, or all chosen sinners,
and the glory of his name. We just know he'll do it. And
he's proved it over and over and over again. All right, secondly,
in verses 5 through 10, our great God asserts his sovereignty as
God. sovereignty over all things,
and his singularity as the only God there is. He alone is God,
who is absolutely and totally sovereign. Now, this These two
verses alone, Isaiah 45, 5, and 6, if there was nothing else
written in the scriptures, ought to establish in the minds of
all people who believe in the inspiration of this book, that
there is no God who is not sovereign. And he who is absolutely sovereign,
he alone is God. Look what he says. I am the Lord. There is none else. In other
words, there's no other God. Every other pretense of God,
every other idol of God, every other thing that's named God
is just a mockery of the name of God. He said, I am the Lord. There is none else. There is
no God beside me. Well, who is it? I'm the Lord
God who girds you, though you don't know me. I'm the Lord God
who calls your name 200 years before it comes to pass. I am
the Lord God. that girded thee, though thou
hast not known me, that they may know. That is, that everybody
in the world, from the east to the west, from the north to the
south, may know that there is none beside me. I am Jehovah,
and there is none else. And then in verse 7, God tells
us that his sovereignty extends to everything. Everything. Most everybody is prepared to
acknowledge that God has a little something somehow or other to
do with most good things. But when it comes to war, and
death, and sickness, and sorrow, and bereavement, and pestilence,
and famine, and earthquakes, and floods, isn't that... God
can't have anything to do with that. Read what he says in verse 7.
I am the Lord. I form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. I the Lord do all these things.
Now when God spoke this word to Cyrus, he was addressing a
pagan philosophy with which Cyrus was very familiar. It is a pagan
philosophy that still resides in Islam to this day. The name
of the philosophy is Zoroastrianism, and that's, you don't need to
remember that, but I've mentioned it only so you recognize it.
This philosophy taught that there are two powerful forces, two
powerful principles which control the world. And these two powerful
principles are constantly at war. The one is light, the other
is darkness. The one is good, the other is
evil. Now when light prevails, when
deals, then good things happen. But when darkness prevails, When
evil prevails, then bad things happen. And the Lord God speaks
this word to Saul, very familiar with that philosophy, and he
said there ain't a word of truth in it. There ain't a word of
truth in it. Not sure. He says, I alone the
world in good times and in bad, in righteousness, in good and
in evil. These things are my work and
my work only. Now, as God's saying here, Moral,
sinful, evil, not at all. He is dealing with evil things
in the world. Empires and evil regimes and
sorrow and pain and bereavement and sickness and death and poverty
and war and famine and captivity. You are God's works. They're
God's works. I make light, I create darkness. I make peace. God is identifying
himself to us and to Cyrus as the only ruler of the universe. He rules absolutely. Now because he is God alone,
sovereign over all things, salvation can be expected from no one but
him. Look what it says in verse 8. God is still speaking. Drop down
ye heavens from above. Let the skies pour down righteousness. Let the earth open and let them
bring forth salvation and let righteousness spring up together. I the Lord have created him. Now what on earth does that mean?
That means that he who is sovereign in creation and providence is
sovereign in grace as well. Salvation comes from above. Let heaven is open now. Let righteousness drop down from
the heavens. It did, you know. Simeon saw
it, and he said, let now thy servant depart in peace, for
mine eyes have seen thy salvation. It means that salvation can be
accomplished only by righteousness having been established. Drop
down ye heavens from above and let the skies pour down righteousness. Let the earth open and let them
bring forth salvation and let righteousness together with salvation
spring up from the earth. You see, salvation and righteousness
are accomplished together upon the earth by the Lord Jesus Christ,
by him obeying God's law in righteousness, bringing in an everlasting righteousness
and satisfying divine justice. Now he arises up into heaven
and he's accomplished the work which God sent him to accomplish.
And the passage certainly teaches us that the whole purpose of
God in the creation of the world was and is the salvation of his
people. He says, I, the Lord, have created
it. What's he talking about? He's
talking about the earth. He's talking about salvation.
He's talking about righteousness. He's saying, I created this world
for the accomplishment of salvation and righteousness for my people
upon it. I started listening to a tape
someone gave me the other night. A fellow was arguing about common
grace or particular grace. He spent several days. By common grace is common nonsense. The grace of God is always particular. It's always specific. Everything
God does in this world, Merle Hart, He does for you. Everything. And I mean he doesn't do anything
for the reprobate. Everything God does in this world,
everything God brings to pass from the rulers of the world
to the particles of air in the air, everything God brings to
pass, he brings to pass to you. What's he saying? All things
are yours for you are Christ and Christ is God's. It's all
yours. Now look at verses nine and 10.
Those who are found fighting against God's sovereignty, and
striving against his purpose, are foolish rebels. Your battle
is hopeless, and your battle with God is foolish. The Lord
says, Woe unto him that striveth with his maker. God brings something
to pass in your life, and you get mad at God? Why, that's nonsense. That's nonsense. God brings something
to pass in your life, some great tragedy. You read about Job and
Job 1. God brings those things to pass. Job's wife got mad at
God, but Job had better sense than that. Job said to his wife,
when she said, why don't you cuss God and die? He said, you
talk like a foolish woman. You talk like a foolish woman.
This is what it says, woe unto him that starved up with his
maker. Let the potsherds strive with the potsherds of the earth.
Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, what makest thou
of thy work? He hath no hands. Woe unto him
that sayeth unto his father, what begettest thou? Or to the
woman, what hast thou brought forth? Why, that's absurd, that's
nonsense. More than that, it's something
that's altogether hopeless. to be found fighting against
God? Now, children of God, there's a word here for us as well. Let
us not be found fighting against our God. Don't do it. Don't do it. Submit to God's
providence. Submit to God's rules. Bow to
God's will in all things. Now I promise you, regardless
of what we're talking about, regardless of what it is, it
doesn't matter whether you're talking about a temporary setback
financially, or whether you're talking about the utter devastation
of your family. Whatever we're talking about,
there's only one way, only one way of peace. Doesn't matter
whether you're talking about Shemai coming out and cursing
David, or whether you're talking about Absalom trying to kill
his daddy. only one way of peace, and that's
to submit to God's will. You'll never find peace otherwise.
You'll never find it. All right, let's look on to the
next passage, next part of the passage, verses 11. Here the
Lord God assures his people of his gracious purposes and the
certainty of their deliverance. Israel was in bondage in Babylon
for 70 years. hard bondage and servitude. Many in those years of captivity
rebelled against God for having brought this thing upon them,
and they turned from the worship of God. But there was yet a Israel
in Babylonian captivity, there was yet an elect remnant who
believed God, and who believed the word of God and waited for
God to bring deliverance as he had promised. Now this word from
God is to them. It is a word of assurance given
to them, and it's a word of assurance given to us today who believe
our God. First, there's an invitation
of God to his people. Thus saith the Lord, verse 11,
the Holy One of Israel and his Maker, Ask of me things to come,
my sons, concerning the work of my hands, Command ye me. Now that word command doesn't
mean you tell me what to do, that word command means ask what
I'm doing. Ask me to explain it, I'll tell
you what I'm doing. When hard things come to pass
in your life, things you can't handle, and things that you can't
comprehend, and you wonder, God, what are you doing? Just go ahead
and ask Him, it'll be alright. It'll be alright. Seek from Him. instruction and seek it in his
word, and you'll find out what he's doing. What he says, ask
of me. You ask me concerning my sons,
I'll tell you. You ask me concerning the work of my hands, I'll tell
you. Our Lord Jesus said, you're not my servants, you're my friends.
I've told you what I'm doing. And the Lord God says, when you've
got trouble, ask me. I'll explain myself, and he does
it in his word. And here's a word of assurance.
A word of assurance arising from God's great sovereignty. First,
God's purpose in all things, he repeats, is the salvation
of his people. He says in verse 12, I have made
the earth and created man upon it. I, even my hands, have stretched
out the heavens, and all their host have I commended. Now if
you just read that, it seems to stand out there all by itself,
and you don't have any connection. Unless you connect it with verse
11 and verse 13. The Lord said, ask me what I'm
doing? He said, now stretch out the earth, I've created it. What
for? Verse 13. I have raised him up
in righteousness. and will direct all his ways,
and he shall build my house, my city, and he shall let go
my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the Lord of Hosts.
That is, I've raised up Cyrus, and further, I've raised up the
Lord Jesus Christ. I've raised him up upon this
earth. I've established righteousness
in this earth, and he shall build my house. He shall bring my sons
and daughters from far. He shall set the prisoner free. Babylon most certainly shall
be confounded, and God shall be glorified even by his enemies. He says in verse 14, thus saith
the Lord, the labor of Egypt and the merchandise of Ethiopia
and the Sabaeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee. Come
over to who? To God's people, to God's church,
to God's kingdom. Shall come over to thee and they
shall be thine. He says, I've got some chosen
ones among them too, even among your enemies. They shall come
after thee, in chains shall they come over. That is, they'll come
being conquered and defeated by the power of my grace. They
shall fall down unto thee, and they shall make supplication
unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee. Surely God is in
thee, and there is none else. God is where? In that little
band of cacti down in Babylon. In that little band of despised
folks who worship God, surely God is in thee, and there is
none else, there is no God. Verily thou art a God that hideth
thyself, O God of Israel, the Savior. He is indeed. Then they shall be ashamed. Whom? His enemies, our enemies. And
also confounded, all of them shall go to confusion together
that are makers of idols. But look what it says in verse
17. But Israel? Israel? Oh, Babylon is going
to be confounded. Ethiopia is going to be confounded. Egypt, the Sabaeans will all
be confounded. But Israel? Israel shall be saved
in the Lord with an everlasting salvation. Now that statement
in itself tells me that the Lord God is here talking about something
more than the temporary deliverance of Israel out of Babylon. He's
talking about the salvation of His Israel, His church, His kingdom,
the Israel of God. Paul takes up on it in Romans
11, 26, where he says, and so all Israel shall be saved. That is, all God's elect shall
be saved. Israel shall be saved in the
Lord with everlasting salvation. Ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded,
world without end. And again, we are assured of
God's grace. and of the efficacy of his purpose.
He keeps coming back to this and reassuring us that in the
midst of difficulty and trial and heartache and even imprisonment
and bondage and servitude in this world, he's assuring us
that his purpose stands. His grace will be accomplished
toward his people. He says in verse 18, For thus
saith the Lord that created the heavens, God himself that formed
the earth and made it, he hath established it. He created it
not in vain. That is, he didn't create this
world for nothing. He formed it with a purpose,
to be inhabited. I am the Lord and there is none
else. I have not spoken in secret. I have not spoken in a dark place
of the earth. I said not to the seed of Jacob,
seek ye me in vain. That is, I didn't say to you,
you call on me, you worship me, you pray to me. I didn't say
do that and nothing will come of it. I called on you to seek
me for a purpose. What is that purpose? He says,
I, the Lord, speak righteousness. I declare things that are right. I will accomplish that which
I purposed. And I will accomplish that which
I promised in all things in this world. That's the reason I made
it. That's the reason I made it.
All right now in verses 20 through 25. This great sovereign God,
our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, calls for sinners everywhere
to trust Him and be saved. I've shown you all that God has
spoken in this passage. And understand this, the God
who speaks, who is the sovereign over everything, is Jesus Christ
our Savior. He really is. This next few verses
is referred to by the Apostle Paul in Philippians 2, and he
tells us the one he's speaking of is Jesus Christ himself. Our
Lord Jesus Christ, then, is the great sovereign God, and it is
this great sovereign God, our Savior, who here invites sinners
to trust Him and live forever. Look what it says. Assemble yourselves
and come. Draw near together, ye that are
escaped of the nations. They have no knowledge that 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
times? Who hath told it from that time?
Have not I the Lord? What? Listen to this assertion
of His singular greatness. There is no God else beside me,
a just God and a Savior. Tempted to talk about that a
little bit, but I'll leave it alone for now. that no God beside
me, a just God and a Savior, a God who is altogether just
and a God who is altogether gracious. There is none beside me. And
then there's an invitation of grace. All right, he says, look
unto me, look unto me. That can be all right for me
to look? I think so, he said to. Look unto me. I can't look. Oh, yes you can. Look unto me. Look unto me and be you saved
who? All the ends of the earth. Israel,
Judah, Ethiopia, Ziba, Babylon, Persia, Danver. Yeah, all the
ends of the earth. Look unto me, men and women from
the east to the west, from the north to the south, look unto
me! For I am God, and there is none
else. Trust Him. Trust Him. Oh, what
a foundation for trust. Trust Him because He is absolutely
sovereign. He alone is God. Trust Him. because he alone is the just
God and the Savior, having brought him an everlasting righteousness
by the sacrifice of himself. And then there is a declaration
of his lordship. In verse 23, he says, I have
sworn by myself, the word has gone out of my mouth in righteousness
and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow and every
tongue shall swear. In other words, you're going
to bow to my throne sooner or later. Come now and bow to me
and be saved. He says in verse 24, this word
is your promise, a promise of free grace. Surely, shall one
say, somebody's going to, somebody's going to. Oh, bless God, somebody's
going to. In the Lord have I righteousness, I say that. He's my righteousness. He's my strength. I have none
else. Surely, then, even to him shall
men come. I do. How about you? I come to
him. To me shall men come. And all
that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. Well, what's
that mean? Merle prayed for us a little
bit ago. And though he didn't say it,
I heard this in his prayer. He said, Lord God, I'm ashamed
to be found fighting against you. Is that accurate? I'm ashamed
to be found resisting your will. I'm ashamed of my sin. That's repentance. You come to
him like that in repentance, you'll obtain mercy. You refuse
to, in that great day, when every knee bows before him, you'll
be ashamed too. You'll be ashamed, and you'll
confess your shame to your own everlasting destruction. Then
he says, in the Lord, that is in the Lord Jesus Christ, who
is the Lord our righteousness, shall all the seed of Israel,
all God's chosen ones, all Christ's ransomed ones, all the Spirit's
called ones, in the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified
and shall glory. Amen. Let me give you one summation
to this given by the Apostle Paul. Romans chapter 11 when
he comes to this conclusion of his declaration of God's eternal
purpose and his sovereign providence in accomplishing the salvation
of his people. In verse 33 the Apostle says,
all the depths of the riches, both of the wisdom and the knowledge
of God, how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past
finding out. For who hath known the mind of
the Lord, who hath been his counselor? Or who hath first given to him,
and it shall be recompensed to him again? For of him, and through
him, and to him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.