We start in this passage of scripture with two commands. Two commands. The first, incline your ear. Incline your ear. It has a very simple definition. It means to listen, to just listen. Scripture says, he that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And that's what's being said here. And listen, consider what's being said. I can't remember how many times as a child, and maybe even as an older child, I had to be sat down and told to listen. Just listen, listen to what I'm saying. And what's being said here, there's nothing, I can't think of anything more important. This deals with the soul. This deals with eternal life. You know the world, the world gives little thought to the things of eternity. That was evident at the cross. It was at the cross our Lord spoke these words and he said, Is it nothing? Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold, is there any sorrow like unto my sorrow? As our Lord suffered on the cross, men and women just passed by like it was nothing, nothing at all. He said, behold, if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger. Could there have been a more important event in the history of this world? I think about events that take place and what a large crowd draws to see those things. the importance they place on it. Our Lord suffered and died unto death. He suffered for the sins of his people and yet men had no regard. Turn to John chapter 5. John chapter 5. Look at verse 24. John 5. Verse 24. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth, he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life. and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life." Listen, it's he that heareth. This isn't ceremony, this isn't dreams or visions, this isn't obedience to the law or obedience to all the laws for that matter. What does it say? He that heareth. He that heareth my word. Again, faith. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Paul spoke in 1 Thessalonians. He said, knowing, brethren, beloved, your election of God. Our gospel came not to you in word only, but in power and assurance of the Holy Ghost. What came to you? The gospel. The gospel, verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word. Let's not overlook that, the importance, the importance of hearing the word. He says, incline your ear. How do we arrive at saving faith? How do we arrive at everlasting life? Incline your ear. Just listen. Listen to the Word. Incline your ear and hear what the Word of God says. What does it say in regard to sin? What does God's Word say in regard to sin? It says, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. It says this, that sin bringeth forth death. Hear what the Word of God has to say with regard to man's sin. Incline your ear and hear what the Word of God says with regard to the Lord Jesus Christ. Scripture says, other foundations can no man lay than that which is laid. Who's that speaking of? It speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. The Lord Jesus Christ. What does God's word say about him? He said this, he said, I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life, and no man cometh to the Father but by me. They hear the word. Hear what God's word says, come unto me. What's he say? Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. God's word says this, incline your ear and hear, hear what the word of God says concerning the cross. What happened at the cross? when God slew His Son, when the sins of all His people were laid on Him. My sins, your sins, laid on Him. The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. And God slew His Son. What does the Word say about the resurrection? He didn't stay in the grave, did He? The Lord Jesus Christ was risen to life. And his people are risen to life. What about his mediating office? Our mediator, the only mediator between God and man. Who is it? It's the Lord Jesus Christ. His word speaks of him. Incline your ear. Oh, wouldn't we do well to just be quiet for a little bit and just incline our ear and listen to Him? Listen to what His Word says. God hath chosen by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Incline your ear. Oh, just listen. That's the first command. He said this today. Today, if you will, hear his voice. Hear his voice. Hearken unto me. Here's the second command. He says, come. Come unto me. Just listen to a few of these scriptures. I won't have you turn to them. Just listen. He said this in Isaiah 1, 18. He said, come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. In Matthew 11, 28, he said, come unto me. Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. What's the command? Come. Come unto me. In John 7, he said this, he said, in the last day, the great day of the feast, the Lord Jesus Christ stood and he cried and he said, if any man thirst, let him come to me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. Men would have us turn to everything, wouldn't they? Turn to religion? No, don't turn to religion. Don't turn to the law. Don't turn to men. The Lord speaks and he says, come unto me. Me. Our Lord spoke these words in John 6, 37. He said, all that the Father hath given me, what are they gonna do? they shall come unto me. And listen to this, him that cometh to me, if the Lord's laid it on your heart to come to him, him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. He speaks here of a definite company of people, those given to him by the Father in the covenant of grace. elect, and each one that the Father gave to Christ in eternity past shall come to him in his time. They're going to come to him as a lost sinner to be saved. And listen, he'll never forget them. He will never forsake them. He will never cast them out. Come unto me. come in heart, come by faith like that. Remember that prodigal son? You know, before he took one step home, one, he said this, I will arise and I'll go to my father and I'll say to him, father, I've sinned against heaven and before thee. He knew, he knew his father had a place for him and that he would receive him. He knew that in his heart. Our Lord said this, he said, I go to prepare a place for you and I'll come again and I'll receive you unto myself that where I am, there you may be also. Come in heart, come by faith, come believing God. Come confessing your sin. In Luke 18, 13, that's how that, remember that publican? How did he approach the Lord? Scripture says, the publican standing far off wouldn't so much as lift up his eyes unto heaven, but he smote upon his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, to me, the sinner. Come to him, and listen, come to him in humility. Come to him believing him. Turn with me to Matthew 8. Matthew chapter 8 verse 2. Matthew 8 verse 2. And behold, Matthew 8 verse 2, behold, there came a leper and worshiped him saying, Lord, if thou will, you, you can make me clean. That leper came to him in humility. That leper came to him believing. And look at the result. Look at verse 3. And Jesus put forth his hand, and he touched him, saying, I will. Be thou clean. And immediately, immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Well, two commands. Two commands. Incline your ear. Just listen. and the other coming to me, coming to me. And it's followed by two promises, two promises. Look at the first one. Here and your soul shall live. There's power. There's life in the gospel. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Turn to Romans 1 verse 16. Romans 1 and verse 16. Paul writing here, he says, Romans 1.16, I am not ashamed. I'm not ashamed. What are you not ashamed of? I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. The gospel of Christ. The preaching of the gospel are the means that God uses to give life, to speak life to a dead sinner. It's the means he uses to open blind eyes. It's the means he uses to reveal the Lord Jesus Christ. Scripture says, whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. How shall they call on Him of whom they've not believed? And how shall they believe on Him of whom they've not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sinned? As it's written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, that bring glad tidings of good things. The gospel, it's the gospel. Listen, the preaching of the gospel. These are the means that God has declared His Word, His salvation. Salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. A gospel that is freely, freely declared, being justified, how? Freely. Freely, by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation, a sin offering, a propitiation through faith in His blood to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God, to declare, I say at this time, His righteousness, that He might be just and justifier of them which believe in Jesus. All that God has for the sinner is found in Christ. It's found in Him. And those spiritual blessings They're ours. They're ours through a union with Him. And that union comes by faith. And that faith comes by hearing the Word. Hearing the Word of truth. Hearing the Word of God here. here and your soul shall live. And then this second promise. He talks about an everlasting covenant. A promise, but not just any promise, an everlasting promise, an eternal promise, an eternal covenant. David, David spoke of this. on his dying bed. Turn to 2 Samuel. 2 Samuel 23. Look at verse 5. 2 Samuel 23, verse 5. These are the last words, the last words of David. And he says this, he says, although my house be not so with God, yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure for this is all my salvation and all my desire although he make it not to grow. You know, if you just think back over David's life, naturally speaking, think about the things he could have said. His last words. Some of the things he could have said. He could have talked about how faithful he was to his father as a young man, shepherding his sheep, tending to the sheep. He could have talked about that time that he slew a lion and a bear. I bet people were interested in that. I hear people tell hunting stories and things like that. It just draws folks in, right? He could have talked about slaying a lion or a bear. He could have talked about slaying Goliath, that giant that come out every day and defied Israel. And David went down there in the creek and gathered some stones and he slew Goliath. The Philistines just took off running, didn't they? That would have been quite a story to tell. That would have got folks' attention. He could have talked about, as a young man, being anointed king. Think about that. When they came to anoint him king, they left him out tending the sheep. They didn't even think he was into running. He was anointed king. He could have talked about the Psalms that he wrote. We love the Psalms, don't we? At least 73 of them bear his name, Psalm of David. But this is his last words. This is what he said, this is all my salvation, this is all my desire. He said this, he said, although my house be not so with God. Yet God hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure. He said, this is all my salvation. This is all my desire, although he make it not to grow. Although my house be not so with God. David was, he was raised from the sheepfold. He was a mighty warrior. He conquered giants. He was a king over a great nation. And yet, this appears by his name, Altho, Altho. And that Altho which he had was in his own house. A similar thing was said about Naaman. Remember Naaman? Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria. That man, he was a great man with his master. He was honorable. The Lord had used him to give deliverance unto Syria. He was a mighty man in valor. But, but he was, he was a leper. David, all those great things said about David. David was a sinner, wasn't he? And you know we all, every one of us, have one of those buts or all those that could be attached to us, don't we? But he doesn't stop there. He says, yet, in spite of that, in spite of who and what I am, God hath made with me an everlasting covenant. Consider the origin. Where'd that covenant come from? Who made that covenant? God did. God hath made with me an everlasting covenant, a promise. Just as he made that, remember that covenant he made with Noah? We ought to think about that every time we see a rainbow, shouldn't we? Remember he said, I'll not destroy this world again by water, and he put that rainbow up in the sky. David's speaking to this covenant of God. He said it's an everlasting covenant. We make promises all the time that we don't keep. God doesn't. An everlasting covenant, an eternal covenant, a covenant that God made. But, listen to this. He was wounded for my transgressions. He was bruised for my iniquities. Chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we're healed. That's that covenant he made with us, isn't it? That's the result of that covenant. He did all those things. All we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned everyone to our own way. And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed. He was afflicted. Yet he opened not his mouth. He's brought as a lamb to the slaughter, as a sheep before her shears is done. So open not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment. And who shall declare his generation? He was cut off out of the land of the living. For the transgression of my people was he stricken. God hath made with me an everlasting covenant, an eternal covenant. In 1 Peter 1, 4, we read of an inheritance that's incorruptible. that's undefiled, that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you. That's eternal, isn't it? It fadeth not away. Well, again, back to our text here in Isaiah 55. Look at verse three. Incline your ear. Come unto me. Here, and your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Let me close with just some of these sure mercies that we read of in scripture. Turn to Jeremiah 31. Jeremiah 31. Look at verse 33. This shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord. I'll put my law in their inward parts. I'll write it in their hearts. And I'll be their God. And they shall be my people. I'll be their God and they'll be my people. Look at verse 34. Look down about halfway through that verse of verse 34. He says, they shall all know me. He said another place, my sheep hear my voice. They shall all know me. Look at the end of verse 34. I'll forgive their iniquity. And once more, listen, I'll forgive their iniquity and I'll remember their sins no more. Look at Jeremiah 32, verse 39. He said, I'll give them one heart. One heart, a heart that loves me, a heart that loves my people. One heart in one way. And if you still have Jeremiah 32, look at verse 40. He says, I'll not turn away from them, and they shall not depart from me. Another place we read in scripture that, listen, he'll never leave. He'll never leave nor forsake us. Every reason to. But that's his promise. He said, I'll never leave nor forsake you. We sing, he never forsaketh his own. Incline your ear. Come unto me, here, and your soul shall live, and I'll make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David." I was thinking about this driving down this evening. The sure mercies of David. You know David, David was a recipient of those sure mercies, wasn't he? but he also showed them. He showed mercy to Mephibosheth, didn't he? Don't we love that? Don't we love that story? Is there any? Is there any of the house of Saul that I might show mercy? There's one, wasn't there? Mephibosheth, there he is, down there in the land of Lodabar. David said, you go fetch him. He's lame on his feet. He can't make that journey, can he? He's not going to come. Go fetch him, and you bring him to me. And he's going to sit at my table, and he's going to eat continually as a son. The sure mercies of David. All right, Isaac, come lead us in it.