Today, I would like you to turn
in your Bible, please, to Isaiah. Turn to Isaiah 55, and our Bible
study will be taken from Isaiah 55, verses 1 through 4. Let's read these verses together.
Our God says, Ho, everyone that's thirsty. That is, He's saying,
wait and listen. Everyone that is thirsty, come
to the waters. Come ye to the waters. He that
hath no money, come ye, buy and eat. Yea, come buy wine and milk
without money and without price. Wherefore do you spend money
for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which
does not satisfy? Hearken diligently unto me. Eat
that which is good. Let your soul delight itself
in fatness. Incline your ear and come unto
me. Hear, and your soul shall live,
and I'll make an everlasting covenant with you. even the sure
mercies of David. Behold, I've given him for a
witness to the people, a leader and a commander to the people."
Now, most of you are very familiar with Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53 tells
us about the covenant sacrifice, how the Lord Jesus Christ was
wounded and bruised for our iniquities, how it pleased God to bruise
Him in our room and in our stead. Isaiah 54 tells us about the
covenant promise, He says in Isaiah 54 verse 10, though the
mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, my kindness
shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace
be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy upon you. And here in Isaiah 55, we read
about the covenant call. God has a covenant people and
he's determined to call them by his grace. Now this is not
the general call. the general call of the gospel
that goes out to all men everywhere when the gospel is preached.
This is the irresistible call of God Almighty to the hearts
of His people. Charles Spurgeon said of this
call in Isaiah 55, this is God's own gospel call. Now let's look
at these verses together and consider this call, excuse me,
the call of the gospel. First thing we see in verse 1,
we see who are called. He says, ho, and that word simply
means listen, listen, wait. Everyone that's thirsty. Who
are these who are called? Well, they're thirsty men. All
men by nature have an unquenchable thirst for sin. Job said men
drink iniquity like the water. The carnal mind is enmity against
God. All men have a natural desire
for the pleasures of sin. They love darkness rather than
the light. But this thirst here, this thirst spoken of here is
not for sin, but rather for salvation. This is a spiritual thirst for
the things of God in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. This
is a spiritual thirst for fellowship with Him. Remember what David
said in Psalm 27, One thing have I desired of the Lord, and that
will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
forever." You see, this is a spiritual thirst for fellowship. It's a
spiritual thirst for forgiveness, like the publican, God have mercy
on me, the sinner. It's a thirst for righteousness.
We say with the Apostle Paul, we count all things that lost
that we might win Christ and be found in Him, having His righteousness. which is through Christ. It's
a thirst for fellowship, forgiveness, and righteousness. And it's a
thirst for reconciliation with God in Christ. He made peace
with his own blood. The enmity has been removed. And that's who he's calling here,
these who are thirsty for God. The second thing we see is this.
Who are we called to? He says, Come ye to the water.
Come ye to the waters, come to the well. Those who are naturally
thirsty must find water to satisfy and refresh their body or they'll
soon die. You remember the Samaritan woman
came to the well? Why? She was thirsty. Naturally
she was thirsty and she met the Lord Jesus Christ who is the
water of life. Even so, those who have been
made aware of their spiritual thirst must and do by the power
and grace of God come to the Lord Jesus Christ who is the
water of life. You remember in John 7, verse
37, the words are recorded, our Lord said this, if any man thirst,
let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the
scripture had said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living
water. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
river of water in a dry place. Drink of him. Thirdly, we see
this. What are we called to do? He
said, oh, everyone that's thirsty, come ye to the waters. What are
we called to do? He that hath no money, come ye,
buy and eat without money and without price. Two things he
says here, come and buy and come and eat. And he says, come and
buy without money. That is without price, without
cost to you. Come to the Lord Jesus Christ
with nothing, with nothing. Nothing in my hand I bring, simply
to Christ I cling. Come to Christ without your works,
without your righteousness. You see, salvation is the free
gift of God. The gospel is as free as the
air you breathe. The gospel is as free as the
sunshine you enjoy. The gospel is as free as the
rain that falls. Salvation's a gift of God. That's
why it says, come and buy without money and without cost. We read
in Romans 3, verse 24, we're justified freely by his grace. Again in Romans 8, he that spared
not his own son, how shall he not with him also freely give
us all things? The gift of God, the wages of
sin and death, but the gift of God is eternal life. In Revelation
22, we're encouraged to take the water of life freely. Although
the blessings of the gospel are priceless, You can't put a price
on them. They're free to the needy, to
the thirsty, to the mercy beggar. Jesus Christ has already paid
the ransom price. He bought us with his own blood. You see what he's saying here?
Come and buy. And then he says, come and eat.
Eat. Down in verse 2 he says, eat
that which is good. The believer feeds upon the Lord
Jesus Christ, who is the bread of life. He is the bread of life. Eating Christ is believing Him,
receiving Him, relying completely upon Him for all your salvation. It's to be consumed with Him
and to consume Him, to receiving, to be united, to be joined to
Him by this living union of faith. Fourthly, we see this. Notice
the provisions we're called to. He says, come and buy and eat
two things, he says here, wine and milk. Wine and milk. Now, why did he use those two
words, those two things? Well, here's a double description
of the gospel. Wine and milk. Now listen carefully. The gospel is like wine that
makes the heart glad. Paul said in Philippians 3, we
worship God in the spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no
confidence in the flesh. The religion that makes men miserable
is not of God. Down in verse 12 of Isaiah 55,
look down there. He said, you shall have joy,
peace, and singing. God makes his people glad through
the gospel. They're set free. They're set
at liberty. And that's why I said the gospel's
like wine. Wine is a rich thing, something
that requires time and effort to make and to produce. Even
so, the gospel is a special wine of God which is fermented in
the purpose of God in eternity. The Lord Jesus Christ was a lamb
slain before the foundation of this earth. See, the gospel is
called wine because it's special. It's special. It's God's gospel. But secondly, it's called milk
here. Come buy and eat wine and milk. Now everyone, every one
of us have experienced milk. It's something we need every
day. It's an everyday dish. It's something that we never
tire of. It's something that's plentiful. It's something that's
needful. And milk is certainly nourishing to the body. My friend,
the gospel is like milk. The milk of his word is help
to our soul. Peter said, desire the sincere
milk of the word that you might grow thereby. I love to drink
milk every day, and I love to drink the milk of the word, the
milk of the gospel, not only on Sunday, but Monday, and Tuesday,
and Wednesday, and every day of the week. The believer enjoys
the milk of the word every day. Come and buy. You see what he
says here in verse 1? It's a powerful verse, isn't
it? Oh, everyone that's thirsty,
listen, come to the waters. He that hath no money, come,
buy and eat. Yea, come buy wine and milk without
money. and without price. In verse 2,
he asks two questions. Why do you spend money for that
which is not bread? And why do you labor for that
which doesn't satisfy? Hearken diligently unto me, eat
that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in its fatness. Now, he asks two questions here
in verse 2, two important questions. Why do you spend your time, your
energy, your pursuing a religion that's false and worthless, that's
not the bread of life, which could never satisfy God, nor
ever put away your sin. There is a way that seems right
on the men, but the end of that way is death. The false gospel
is not nourishing, it's destructive to the heart. That's why he said
in verse 7, he said, let the wicked forsake his way, the unrighteous
man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord. Why do
you spend and labor and work in religion that won't satisfy,
that won't put away sin that's false and dishonoring to God?
It's useless. Throw it away. That's what he
says in verse 2. In verse 2 and 3, we see two
things, two precepts and two promises. He says in verse 3,
incline your ears Harken diligently unto me, eat
that which is good, and incline your ear, and come unto me, and
your soul shall live. And I'll make an everlasting
covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David." Now here's
two precepts and two promises. He says, Harken diligently, incline
your ear. Let us always be ready to receive
the word of truth. Let our soul delight itself in
the richness and fatness of the Word of God. He's saying this,
let everyone be swift to hear, swift to hear Him. You see, faith
comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God, by the Word
of God. There's the first precept. Here's
the second one. He said, come unto me. Come unto
me. Don't look to yourself, don't
look to your religion, don't look to your works, your morality,
nor to the law, nor to your experience, nor to your traditions, but look
to me. All blessings of the gospel are in the Lord Jesus Christ.
He says the same thing in Matthew 28, or Matthew 11, verse 28.
Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, I'll give
you rest. Come to me. He says, first of
all, listen to me, and then come to me. Look unto me, all ye ends
of the earth. I am God, and there is no other.
Then two promises, and your soul shall live. Now that's what I
need. I need life in Christ Jesus.
There is power and life communicated through the preaching of the
gospel. That's why we're so insistent upon preaching Christ. We're
determined as Paul to know nothing among you but Jesus Christ and
him crucified. There is power and life communicated
through the preaching of the gospel. That's why Paul said,
I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It's the power of
God and salvation to everyone that believe it, to the Jew and
also to the Gentile, for in that gospel is the very righteousness
of God revealed. That's the first promise. Your
soul shall live. And the second promise is this.
He said, I'll make a sure and everlasting covenant with you. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
mediator of this covenant. There's one God and one mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. He secured all
the promises of this covenant with the everlasting blood of
the Lord Jesus Christ. That's something else about this
covenant. Christ is the mediator of it, and it's an everlasting
covenant. He's loved his people with an
everlasting love. And these are covenant mercies
which are sure. He said, I'll make an everlasting
covenant with you even the sure mercies of David. We know that
salvation is all of faith, that it might be of grace, that the
promise might be sure to all the seed. These covenant mercies
are revealed to us in the word of God, and when He's pleased
to save us, He teaches us that our hope and our salvation is
through a covenant that was ratified and guaranteed with the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Fourthly, in verse 4, He says
this, Behold, I've given Him, I've given the Lord Jesus Christ,
the greater David, I've given him for a witness, a leader,
and a commander. Now, here's four things, or rather
three things, and I'll close. God has given the Lord Jesus
Christ for his people. Notice, he said, I've given him.
I've given him, he gave him for a sacrifice for sin, and by that
one sacrifice he put away our sin. And then he says these three
things, that he's a faithful witness, faithful witness to
all he is, faithful witness to all that the Lord Jesus Christ
is, his person, fully God and a real man, and he's faithful
and true to the witness. He's a faithful and true witness
to all that he has accomplished. by putting away our sin. I've
glorified thee on the earth. I've finished the work you gave
me to do." And he's a leader, competent, qualified to guide
and teach the sheep in the way of truth, in the way of life.
He said, I am the way. When Thomas said, Lord, how can
we know the way? He said, I'm the way. I'm the
truth. I'm the life. No man comes unto
the Father but by me. And he's the commander. You see,
he's the witness of the covenant. He's the leader, competent, qualified
to guide and teach the sheep in the way of life, and he's
the commander. He's the captain of our salvation that's powerful,
wise, courageous, and victorious. He's king of kings and Lord of
lords, and he commands all things in providence, creation, and
salvation. The Father had given him power
over all flesh, and he should give eternal life to as many
as the Father hath given him.