All right, let's open our Bibles
again to Isaiah 42. I'm going to read the first four
verses and then go to another place in Scripture which reveals
to you of whom the prophet speaks quite clearly. Let's look at
the first four verses. Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
my delect, and whom my soul delighteth. I put my spirit upon him. He
shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry,
nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. And
a bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he
not quench. And he shall bring forth judgment
unto truth. and he shall not fail, nor be
discouraged till he hath set judgment in the earth, and the
isles wait for his law." This is another one of those chapters
in Isaiah which can only apply to our Messiah. I call this message
the Messiah, and it can only apply to Christ, and we can be
sure of that because Christ applied it to himself in Matthew 12.
Turn over to Matthew 12. Here is the Lord Jesus speaking,
and he quotes the scripture in reference to himself. In Matthew
12, beginning with verse 14. Then the Pharisees went out and
held a council against him, how they might destroy him. But when
Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from them, and great multitudes
followed him, and he healed them all, and charged them that they
should not make him known, that it might be fulfilled which was
spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, I just read it, Behold
my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved," he says, my elect
over in Isaiah, my my elect, my beloved, my beloved son, in
whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my spirit upon him,
and he shall show judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive
nor cry, neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flak shall he not
quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. And in his name
shall the Gentiles trust. So our Lord, like he did Isaiah
61, he's saying, this day is this scripture fulfilled in your
ears. All right, back to my text, Isaiah
42. Behold my servant. Now who's
speaking here? Well, it's the Lord God. Look
at verse 5. Thus saith the God the Lord. That's who's speaking. He that
created the heavens. Look at verse 6. I, the Lord,
have called thee in righteousness. Look at verse 8. I am the Lord,
that is my name, my glory will I not give to another. So it's
the Lord God, the Heavenly Father that's speaking. And he's speaking
concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. And right at the onset, in verse
1, he calls him, my servant. Behold, my servant. Our Lord
was with God. He was God. And all things were
made by him. And he wears on his vesture and
on his thigh a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. But here the Father calls him,
My Servant. Behold, My Servant, My Servant. And that's what Paul's talking
about when he said, He that thought it not robbery to be equal with
God made himself of no reputation. took on himself the form of a
servant, a servant. Christ said, I am among you as
he that serveth. My servant, the Father says,
and several times in the scripture he's called the servant. In Isaiah
52, he said, Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, wisely,
and shall prosper. In Isaiah 53, by his knowledge
shall my righteous servant justify many. Zechariah 3a, behold, I
send forth my servant, the branch. Oh, there's no question about
concerning whom the Lord is speaking. The branch. God will raise up
a branch, Jeremiah said, and his name shall be called the
Lord our righteousness. So the Father chose him, the
Father prepared him a body, and the Father sent him to earth
as his servant to accomplish a mission, fulfill a covenant,
and redeem a people. My servant. All right, the second
statement, he said, whom I uphold. What's that saying, whom I uphold? whom I strengthen and whom I
give help to. Now, the question arises, if
Jesus Christ is God Almighty, why does he need help? Why does
he need to be upheld? Why does he need to be strengthened?
Well, I'll tell you why. Because he's a man. He's the
man, Christ Jesus. Because he has a human nature
in a human body. and to accomplish such an awesome
task as the Father has given to him, he must be upheld and
strengthened in order that he might not sink under the weight
of our sins and the wrath of God. Let me show you that in
Psalm 22. Now all of you who are familiar
with the Word of God know that Psalm 22 is the Psalm of the
Cross. And it is believed that these
are the words that our Lord spake while he was hanging on that
tree. This is the cross. You see from the very first verse,
my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? That's the words
of the cross. All right. Let's move on down
to verse 16. Here's why he needs help. Listen.
Psalm 22, 16. There's a man hanging on that
cross in a human nature, God in human flesh. Dogs, for dogs
have compassed me. The assembly of the wicked have
enclosed me. They pierced my hands and my
feet. They drove nails in my hands
and my feet. I may tell all my bones." He
stretched on that cross, and you could see his bones up against
the skin. And they look and stare upon
me. They took off his clothes and hung him there naked. They
parted my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture."
That's his clothing, his robe, his vesture. Oh, but be not far
from me, O Lord, O my strength. Hasten to help me, deliver my
soul from the sword. My darling, thy darling from
the pyre of the dog, save me from the lion's mouth, for thou
hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns. Save me, help
me. Help me. Let me turn to a verse
over here in Luke 22. If you'd like to, you can turn
with me. Luke 22. My servant whom I uphold, I send
him to perform a task, and I'll give him strength to do it. In
Luke 22, verse 39, listen. Luke 22, 39. And he came out
and went as he was wont to the Mount of Olives. His disciples
also followed him. And when he was at the place,
he said to them, Now pray that ye enter not into temptation.
And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast. And he
kneeled down and prayed, saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove
this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but
thine, be done. There appeared an angel unto
him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony, he prayed
more earnestly, he sweat as it were, his sweat was as it were,
great drops of blood falling down to the ground. That's the
agony of Gethsemane. Behold, the Father said, my servant,
whom I uphold. All right, back at the text. Mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth."
Now, I wrote down here on my notes, the next several words
which apply to Christ, ought to give us the greatest cheer
and hope and encouragement of any words. Now let's look at
them carefully. Mine elect. Mine elect is a man. That's right, he's a man. God has chosen men, not angels. Paul wrote in Hebrews, he took
not on him the nature of angels, but he took upon him the seed
of Abraham. Christ became a man. That's right. By man came death. By man came
the resurrection. The first man is of the earth
earthy, the second man. is the Lord from heaven. And
there's one God, and there's one mediator, only one, only
one, between God and men, and that's the man, the man. Pilate said, Behold, the man. He didn't know what he was saying.
I do. The man, the man from heaven. The second Adam is the man from
heaven. All right, mighty lad. And he
chose us in Christ. in that man. He gave us to that
man, in a covenant of mercy, to be our surety, our guarantor,
to come down here, the just for the unjust, and die for us, and
bring us to God, suffer for sin in the flesh, and bring us to
God. My servant, whom I'll uphold, my elect, listen to this, in
whom my soul delighteth. This is my beloved Father, who
cannot be pleased with any flesh, for in the flesh no man can please
God. But this man did. This man did. Our man. Our substitute. This is my beloved Son, in whom
I am well pleased. Christ said, He that sent me
is with me, for I do always those things that please him. Father,
he said, thou hast had no pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
but lo, I come to do thy will, O God. In the book it's written
of me. A body hast thou prepared me.
And he pleased, he pleased the Father. Oh, my, he pleased the
Father. All right, look at the next line.
My own elect, in whom my soul delighted, Father is pleased
with him and pleased with us in him. I put my Spirit upon
him. That's what he said in Isaiah
61. Turn over there and let's read that. Isaiah 61, the Savior said, the
Messiah said in Isaiah 61, the Spirit of the Lord God is upon
me. I put my Spirit upon him. He said the Spirit of the Lord
God is upon me because he, the Lord, hath anointed me. preach
good tidings to the meek. He sent me to bind up the brokenhearted. He sent me to proclaim liberty
to the captives and the opening of prison to them that are bound.
He sent me to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, now is the
accepted time. Today is the day of salvation
and the day of vengeance of our God. He sent me to comfort all
that mourn, to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give them
beauty for their ashes, the oil of joy for their mourning. the
garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they might
be called the trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, in
all these that he might be glorified. Amen. Look at the next statement. It says here, and he shall bring
forth judgment, justice to the Gentiles. What is that? He'll bring forth justice? He'll
satisfy God's justice. He'll bring forth righteousness.
He'll give us a perfect holiness before God. And he'll reveal
truth. That's what the Amplified says
here. He'll bring forth justice, righteousness, and truth to all
nations. Now then, what are his offices? Over in the Old Testament, our
Lord is pictured and typified by three offices. There was the
prophet of which Moses is a good example in type. There was a
priest, Avon, better type is Melchizedek. There was the king,
David. But our Lord, no man ever held
all three of those offices. Moses was not a king. Avon was not a prophet or a king. But our Lord Jesus is the prophet
who brings the truth. He is the priest who satisfies
judgment and justice, and he's the king of righteousness. Righteousness
is the scepter of his kingdom. So that's a good hope. O my servant,
whom I uphold, strengthen, he mine elect, the man Christ Jesus,
in whom my soul delights, the Father said. And I put my spirit
upon him, And he shall bring forth judgment. He shall not
fail. Why the Gentiles? All nations. That's right. Not just the Jews,
but that's good news there, the Gentiles. Go through the Old
Testament, that's not said too many times. It's just said once
is enough. But the Gentiles have a hope
in Christ. All right, verse 2. He shall
not cry. He shall not cry. He shall not
lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the streets. What's
he talking about here? Well, he does not cry out. He does not have to raise his
voice to be heard. I have to raise my voice to be
heard. But he doesn't have to raise
his voice to be heard because he speaks to the heart by his
spirit. It's like when Paul was preaching
to Lydia. Paul spoke to her. He probably
lifted up his voice and had to speak loudly because they were
beaten by a river and the rushing stream or the noise and so forth. But Lydia had somebody speak
to her quietly. He spoke to her heart. He doesn't
have to cry. The Lord Jesus doesn't have to
yell and scream and put on a show. He speaks to the heart. You don't have to cry. When they
hear his voice, when my sheep hear my voice, there may not
be a word being said, but they hear him. You don't have to cry.
And he doesn't have to strive. He doesn't have to strive. Let
me show you back over here. Let me just go to it. I read
that a while ago where the Lord quoted this scripture, and he
said that He said he shall not, you know, here it says he shall
not cry nor lift up his voice, but the Lord quoted it this way.
He said he shall not strive. He'll not cry, he doesn't have
to. He speaks to God. But he'll not
strive with people, with words, to no profit. He doesn't argue. He doesn't drive home points.
He doesn't bring accusations. He just speaks. That's all. We hear his voice
speak through his words. That's right. And then he says
he doesn't cry, he doesn't lift up and cause his voice to be
heard in the street. He doesn't raise a lot of commotion.
Today's religionists do. They campaign in the streets
with standards and flags and signs and marches and crowds
to support their cause. But his kingdom is not of this
world. And his real enemies are not
the people of this world, their principalities and powers and
rulers of the darkness and spiritual wickedness in high places. That's
who he deals with. He deals with sin in the heart.
He deals with the influence and power of Satan and people who
are under the influence of Satan. And his people are his people.
And they've always been his people. And he says, I know who they
are. I know who they are. I know who
they are, and they'll be made willing when I please. We need to learn that. We need
to learn what he's saying right here. My servant sent on a mission. Redeemer of
people, whom I'll give the strength, the Lord God said, he's mine
elect, he's my man, God's man. And I delight in everything he
says and everything he does. And I put my spirit on him. And
he'll bring judgment and righteousness and truth, prophet, priest, and
king to all nations. And he doesn't have to go around
yelling and screaming, lifting up his voice and striving with
people. Now, marching the streets, the
kings of this earth have to put on some kind of show so people
will know they're running for office, you know, and put their
signs in every yard. He doesn't do that. Our Lord
works in the spirit, in the heart. If he's on your trail, he'll
get you. And listen to this, and a bruised
reed he'll not break, and a smoking flax he'll not quench. Well,
now, if I can show you what this means, what is a bruised reed
and what is a smoking flax? If I can show you what that means,
you'll rejoice in his grace. Well, a bruised reed is a plant,
a reed is a stem, and you fellows that plant gardens and have tomato
plants and corn and all that, you'll identify with this. That
reed is the stem, and sometimes it gets stepped on. Sometimes
when you're hoeing, you hit the wrong, where you are naming,
and you get one of those little plants, and it's bruised, it's
bent over, and it's almost broke. It's so sickly looking, the rest
of them look so good, and it looks so sickly looking that.
But now he runs into a lot of those bruised reeds. Our Lord
came to save the weak and the helpless and the bruised reeds,
and mangled by the fall. And he doesn't just finish one,
just might as well pull it up. It's not going to mount to anything.
Might as well just get it out of the way. But he doesn't do
that. A bruised reed will not break.
But the bruised reed, he'll bind it up. And he'll give it strength
and give it life. And he'll make it live. And he'll
make it bear fruit. And he'll get all the glory for
that. The bruised reed. Come unto me, all ye that are
weary and heavy laden, bruised and mangled by the fall. Let
not conscience make you linger, nor fitness find the dream. All
the fitness he requires is to be in need of him. and his healing
hand. So Bruce Reed, he doesn't break. People of this earth don't have
much time for the weak, and the weary, and the worn, and the
heavy laden, and folks that are nothing and nobodies. But he
does. What's a smoking flax? Well,
that's the wick of a candle. The candle wick is made out of
flax. And here's one that's not got
much light, not given out any light to mount anything, all
it's doing is smoking. It doesn't flame, doesn't give
out much light, it's just sputtering and smoking and smelly and offensive. That's a pretty good description
of us, isn't it? Well, he doesn't quench it, he doesn't pull the
wick out or throw the candle away, but he gives it oil to
burn brighter. All to burn brighter. That's
what he said in Matthew 11. He said, Father, I thank you. You've hid these things from
the wise and prudent, and you revealed it to the bruised reeds
and the smoking lambs. You revealed it to babes. For
even so, Father, it seemed good in your sight. You come to me,
all ye that are in need, heavy laden, I'll give you rest. That's
what he said then. A bruised rage shall he not break,
a smoking flax shall he not quench. Quench it, throw it away. And
he'll bring forth judgment unto truth. Judgment unto truth. Judgment unto victory. Let's
go back to Matthew 12 again. You know, when you find the scripture
in the Old Testament, You turn over there to the New Testament
where that scripture is used and dealt with, like our Lord
dealt with this one. Look at verse 20, Matthew 12.
A bruised reed shall he not break, this is Christ speaking himself,
a smoking flag shall he not quench, until he send forth judgment
unto victory. Until. When he comes on that
bruised reed. And that smoking flax, he's not
going to quench it or break it. He's not going to do that until
he sends forth his gospel into the heart by his mighty spirit
and power, and justifies them, and enlightens them, enlightens
their understanding, bends their wills, raises their affection,
sanctifies their soul, and brings them victory. Paul closed that scripture over
there in 1 Corinthians. Let me see if I
can find it. No, it's in Romans. Listen to him. Listen to him. I delight in the law after the
inward man, but I see another law in my members. warring against
the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law
of sin, which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! O bruised, raved, and smoking
flax! Who shall deliver me? Who shall
give me the victory from this body of this death? I thank God
through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I serve
the law I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the
law of sin. Thanks be unto God, who giveth
us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ." All right, back
to my text. This servant of God, a bruised
reed shall he not break, and a smoking flag shall he not quench,
he'll fend forth judgment unto the truth. Victory. What's verse
4? He shall not fail. He shall not
fail nor be discouraged. The Amplified Bible says he shall
not fail, he shall not become weak, he shall not become discouraged
until he sets judgment in the earth. Can we ever entertain
such a thought, that the Father could fail in his purpose? He
says over here in Isaiah 46, Turn over there and let's read
Isaiah 46 verse 9. Could the father fail in his
purpose? He purposed redemption. He's
the one that raised up this servant, his elect, and sent him. Look
at verse 9, Isaiah 46. Remember the former things of
old. I'm God. There's none else. I'm God. There's none like me. Declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying
my counsel shall stand, I will do all my pleasure. Calling a
ravenous bird from the east, the man of righteousness from
the east, the man that executes my counsel from a far country,
I've spoken it, I bring it to pass, I've purposed it, I'll
do it, he shall not fail. Father shall not fail in his
divine purposes. Abraham, that was the basis of
his faith. He believed that what God had
promised, God was able to fulfill. And then the son. Turn to Isaiah
53. Shall he fail in what he came
to do? Isaiah 53, let's look at this. Can we even entertain a thought
that he could fail? Listen to Isaiah 53, verse 10. It pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He hath put him to grief. When thou shalt make his soul
an offering for sin, he shall... Now listen to the shalls here.
He shall see his seed. He shall prolong his days. And the pleasure, the purpose,
The covenant of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall
see of the travail of his soul, and he shall be satisfied. And
by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he
shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a
portion with the great, and he shall divide the small with the
strong, because he poured out his soul unto death. He was numbered
with the transgressors. He bared the sin of many and
made intercession for the transgressors. Is all this in vain? Did Christ
perform this work and it shall not be fulfilled? He shall not fail. He shall not
be discouraged until he set judgment in this earth. What about the
Holy Spirit? Turn to John 16. Here our Lord
promises the Holy Spirit. In John 16. John 16 beginning with verse
7. Now, nevertheless, I tell you
the truth. It's expedient for you that I
go away. But if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto
you. But if I depart, I'll send him to you. I'll send him to
you. Just like the Father sent me to redeem you, and I'll send
the Spirit to you. And when he's come, he'll reprove the world
of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Of sin, because they believe
not on me. Of righteousness, because I go to my Father and
you see me no more. Of judgment, because the prince
of this world is judged. Now I have many things to say
to you, but you can't bear them now. How be it? Now listen. When he, the Spirit of truth,
has come, he will guide you into all truth. He shall not speak
of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak,
and he shall show you things to come. Will he fail? He shall
glorify me, for he shall receive of mine and shall show it to
you. The Lord cannot fail. My servant,
my elect, shall not fail nor be discouraged till he set judgment
in this all the isles. Let me go back to that Matthew
12, just a moment. I wrote that down here for some
Matthew 12. He shall set judgment in the
earth, and the isles wait for his law. The islands are for
other nations, other people. Yeah, that's what it is. Listen.
Matthew 12, 20. A bruised reed shall he not break,
broken flack shall he not quench, till he set forth judgment unto
victory. He will accomplish the victory.
And in his name shall the Gentiles trust. That's what that's saying
over here. He shall not fail nor be discouraged,
till he set judgment in the earth. And they are waiting for his
word, his people. He said, Other sheep I have which
are not of this foe, and them I must bring, and they shall
hear my voice, and they shall be one foe, one shepherd. Other
shepherds are not of this Jewish people, Gentiles. And his name,
the Gentiles, should trust in his name because they wait and
fight. All right, he shall not fail.
I want to read a scripture and then one more comment before
we go. Turn to 1 Corinthians 15. Here is the fulfillment and
the accomplishment of all these things we're talking about. He
shall not fail, he shall not be discouraged, till he set judgment,
victory in this earth, and the isles wait for his law." 1 Corinthians
15, verse 24. Now let's go back to 21. For since
by man came death, by man, God's servant, God's elect, Christ
Jesus, the Messiah, came also the resurrection of the dead.
For in Adam all died. Even so in Christ shall all be
made alive. But every man in his own order,
Christ the firstfruits, Christ the firstfruits, firstbegotten,
firstborn from the dead to die no more. Afterward they that
are his at his coming. Then cometh the end, then cometh
the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom, the covenant
kingdom to God, even the Father. when he shall have put down all
rule, all authority, and all power. For he must reign, he
always has, he does now, he will. He must reign till he hath put
all enemies unto his feet, and then the last enemy that shall
be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things unto
his feet, God's put all things unto the feet of Christ. He said,
I have all authority over all flesh, that I should give eternal
life to as many as thou hast given me. The Father has put
everything in him, dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodies,
everything under his feet. Now read on. But when it says,
when he says all things are put under his feet, it manifests
that one is accepted. One's not under his feet. manifested
that he is accepted, which did put all things under him. The
Father is not under his feet, but everybody else is, and everything
else is, and everything that wiggles or moves, and every creature
is under his feet, in his power, in his possession, used for his
glory. And when all things shall be
subdued unto him, to the Son, then shall the Son also himself
be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God
Maybe all in it all. Now, is there any thought that
he could fail? These are the shalls of the wheels.
He shall not fail. He shall not fail. He shall not
be discouraged, for he set judgment and victory on this earth. And
all his people out there, his sheep that are yet to be called,
they're waiting on his word. They're waiting, and he'll come.
And then whenever one's been called, then comes the end. And
everybody's been brought in, and then comes the end. And he
delivered up the kingdom to the Father. Way back on in eternity,
the Father gave him that kingdom. He came down and accomplished
it. He's gonna take it. He's gonna bring us to God. He's
not gonna fail. Well, who said all this? Let's
close with verse 5. How do you know all this is true?
Who's gonna guarantee all this? Well, let's see who guarantees
it. What we've been saying, what we've been preaching, thus saith
the Lord God. Thus saith the Lord God. Who
is He? He created the heavens and stretched them out. That's
who says it. The one who created the heavens, stretched them out.
Said, let there be life. Also, the one who spread the
earth. He said, let the dry land appear. Let the water be separated from
the land. That's who says it. That's who says all this about
Christ. Thirdly, he's the one that, he's
the one that spread out forth the earth and everything comes
out of it. He grows everything that grows. That's right. Every seed. Seed has life in
it. He put that life there. We plant,
we water, and we sow. God gives the increase. Everything
comes up. Everything that lives. Everything
that wiggles and moves, lives and moves and has their being
in him. That's who said this. And he that giveth breath unto
the people upon the earth, every man breatheth, breatheth by the
will of God. And he set their bounds at last
breath, set the number of months with him that cannot pass. He
giveth breath to everything living. He created man, he created everything,
and he giveth breath to the people. And he gives us more than breath
and spirit. He gives his spirit to his people,
the Holy Spirit, begats them unto life. That's who said all
this. That's who said, I'm going to
pick up there Sunday, I think. I, the Lord, have called thee
in righteousness, and I'll hold your hand, and I'll keep you
and give you for a covenant of the people. for light to the
Gentiles to open the blind eyes. He opened ours, didn't he? Bring
the prisoners out of the prison. He delivered us, them that sit
in darkness, out of the prison. I'm the Lord, that's my name.
That's my name. But now remember this, my glory
I'm not going to give to anybody else. And neither my praise to
another god or brazen, brazen, graven image. I know whom I have
believed, let's sing that, that's number 224. I know whom I have
believed, number 224.