Isaiah chapter 42. I believe last Wednesday night,
or on a recent date, I spoke from Isaiah 61. A powerful prophecy of the coming
Messiah. Well, this chapter, which Brother
Ronnie Trabamp read a moment ago, is another of the many chapters
in Isaiah's prophecies and writings which can only be applied to
one person, and that's the one that Mike was just singing about,
who was born in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago. It's so evident that
Isaiah speaks of Christ that our Lord confirmed it in Matthew
12. I'm going to read you the first
verse here, and then we'll turn to Matthew 12. Behold my servant,
whom I uphold, mine elect, and whom my soul delighteth. I put
my spirit upon him, and he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. Let's turn to the New Testament,
turn to Matthew 12. Our Lord is speaking here. in
Matthew 12, verse 14. He quotes this prophecy from
Isaiah 42 and applies it to himself. Then the Pharisees went out and
held a council against him, how they might destroy him. But when
the Lord Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from them. great multitudes
followed him, and he healed them all, and charged them that they
should not make him known," don't broadcast this now, that it might
be fulfilled, which was spoken by Isaiah, that's Isaiah the
prophet saying, Behold my servant, whom I have chosen, mine elect,
my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased, I will put my spirit
upon him. He shall show judgment to the
Gentiles, he shall not strive, nor cry, nor shall any man hear
his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break,
smoking flax shall he not quench, till he sends forth judgment
unto victory, and in his name shall the Gentiles trust." So
there you have it. The Lord certifies, this is a
certified message, gospel. He's certified, he said, that's
me. All right, the Lord calls him my servant, his condescension. When I see that word servant,
I think about lamentation. Let me just turn and read it
to you. Lamentation 1, verse 12. This is our Lord speaking,
Lamentation 112. Is it nothing to you? All ye
that pass by, pass by the way, behold and see if there be any
sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the
Lord God hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.
From a bell hath he sent fire into my bones, and it prevaileth
against them. He spread a net for my feet,
he's turned me back, he's made me desolate and faint all the
day. The yoke of my transgressions,
his transgressions, not his, ours, is bound by his hands. and they are wreathed and come
up upon my neck. It has made my strength to fall.
The Lord hath delivered me into their hands, from whom I am not
able to rise up." This is Christ, our Redeemer. He was with God,
was God, and all things were made by him, and he wears on
his vesture and on his thigh the name written, King of Kings
and Lord of Lords. But he was not ashamed to be
called my servant. Behold, my servant. Let this
mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who thought
it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation,
and took upon himself the form of a servant, and became obedient. He said, I came not to be minister
unto, I came to minister. I am among you as he that serveth. He became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross." Alright, read on. Behold my servant,
the Father speaks, whom I uphold, mine elect. Whom I uphold, he's
the servant of the Father. The Father says he's my servant.
I called him to be my servant. And I prepared him a body. Our
Lord Jesus said a body has to have prepared me. and sent that
servant upon a mission to redeem a people and gave him a name,
Jesus. And when he announced his birth,
he said, you call his name Jesus, my servant. He'll save his people
from their sin. That's why he's coming. That's
what he'll do. He says, I'll uphold him. I'll
uphold my servant. I'll strengthen him. I'll help
him as a man and a mediator. Did Christ Jesus need help? I
turn to Isaiah 49 and listen to this. Isaiah 49 verse 7, he
needed help as a man so that he would not sink under the weight
of the sins of his people and under the weight of the wrath
of God. He says in Isaiah 49 verse 7,
Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to
him whom man despises To him whom the nation abhorreth, to
a servant of rulers, kings shall see and arise, and princes also
shall worship. Because of the Lord that is faithful,
and the Holy One of Israel, he shall choose thee. Thus saith
the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, in the day
of salvation have I helped thee, and I have preserved thee, and
I will give thee for covenant of the people, to establish the
earth, and because to inherit the desolate heritages, that
thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth. To them who are in
darkness, show yourself. They shall feed in the ways,
and their pasture shall be in all high places. I'll help you,'
God said. I'll help you. I'll uphold you. I'll strengthen you, so that
you do not sink under the weight of their sins. And he nearly
did. Turn to Matthew 26, as a man,
listen to him. In Matthew 26, and I can't explain
this, nor can you, but I can believe it, that Jesus Christ
was a man. He needed the strength and the
power of Almighty God to see him through this awesome task,
making his soul an offering for sin. In Matthew 26, verse 36,
listen, Then cometh Jesus with them, with Peter, James, and
John, under a place called Gethsemane. And he said to the disciples,
Now you sit here while I go yonder and pray. He took with him Peter
and the two sons of Zebedee, James and John, and began to
be sorrowful and very happy. Then said he unto them, My soul
is exceeding sorrowful even unto death. My soul is sorrowful even
unto death. I need help. Tell you here, and
watch with me. And he went a little farther
and fell on his face and prayed, saying, Father, O my Father,
O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless,
not as I will, but your will. He said the angels came and strengthened
him. In that hour, one of the evangelists
reported that the angels came and strengthened him. All right,
he said, My servant, whom I uphold, mine elect." God chooses men,
not angels. He chose Christ to be a man,
to be the first elect. Christ be my first elect, God
says, and chose us in our head. He said he took not on himself
the form or nature of angels, but he took on himself the nature
of Abraham's seed. And we are chosen in him. And
he says here, mine elect in whom my soul delighteth, in whom my
soul is well pleased. Turn to Hebrews 10 a moment.
The Heavenly Father was never pleased or satisfied with all
these Jewish blood sacrifices, never satisfied. They never satisfied
God's justice nor honored God's law. It says here in Hebrews
10 verse 5, Wherefore, when he cometh into the world, the Lord
Jesus, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, never
had any pleasure therein, but a body hast thou prepared me.
In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou said no pleasure,
no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come, in the
volume of the book which is written of me, to do thy will, O God.
Above, when he said, Sacrifice and offering, and burnt offerings,
and offering for sin, thy will is not, neither has pleasure
therein which is offered by the Lord. Then said he, Lo, I come,
to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that
he may establish the second, by the which will. was sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. My servant, whom I uphold and
strengthen and enable to do this awesome, awesome, indescribable
sacrifice, in whom my soul delights, it pleased God to bruise him,
and God was pleased in the bruising and with the results. And he
says here, I put my spirit upon him. Now, as a divine person,
Christ Jesus did not need to have the Holy Spirit put upon
him, because the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ. But
as a man, the Lord Jesus had to have the Holy Spirit as a
man, as a man of mediator. As a divine person, the Holy
Spirit is the Spirit of Christ. But as a man, for the work he'll
do. But the sacrifice he'll make, he's got to have the Spirit without
measure. And that's what we preached about
just a few days ago. The Lord God has sent me. He
has put his Spirit upon me. He has anointed me to preach
the gospel, to set the prisoner free, and to give sight to the
blind. Well, what's he going to do?
In verse 1, I put my Spirit upon him. And he shall bring forth
judgment to the Gentiles. He shall bring forth righteousness. Now, when you think about the
redemption of Christ, and I read this years ago and it made a
profound impact upon me, an impression. I hear people talk about the
144,000 and their certain denomination, and I hear folks talk about this
There's a little flock up there, you know, and a small group,
and everybody's in hell and a few people in heaven. When you think
about the redemption of Christ, don't ever think small. Don't
ever think small. Nothing he does and nothing that
he purposes is small. That's right. He'll bring forth
righteousness, truth, and justice to all nations. All nations. Count the stars. That's how many
seeds you'll have. Sands of the seashore. Turn with
me to Revelation 5, verse 9. Listen to this. He talks about this great multitude. He said in verse 9 of Revelation
5, and they sung a new song. And I work with you to take the
book and to open the seals thereof. For thou wast slain, and hast
redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, out of
every tongue, out of every people, out of every nation." That's
a host of folks. He's the Lord of hosts. Turn to Revelation 7, verse 9. Listen to this. You think about
this. In Revelation 7, verse 9. a great multitude which no man
could number. You don't have the numbers with
which to number this multitude. You couldn't do it with your
computer or your calculator. The number of angels and men,
women redeemed of God. A number which no man could number
of all nations, of all kindreds, of all people and every language. God tells me there's thousands
of dialects and languages over this earth. You're going to have
somebody out of every tongue. They stood before the throne
before the Lamb clothed with white robes and palms in their
hands and they all cried with a loud voice, salvation to our
God, salvation is of the Lord, which sitteth upon the throne.
Don't think, smile. No, he's going to bring forth
judgment, he's going to bring forth righteousness, truth and
justice through his precious blood to all nations. Look at verse 2, he shall not
cry. Now this, I read that a while ago. He told them, he healed
these people and said, now just keep still, keep still. He used to tell his disciples
back before he died on the cross, now see what you tell an old
man. He wasn't interested in them
making him a king. He wasn't interested in them
blocking the way to the cross. Let me show you something here.
He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard
in the streets. Earthly kings and rulers, those
who campaign and seek office and seek to be leaders and rulers
and kings and presidents, they campaign, they cry out, they
make speeches. in support of their programs.
They lift up their flags, and their standards, and their incense
above the crowd. They strive with people, they
court people, they promise people things, they campaign in the
streets. That's what he has referenced
here, what he refers to here. He's not going to cry out. He's
not going to lift up his voice, nor cause it to be heard in the
streets for three reasons. Number one, our master is meek
and lowly. He came forth as a tender plant,
as a root out of a dry ground, a man of sorrows acquainted with
grief, despised and rejected. No beauty about him that we should
desire. No form, no comeliness, no armies, no ins and outs, no
standard, no multitude following him, because his kingdom is not
of this world. It's not of this world. So he
doesn't campaign for the support of this world, or the backing
of this world, or the following of this world. He doesn't campaign,
doesn't cry out, doesn't lift up his standard, doesn't cry
out in the street. Secondly, his kingdom is not of this world.
Secondly, his enemies are not of this world, not flesh and
blood. His enemies are principalities,
and powers, and rulers of the darkness in our places. who set
themselves against him from early on, and they are only conquered
and defeated by him alone. You can't help him and he don't
need your help. His kingdom is not of this world, he's not campaigning.
His enemies are not of this world, his enemies are principalities
and powers and rulers of the darkness who are only conquered
by him and defeated by his blood. And as for his people, There'll only be no willing in
the devil's power. Don't try to impress him. Don't
try to drag him down the aisle. Don't try to win him with your
socializing and your fellowship. He has to open their hearts with
his word. That's why he doesn't cry up
and lift up his balls and run up and down the street and say,
don't you want to join the band? Before it's too late. Before
it's everlastingly too late. Lydia, the seller of purple,
came down to the river where a bunch of women met for prayer.
She was a bister in town, but she was one of his sheep. She came down there and a fellow
named Paul came and preached to her. The only one who can do it, God
opened her heart and set up his kingdom in her
heart and raised his standard real high. And she opened her
home and said, If you just do me the favor, come and stay at
my house. He doesn't need to lift up his
voice and employ the methods and means of this world, because
his kingdom is not of this world, his enemies are not of this world,
and his people are not of this world. He's all one to do it. And a bruised ring shall he not
break. A bruise reads not much anyway, it's holler. And a bruise reads not worth
much, but he's not going to break it. And a smoking flax, they
used to use flax in their lamps, oil lamps to give light and to
burn, and a smoking flax is one that's gone out. It wouldn't
be smoking if it wasn't gone out, but it's burned out, quenched. But a bruised reed is not going
to break and a smoking flax is not going to quench. Now earthly
kings who lift up their voices and campaign and seek support,
they don't have much use for the weak and the weary like bruised
reeds. They don't have any place in
their kingdoms and in their organizations for the frail and the faint.
They tossed aside the bruised and broken reed, and they certainly
had no place for flickering lamps that don't burn. They're all
out of oil. But our Lord, you see, he came
to save sinners. He came to seek and to save the
weak and unworthy, the frail and the faint, the helpless and
hopeless, the poor and the needy, the half and the lazy. So he
doesn't break the bruised reed, he strengthens it. He binds up
the brokenhearted. He is none to them of a broken
heart and a bruised soul. He does not quench the smoldering
lamp, but he gives it oil to burn brighter. He gives it his
oil and his life. Oh, everyone that thirsts him,
come to the water. All you that labor in a heavy
laden, faint and failing and falling and weary and unable,
you come to me and I'll give you rest. Because I came not
to call the righteous, I came to call sinners. A bruised reed
he won't break. You're fortunate you're a bruised
reed. A smoking flax he'll not blow it out. You're fortunate
that you're not walking on your own sparks. But you need his
oil and his light. And he'll bring forth judgment
to truth. What's that mean? This is his work. Judgment in truth. Judgment in truth. He justifies
his people on the basis of truth and judgment and justice. That's the only way he justifies
them. Psalms 85 says that. Turn over to Psalm 85. That's
the way he justifies. He shall bring forth judgment
in truth. See, his kingdom is judgment
and truth, verity and truth. In Psalm 85, verse 9, "...surely
his salvation is now unto them that fear him, that glory may
dwell in our land, and mercy and truth are met together."
Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth shall
spring out of the earth. He was born in Bethlehem. and
righteousness shall look down from heaven, a son is given."
Mercy and truth met together, Calvary's cross. Verse 4, he
shall not fail. He shall not fail. My friends,
the Father purposed this covenant of mercy. The Father wrote this
covenant, he wrote this testament. The Son purchased this mercy.
He made his soul an offering for sin. The Holy Spirit applies
this truth. Christ said the Spirit of truth
will come and he'll take the things of man and show them to
you. He'll glorify me. Now, can you even entertain the
thought that the triune God can fail? The Father purposed and
planned the covenant. The Son came and fulfilled it,
and the Spirit is sent to apply it. They cannot fail. He shall not fail nor be broken,
defeated, until he has done the following things. Listen. John
Gill said this. I like this. I'll read what it
says here and then read what he said about it. He shall not
fail him or be discouraged till he has set judgment in the earth.
Till he has set judgment in the earth. Number one, till he's
fully satisfied the justice of God for all the sins of all his
people. Fully satisfied. Secondly, till
he has sent his gospel to every sheep and called every lamb unto
himself. Till he has returned to this
earth according to his word. and brought forth into existence
a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness,
and his glory will cover this earth as waters cover the sea. He shall not fail until he has
set judgment and truth and righteousness on this earth, and the isles
wait for his law. That is, other countries wait
for revelation of his gospel. Well, who ordered all this? Well,
let's look at verse 5. Who ordered all this? Who purposed? Who's the first cause of all
this? Verse 5, Thus saith God the Lord. Here he is, he created
the heavens and stretched them out. Second, he is the one that
spread forth the earth. And thirdly, he's the one that
makes that which cometh out of it, to come out of it, every
plant that grows, everything that comes out of the earth,
everything. You know something? Everything that we have came
out of the earth. Everything that we wear, everything
that we eat, the car that you drive, Everything came out of
the earth, isn't that correct? And he's the one that brings
it out of the earth. He's the one that ordained all
of this, causes it to be. That's who ordained our redemption.
He that giveth birth to people upon the earth, he's the one
that gives natural life to natural men. And he's the one that gives
a spirit to them, a new life, a new birth. to them
who walk with him. He says in verse 6, I'm the Lord,
I'm the Lord, I've called thee in righteousness, not Isaiah,
not Israel, but the Messiah. I the Lord, I've called thee,
my servant, my elect, my redeemer, I've called you in righteousness.
I've called the Messiah to fulfill my righteous purposes. to fulfill
all righteousness for a people, consistent with divine perfection. Now what's that? God cannot lie, the scripture
says that. God cannot lie. We're certainly
not taking from the power of our God to say there's some things
he cannot do. He cannot lie, the scripture
says that. And God cannot pardon a sinner except in a way that's
consistent with his perfections. Isn't that right? Consistent
with his holiness. So he says, I've called you in
righteousness to fulfill a holiness for my
people consistent with my divine perfections, to bring in an everlasting
righteousness. That's the righteousness of God
for all who believe. In fact, you'll be called the
Lord, our righteousness. And listen, and I'll hold your
hand, I'll hold your hand, and I'll keep you. Isn't this beautiful? He'll turn to Isaiah 50 in a
minute. I'll hold your hand. Speaking to the Lord Jesus, I,
the Lord God Almighty, have called thee in righteousness, and I
hold your hand. Isaiah 50, verse 5. Here's the Lord Jesus speaking
about that very thing. Isaiah 50, verse 5. The Lord
God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, and he
would turn the way back. I gave my back to the smiters,
and my cheeks to them that pluck off the hair. I hid not my face
from shame and spitting. for the Lord God will help me.
Therefore shall I not be confounded, I'll not be ashamed. Therefore
I'll have set my face like a flint to go to Jerusalem, and I know
I'll not be ashamed. He's near that justifies me.
Who's going to contend with me? Let us stand together. Who's
my adversary? Let him come near to me. Behold,
the Lord God will help me. Who is he that shall condemn
me? Lo, they all shall wax old as a garment, and all shall eat Who can lay anything in charge
of God's elect? It's God that justifies. So I, the Lord, I've
called you in righteousness, Messiah, my servant, my elect,
and I'll hold your hand and I'll keep you, and listen, verse 6,
Isaiah 42, I'll give you for covenant of the people. I told you when I was reading
that scripture a while ago, get acquainted with the word covenant,
covenant, covenant. Christ is the surety of that
covenant, God is the giver of that covenant, Christ is the
ratifier of that covenant, Christ is the mediator of that covenant,
his blood is the blood of that covenant, and his acceptance
guarantees the mercies of that covenant. And when you come to
die like David, you can say the Lord has made with me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things and sure, this is all my salvation
and all my desire. give you for a covenant of the
people. And for a light to the Gentiles,
that's us, pagans. And you'll open their blind eyes.
I want to show you a scripture in John chapter 9. You'll open
their blind eyes. And this is a picture of religion
versus grace. This is a picture of religious
tradition versus divine revelation. Our Lord gives it to us right
here. In John 9 verse 39, Jesus said,
For judgment, what is said, till he has set judgment in this earth.
For judgment I am coming to this world, that they which see not
might see. That's you isn't it? We were as those who sit in darkness. We didn't have eyes to see. Our
Lord says they have eyes, but they don't see. Ears, but they
don't hear. Hearts, but they don't understand. That's us.
But He gave us life. He gave us eyes to see. The hearing
ear, the seeing eyes of the Lord. And I've told them that they
which see not, might see. Watch this now. And that they
which see. Do they really see? They think
they do. Religious folks don't see. They
don't see God on the throne. They don't see Christ as the
effectual, sufficient redeemer. They don't see God doing the
saving. They don't see sinners dead in trespasses and sin, needing
the grace of God, salvation impossible with me and only possible with
God. But they think they see. And Christ said, I've come that
those who think they see might be made even blinder. I'll add
to their darkness. And one of the Pharisees, some
of them looked at him and said, they heard these words and they
said, Are we blind? Are you saying we're blind? Is
that what you're saying, that we're blind also? Us prominent
men and teachers of the scriptures, rulers of the synagogue, going
about to establish our own righteousness and think we've got a corner
on God. Are you saying we're blind? Listen, our Lord, he said, If
you were blind, you'd have no sin. If you just admit, I can't
see, I've sinned and come short of the glory of God, I can't
hear, I can't understand, I'm a sinner. Lord, enlighten me,
reveal thyself to me, teach me your way, show me your glory.
If you just say that, if you just say that, if you just, if
you weren't blind, you'd have no sins. But now you say, You
say. He didn't say this. They said
it. We see. Christ didn't say you
see. They said we see. We don't need
you. We don't need your message. We
see. Abraham's our father. God's our
father. He said you say you see, therefore
your sin stays right on you. Well, that's so clear. He said
I've called you in righteousness. I'll hold your hand, Isaiah 42,
6, I'll give you as a covenant a light to the Gentiles to open
the blind eyes and to bring out the prisoners from the prison. It takes almighty power and efficacious
grace to bring out prisoners of the law. and prisoners held
captive by God's justice, and prisoners under the power of
Satan, and prisoners to their own natures and lusts. It takes
the power of God to set that man free. And if the Son sets
you free, you're free. I have sent you to bring out
the prisoners. Bring them out. Bring them to
God. He died just for their injustice.
Bring us to God. And listen, and them that sit
in darkness out of the prison house. Did you hear Zechariah
talk about they that sit in darkness? A while ago I read Luke, I said
remember that. He talked about in Luke 1.79
about those that sit in darkness. To give light to them that sit
in darkness. They sit, they're comfortable,
they're there, they don't move, but they've got no light. Let me read you a passage over
here in Exodus 10. When Moses brought that plague
upon Egypt, in Exodus 10, verse 21, and the Lord said, Moses, stretch
out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness, darkness
over the land of Egypt, even darkness which can be felt. And
Moses stretched forth his hand towards heaven, and there was
a thick darkness in the land of Egypt three days. Now listen,
and they saw not one another, neither rose any man from his
place. He sat in darkness. He didn't
dare give up, because he'd never find that place again. He sat
in darkness for three days, or didn't move for three days. Moses sat in darkness. And I
just visualize folks in false religion. And they sit in darkness. They do not see. They cannot
see. They are destitute of light, destitute of understanding, and
they sit in darkness in their traditions and their superstition,
and they stay there because they do not see. But our Lord said,
I've come to give light to those who sit in darkness. May he give
more light to some we know. I've got to move on and let you
go. Verse 8, I am the Lord. I am. That's what he said to Moses,
I am. A name which expresses three
things, self-existence, I am. Think about it. I am. Secondly, eternality. Not I was, not I will be, I am. Immutability, I am and always
will be. Self-existence, I am the Lord. Eternality and unchangeable immutability. I am what? The Lord. Now there's
a word that means an awful lot to me, the Lord. You know what
that word is? The word Elohim is God, El Shaddai,
God Almighty, God of gods, but Jehovah, Elohim is God in nature,
essence, Jehovah is God in grace, get acquainted, God in grace,
God my savior, God my provider, God my righteousness, God my
banner, God my shepherd, God my peace, Jehovah. And my glory, I am the Lord,
that's my name. I am Jehovah. That's my name, oh thank God
that's his name, Jehovah. But my glory I won't give to
another. Not to another God, little letters, or gods. Not
to another person because of his works and duties. not to
another prophet who draws disciples after himself. I'll not give
my glory to another. I'm going to have all of it.
And neither my praise to graven images. Behold, verse 9, the
former things are come to pass. What are these former things
that have come to pass? What I said to Abraham. Now Isaiah
is right in here, in the middle. Abraham is back here. And God
said the things, the former things, They've come to pass. What I
said to Moses, it came to pass. What I said to David and Solomon,
it came to pass. Now watch. And new things I'll
declare. Now you, Isaiah, unto us a child
is born. That'll come to pass. A son is
given. Name will be called Wonderful.
A virgin shall be with child. What I said to you, what I said
to Micah, old Bethlehem, smallest of all, yet out of these shall
come he whose goings forth have been from everlasting." These
are things that will come to pass. What he said to Zechariah,
your king comes riding on a donkey. What he said to Malachi, the
messenger of the covenant shall come to his temple. The former
things will come to pass. The new things do I declare.
Before they happen, I'll tell you about them. So sing unto
the Lord a new song. Sing his praise from the end
of the earth. Ye that go down to the sea and
all that is there in the isles and the inhabitants thereof,
let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice.
And the villages that keep our death and habit, let the inhabitants
of the rocks sing. Let them shout from the top of
the mountain. Let them give glory to the Lord and declare his praise
unto all the islands. All right, I hope that's a blessing
to you. Let's sing number 52. This song was written by, I forget
the man's name, let's see, number 95. Is that the one? 95, written by Nahum Tate in
1690 or something like that. And this is a hard tune, so we're
going to sing it to another tune. The pianist and organist will
give you the tune, but great hymn. Let's stand and sing this,
number 95.