I know everyone here knows, but
let me remind us, when we sing about the cross, we're not talking
about that wooden instrument of crucifixion. We're talking
about Christ and what he accomplished on the cross. One of my friends
one time said, the best thing that could ever happen if the
actual cross, the wooden cross upon which Jesus died, If it
was discovered somewhere, authenticated, the best thing that could happen
is to burn it. To burn it. Because, sure enough,
some people would begin to worship it. Make pilgrimage to it. Think that there was something
in that wood itself that had value. When I was a young boy,
I was raised in a church, they sang that hymn, An Old Rugged
Cross. An Old Rugged Cross. When you
look at the words of that hymn, it's more about that wooden cross
than it is about the Christ who died on the cross. We've never
sung that here, and for good reason, I believe. If you will
now open your Bibles with me to Isaiah chapter 46. Isaiah
chapter 46. Reading the last two verses in
this chapter. Isaiah chapter 46 verse 12, hearken
unto me ye stout hearted that are far from righteousness. I
bring near my righteousness. It shall not be far off, and
my salvation shall not tarry. And I will place salvation in
Zion for Israel, my glory. I ended my message last Sunday
evening with verse 11 in this chapter. And in this verse, the
Lord God speaks of Cyrus, the Persian monarch, And he refers
to him as a ravenous bird of the east. And in this place,
God exposes again the foolishness of idolatry. That God alone is
omniscient, knowing all things and calling a man's name 200
years, more or less, before he was born. The man that God would
raise up to set his people Israel free from Babylon. Now these prophecies that we've
been looking at, beginning with chapter 40, were given, no doubt,
as I said, a long time before they were actually taken into
captivity, but they were to be used to encourage the Israelites
when in captivity. We looked last time, especially
at verses three and four, Harken unto me, O house of Jacob, and
all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are born by
me from the belly, which are carried from the womb, and even
to your old age, I am he, and even to whore hairs, white hairs,
will I carry you. I have made, and I will bear,
even I will carry and will deliver you." We looked at that passage
or those verses last time, especially thinking about the truth of the
perseverance or the security of believers. This past week,
I came across an outline of a message preached by William Jay on these
two verses. He entitled the message, The
Age saint comforted. The aged saint comforted. And he had three points. First
of all, what has God done for you already? The aged saint,
like myself, like some of you, older believers. What has God
already done for you? I have made. We didn't make ourselves
believers. We didn't make ourselves saints.
Children of God, I have made, God says, where his workmanship
created in Christ Jesus, I have made. His second point was what
God will do. I will carry you. I will carry
you. I will not leave nor forsake
you. And his third point was, but
how long, how long? How far will his tenderness and
care extend to old age, to whore heirs? And the application to
his message had two points. It shows the patience of God,
the patience of God. Every child of God may think
of how much How much God has borne with you? How much God
has borne with me over 60 years, 70 years, 80 years? The patience of God. And number
two, his second application, encouragement for those who have
descended into the veil of years, that is in old age, the veil
of years. Doubts may assail your mind to
the last, but be of good cheer. He will not turn you out of doors
now that your salvation is nearer than when you believed." What
an outline, what a message, what a promise from God's Word. Now
I left these last two verses on purpose for us to look at
tonight. I have four divisions in the
message. First, God calls upon man to hearken. Notice that in
verse 12. Hearken unto me. Who is addressed here? Hearken
unto me. Well, stout-hearted, stubborn,
rebellious, hearken unto me, saith the Lord. and to those
who are far off from righteousness. Hearken unto me, says the Lord. You stout-hearted and those of
you who are far off from righteousness. Well, when you think about that,
those who are far off from righteousness, all men considered in ourselves
as we come into this world are far off from righteousness. In Romans chapter 3, the Apostle
Paul is showing how that the whole world, both Jew and Gentile,
is guilty before God. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God, and he makes this statement, there is none
righteous. No, not one. Hearken unto me,
ye that are far off from righteousness. All men, when we come into this
world, we're all far off from righteousness. And I see this
call is much like that in chapter 45 in verse 22 that we looked
at a few weeks ago when the Lord said, look unto
me and be you saved. Oh, hearken unto me, you who
are far off from righteousness. Look unto me, all ye ends of
the earth, and be ye saved. For I am God, and there is none
else. And so I would like to make this
statement. When we read these two verses
and think about them, men exclude themselves if they will not listen. If they will not hearken, if
they will not look, men exclude themselves from salvation. Think about the words of the
Apostle Paul recorded in Acts chapter 13 when they turn from
the Jews to the Gentiles and he made this statement. He said,
if you judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life. Men exclude
themselves because who isn't included here in these two verses? All ye ends of the earth. Is
there anyone that's not included in that statement? Those who
are far off from righteousness? Is there anyone that doesn't
meet that qualification? Of course not. Hearken unto me. Look unto me. Here and your soul
shall live. Now the second point God brings
near is righteousness. Notice that in verse 13. I bring
near my righteousness. Righteousness is one of God's
attributes. It's a characteristic of God
which is essential to him. Now, if you look in a book on
theology, the attributes of God, usually the justice of God and
the righteousness of God are in the same chapter, both attributes
of God. God is just. God is righteous. This is an essential attribute
of God. In other words, when I say this
is an essential attribute of God, God would not be God if
he were not just. God would not be God if he were
not righteous. This is an essential attribute
of God. The psalmist tells us, clouds
and darkness are round about him, righteousness and judgment
are the habitation or the foundation of his throne. Righteousness
and judgment are the habitation of his throne. God must be just,
God must be righteous, or cease to be God. These attributes are
essential to him. The psalmist said, thy righteousness
is like the great mountains, thy judgments always together. Thy righteousness is like the
great mountains, thy judgments are great deep, O Lord." John
Gill made this comment. He said that from his love, that
is from God's love of righteousness and his constant performance
of it, it may be concluded it's natural to him. It's essential
to him, in other words. Men, you see, men may be men
and angels may be angels without righteousness. When God created
the angels, when God created the man, Adam, they were created
righteous. They lost that righteousness
by their disobedience, by their sin, but they continue to be
men and continue to be angels. Righteousness is not essential
to man. It's not essential to the angels. It is to God. This is one of
his essential attributes. The righteousness of Adam, the
righteousness of the angels, was a created righteousness.
His righteousness is uncreated. He is righteous. He is the thrice
holy God. Now, here's the question. Is
this the righteousness that our text is speaking of when God
says that he will bring near his righteousness? Is this the
righteousness, this essential righteousness of God? Well, the
short answer to that question is no. No. This is not his essential
righteousness that he tells us in the text that he will bring
near. This righteousness of God that
God would bring near is the righteousness of Christ. It's the righteousness
of God, man. It is a righteousness that the
Lord Jesus Christ earned. earned by his perfect, absolute
obedience to God and God's law in every way, by his obedience
divided into his active obedience and his passive obedience. This
righteousness is speaking of the work of Christ, the obedience
of Christ as the God-man. God said, I will bring near my
righteousness. Then someone says, well, if this is the righteousness
that this text is speaking of, how does God call it his righteousness? How does God call it his righteousness? Isn't that what he said? I bring
near my righteousness. But if this is the righteousness
of Christ, the God man, how does God call it His righteousness? Well, here's three quick answers.
Number one, Christ is God. He is God. Number two, God sent
his son to work out this righteousness. And number three, God accepted
this righteousness, raising him from the dead. Now in the New
Testament, the Apostle Paul tells us that this righteousness of
God was witnessed by the law and by the prophets. Now here's
one of the prophets, Isaiah, and he's witnessing to this righteousness. Paul also tells us that this
righteousness is revealed in the gospel. When he said, for
I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power
of God unto salvation unto everyone that believeth, to the Jew first,
and also to the Greek, for therein, in the gospel, for therein is
the righteousness of God revealed. This righteousness is the righteousness
that God imputes. It's a righteousness that God
accounts to every believer. This righteousness is the righteousness
of God that allows God to be both just and justifier. This righteousness is the righteousness
of God that is imputed unto every believer and that person is then
justified. Now, a person is either justified
or is not justified. There's no middle ground, as
I said this morning about being saved or not being saved. There's
no middle ground. And when God justifies you, when
a person believes and that person is accounted righteous, that
person is just as righteous as any saint that you read about
here in the Word of God. Just as righteous as Abraham,
just as righteous as Moses, just as righteous as David, just as
righteous as the Virgin Mary. Why? Because we're all made righteous
by the same righteousness, the righteousness of God. The scripture
says Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now those people who deny the
truth of imputation, They say, well, it was his faith that was
counted to him for righteousness. No, it wasn't his faith. It was
the righteousness of God that was accounted to him, credited
to his account. And that righteousness is received
by faith. Paul wrote, which is by faith
of Jesus Christ. Now listen, I love these words.
Unto all. This righteousness of God, think
about it, unto all and upon all them that believe. Do you believe? Do you trust
in Christ and I as your Lord and Savior? This righteousness
that our text speaks of is upon you. It's spoken of like a robe
many times, isn't it? In that parable of the prodigal
son, when he came back, the father said, get the best robe. Get
the best robe. The robe covers completely this
righteousness in which God's people are dressed. It's the
best robe. It's the righteousness of Christ.
The Lord brought it near. That's what he says here in the
text. I bring near my righteousness.
And I cannot help but think of those verses we read at the beginning
of our service in Romans 10, verses 8 and 9, when the apostle
said, The word is nigh thee. Think of this word. It's nigh
you. It's even in your mouth. You
repeat it. You read it. You hear me. Preach
it, and you go over it in your mind. This word is nigh thee,
even in thy mouth. That is the word of faith which
we preach. That if thou shalt confess with
thy mouth the Lord Jesus. And I believe that's important,
don't you? The Lord Jesus. It's not just confessing Jesus. A lot of people will speak about
Jesus, and you can tell by the The way they use his name, they
have no real understanding of who he is. And no reverence and
no respect. Some people take his name, Jesus,
in a blasphemous way, don't they? Almost as a curse, use it in
a curse word. No, the apostle said, that if
thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus. He's Lord. Not gonna be Lord. He is Lord. He is Lord. He's Lord of all. He's your Lord. He's my Lord. He's everyone's Lord. God hath
made that same Jesus both Lord and Christ, the Apostle Peter
said. Remember Ralph Barnard? I used
to say, I'm going to make him my Lord. Honey, God's already
beat you to it. He's already beat you to it.
He is your Lord. He's everyone's Lord. Now if
thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in
thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt
be saved. Now here's the third thing in
our text. God's salvation will not tarry,
verse 13. I bring near my righteousness,
it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry. Remember in the Gospel of Luke
when we read that Mary and Joseph, when The Lord Jesus was about
six weeks old, brought him into the temple to present him to
the Lord. That older man by the name of
Simeon took up the babe in his arms and he said, mine eyes have
seen thy salvation. Christ is God's salvation. He is God's salvation. I bring
near my salvation shall not tarry. My salvation shall not tarry.
Now, when Isaiah gave this prophecy, it was approximately 600 years,
more or less, before that took place, when Simeon took up the
babe in his arms and said, mine eyes have seen thy salvation.
But when the Lord says here, my salvation shall not tarry,
when God's time came, He came. When God's time came, He came. When the fullness of the time
was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under
the law, to redeem them that were under the law. You know,
sometimes people say, well, Gentiles were never under a law. All men
were under the law that God gave to Adam at his creation. All men were under the law. And that law said, or that law
pronounced a curse upon breaking it. And that curse was death. Physical death, spiritual death,
eternal death. Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law. How? Being made a curse for us. That we might receive the adoption
of sons. When I think about that verse
this past week, I thought 600 years. Now God here in the prophecy
says, my salvation shall not tarry. 600 years, that's a long
time. For you, not for God. Not for God. What is 600 years
compared to eternity? It's not even a second. Not even
a second. No. God's time came, God's Son
came, the Savior came. And the fourth thing in this
text, God placed salvation in Zion. And I will place salvation
in Zion for Israel, my glory. Zion is used in the scriptures
in different ways. Sometimes it stands strictly
for the city of Jerusalem because Jerusalem, when it comes into
play in the word of God, Jerusalem was built upon Mount Zion. It was one of the original parts
of the city of Jerusalem, Mount Zion. Jerusalem was built on
several mounts. When Solomon built the temple,
he built the temple on Mount Moriah. But at that time, the
name Zion was expanded to take in the temple as well, all of
Jerusalem, Mount Zion. It was in Jerusalem that the
gospel of salvation was preached, and it was sent out from here.
I will place salvation in Zion for Israel, my glory. Our Lord told his disciples after
his resurrection, just before the day of Pentecost, you shall
be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and
unto the uttermost part of the earth. And that verse in Psalm
110 says, the Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of
Zion. In other words, the rod of his
strength, the gospel, it was sent out of, it was sent out
of Zion. God placed salvation in Zion. So sometimes the point I'm making
is sometimes Zion in the word of God refers to the city of
Jerusalem, but sometimes it refers to the church, the church itself,
the spiritual temple of the Lord. As believers, we are citizens,
yes, we're made citizens of Zion. We have come to Mount Zion, the
writer of Hebrews tells us, unto the city of the living God, the
heavenly Jerusalem. We're not talking about Jerusalem
over there in Palestine, we're talking about the heavenly Jerusalem,
Zion. We have come. We haven't come
to Mount Sinai, but we've come to Mount Zion, he tells us, unto
the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. This is what
we sing when we sing that hymn, Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken. We're not talking about that
city over there in Jerusalem that's divided and they're always
fighting, killing one another over parts of that city, no,
no. We're talking about the church
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Glorious things of thee are spoken,
Zion city of our God. He whose word cannot be broken,
form thee for his own abode. On the rock of ages founded,
who can shake thy sure repose? With salvation's wall surrounded,
thou mayest smile at all thy foes. The church, Zion. We're going to sing that hymn
and we'll be dismissed. Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken,
number 185. If I'm not mistaken, this is
one hymn that John Newton wrote. Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken,
Zion City of Our God. Now let's stand as we sing.