← Back to sermon library
Well, good morning, everyone.
It's good to be with you this Lord's Day morning. You can turn
with me in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 49. We've been going through the
servant songs in our evening service and at Surrey. And so
I figured it'd be good to look at Isaiah 49, the second of the
four servant songs. Isaiah 42, Isaiah 49, Isaiah
50, and Isaiah 52, 13, all the way into 53. So we're looking
at the second servant song this morning. So Isaiah 49. We'll
look at verses 1-6 this morning, but I will read all the way to
verse 13 to set the context. So Isaiah 49, begin reading at
verse 1. Listen, O coastlands, to me,
and take heed, you peoples, from afar. The Lord has called me
from the womb, from the matrix of my mother he has made mention
of my name. He has made my mouth like a sharp
sword. In the shadow of his hand he has hidden me, and made me
a polished shaft. In his quiver he has hidden me.
And he said to me, You are my servant, O Israel, in whom I
will be glorified. Then I said, I have labored in
vain, I have spent my strength for nothing, and in vain. Yet
surely my just reward is with the Lord, and my work with my
God. And now the Lord says, Who formed me from the womb to be
his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, so that Israel is gathered
to him. For I shall be glorious in the
eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength. Indeed,
he says, it is too small a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved
ones of Israel. I will also give you as a light to the Gentiles,
that you should be my salvation to the ends of the earth. Thus
says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, their Holy One. to him
whom man despises, to him whom the nation abhors, to the servant
of rulers. Kings shall see and arise. Princes
also shall worship because of the Lord who is faithful, the
Holy One of Israel, and He has chosen you. Thus says the Lord,
in an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of
salvation I have helped you. I will preserve you and give
you as a covenant to the people, to restore the earth, to cause
them to inherit the desolate heritages, that you may say to
the prisoners, Go forth, to those who are in darkness, show yourselves.
They shall feed along the roads, and their pastures shall be on
all desolate heights. They shall neither hunger nor
thirst, neither heat nor sun shall strike them. For he who
has mercy on them will lead them. Even by the springs of water
he will guide them. I will make each of my mountain
a road, and my highways shall be elevated. Surely these shall
come from afar. Look, those from the north and
the west, and those from the land of Sinai. Sing, O heavens,
be joyful, O earth, and break out in singing, O mountains.
For the Lord has comforted his people, and will have mercy on
his afflicted. Amen. Well, let us pray. O Lord
God, we are thankful for your word. And we're thankful it's
by your word and by your spirit that you are pleased to save
sinners, call forth sinners out of darkness into marvelous light.
We're thankful, O God, for a great multitude that you've chosen
before the foundation of the world of every tribe, tongue,
and nation, both Jew and Gentile. And we're thankful, O God, that
you call them forth through the preaching of your word. And we're
thankful for our great mediator. We're thankful for the Lord Jesus.
And we're thankful that he executes that office of mediator as prophet,
priest, and king. And we're thankful, O God, that
even now He speaks to us by Your Word with the Spirit. And we're
thankful, O God, that You work, You convict, You change. And
we know, God, that You are pleased to work in the hearts and lives
of Your people. You are pleased to save sinners, to call them
forth. And we know, God, it's by the arm of You. that you do
this is by your might and power. It's by your revelation that
you call forth sinners out of darkness. It's by your work that
you even convict Christians now who struggle with sin to show
them their sin all the more and to have them rely upon you all
the more. So God, we ask once again that
you would send forth your spirit this Lord's Day morning. We ask,
O God, that you'd be pleased to work, you'd be pleased to
change. You'd be pleased to give us illumination from on high.
We are thankful, O God, that we have open Bibles that we can
read and seek to understand by your Spirit. We're thankful,
O God, we don't have to worry about the doors being broken
down, but we have much access to your Word. But, O God, help
us to love your Word, help us to cling to your Word, But all
the more, O God, we know that we need aid from on high. Give
us illumination, we pray. Be pleased to strengthen your
saints, be pleased to convict your saints this day, O God,
and be pleased to save sinners, we do pray. And we're thankful,
O God, that Christ shall conquer the ends of the earth through
your word. We're thankful that all your
people shall be brought in, all the elect shall be called forth.
And there shall be a great multitude that no man can number. And we're
thankful, O God, You are pleased to do it through Your Word. So
help us to love it. Help us to cling to it. We pray, O God,
You help us once again to understand it now. Help us by Your Spirit.
And we pray these things in the name of Christ. Amen. Well, as
we consider the book of Isaiah, we must understand its meaning
as a whole. We see the main idea of Isaiah
in Isaiah 6, verse 3. That's the calling of Isaiah,
that's when God appears to him, and the Cherubim cry out, holy,
holy, holy. And we see the main idea there
is Isaiah is all about the Holy One of Israel and the spread
of His glory throughout the earth. And Israel was supposed to do
that. Israel was supposed to spread God's glory, but they
failed mightily in that. So we see other sub-themes throughout
the book of Isaiah. We see judgment, salvation, Yahweh's
exaltation. Yahweh is just the covenant name
of the Lord, versus human abasement. We see rebellion of Israel, and
we see forgiveness. And so the prophets come on the
scene to guard the truth, they bring indictment, they bring
lawsuit against the people of Israel for their wickedness,
for their wretchedness, for their vileness, and show forth how
sinful they actually are. But as we come to Isaiah chapter
49, it's in the overarching section of Isaiah chapter 40 all the
way through 66. See, verses 1-39 is primarily
focused on the 8th century, the time that Isaiah was writing.
But when we come to Isaiah 40, Isaiah is looking ahead. He's
looking past his specific situation. He's looking to a time that presupposes
Exile you see the people of Israel would be sent into exile for
their wretchedness Israel the northern kingdom is sent into
exile in 722 by the Assyrians and Judah is sent in 586 at the
hands of the Babylonians, but this is before that time and
so he comes we see this presupposition he prophesies about that time
and thankfully God is a good God to give them hope in the
midst of exile before exile actually comes. Hezekiah has failed in
Isaiah 38 and 39, and thus the people are sent into exile in
the theme and the structure of the book of Isaiah. And so God
comes on the scene in Isaiah 40 or prophesies about a theme
of comfort. Comfort, comfort, oh my people. A theme of comfort and transformation
for God's people in the midst of exile. And that comfort is
going to come from a specific person. That comfort is going
to come from a specific servant. See, the servant songs are very
important for the book of Isaiah. It's all about his theology,
all about who God is, all about the salvation of God's people
in this one. This is Israel's hope. Israel
has failed mightily, and God, through Isaiah, prophesies about
a great hope who would come through this servant. It causes the people
in exile to turn their attention up to something else, to turn
their attention away from themselves onto something far greater. greater. Because you see, there has been
a problem. The people of Israel have rejected the Word of God. They have not done what the Word
of God says. God has been gracious. God has
been kind. God brought them up out of the
land of Egypt. God revealed himself to his people.
And even night after night, after their wretchedness, after their
adultery, night after night, God is patient and long-suffering
with them until the prophets come on the scene to shake them
out of their slumber, to shake them out of their wickedness,
to show forth what will happen, but exile nonetheless still comes.
The people of Israel followed the word of men. That was a problem
in this time, and I surmise it's a problem today as well. Sinners
reject the Word of God. Even professing Christians who
aren't Christians at all reject the Word of God. I will also
say sometimes as well, even true Christians, we still reject the
Word of God, albeit in a different sense. We still have remaining
sin, but the key problem we see is the rejection of the Word
of God and the one who actually preaches it faithfully, truly,
and rightly. And we see that he brings forth
Conquering he brings forth conquest with this weapon with his word
And that's really the main idea in isaiah 49 in contrast with
cyrus king of persia We'll talk more about cyrus as we go through
but in contrast with cyrus king of persia The servant of the
lord will be a light to the gentiles through his greatest weapon which
is his word He doesn't use the sword, he doesn't use violence,
but he uses the Word of God to bring about the ends of the earth. And we'll see this idea of God's
Word under two headings this morning. First of all, the servant's
weapon in verses 1 through 4, and secondly, the servant's conquest
in verses 5 and 6. So we'll look first at the servant's
weapon, then we'll see the servant's conquest in verses 5 and 6. So notice first the servant's
weapon in verses one through four. Notice we see what the
weapon is in verses one and two. It is his mouth. Notice, he says,
listen, O coastlands, to me, and teed you peoples from afar. You see Isaiah 42, the first
servant song, speaks about the justice of the servant, but even
in Isaiah 42, it talks about the spread of that justice. How will that rule be spread?
It will be spread through the word of God. And one thing that's
different than what we see in Isaiah 42, in Isaiah 42, Yahweh
is speaking about the servants, but in Isaiah 49, the servant
speaks for himself. Listen, O coastlands to me. Take
heed, you peoples, from afar. He brings a message of hope.
He brings a message of restoration. He brings a message of eternal
life. And this is in contrast with
Cyrus, the king of Persia. You see, Cyrus is one of the
main figures in chapters 44 through 48. In fact, in Isaiah 45.1,
guess what Cyrus is called? The Messiah. Why is he called
the Messiah? Because in the history of Israel,
he will be the one, through his decree, through God's providential
working, Cyrus will give the decree to send the people back
to their land. So Cyrus, in a lot of ways, is
a savior for the people of God. But it's for a specific purpose.
It's for a geopolitical purpose. Whereas Isaiah 49 and the servant
come on the scene and Isaiah prophesies about this servant,
it's something far greater than this world. It's something far
greater than this land. It's something far greater than
something that is geopolitical. We need salvation from sin. We need salvation that is spiritual,
not just physical. It's not for geopolitical purposes.
Even in the preceding verses, in 48-22, it talks about the
return of the people back under Zerubbabel, Ezra-Nehemiah, and
the book of Ezra-Nehemiah. Go forth from Babylon, free from
the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing. Declare, proclaim this,
utter it to the ends of the earth. Say, the Lord has redeemed his
servant Jacob, and they did not thirst when he led them to the
desert. He caused the waters to flow for them. He also split
the rock, and the waters gushed out. So God's providing, but
there's still the problem. Verse 22. There is no peace,
says the Lord, for the wicked. Cyrus used violence. Cyrus used
his sword. Cyrus used military tactics to
conquer the world. But this servant's going to be
different. How is he going to conquer the world? With his weapon,
which is his word. He's going to be like a prophet. In fact, the way in which the
servant song starts, all the way into verse 2, is almost prophet-like.
The prophet is calling. Pay attention. Take heed to what
is being said. There is something that is good
to come from the mouth of this one to speak to us. The servant
is speaking as that prophet. Even his calling is like that
of a prophet. The Lord has called me from the
womb, and the matrix, or the inward parts of my mother, he
has made mention of my name. Much like Jeremiah, much like
Paul in Galatians chapter 2, the servant is set apart from
the womb for a specific purpose. He's like the prophets. He's
like a prophet-like calling, one who is chosen and one who
is appointed. In Isaiah 42, he is appointed. Behold, it says very clearly,
Behold my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom my soul
delights. I put my spirit upon him. He
will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. He will not cry out
nor raise his voice nor cause his voice to be heard in the
streets. So this one is like a prophet.
He has the voice of a prophet, and he has the calling like a
prophet. Because you see, there were those
who were false teachers, false preachers, false prophets at
the time of Israel, the time of Isaiah, in the times of the
divided kingdom. Israel in the north, Judah in
the south, but we need a true prophet. Jeremiah faces that
primarily. We see that in his, not just
Jeremiah, but in Jeremiah's book as well. But notice the weapon
in verse 2. And he has made my mouth like
a sharp sword. In the shadow of his hand he
has hidden me, and made me a polished shaft, and his quiver he has
hidden me. War terminology, conquest terminology. How is it that it will be spread?
Again, it's going to be through the word of God. The sword, it
will come from his mouth. And in fact, we see one like
the Son of Man in Revelation 1 and 2, who has a similar type
of weapon. As John is in the Spirit on the
Lord's Day, we see the one like the Son of Man who comes and
appears to him, and what does it say in Revelation 1.16? He had in his right hand seven
stars, and out of his mouth went a sharp, two-edged sword. And then we see in 2.16, repent
or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with
the sword of my mouth. In the context of that, it's
those who preach a false gospel, false teachers, false men who
came, false issues that were going on at that time. It's false
doctrine as well. And the word comes and the Son
of Man comes. and speaks the word of God. But that one does not need a
sword, but uses his mouth. As one writer says, but instead
of being a jacked boot destroyer of the enemies of the nation,
he will be a tender plant, an apparent failure, but he will
atone for the sins of the nation and of the world. And he does
so through the preaching of the word of God. For it's the word
of God that pierces the soul. And in fact, we see that language
there, don't we? He made me a polished shaft. Basically, he made a proper arrow,
a bow and arrow type language. You see, if an arrow has rust
on it, if an arrow has dents in it, it's not going to fly
straight. But God has made him, his word, like a polished shaft. The word of God that shoots,
boom, should be right in the heart, should pierce the soul.
That's what the word of God should be. Now, only God can actually
change the art to make it piercing, to make the arrow actually fly
through, but it's the Word that He does use as that weapon to
do so. It's the Word of God that He
uses to prick hearts. It's the Word of God that He
uses to change hearts. It's the Word of God that He
uses in the life of God's people. If we neglect it, if we don't
read it, if we're not present when it's preached, We cannot
expect to grow. We cannot expect to grow as we
should. There is this piercing nature
to it. No rough edges. God shall protect
him and guide the arrow where it goes. In the shadow of his
hand, he has hidden me. In his quiver, he has hidden
me. He shall be protected. He shall
be guided. He shall be aided in his mission. because he is the one to bring
glory to God and do what Israel could not do, verses three and
four. And he said to me, the servant
still speaking, speaking about what Yahweh said to him, you
are my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. Israel was supposed to be the
servant to do what God asked them to do. But they failed mightily
in this. In Isaiah 41 verse 8, But you,
O Israel, are my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the descendants
of Abraham my friend, so on and so forth, in a time of fear.
Fear not, in verse 14, you worm of Jacob, you men of Israel.
I will help you, says the Lord, and your Redeemer, the Holy One
of Israel. I will make you into new threshing
sledge with sharp teeth, And you shall thresh the mountains
and beat them small. In Isaiah 44, through whom shall
God be glorified? For the Lord has redeemed Jacob
and glorified himself in Israel. And it's interesting in 49.3,
Israel is the servant. See, there's an individual and
corporate aspect when we think about this servant. Israel was
supposed to be the firstborn. Israel was supposed to be the
servant, but they failed mightily in what they were supposed to
do. But nonetheless, this servant comes along and does what they
could not do. In fact, as you see the entire
Bible, as you see it go forth, as you see it unfold, we see
it go broad. With all the ends of the earth,
Genesis 12, and it goes down to a specific people of Israel,
and even more specific, it goes to what? Individuals. Kings. The nation of Israel is all tied
to how kings would act. If they did good, good things
would happen. If they did bad, bad things would
happen. So the servant is Israel, is
the true Israel, through whom obedience and redemption shall
come. You are my servant in whom I
shall be glorified. Isaiah 61 uses similar language
as well. So we know the servant shall
win. We know the servant shall be lifted high. We know the servant
shall bring glory to God. But that might not always look
like it is the case, humanly speaking. This is verse 4. Then
I said, the servant still speaking, I have labored in vain, I have
spent my strength for nothing, and in vain. The supposed labor
of the prophet doesn't seem like it's working. He's preaching,
the gospel is proclaimed, but people aren't being brought in.
And in fact, you do see this with the Lord Jesus Christ to
some degree, don't you? Jesus preaches Calvinism in John
6. And what happens? People flee. People leave. People don't like
what he is saying. They don't like the fact that
they wanted him for what he fed their bellies with, not their
souls with. You see this in Mark chapter
1. Why has Jesus come? To preach. Even after He heals,
even after He performs signs and wonders, and many come to
Him in the house, what happens? He withdraws. He withdraws from
that place. Why? Because His mission isn't
bent on popularity. His mission is not bent on what
the masses say. His mission is to do what God
has told him to do. For this I have come, to preach
the good news, to preach the kingdom of God, to preach that
the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the gospel. Even in Isaiah's time, Isaiah,
the people, rejected the Word of God. Isaiah labored in vain,
supposedly. But God will not, in vain, humanly
speaking. Isaiah was faithful with his
mission. Even in the last servant song, Isaiah 53, 1, who has believed,
I'll report, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? As people witness about the kingdom
of God, people aren't going to like it. People aren't going
to like to be told that they're sinful. People aren't going to
like to be told that there is this one who is unlike anyone
we've thought of, unlike anyone would think when it comes to
a Savior. And it's in Him is eternal life. And the only way
that someone believes on Him is if God changes their hearts,
he works ordinarily through the word, but God pierces with the
sword, pierces with that arrow, uses the arm of the Lord to reveal
this great and glorious one, to shut the mouths of kings,
because what they see, have not heard, they shall see. Isaiah had that problem. The
servant has a similar problem. In fact, in John 12, John brings
Isaiah 53-1 and Isaiah 6 together to show the rejection of the
Jews to the signs and wonders of the Lord Jesus Christ. Why?
Because of their hard-heartedness and because of the fact that
they were appointed for this purpose. The servant of the Lord
shall look like he's failing, but the servant must be faithful
in his conquest. Yet surely my just reward is
with the Lord, and my work with my God. Many will reject him,
Many will turn away from him. Many won't like what he has to
say. But thankfully, many will believe. Many will come. Many
will be saved, all by the power and arm of the Lord God Most
High. This is how our God operates.
He operates in ways to remove any barriers, to remove any ways
that man would lean on certain situations. God removes those
things that he might receive all the glory. The conquest will
come through God's plan in the word of the servant who is a
humble man willing to be despised and rejected, who doesn't raise
his voice, willing to do what God said God asked him to do
in order that he might bring salvation for his I think really
verse 4, I think one writer is right. We're not talking about
the psychology of the servant in verse 4. He's feeling bad
about himself. No, it's just talking about the
humility of the servant. That's a key theme throughout
this as well. A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoking
flax he will not quench. The third servant song as well
talks all about the suffering that he will go through, people
bringing accusation against him, and my cheeks to those who plucked
out the beard. I did not hide my face from shame
and from spitting. He will willingly humble himself
to bring about salvation. And in this, even the servant
song turns our attention upon one who is unlike you and I. Mottier says, Isaiah foresaw
his servant with a real human nature, tested like we are, and
proving himself to be the author and perfecter of the way of faith,
a real personal faith that can still say, my God, when nothing
any longer seems worthwhile. Yet surely my just reward is
with the Lord and where I work with my God. He shall prevail. He shall bring
glory to God, for that is man's chief aim. Salvation is not the
primary aim. The glory of God is the primary
aim in life, not salvation. The hope is that as people are
saved, they would bring glory to God. That's what salvation
does, and God brings them in, that He might receive all the
glory. But God will be glorified both in salvation and in just
judgment as well. But that's the main focus in
life. What's man's chief aim? To glorify God and enjoy Him
forever. And guess how God wishes to be
glorified? Based on what His Word says. You see, as we talked about,
the problem that we see in this section, or the main focus, or
the main problem in this section, is the rejection of the Word
of God. The people are in exile because
they rejected the Word of God. Now, Isaiah said that that was
going to happen, but nonetheless, he gives warnings throughout
Turn, turn. Judgment shall come. These things
shall happen. And in fact, when we even see
in the New Testament, as Jesus comes and speaks of the kingdom
parables, they're primarily, get this, about judgment. It
bugs me to no end sometimes when I hear preachers say, the reason
Jesus uses parables is that people will understand. That's not what
it says in Matthew 13, does it? It's for you to know the mystery
of the kingdom of heaven, but for them it is not. You see, as we see throughout
the entire biblical record, when we see signs, when we see pictures,
so to speak, when we see visions come on the scene, you know why
they come on the scene? Because people get sleepy. People get
tired. People get familiar with certain
things. And sometimes it takes a picture to shake people out
of their slumber, to shake people out of their stupor, to shake
people out of their situation, to cause them to wake up. And even then, without the word
of God working, they shall not wake up, but nonetheless the
prophet speaks these things. And Jesus is that prophet. He
was ears to hear, let him hear, is not, we sometimes pray that
when we want people to be saved, but in the context it is about
judgments. He who has ears to hear, let
him hear. The implication is they don't have ears to hear
unless God gives them ears to hear. But someone on that final
day cannot say, it's because God didn't open my heart. That's
not what's going to happen. The reason is on that final day,
it's because you were sinful and you are sinful, and the only
hope is to heed the Word of God and believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ and look to Him for life, because He is the true prophet. Hebrews 1, Acts 3, quoting Deuteronomy
18, He is the prophet like unto Moses. Heed what He says. Repent and believe the gospel,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. So we must be careful
to not reject the Word of God. So that's the servant's weapon.
Let's then look, secondly, at the servant's conquest in verses
5 and 6. Notice he's going to restore
Israel, and he's going to save the world. Verse 5. Notice parallels
with verse 1. The womb comes back, and now
the Lord says, who formed me from the womb to be his servant. Lots of parallelism. in the servant
songs, in Isaiah, in the prophets. And we see, "...who for me from
the womb to be a servant to bring Jacob back to him." The calling
of the prophet is affirmed once again. And in fact, we could
even see prophet, priest, and king throughout the various servant
songs. Isaiah 42, he's probably a king.
Isaiahs 49 and 50, he's probably a prophet. And Isaiah 52 and
53, he is a priest. That theology comes out again
in these songs. And so he's affirming the prophet
calling once again. Who formed me from the womb to
be a servant, to bring Jacob back to him. so that Israel is
gathered to him, for I shall be glorious in the eyes of the
Lord, and my God shall be my strength." You see, brethren,
Israel was restored, weren't they, in the history of Israel.
As I said, Cyrus brought them back in 538. As I've said to
the people at Surrey, there are three dates that we need to know
in the history of Israel. 722 BC, the northern kingdom
is taken by Assyria. 586 BC, the southern kingdom
is taken by Babylon. Judah is taken by Babylon. And then 538, that's the decree
of Cyrus, the promise to bring the people back. So there is
restoration for the people. But when they come back to the
land, something's missing, isn't it? The servant hasn't come just
yet. There's still a waiting for a
Davidic king. In fact, the Hebrew Bible doesn't end in Malachi,
it ends in Chronicles. You know why it ends in Chronicles?
Because it's a David focus. And then Matthew, as Matthew
begins to, as he finishes the Hebrew Bible, what does it say?
The beginning of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of Abraham,
the son of David. David. Even though God fulfills
by bringing the people back, they're still looking ahead to
someone far greater, something that's far more majestic than
even David himself. And this one shall be accepted
by God Almighty. This one shall have God with
him in his mission and he shall not fail. So that Israel is gathered
to him for I shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord and my
God shall be my strength. All the kings failed. All the
kings did not obey. All the kings suffered at the
hands, suffered based on their wretchedness. But this one shall
not. He shall prevail, for God is
with him. But thankfully, for most of us
here, Israel is far too small. You see, what this servant does,
what this one has earned, should include something far greater
than just Israel. You see, notice in verse 6, indeed,
he says, it is too small a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved
ones of Israel. I will also give you as a light to the Gentiles,
that you should be my salvation to the ends of the earth. Israel was always meant to be
that platform for the ends of the earth Israel is always meant
to be that setting the stage the broadening and broadening
out once again once the true Israel comes for the ends of
the earth earth. You see, world domination will
be given to this conquering servant. The Messianic Age will include
the Gentiles as well. It's not just Israel, but throughout
the entire world. And his domination will be greater
than any other nation we've heard of, be greater than Babylon,
Persia. They all died, didn't they? Assyria
went the way of the Dodo. Greece Rome, Germany, Japan,
America probably will go the way of the dodo bird at some
point. Sorry if you're American and that offends you, but that's
probably what will happen. Only this king shall have world
domination. Only this king shall reign throughout
the ends of the earth, and it is through the word of God that
it goes forth. Fourth, he is the light, he is
the hope, and you see in Isaiah 9, the light to the Gentiles
and that child, Isaiah 42, 6, the covenant to the Gentiles
or to my people, and spreading out further even to the Gentiles
as well, Isaiah, I wanna get it right, Isaiah 42, 6. I, the Lord, have called you
in righteousness, and I will hold your hand. I will keep you
and give you to the covenant peoples, probably a better translation,
as a light to the Gentiles. This one is the light of the
world. This one is the one to whom brings
forth a weapon that is unlike any other. This servant, as we've
seen, or I guess you haven't, we've seen at Surrey, the different
angles of who he is and what he has done and what he shall
look like. You see, the prophets are glorious that way. They take
different events, figures, persons, situations, thoughts, and they
look at it from different angles. And you see this with the servants.
You see this with the prophet, priest, king idea. You see this
in Isaiah 42 with the justice, the rule of the servant. Isaiah
49, how he brings about that rule, how he conquers the world
and brings forth that justice through his word. Isaiah 50,
it's his obedience to bring forth salvation that other prophets
did not do. And Isaiah 52 and 53, the true
witness of this one, the suffering that he goes through, all these
things come together to show forth and give us I'd be in a
fuller picture of who he is. And this is that one. He conquers
the ends of the earth, the extent. You see, it shows how far the
rule spreads, not just to Israel, but I will give you as a light
to the Gentiles that you should be my salvation to the ends of
the earth. That's what this servant shall
do. That's how this servant shall rule. It shall be to the ends
of the earth. And then in verses 7 through
13, we won't spend a lot of time there, but all the servant songs
have what we call a tailpiece. It's either a response or an
affirmation to what's said in verses 1 through 6. And we see
that worldwide dominion effect happening. The worldwide effect
in verse 7, that we do effectiveness, gathering, and joy. His labor
won't be in vain. As much as it might seem like
his labor is in vain, it shall not be the case. It shall be
brought in. Verse 7 talks about these kings
shall see and arise. Princes also shall worship because
of the Lord who is faithful. The Holy One of Israel, He has
chosen you. And then verse 8, in an acceptable
time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped
you. He's going to gather the world and bring them in, bring
in his people, bring in those whom he has called, bring in
those from every tribe, tongue, and nation, and bring them back.
And even the language, in verses 9-12 is really Exodus-like language. See, the exile is Exodus. We're
going to see that tonight in Hosea 11. They go back to Egypt,
so to speak. That's one of the curses in Deuteronomy 28. But here we
see they return from exile. They return out of exile. They
return out of exile, like a second exodus paving a way for the true
exodus. But thankfully, because of this
servant and because of him alone, there is great joy. That's why
we read Isaiah 49, verse 13 at the outset. Sing, O heavens,
be joyful, O earth, break out and sing your mountains for the
Lord has comforted his people and will have mercy on his afflicted
he shall reign he shall bring salvation to the ends of the
earth they shall hear and he reigns now to bring about that
salvation to bring about that that that eternal life to bring
about that dominion and guess where do we see that I love that
Brother Steve read Acts 13 this morning, because that's exactly
where verse 6 is quoted in Acts 13, verse 47. You can turn back
to Acts 13. The mission of the ascended servant
is the ends of the earth, and you see this happening, as you've
been seeing in your studies in Acts, as we read this morning
in Acts 13. In Acts 13, 47, he quotes This passage explicitly, Paul
quotes it explicitly. You see, it bugs me to no end
when people distinguish or like to have Paul versus Jesus type
of idea. What did Jesus say? What did
Paul say? That is wrong. You see, Paul is speaking on
behalf of Jesus. Understands that with what he
is saying here. You see as our brother exposit
for us this morning He's at Galatia or what be the Church of Galatia
He's preaching to Jews about the resurrection about the Lord
Jesus Christ and you see the response of that in verses 42
through 52 and we see that the many came on the next Sabbath
day almost the whole city came together to hear the Word of
God and Some Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy and
contradicted and blasphemed. They opposed the things spoken
by Paul. And what did they do? It was
necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first.
But since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting
life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. Why? For so the Lord
has commanded us, I have set you as a light to the Gentiles,
that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth. Acts, as we go through, it's
all about really the rejection of ethnic Israel as the special
people of God. All the way driving to Acts 28,
where he quotes Isaiah 6 to show forth who the true Israel is. It's Jesus Christ. But who is
part of the new Israel? It is the church of God through
faith. And one of the blessings we see
of people brought into that new reign, into that new rule, into
that new covenant, is through preaching. And we see the rejection,
just like we saw in Isaiah 49. The people rejected the word
of God. Here the Jews reject the word of God. And what happens?
We're turning to the Gentiles. I have set you as a light to
the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation to the ends
of the earth. You see, Paul understood he was
continuing the mission of the Lord Jesus Christ. He had a special
role as the apostle to the Gentiles. Jesus is the servant. But Paul
understood that he was bringing about the work of the servant,
as Jesus has ascended on high and now reveals himself as the
light of the world to the world through the preaching of the
word of God. He is that light of the world, John 9. He is that
one that Simeon longed to see in Luke chapter 2. He reigns
now, and Paul preaches him. It is through the word of God,
through and through. I'm sure Pastor Butler, as he's
been going through, pointing out the word of God, through
and through. It's not tongues, it's not signs,
it's not wonders. Yes, those things serve to affirm
the word of God, but the emphasis is what? Preaching, preaching. Preaching. Faithfulness in that
preaching. Why? Because God is going to
bring salvation the way that he says he's going to bring salvation. God is going to do it in a way
that is difficult for us to understand. It's actually not. He says, preach
the word, and the gospel is the power of God for salvation to
all who believe. But we're dumb. We're stupid.
We ruin everything and make it complicated. No. We do what we're
supposed to do. And God shall bring forth that
salvation for his people, shall work in the life of his people.
That's the kingdom, how the kingdom is brought in. The kingdom of
God, brethren, is the saving of souls. That's its focus. And the expression on this planet,
in this world, is the Church of God. And we must heed the
Word of God. That's how the ends of the earth
is conquered. You see, this is a fundamental
difference from the way the rest of the world brings about conquering,
brings about conquest, isn't it? we use the word of God. And the beauty is, as the Christian
nation advances, in reality, the nation is heaven. In reality,
churches are like an embassy that we gather at to have a glimpse
and foretaste of what heaven will be like. In reality, the
church infiltrates every other nation, not to overtake it, but
the hope is that we save people out of it. You see, brethren,
we are dual citizens in this world, are we not? We are citizens
of the heavenly kingdom, if you are a believer. We're also citizens
of Canada as well, and the hope is that Canadians would be brought
into what? The kingdom of heaven through
the preaching of the word of God, and we do so the way God
says. And that's hard, isn't it? I
was listening to Dr. Godfrey not a week or so ago,
and he's talking about the foundation of the Orthodox Presbyterian
Church, which is a good denomination, and also talked about even before
then, that the split in the Presbyterian Church in the 1800s, the old
school, new school, typically it's liberal versus conservative.
That's usually what happens in any split that happens. People
want to add things, want to bring in things, go away from the Word
of God. People want to stick to the Word of God. You know
what he said? It's very difficult to be confessional in this age,
isn't it? It's very difficult to hold fast
to truth, not just what we can all agree on, but how we can
preach the whole counsel of God. That is so difficult and so hard,
especially in a day and age where nobody likes to do that. You
know what he says? Be faithful. He says, do what
the Word of God says. We don't need signs and wonders.
We don't need bells and whistles. We don't need, you know, all
these different puppets, ponies, and programs to quote Pastor
Butler. You know what we need? It's the Word of God that we
need. You might not like that, but it's simple. It's what God
says. I really do think a lot of things
in life are very simple. You know what the end of Ecclesiastes
says? Fear God and keep his commandments.
I mean, that's easy to say, hard to do. What's the church supposed
to do? Preach the Word of God, not add anything to it or take
away from it. That's pretty easy to do. Other
things in life. You know how you don't become
perpetually poor? Work hard. I mean, is that an easy thing
to do? You see, it's easy to say those things, but we mess
it up so often, brethren, don't we? But the God is very, very
clear for us. The church too often likes to
reject what the Word of God says and go different ways because
it's not growing like we want it to grow. Other things are
happening in those places that have all these fun things. In
reality, they're just winning the world with what the world
wants. Shredding guitars, and massive solos, and puppets, ponies,
and programs again, and pageants, and all those things. That's
not what we're supposed to do. We're supposed to be faithful
to what the Word of God says. Now, that is a problem in the
overarching evangelical nature of where we live today, but perhaps
we need to bring it home as well. Reform Christians still are tempted
by that, aren't we? In general. Because we don't
see the church growing in the way we want? Okay, maybe we should...
No! Be faithful. God has called us
to be faithful. But not just in churches, but
for individual Christians as well, brethren. We are very,
very, very—we are very quick, even Reform people, to neglect
the Word of God, to not do what the Word of God says. That's why we need to be under
it every week. How often do you hear the Word
of God? Yeah, that's right, pastor, Monday morning you don't do what
the pastor of God said. You know why? Because we're sinful. And we need it. Week in and week
out. We need our daily dose of the
Word of God. We need our weekly dose of corporate
worship. Both morning and evening, brethren. I know the Bible doesn't command
morning and evening. I think there is a precedent
in Psalm 92. But at the same time, as you
look through church history, most of the Puritan churches
had morning and evening. And Godfrey comes up again in
one of the classes, he was talking about Puritanism, talking about
the Lord's Day, and usually lectures and this stuff, he was preaching.
And it was great. If you struggle with the Second
Service and what that is and all that, listen to Godfrey,
he'll smack it out of you. You know what he says? He says,
can it really be good that the people of God are half as educated
in the Bible? And he surmises that that's in
the 19th century when we lost the Second Service. And look
where Christianity is today. There's a bit of a cause and
effect, isn't there? Put it in colloquial terms, we're
doubly as stupid when it comes to the Bible and what it says.
We don't know it as we ought. We think we do, but we do not,
brethren, including pastors. Pastors have to go to seminary
to learn what the people in the pew knew back then. The Institute
of Christian Religion by John Calvin. Guess who it's written
for? The people in the pew. Wilhelmus of Brackles, four volumes. Guess who it's written for, brethren?
The people in the pew. Guess what the Shorter Catechism
was written for? Children. Now we have to have
a children's catechism for children. Brother, I'm not trying to be
mean or a jerk, but we really have gotten dumber and dumber
when it comes to biblical things, and it shouldn't be the case.
We have the Bible we can listen to. We can have someone read
it to us. We have the Bibles that we don't
have to worry about our doors being shut down and broken into
and having our Bibles confiscated. But we have, we can read it and
study it and look at it, yet we don't. There is also another
ebb and flow in history, I don't know why, again, it's probably
God's glory. Typically when there's persecution, that's when the
people confess the Word of God. That's when people hold to the
Word of God. Typically, in times of peace and prosperity, which
I'm fine with, I'm glad with that, I like to be able not to
read my Bible that way, but boy, it's usually in those times theology
goes down the drain, brethren. And I surmise it's a struggle
for all of us as well, for Reformed Christians as well. We get tired.
We get weary. Things happen. We make excuses.
You retire. All those things do happen, and
pastors struggle with that as well. But the reason Pastor Butler
flogs the dead horse, and I flog the dead horse as well, is because
it's what you and I need, the means of grace. If I've said
it before, I'll say it again, I said it already, if you neglect
it, you cannot expect to grow. I get that people are sick. I
get those things. I get those providentially hindered,
all those things. But if you're just, you know,
stubbed your toe and you don't want to come anymore, just, you know, wrap
it up and come to church because it's what you need. And so that's why we preach this,
that's why we explain it, that's why we proclaim it, because it
is so very clear. In fact, Hebrews chapter 4 does
give us an application section. In the book of Hebrews, the people
wanted the smells and bells. The people wanted all the fancy
things. They wanted to see the blood
from the sacrifice. They wanted to see those things,
and so they wanted something tangible. But what does the writer
of the Hebrews say? He tells them to look to Jesus,
look up to someone else, look up to the servants. But in Hebrews
4, 12. The application section. What
does the Word of God do? For the Word of God is living
and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing
even to the division of soul and spirit and of joints and
marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the
heart. And there is no creature hidden from his sight, but all
things are naked and open to the eyes of him to whom we must
give an account. That's why we must hear it often. That's why we must be in it often,
because it exposes us, it shows forth our remaining corruption,
shows forth who we are, but also shows forth how great God is,
and how great the Lord Jesus Christ is, because there is encouragement
for us in Isaiah 49, in Acts 13. God's plans are better and
different than human plans. God's ways will come forth to
fruition because he's faithful. God's successes are different
than human successes, and thankfully we can cling to those things. It's better to have a church
of 10 followers of Christ than 10,000 false ones believing in
a false gospel. And there is encouragement that
the gospel is the power of God for salvation, to all who believe. There is encouragement knowing
that this servant has won the battle, that he reigns on high. There is encouragement knowing
that he shall conquer the ends of the earth through the preaching
of the word of God that is calling forth all those who are His,
and He'll do so whether in judgment or salvation. Those who reject
the Word of God, those who don't believe the Word of God, those
who don't come to Christ, they shall die in their trespasses
and sins. But those who believe on the
Lord Jesus shall have eternal life. Those who believe on the
light of the world shall have everlasting hope and shall be
part of the new heavens and new earth and be part of that new
kingdom. If you're an unbeliever here today, heed the word, heed
the warning, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be
saved. If you don't, you will die in
your trespasses and sins. Look to Christ, look to Him,
find hope, find life, find eternal peace. For there is no hope for
the world, but in this servant who speaks, in verse 49, Listen,
O coastlands, to me. Take heed, you peoples, from
afar. The Lord has called me from the
womb, from the matrix of my mother. He has made mention of my name.
He has made my mouth like a sharp sword. In the shadow of his hand
he has hidden me and made me a polished shaft. In his quiver
he has hidden me. And he shall be the light to
the Gentiles and the salvation to the ends of the earth. Well,
let's pray. Our Lord God, we are thankful
the word, we're thankful for the servant, we are thankful
for the Lord Jesus Christ, we're thankful that He is our prophet
who still speaks to us even now by your word with your spirit.
We thank you God for the liberating reality that you're the one who
does save, but you've called forth your people to be faithful,
And we confess, O God, we have not heeded your word as we should
as your people. We have not done what is right
in your sight, each and every one of us individually. We have
sinned, we have fallen, we have not done the things that are
pleasing to you. We confess, O God, those sins
to you, and we're thankful that we can find forgiveness in the
Lord Jesus Christ. But for any day who do not know
you, we pray that you would prick their hearts, O God, that you
would pierce their souls by your spirit, that you would give them
those new hearts, O God, that they might believe. and look
to the Lord Jesus Christ, and we're thankful for such hope,
for such life, for such glory, and we're thankful, O God, that
the servant does glorify you, and we're thankful, O God, all
those who have found him shall glorify you by the power of your
Spirit forever and ever, world without end. We're thankful,
O God, for that great joy. We're thankful for that peace.
We're thankful that we can sing of such amazing grace. And, oh
God, we pray that you encourage your people this day, pierce
us today, strengthen us this day. We pray, oh God, you also
be pleased to save sinners this day. For we are thankful there's
such hope in such eternal life and such peace in this conquering
one. We're thankful for your word. We're thankful that it
does convict, it does comfort, it does change, it does all those
things. And we're thankful that you do so with your spirit. Help
us, oh God, to be faithful. Help us to love the things that
you love. Help us to give you all glory. And we pray these
things in the name of Christ. Amen.
