Prayers
Lord God, help us to know You and to know the truth. Teach us to turn away from rebellion. Your Law is good and right, but we have sinned against You. We have brought great trouble upon ourselves in our disobedience. Yet You have a plan of grace that goes beyond our disobedience. You have provided a Substitute who did more than offer ceremonial righteousness to You. He heard Your Word and loved You. He listened to Your voice and obeyed Your commandments. There was no evil in Him. He cared for the weak with true sincerity. He has taken away the deep stain of our sin and has granted to us the perfectly glorious robes of His unfailing goodness. We seek You now for a season of true faithfulness among Your worshippers. We long for the age to come, when all of our sinful thoughts, words, and actions will be taken far away from us forever. The way of idolatry leads only to destruction. Teach us to be earnest followers of Your Son.
Glorious Lord, according to Your promise establish Your church as the highest mountain of truth and righteousness throughout the earth. Teach us to walk in Your light, O Lord. There is great danger for us in all that is proud and lifted up against You. We long for the day when You alone will be exalted. Even now, we yield ourselves to You as the only God. Loosen our grip on every idol and cause us to worship You in Spirit and in truth.
Lord God of Hosts, what will Your church do when You come to purify us? There is much weakness around us and within us. We want to trust You, even in the day of worst tribulation. Give us grace to be faithful in every time of trouble, and cut short the days of testing, for You know the limits of our strength. Father, Your people have been crushed by their leaders. Men and women have become haughty and complacent, but how will we be proud when powerful enemies come to destroy us? Unite together those who belong to You, and show us mercy because of the wonderful righteousness of Your Son, who shed His blood for our sins.
Almighty God, we come to You now. Grant that we may be called by Your Name and connected to the One Branch, Jesus Christ, who is our hope. Cleanse us from all sin. Move us in the pathway of Your glorious presence, and dwell with us forever.
Father, we are Your vineyard. You have provided everything necessary for us that we might be a fruitful harvest for You. Yet we have yielded wild grapes in our rebellion against You. Like Your people of old, we have violated Your Law, and we are in danger of being swept away. Despite our sin, You will surely keep a remnant according to grace. You will build Your church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Sanctify us for Your purposes. Teach us to understand the time and place in which we serve You. We long to live as Your beloved sheep, grazing peacefully in Your pasture. Bring about the day of lasting peace. Only You can accomplish such a great blessing. Help us to endure through this time of trouble. You will not be angry with us forever, for You will not turn away from Your promise of grace. We need You now, for enemies come against us, and they are too strong for us. You can scatter them with one word.
Holy and Majestic God, You are the Lord. You reign from the heavenly sanctuary, and You are holy. Our sin is made more obvious in the light of Your presence. We thank You for the full atonement which is ours in Jesus Christ. We have been set apart for Your purposes and are willing to be sent out for Your glory. Grant us strength from on high for the service to which we have been called. May we be faithful in speaking the truth by the power of Your love for Your chosen flock.
O Lord God, the King that You have provided for Your church is faithful and true. You know the wickedness of those who seek to overwhelm us, but You have the power to stop the hand of every adversary. Make us firm in faith. Help us to rejoice in the sign that You have chosen for us. A virgin has conceived. Immanuel has been given to us. Through Him, sin and death have been overthrown. We thank You for the wonder of His mighty love. The very thought that You are with us through the person of Your Son is a comfort in the present day of trouble. Though all of our problems have not yet been removed from us, the sign of Immanuel speaks to us of a powerful victory that can never be reversed. The Christ has come for our atonement. He will return again to rescue us from this evil age.
Almighty Father, You have spoken through the prophets. Your words were faithful in the mouths of Your holy servants, but they longed for a better fulfillment, one that is ours now in Your church. We still desire the best of all answers to our holiest longings. Come soon, Lord Jesus! Until that final day, there is some measure of difficulty among us. Yet You have given Your church the privilege of being a sign to the world. You have planted the seed of Your true Word in our hearts, and we believe. Why will men turn to deceiving demons, when You have clearly spoken to Your people? We trust in You and we cling to Your Word and Your testimony.
Lord God, we have been so greatly blessed. Your Light shines upon the nations. You have broken the rod of our oppressors through the birth and death of Your Son. He is our King forever and our mighty God. Forgive our arrogance when we think that we could have a victory over evil without Your grace. Christ and His cross is our great power. His death has given us life. Why do we think of the grace of our Lord as so weak, when it is clearly strong? Grace insists that we cannot save ourselves. We imagine that our weakness must mean that the plan of grace is somehow weak. Yet Your holiness and love made grace mighty for the tearing down of every stronghold, and for the building up of the kingdom that bears the Name of Your Son. All glory to You, O God.
Our Father, there is a way that is right and there is a way that is wrong. To abuse the weak is against Your Law. We dare not tempt You by despising the powerless. You can bring a very powerful empire against Your people to discipline us in our sin. When You have used that empire for Your purposes, You can correct their arrogant presumption. We should never trust in the strength of any nation or people. We must lean on You. You will make a full end of wickedness. You are the Creator. You will be the Judge. You have shown Your abilities so many times. There can be no question of Your strength. You are the Lord God of Hosts. You will be exalted forever.
Lord God, we long to see the Branch who has come from the root of Jesse. The greatest Son of David has proven Himself by His atoning love. Now we wait for His return, for His judgment will mean peace and vindication for the people You love. On that day, the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of You. We shall see the perfect peace that Your Son won for us through the cross. Father, we are the remnant of Your people from all the nations. We are the Jews and Gentiles who believe in Your Name. We are the ones that You spoke of so long ago. We wait for You and serve You with both joy and expectation even now.
O Lord, we give thanks to You. You were angry with us, but Your anger has been turned away from us through the life and death of Your Son. We rejoice in Your mercy, O God, for You are with us. Your presence is our life. You are great in the midst of Your people.
Father God, You are right to be angry with men in their arrogance. In Your people of old and in Your church at the present hour there is much surprising haughtiness. What will we do with our pride in the day of Your fierce anger? Where will we flee in that day? If judgment begins among the people who claim to know You, what will become of those who refuse to acknowledge Your Name in any good way? We grieve for those who suppress the knowledge of Your truth in unrighteousness. You have used powerful armies for Your purposes, but weapons and strategies will never save the world when You come to judge. Kings and kingdoms will not be able to stand when You determine that the end of their days has come.
Lord of Hosts, have compassion upon Your people, and give us rest from our pain. Men and angels have struck Your people with unrelenting persecution. You will bring the pompous low. Even that angel who made a plan to ascend upon the clouds shall be cast down. Judge the way of antichrists who have tried to deceive multitudes. If they had their way, we would have been utterly swept away from the land of the living. Your Hand is much stronger than any adversary. You will bring us safety and rest at just the right time. We take refuge even now in Your Son.
God of the Nations, You can destroy a powerful city in one night. We should repent of all sin. Every people in every land should flee from the wrath to come, Everyone should run to Jesus Christ. Our only safety is in Him. The sign of guilt is upon the hands of men. Only the blood of the Lamb of God can cleanse us.
Lord God, the trouble that will come upon men one day will quickly overwhelm them. We taste that even now in the many trials that are a part of this age. One day there will come One who will be swift to do justice. Surely the nations of the earth have provoked You for centuries. You have provided so many good gifts to the sons and daughters of Adam, but we have worshipped false gods, and deliberately ignored You, the Creator and Sustainer of all Your creatures. We confess our sins before You, and we plead for those who have not yet called upon Your Name. Rescue many by Your kind provision of mercy through Jesus Christ.
God of Glory, Your works of redemption are marvelous. We would not see the wonder of salvation if You had no wrath against sin. There will be a powerful display of Your righteous judgment when Your Son returns. This would have been our portion had You not rescued us from great trouble. How can we thank You enough for Your kindness to us? We do not know what to say or do. Lead us forward as Your children. Show us how to follow You.
Lord of the Nations, use Your ambassadors to bring the most excellent message to people who are presently far away from You. The final word for distant lands will not be wrath, though we surely all deserve to die for our rebellion. Even now people who were once so far off have been drawn near to You through Christ. They bring tribute as they worship You in Spirit and in truth. Bring Your Word to all the nations of the earth for the glory of Your holy Name.
Lord God, the idols of the nations are nothing. You are the God who preserves the world and all that is in it. Men could not live without You for even a moment. Yet we love idols that should be thrown away, and we ignore You who should be worshipped. Please forgive us. We long for the day when You will save many who live in the most unexpected places. May all nations worship You together. May we know our unity in Christ, and celebrate our communion with one another in Him.
Father God, You will accomplish all of Your holy will. You have used Your prophets to bring us signs of Your judgment against the sins of the world. You have used these same men to speak boldly of the hope that is to be found in Christ alone. We will not trust in the power of men. Thank You for the deliverance that is ours in Your Son.
Our Father, help us to embrace the truth of trial and tribulation. We live in an era that You speak of as labor pains. How are we to rejoice in tribulation? Help us to see the bigger picture of Your plan. We are like those who have been troubled from difficulty in every direction. Teach us to embrace suffering as a gift, and to be willing to be remade during a time when the flesh has become weak.
Sovereign Lord, You are full of love and mercy for Your children. Help us to see Your discipline in light of Your great plan of grace. Help us to know You in the deepest valley of trial. Make our time of devastation and destruction to be a valley of vision. Teach us to see Your hand in any day of trouble, that we might rightly profit from every difficulty. You can surely throw off the oppressor in a moment. You love Your elect. You must be working out some great purpose of grace. We long for the fullest expression of Your Son’s reign over all His people.
God of Grace, in every season of life we should turn away from evil and turn toward You. The world does not understand what to do in the time of trouble. Will we who acknowledge Your glorious Name be just as foolish as the world when we face overwhelming difficulties? Teach us to turn away from everything unclean. We do not want to be enslaved in spiritual immorality. We long to be Your pure bride forever.
Our Father, Judgment Day will finally come upon all the earth. You have spoken. You have promised Your perfect justice for centuries. You have given numerous powerful signs of great destruction. Though many people ignore You, this should not be our story. May we give glory to Your Name everywhere. Though terror may come against us on every side, You are still God over all of creation. Your judgment does not come upon the world without reason. You reign from heaven, and You will judge men and angels with perfect justice. Your Son is our everlasting refuge. We call upon Your name through Him.
Father God, we praise Your Name. You have done wonderful things. You hear the prayers of the needy, and You provide a place of rescue in Your Son. Beyond the Day of Judgment there is a wonderful eternity of peace. Death will be swallowed up forever. You are God. We have waited for You. You are faithful to Your Word. Though You lay us low, we will find our greatest joy as those who are blessed by Your grace.
God of Heaven and Earth, we trust in You. You are an everlasting Rock for Your people in Jesus Christ. We wait for You. We look for You now and forever. Those who seek You will surely find You, though You may seem to be hidden for a moment. You have granted to us a hope of resurrection, and not only to us, but to all who have come to You through Your Son. The great birth that is coming for Your kingdom in the age of resurrection will be wonderful forever.
Lord God, You rule over all men and angels. You will judge our oppressors, and You will keep us as Your people forever. We will be Your pleasant vineyard. Your church is filling the whole world with the message of Your Son. We believe, and thus we rejoice, even in the day of great persecution and affliction. We know that the troubles that we face now are temporary, but the rejoicing of Your worshipping people from throughout the earth will be eternal.
Glorious God, You will purify Your church in the days that are coming. How large is Your mercy, O Lord? What will You do with those who have been oppressed by the devil and who have fallen into enslaving sin? We know that we are guilty sinners. None of us could stand before You in our own goodness. Our only hope is in the righteousness of Christ. We pray for Your mercy upon our sons and daughters who have been caught in foolish lies and worldliness. Surely You know the sincerity of the faith that You gave to them in the days of their youth. Annul their covenant with death that they make when they seem to forget Your ways. They have not utterly forsaken Your Name. You must have held them through the raging storm of deception and immorality. They have faced the destruction of this creation, will they face a second destruction in the age to come? Our hope is for something better than this. You will not discipline Your people forever. Though the body be dead because of sin, the Spirit will be alive because of righteousness. We thank You for the abundance of Your grace. Our God and the God of our children, have mercy on us, for we are weak.
Lord God Almighty, we should not be surprised when distress comes upon Your church. You will not be content with our destructive disobedience. You will visit us with discipline. Many of Your true servants will yet be caught up in difficulties that come upon Your people. Nonetheless You are able to preserve our souls for the coming day of resurrection. Even when Your righteous judgment comes upon Your church, we continue to look for a day of tremendous joy. This will be a day when the blind will see and the deaf will hear. We have been granted a wonderful taste of that coming day in the visitation of Your Son. We look for the fullness of His mercy when He returns for us.
Lord God, when we face problems that are far beyond us, we should turn to You with persistence and faith. Why do we run out of energy almost before we have asked You for help? Why do we turn to the world and long for the word of false prophets? Father, our sin is deep. We need You. Teach us to run to You day by day. We are sorry for our continued rebellion against You. We know that You will hear us when we cry out to You. We trust that You will answer us and will lead us in the way of help. We turn away from idolatry and calmly rest in Your embrace. We look for Your glorious light. You will bind up our wounds. Grant us a song in the night that we might be true to You throughout the pilgrimage of this life. Help us to put one foot in front of another that we might continue on the pathway that leads to You.
Father God, we look to You today in the midst of our troubles. We see now that the praise and aid of men will never be the ultimate answer for us. We cast away the idols of our hearts, and we remember You. Thank You for the great gift of Your Son, for His cross, and for His resurrection. Thank You for Your abiding love, and even for the trials that point us homeward again to You.
Great God, we praise You for Your Son, our King who reigns in righteousness. He has displayed His power. He opened the eyes of the blind. He provided food for the hungry. He planned and accomplished noble things. This Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, Now He is at Your right hand. He is powerful to save. Pour out Your Spirit from on high. Bring fruitfulness, righteousness, and love to us in our misery and sadness. We long to dwell in Your eternal peace. Conquer our fears even now and bless us with the security of a more solid faith.
Father God, we were wandering and we did not even know it. There was a destroyer who was troubling us, and we thought for a moment that he was a friend. We fear You, and we remember You. We look around Your church and we see that the land is mourning. Rise up and be exalted. Take away our godlessness, and help us to remember the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ who gave His life for us. He dwells on High. We will behold Him in His beauty. The day of the hateful adversary will be gone, and there will be perfect peace and provision in Your holy Jerusalem. You are the Lord, and You will keep us. We will have glorious health and the fullest restoration in Your presence.
Perfect Lord, You are wonderful in Your mercy and glorious in Your justice. Your Day is coming. You will not be stopped. You have a sword. You will bring this age to an end in the Day of Your vengeance. You have not forgotten the church for whom Your Son gave His obedience and blood. The power and fear of the world will suddenly be nothing in that day. There will be a wonderful peace for Your servants. We read about this in Your Word and we believe. There is a place for Your people that can never be taken away. From generation to generation we will dwell in Immanuel’s land.
Father God, we had wandered so far from You, but You have strengthened us and You have saved us by Your strong hand. We have been given new life, and streams have suddenly appeared in the desert. There is a road for us that leads to Zion, for we are Your ransomed people. Cause sorrow and sighing to flee far from us, for we are Your beloved children, and You will never forsake us.
Lord God, Your adversary comes against us making accusations. He would entice us away from the path of faith with deceptive words. He would sift us as wheat for our destruction. Father, You are so different from him. You bring trials to Your people for a good purpose. Your discipline of us is a part of Your merciful plan of grace. Our enemy seeks only evil. He works for our destruction. You are the Lord, and You will deliver Your Jerusalem out of His hand.
Our Father, in the day of His earthly ministry, Your Son Jesus Christ turned to You in faith continually. You heard His cries. He was not afraid of the words of men. He trusted You. By His life and death, our deliverance was accomplished. We thank You for the mercy of the cross. We will not believe the lies of the adversary who came against Your Son so long ago. He was defeated through the same cross that became our salvation. We will not listen to the words of men who would mock You. Hear from on high and help us. Your Son takes our prayers and perfects them. He intercedes for us. You will surely glorify Your own Name. The proud boasts of Your adversaries will be utterly overthrown. You are able to capture every enemy. We shall be a band of survivors, though men succeed at taking our lives. What can they do to us? We will surely be in Your blessed presence forever.
Glorious Lord, You know the struggles that we face. You know our fears and our desires. You know our hearts and our deeds. Your mercy is wonderful. You are able to give us more time here below. You hear us when we cry out to You. You send away sickness according to Your plan. You enable us to live. You restore us to health. If You decree disease or trouble, surely You do even this for our welfare. We shall go up to Your house with the multitude of Your holy ones at just the right time. We shall worship You forever.
Father, do we know an enemy when he visits us with smooth words? Are we so foolish that we say much more than we should? Our bragging will bring us great trouble. Teach us how to be quiet about our accomplishments. There is a day when it is best for us to say nothing. Teach us that the way of pride will not be good for us. If we boast, let us boast in You and not in ourselves.
Lord God, bring to us ministers who comfort Your people with words of good news from on high. Speak forth Your glory so that all flesh shall hear of Your greatness. We are like grass that withers and fades. Your Word will stand forever. In that Word we behold You, Your Son, and Your Holy Spirit. There is no one like You. You are before all things and You reign over all that You have created. All the nations are as nothing before You. How could we display You with some image that we have created? You are the everlasting God. You bring the greatest powers of the earth low and they die like men. You rule over the stars in the heavens, and You know Your children. You do not faint or grow weary. Give us power and strength as we wait for You. Teach us to fly, to run, to walk, to stand, and to wait.
Sovereign Lord, You will judge all the nations of the earth. You are the First and the Last, and it is right for You to bring about all of Your holy decrees. We are Your servants in Jesus Christ. We will not be afraid, for You will strengthen and help us. You are the Redeemer. You are the Holy One. We will rejoice in You in the day of our deliverance. You bring springs of water in the desert. It is Your Hand that has brought us a time of refreshing in these days. By Your power there shall come an age of resurrection. We call upon Your Name, O Lord, and You hear us. Our strength is in Jesus Christ.
Father God, there is no one like Your Servant Jesus Christ. He brings forth justice upon the earth. Look upon us, O God. We are bruised reeds. Do not break us. We have no real flame left in us. Do not utterly snuff us out. Breathe new life into us again by Your Spirit. Thank You for Your mercy. Your Son will establish justice throughout the earth. We long for His day. Come, Lord Jesus! Even now open the eyes of the blind through the preaching of Your Word. Teach us to praise You everywhere and at all times. You are powerful to save. Speak, O Lord, and rescue us. Your church is like a woman in labor. There is suffering here, but You are surely leading us. You will not forsake us. Your Son has taken upon Himself all our infirmities. Restore our fortunes, O Lord. Help us as we cry out to You.
O Lord, You have redeemed us. Through water and flame, through every fiery trial, You are still with us. You call us Your sons and Your daughters. You love us and protect us. We are Your witnesses throughout the earth in Your Son Jesus Christ. There is no other Savior. There is no other Judge. You are the Holy One, and You are the King. You are doing a new thing, and You will not be stopped. Forgive us our sins, O Lord. We sinned against You in Adam, and we have sinned against You in our own days. You forgive us. You discipline us. You love us.
Father God, You made us, and You call us to believe. We trust You. You will have wonderful mercy upon Your people. Your promises are so big and so true. You speak of things yet to come, and Your words are completely reliable. The lover of idols will be put to shame. You are God. There is nothing wise in the worship of objects. We will not fall down before the work of our own hands. We will not pray to something that was carved out of a block of wood. We cast off every lie that we once believed. We will sing to You, O Lord. You stretched out the heavens. You confirm the words of Your prophets. You raise up a Cyrus for Your purposes. You are building Your temple.
Lord God, You have a Messiah King who is better than any emperor of old. Every other great king pointed forward to this one King and Lord. This Redeemer is the Son of God. He is also the Son of Man. He is the Potter. Has He now become the clay for our sake? Your Son shall build up Your city. He shall set the exiles free. Even now it can be said that freedom Christ has set us free. Yet we wait for Him. We long for the fullness of salvation that is ours in Him. We seek You and we find You. You have gathered us from the nations. You declared this long ago, and have vindicated Your holy Word. Every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of Your holy Name.
Father, now that You have revealed Yourself to us so fully in Your Son, will we turn to the foolish idols of the nations? Surely when Christ has been preached to all the nations, if Your people would turn back to some false messiah it would be an abomination. We trust You. Your plan is perfect. Your righteousness has come near to us in Christ. We shall not be moved.
Lord God, men may exalt themselves now with all their wealth and glory. Yet they will be brought low in the Day of Judgment. The ones who have had no mercy on Your church, what will they receive from You when You come in vengeance? You can bring a sudden ruin upon those who counted on sorceries. How could the nations turn back to false gods and rituals when Your Son has been so clearly proclaimed as Lord? We will hope in Jesus Christ. We turn away from all false gods.
Father, should we be shocked when we face persecution and trial? You have warned us of the troubles that would come. You know our pride and our reckless wandering. You know the temptations all around us. You have seen our treachery and have heard our presumptuous boasting. You will not give Your glory to another. You have called us, and You will save us. You will use strong measures to keep Your chosen ones. You have not spoken about this in secret. We should pay attention to Your commandments. Then our peace would have been like a river, even when Your enemies abused us. Yet Your promises shall still stand. You have redeemed us from an adversary that was far too strong for us. We shall praise You together with all Your holy ones and we shall glorify Your Name forever.
Great God, Your Son is the One! He is the Savior. He is the Suffering King. You have called Him from the womb. He has saved Jacob. He has even saved Your beloved elect from every tribe and tongue and nation. You have made Him to be a Covenant to Your people. A day of the greatest provision is surely coming. None of this could every have happened without our Messiah. You have comforted us in Him. Even if our mothers and fathers have forgotten us, You will never forget us. Your plans for us are glorious. We are to be a holy bride. The children of our bereavement will yet speak in our ears. There will be many for the ones who thought that they were left all alone. This will be the day of resurrection glory. We will know that You are the Lord. We wait for You, and we shall not be put to shame. You will save our children who have been taken captive by a foul adversary. You are the mighty one of Jacob.
O Lord, the church is suffering in the filth of her own foolishness, weakness, poverty, and rebellion. How can we come to You as a pure bride if not in the righteousness of a Substitute? We have only one Man who was not rebellious. He suffered for us. He set His heart toward the perfect obedience that you require, and He was not put to shame. You have been His strength, and He is now our hope. We will fear You and obey You. We will walk by the light that You have provided us in Him.
Lord our Rock, we have come from You. You have called men before us to be people of faith. Surely we must follow in this way. We are in One who was the hope of Abraham. He is a light to the peoples. We wait for His strong arm even today. The day of our salvation is approaching. You have put your Law in our hearts, and Your righteousness and salvation rise up within Your holy people. You will not be stopped by the most evil foe. You can make us glad again today. You are the Comforter who lives in us. You alone made the world, and You have brought about the new creation. Blessed be Your Name, O Lord of Hosts. Speak to Zion today in Your Word. Take away the cup of Your wrath, since this has already been consumed to the very dregs by our Helper who died on the cross for our sins. Yet today there remains an adversary against us. Help us, O Lord.
Come in strength, O God, in the garments of Your power. We were sold for nothing, but we have been redeemed through the precious blood of the Lamb. Speak in the voice of Your gospel herald soon. Let the weary come again to Zion, that we might sing to our God. Your arm is strong. Show us Your salvation. Release us from the filthy chains of wickedness and be our God. Thank You for Your amazing Servant. He is our strength.
O Lord, so many have ignored the truth of Your grace. So many were offended by the lowliness of our holy King. How is it that men would dare to despise Jesus, who was wounded for our transgressions? Thank You for this great truth: that the Shepherd died for the sheep. The One who was oppressed and afflicted in silence, now lives forever in the strength of resurrection power. When He is seen again, every knee shall bow before Him who was an offering for sin. He has justified many by His knowledge. He has carried our guilt. Through the strength of His death, and through His intercession for us, we have been saved.
Lord of the Harvest, You are bringing forth children for the desolate woman. We are the descendants that You have made for the glory of Your Holy Servant, Jesus. He is the Lord of Hosts and our Husband. Your people were cast off in their sin, but now they are being brought back home in Your divine compassion. Your steadfast promise is fulfilled in the One who is both just and justifier. Therefore we rejoice in You and in the covenant of peace with which You have made us glad. We are precious stones now in Your holy temple. The day without fear will soon come in all perfection, and we will be changed from glory to glory. Even today, no weapon fashioned against us will prosper.
O Father, we are thirsty and hungry, and we come to You. You will satisfy us with abundance that can only be found in the Bread of Life and the Cup of our Salvation. You have redeemed us, and we seek You now. We turn away from all sin and turn toward You, O Lord. Your ways are high, and Your thoughts are pure. We are yours, O God. Your Word has accomplished what You have purposed by Your holy decree. Bring about the fullness of a renewed creation.
Lord of our Salvation, we will keep justice, and consider Your Law to do it. Though we are weak, You are capable of taking a fruitless servant and granting him an everlasting name. We will hold fast Your covenant and come streaming to Your holy mountain for the fullness of Sabbath rest. All the nations shall find rest in Your Son. The dogs who tear and kill will be shut out from harming Your sheep. You will grant to us the wine of holy rejoicing.
Lord, our Lord, will the righteous man perish while the wicked man rests in his soft bed? You have given us hope in Your justice, and we call upon Your Name, knowing that Your Word will not be powerless. You know the secrets of every idol worshipper. They are spiritual prostitutes. They seduce false gods, and find themselves slaves to demons. Lord, rescue us from evil men and angels. Idols cannot deliver us from trouble. We take refuge in You alone. We will rest on Your holy mountain. You inhabit eternity, and You will revive the spirit of the lowly. Blessed be Your Name. Your Spirit heals the mourning soul. Bring us settled hearts.
Lord of the Sabbath, we have done foolish things. We pretend to seek You and to serve You, we have even fasted and prayed, and yet we have sought our own way and boasted in our own Names. We yell at those we should be gentle with, and we have turned away from Your goodness and Your life. We should share our bread with the hungry and clothe the naked. We should love our families near and far. But we have looked on the poor and done nothing to help. We have ignored Your good promises. We want close communion with You. We want the bright joy of Your holiness and the fruitfulness of a watered garden. We must follow Your Word again, that we might be repairers of the breach all around us. We will take our delight in You, and You will rescue us.
Lord of Strength, You hear us and You save us. Turn us now from all our filthy iniquity. We turn away from all lies and deceit. We come to You for our strength, for we are very weak. We will no longer run to evil, but will cry out to You in the day of temptation. Make a road for us that leads to Light. Shine upon Your pilgrim children who are weak and needy. So much sin! How can we live? We confess and come for mercy. Pretty words will not save us. The Truth that is alive and dwells in men will be our only hope. Come, Lord Jesus, in the full armor of battle and help us. We are Your beloved children, for whom You gave Your blood. Come, Redeemer Lord. We turn from transgression this day. Do not depart from us and from our children and their offspring forever.
O Glorious Light, come to Your children this day that we might come to You. Let us rejoice in the sight of Your face. We bring gifts from far off, things that you have given to us. We bring You our children and our lives. We will fear You above every King, and love You more than any other lover. You are God. You are building a glorious sanctuary out of the living stones that You have gathered in Zion. We will feed upon Your good gifts, and be strengthened by Your Son. You make us to be a temple that lasts forever. None can destroy Your good Work. You are the glory of Your people, O God. We shall possess the land forever. You will bring Your Day of victory at just the right time.
O Spirit of the Living God who so filled our great Messiah, we ask that You would fill us, that we might follow this great Man of Blessing. You have fed us and healed us. You use us to rebuild what sin has destroyed. We are priests to You, O God, and we rejoice in You, for You are our portion. You hate injustice, and will keep it far from us on the day of our deliverance, for we are Your blessed offspring. We have been covered with the righteous robes of Your Son. We live and grow in You, O God.
In You, O God, we live and move, and have our being. We have heard that we are a crown on Your head, and Your delight. What a blessed condition, that our God should rejoice over us! We thank You, O Lord. For You will establish Your Jerusalem above, and we shall praise You in the courts of Your sanctuary. We who were once not Your people have now been called the daughter of Zion, a city not forsaken.
God of Vengeance and Justice, You will come to judge, but for our sake You have been willing to sully Your garments with Your own precious blood. You protect us from all our enemies. You have been good to us in the abundance of Your steadfast love. You have saved us through the Messenger of Your presence. You have disciplined us in Your love and righteousness, but You have turned again toward us with a powerful salvation. You have made for Yourself a glorious Name throughout the whole earth. Father, never abandon us. Do not harden our hearts, but change us and overrule our foolishness.
Come down now, O God. We need You here today. There is much to be done, but there are enemies within and without the gates who are against Your Kingdom. We are fading like a leaf. We need to be a strong tree of righteousness in Your Son. You are the Father, even our Father. You are the Potter. Shape us to be vessels of Your mercy for Your own good pleasure.
Great God, Your patience is beyond our understanding. We know that You will repay iniquity. Our hope is in Christ and the cross, since Your justice has come upon Him there for us. Thank you for Your unchanging love for Your elect children. We will not forsake You. We will answer when You call and turn away from those things in which You do not delight. Feed us this day. Grant to us refreshing waters from above. Bless us, we pray. Call us by the name of Your Son. O God of Truth, make us glad in You today. May Your Jerusalem above be a cause of rejoicing forever. Bring about the fulfillment of all Your holy purposes. Give us hope for this eternal city as we face the sufferings of this world of death. Answer us in peace. We come to You in faith.
O Lord, it is amazing that You would care for us. Your Son came in humility and trembled at Your Word. His perfect heart of worship moved toward You continually in sincere devotion and obedience. This He did for our sake. We shall not be put to shame. We look for the sound in the heavens of Your Son’s return in glory. Bring forth Your holy nation. May Your Kingdom come, O God. We rejoice with the Jerusalem that is above. Bring peace to her like a river. Bring joy that we have almost forgotten in the day of trouble. Show forth Your mercy to us. Grant to us a taste of Your perfect peace even today. You know the works and thoughts of Christ which have been credited to our account. Use us today to declare Your glory among the nations. Draw all Your people to Your holy mountain, that we might gather together in Your house in the new heavens and the new earth. We worship You, O sovereign Lord.
Devotionals
Isaiah 1
The ministry of Isaiah
as a prophet spanned a period of over forty years during the reigns of four
kings. This was a period of great challenge for Israel and Judah. In these
sixty-six chapters we sense something of the span of a long life lived by a man
of God who spoke words of judgment and hope by the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit.
The servants of God who speak in His name do not hide the truth about the
sinfulness of His people. Though they are called God's "children", they are also
called a "sinful nation" and a "people laden with iniquity." Their problem with
sin is not merely a superficial wound, for God says "the whole head is sick."
Even more than that, the problem that the unfaithful covenant people have is
"from the sole of the foot even to the head." There is no soundness in their
body.
If this sounds too severe, or if you want to try to restrict this kind of
assessment to the Old Testament, remember that God says in the New Testament
letter of Paul to the church in Ephesus that we were not merely sick or
diseased, but we were "dead in our trespasses and sins." The life that we have
now in Christ has come from outside us. We should be able to relate very well to
the words of judgment that we find in the Old Testament prophets. The truth
about our sin is something we must embrace in order to understand the truth of
the death of the Righteous Servant of God for us.
In order for that Righteous One to come as a part of the covenant people of God,
it was necessary that the people of Israel would not be utterly consumed from
the face of the earth. Therefore God left "a few survivors." This mercy of God
to a few is a powerful picture of the electing love of God for His church, and
it is cited by Paul in Romans 9:29 for this purpose. That is not to say that the
few who lived through the devastation of Assyrian and Babylonian warfare in the
centuries before Christ were all righteous. They were wicked too and in need of
the grace of God. It is just a fact that some continued to live longer than
others, and became a part of the picture that God left for us to consider. Some
died by the sword of the Assyrians. Others lived on and would have future
generations. Through Christ, we are a band of unworthy survivors who are
eternally grateful for His abounding mercy. Even some that face earthly
punishments (and we all will face death unless the Lord returns very soon) are
recipients of eternal mercy through the Messiah sent by God.
How should we live now as those who escape the sword today, and who believe that
we have been eternally and securely rescued by the blood of the cross? The
instruction to us is solid and firm, as it was to the survivors in the days of
Isaiah and beyond. "Cease to do evil, learn to do good." Just because we are all
guilty sinners before God who have been saved by His grace, does not in any way
give us permission to insult His tremendous salvation by continuing to rebel
against his commandments. We are alive today. Others are not. There is a purpose
to our being alive here on earth. We should do things today for the Lord who
saved us.
God speaks to us regarding our salvation. This grace is the great motivator He
has given to us, moving us toward a life of greater usefulness. "Come now, let
us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall
be as white as snow." In the day of Isaiah, the central act of our deliverance
through the cross of Christ was still hundreds of years into the future.
Therefore, he speaks of it as a thing that is yet coming. "Afterward you shall
be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city. Zion shall be redeemed
by justice." We know that our Redeemer has come, and the man of perfect
righteousness took our unrighteousness upon himself and was given the justice we
deserved. Now the whole Zion of God, all elect Jews and Gentiles, have been
redeemed by justice, since the mercy of our Lord had determined to count His
justice as ours.
It is still the case that rebels and sinners may be consumed in this life
according to the plan of God. Today, in light of the marvelous eternal mercies
of God in Christ, let us soften our rebellious and hardened hearts. Let us hear
the words of the prophet who calls us to a resurrection life even now, for there
are labors of gospel love that God has ordained for us today as the Israel of
God.
Isaiah 2
It is not an accident
that when people search for God they look up to the heavens. Calvin suggests
that "our eyes know no reality more beautiful and full of grandeur than the
sky." I think that we can readily relate to the sense of wonder that a person
feels as they gaze at the sun rising over the vast ocean, or as David says in
Psalm 8: "When I gaze into the night sky, and see the work of your fingers, the
moon and stars suspended in space, oh what is man that you are mindful of him?"
With that understandable connection between the heights of heaven and the God of
creation, is it any surprise that people have looked to the highest mountains as
places that were sacred? The impulse to reach God through a mountain of our own
making is at least as old as the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11. But what if God
would take his own mountain, Mount Zion, the place of the temple in Jerusalem,
and would one day cause it to be the highest mountain in the world! What could
that mean? It would have to mean that the kingdom of God and of His worship
would be above all the other kingdoms of this world and above all the other ways
that man would make to try to come near to God.
Isaiah says that "in the latter days" all the nations shall flow to this
greatest of all mountains to worship the God of Jacob. Here God uses the
language of Old Covenant Worship in order to discuss new covenant wonders.
People from all over the world will willingly desire to come to the Lord that
they might learn His ways and walk in His paths. They will love the word of the
Lord that will come from "Jerusalem." The things that the Old Testament temple,
Mount Zion, and Jerusalem stood for have now come in the Kingdom of heaven. The
nations are even now streaming up the mountain of God and are desiring to hear
the truth of the word of God, that they might follow Him. One day, it will be
abundantly clear that God's "mountain" is far above all the other alternative
sacred mountains of the earth, and that the way of man-made access to the divine
is not the true way to the One who created the heavens and the earth.
This "light of the Lord" has especially come in Jesus Christ, who said, "I am
the light of the world." Yet today we would still stumble in darkness if we
harden our hearts against the word of God. Like the Israelites of old we would
fill our minds with "things from the east." We would choose treasures and other
idols, and especially seek our peace and life in things that "our own fingers
have made." How merciful the Lord is to meet us in this act of rejecting him,
and to bring us gently back to the better mountain of His eternal Kingdom.
It is amazing to consider that the greatest blow against the lofty sinful
religious pride of men came when God Himself became man to face the death that
we deserved. Through that willingness to be brought dreadfully low, the Lord was
singled out as the only Savior of sinners, and as the Lord who alone would be
exalted above all false gods. Idols shall utterly pass away. The day of the
terror of the Lord shall come with splendor and majesty from heaven. All who
have turned to the Lord of the cross as the only Lord of glory can today see God
as wonderful and should consider that any lasting glory for men must come to us
as a gift from the Source of all majesty.
Isaiah 3
When people think about
going back to a high school reunion many years after graduation they naturally
consider how they have changed since they were seventeen or eighteen years old.
They also think about the great athletes or the most attractive group of girls
and wonder about what they might be like today. Many of the changes in our lives
come upon us gradually, almost unnoticed day by day. What if it happened more
suddenly that leading men and women in a nation were reduced to wretchedness
through the power of an invading enemy? What if the enemy came against God's own
people, and did so in such a way that it was clear that the disaster had come
from the hand of God Himself?
Such changes in any society would be shocking - too much for any of us to take
in all at once. In this chapter the prophet Isaiah is warning Judah and
Jerusalem that His judgment will come against the leading men and women in their
midst. He begins by talking about the men, and he includes leaders from all of
society. God's judgment against them will not only be expressed in the removal
of bread and water, but also in the removal of people. Military captains,
judges, prophets, elders, wise men and magicians will all be taken away. All
these leaders will be gone. It is not because God could not do anything to
prevent this. Isaiah calls God the "Lord God of hosts." He has myriads upon
myriads of the finest specimens of humanity at his instant call. God has
provided leaders. He can take them away.
The result of God's action is that leadership falls to those who are less worthy
of rule. Young boys, even infants, will rule over them. Those who have more
years will lose the respect of those who are young. The one who has only a cloak
will seem like a great man, and will be sought after to be a ruler over the
"heap of ruins" that was once a great nation. These young ones who will be
recruited by a desperate populace in some future time will not only be unable to
rule, the text tells us that they will also be unwilling to do so. They will
say, "You shall not make me leader of the people."
At the end of the chapter, the focus turns to those who were the leading women
among the people, now brought low. These "daughters of Zion" were once haughty.
They looked the part with all the outward ornaments that they used to enhance
their grandeur. They had crescents, pendants, bracelets, special scarves,
headdresses, perfume boxes, nose rings, robes, handbags, mirrors, and on and on.
But when the enemy comes they will have rottenness, baldness, sackcloth, and
branding marks on their skin. What a horror this is to consider!
How did this happen? The middle of the passage gives us the answer. Judgment has
especially come upon the ruling elite "because their speech and their deeds were
against the Lord, defying His glorious presence." It is clear that "they have
brought evil on themselves." Through it all, for the righteous remnant in the
midst of this national judgment, somehow "it will be well with them," but for
the wicked who have have crushed the poor, it will not be well.
This is all so difficult to consider. Leading men and women have been brought so
very low, ultimately by the God who has shown himself to be eternally committed
to His people. How can this be? When we see a mighty man brought low, and low
men unwilling and unable to reign, we can consider that we have a great King
forever over the household of God in Jesus Christ our Lord. He who has
compassion on us in our desperate condition is both able and willing to lead His
people, and He will not suffer them to face eternal defeat. When we see
beautiful and proud people brought into the lowest estate of bondage by cruel
foes, we remember with hope that their is a glorious bride forever associated
with our great King. This bride is the church, and she will be perfected not
only with the wonder of eternal physical existence, but even with beauty of
perfect holiness.
This is our destiny, and in the midst of our greatest distress, we must not lose
sight of the perfection of the eternal plan of the Lord of glory. Destruction
did come to the Old Testament people of Jerusalem and Judah, but the Lord of
glory came in person, and He rescued His people that He has loved with an
everlasting love. Our ugly wickedness is all too evident, and we should repent
before we face far worse troubles in this present age. But we can never forget
the eternal love of God for His people. Not a one of them will be lost, for the
perfect King of Israel has given His blood for His glorious bride.
Isaiah 4
Does it seem like a
small matter to us that we are called by the name of Christ? Is it still a
wonderful thing to us that our shame and guilt have been removed through the
ministry of our Savior? This very brief chapter begins with a verse that speaks
of the urgency of seven women who are begging to be named by the name of one
man. They will not ask that this man to provide for them as would have been his
customary obligation. They will simply be satisfied with the honor of an
association with this one man. The church has the blessing of her husband's
name, and far from having to provide for ourselves, he will care for us and give
us Himself. He is the bread from heaven that will always sustain us and the
clothing of perfect righteousness that will forever be the basis of our
acceptance by God.
As if anticipating these New Covenant and heavenly realities, every phrase in
the next five verses seems to insist on a meaning that moves us toward the
future fulfillment of the Kingdom of God in Christ. Jesus and the Church
connected to Him will be beautiful and glorious. How is it that we have gone so
quickly from talking about the nation of God as a "heap of ruins" in the third
chapter, and just a few verses later we now read that "the fruit of the land"
will be "the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel." Something has happened
here. There is a new day beyond the disgrace of the Old Covenant people, and
Isaiah is serving as a herald of that coming day.
We who have come to the Kingdom only by the name of Israel's Messiah are now the
Jerusalem of God. We are holy in Him, and our names have been recorded in the
Lamb's book of life. God has washed away our filth through the blood of Jesus,
and through a spirit of judgment that came upon Him on the cross instead of us
we have a solid hope. Even now we enjoy the presence of the Lord by faith, but
the day will come when the fact of that divine presence with us will be obvious
to our senses. In that day there will be no need for any lamp or sun, because
the Lord our God will be our ever-present light. We know this already in our
best moments, but then we will see this clearly and continually.
God is our protection even now, yet like Job, we can face horrific loss, and we
need to remind ourselves continually that godliness with contentment is great
gain. One day that kind of reminder will simply not be necessary. The Lord's
canopy of love will be seen. The Lord's protective shelter will be our heavenly
mansion. The sun will not strike us in any harmful way by day, and there will be
no terrors of the night for us.
These things we lay hold of today by faith. The Old Testament saint would also
have heard these words of promise, and would have believed with wonder. There is
still an element of wonder for us as well, but we have the better assurance of
the incarnation of Christ, his miracles, his death, and his resurrection. We
also have the Spirit of God granted to us as a downpayment of the fullness of
God's goodness that has been promised to us. All of this has come to us because
of our association with one great man. He has taken away our reproach.
Isaiah 5
When someone goes to
all the trouble to plant a vineyard, he expects that he will eventually yield
fruit from his labor. The song of the vineyard in Isaiah 5 is a prophetic
parable. Jesus told parables in his earthly ministry, but frequently he did not
explain them to the crowds, but only to his closest disciples. Here in Isaiah we
are told a parable about the Lord's vineyard, and we are left with no doubt
concerning its meaning.
Verse seven says, "the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel." As
the chapter begins, Isaiah speaks of God's great care for his vineyard. He did
everything that He could for it, but the vineyard would not yield the kind of
fruit that it should have yielded. The fault is not God's, but the vineyard's.
God calls his people to account for the lack of righteous fruit in the Lord's
nation.
He then announces His determination to remove the hedge of protection around the
vineyard, to break down its wall, and to trample down his land and to make it a
waste. What kind of fruit was He seeking from His people? He looked for justice,
but He found instead bloodshed. He sought righteousness, but found an outcry
from the poor and powerless who were oppressed.
From this point on in the chapter the parable is left behind, and we have God's
prophetic indictment presented more directly in His pronouncement of woe upon
His people. They have joined "house to house" and "field to field" with no
recognition of the fact the the Lord was the owner of the land. He had
established laws that would enable the poor to have some stability over many
generations. They were to have an inheritance of land granted to their clans and
families from God Himself, but this blessing has been trampled upon. Men of
renown have given themselves over to late night drinking and feasting, and have
not attended to the "deeds of the Lord." They have been content with falsehood
and darkness, and rejected the light of His Word. The have acquitted the guilty
for a bribe and deprived the innocent of his right.
What will God do when the people who are supposed to be a testimony to the world
of justice and righteousness simply attend to their own pleasures and ignore the
weighty matters of life in a world of great suffering? If they will not display
justice and righteousness, the Lord will display these things Himself by coming
against them and judging them! The Lord of hosts will be exalted in justice. The
Holy God will show himself holy in righteousness. He will be the Prime Mover in
His acts of judgment, but the means of affliction will be other nations that are
far off. He will whistle for them, and they will come with horrific might and
act as His agents of destruction. Like a lion they will growl and seize their
prey, and no one will be able to rescue. The judgment of God against His beloved
land will be darkness and distress.
Our reaction to such a passage should be a fear of the Lord of heaven and earth.
If He sets Himself up as our adversary, who can stand? If He would discipline
His Old Testament nation with these terrors, what will await all of us who have
so obviously violated His holy commandments? Yet if God only wanted to display
His justice, He could have destroyed the world immediately after the sin of
Adam. His plan is to also display His mercy, yet without sacrificing His great
display of holiness and justice.
How can this be? Justice demands that the wicked be punished. Mercy insists that
the targets of mercy be forgiven and blessed. If we are all lawbreakers in the
sight of God, how can both of these demands be satisfied? How can God eternally
punish the wicked and save them as well. There must be an eternal substitute
provided for the targets of the Lord's abounding mercy. This is precisely what
the Christian faith is about. The wrath of God has come upon a sacrificial lamb
for our sake. A frightening and holy adversary has condemned one great righteous
servant from the vineyard of Israel. This Messiah has taken away - not our
earthly discipline, but the eternal wrath of God toward us. The discipline of
trial remains as part of the mysterious providence of God who orders all things
according to His plan for both justice and mercy. But a punishment far worse
than the Assyrians and Babylonians has been placed upon the Son of God, and so
we have been delivered.
We should still quake at the discipline of the Lord in this world of sorrow.
Nonetheless, our eternal security is assured because of the blood of the Lamb.
Isaiah 6
Old Testament priests
and kings, when they were invested with the authority of their offices, were
anointed with oil poured upon their heads. This was not the case with prophets.
What we see instead is that they were brought directly into the heavenly council
of God and given an anointing from the Spirit of God as they were commissioned
for service. Their work was not an easy calling. Here we have recorded for us
the experience of the prophet Isaiah as God called him and spoke to him about
the difficult prophetic ministry before him.
In this chapter Isaiah is brought to the throne room of God in a vision. He
describes mysterious heavenly angelic creatures who are captivated by God and
continually engaged in His worship. We cannot pause too long in our
consideration of angels, since by their own mouths they insist they we focus
upon God. "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his
glory." This is the interest of heaven - the Lord God Almighty. (Yet the
seraphim speak of earth - that the whole earth is full of God's glory. How is it
that we lose sight of this fact?)
As Isaiah is brought to see the glory of God in heaven he considers himself in
mortal danger. He speaks of his sin and the sin of his community where he
dwells. How can he live, since he has seen the Lord? The answer comes from the
altar of the heavenly temple. A burning coal from the place of sacrifice is the
agent for sanctification. A hot coal on the lips does not sound like a safe cure
for anything. But this coal is a symbol. It takes away guilt and atones for sin.
It is fitting that it comes from the altar, for the animals that were slain in
the Old Testament worship system were sacrificed on the altar, and their blood
was supposed to ceremonially take away guilt and atone for sin. But Isaiah was
in the real temple in heaven. He needed something more than a ceremonial cure
for his uncleanness. Without question this coal must be symbolic of Christ
Himself, who alone is the atoning sacrifice for sin.
The right reaction of one who knows that his sin has been decisively put away is
to offer up your body as a living sacrifice in the service of the God who gives
such abounding grace. This is what Isaiah does. When the call goes out for
servants who will go forth in the service of God, Isaiah says, "Here am I! Send
me."
But what is the mission that the prophet has just signed up for? I wonder how
many of us would sign up for the trials ahead of us in our lives if we could see
the cost at the beginning of the journey. It is an expression of the Lord's
mercy that He does not tell us all that He knows about the challenges ahead of
us. He understands our weakness, and accommodates His revelation to us so that
we need not be forever inquiring into things that are part of his secret will.
There are many things that it would be best for us not to know until the thing
ahead of us actually happens.
Isaiah's situation is something of an exception to this general rule. Even he is
not given many specifics, but the severity of the trial ahead of him is clear.
One of the most difficult things for anyone who attempts to speak God's Word to
His people is when we find out that people will not listen to us. This is what
the prophet is told here. God opens up to Isaiah something of the mystery of his
providence, specifically that there will be no lasting recovery for Old
Testament Israel. How can we deal with the obvious meaning of these words that
tell us so plainly that God does not intend for Israel to repent and return to
Him at this time?
This challenging fact is not all that different from any grievous event in our
lives where we are brought to wonder why? Ultimately for all the smaller
individual unanswered whys and for this massive and epochal Old Testament why,
we must come to the same conclusion. God has a plan. He understands what He is
doing for His own glory. His ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are
higher than our thoughts. Ultimately we must trust God that He knows what He is
doing in closing up of the Old Testament era and beginning of the New Testament
era.
Some of the answer does seem to come in the final words of this chapter. A
mighty oak is to be felled for sure (Israel), but there will yet be a holy seed
as its stump. Something or someone from the very root of Israel will yet remain.
There will be an Israel within Israel, even when it seems that all is lost.
Ultimately that Israel will consist of one holy seed - one righteous man. If we
want to be perplexed by anything that we face, first be perplexed that this one
holy seed died on a Roman cross. Then consider the eternal good that proceeded
from that one death and the resurrection that followed it. Today the gospel of
that one burning coal purifies not just one set of prophetic lips, or even just
one elect nation, but the elect of every nation are brought into the household
of faith through Him. Together let us be willing to be used by Him, and sent by
Him, however perplexing the mission may seem to be at various points along the
way. Together let us rejoice, because our guilt is taken away, and our sin is
atoned for.
Isaiah 7
Ahaz the son of Jotham
brought much trouble upon God's nation by encouraging false worship. Yet it was
this King of Judah who received one of the most famous prophesies in the Bible,
a promise which is contained in Isaiah 7. "A virgin shall conceive and bear a
son, and shall call his name Immanuel."
This chapter begins with the nation of Judah and her king trembling in fear. The
reason that "the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the trees of
the forest before the wind" was the alliance between the northern kingdom of
Israel and the Syrians. These two nations were allied together and had come to
wage war against Jerusalem.
God spoke through Isaiah to Ahaz urging him that he should not fear Israel and
Syria, calling them "two smoldering stumps of firebrands." Though they have come
to terrify Judah and to conquer it for themselves, the Lord says, "It shall not
stand, and it shall not come to pass." In fact God reveals that both of these
nations will face impending disaster and will fall. God draws attention to the
"head" of Israel and the "head" of Syria as the reason that they will not live
up to their proud boasts. By contrast, the head of the house of David in
Jerusalem is ultimately one who is much better than Ahaz.
God emphasizes the certainty of His message in two ways. First, he encourages
Ahaz in the way of faith with these words. "If you are not firm in faith, you
will not be firm at all." In every trial we need to look beyond ourselves and
our troubles to God who has given us sure promises. We need to worship Him and
believe Him. The second way that he encourages Ahaz is by giving him permission
to ask any sign in order to let his heart be more certain that the word of
Isaiah is the true promise of God.
Ahaz refuses the command of God to ask a sign, claiming that he does not want to
put the Lord to the test. Yet by refusing the direct command of God given for
His good, Ahaz is in fact testing God's patience. It is then that God himself
chooses the sign of His own faithfulness by giving the Immanuel prophecy.
There will come one who will rightly be called "God with us." He will be the
ultimate sign of the strength and reliability of God to His people. In Matthew's
gospel we learn that the virgin birth of Jesus to a Hebrew maiden is the great
fulfillment of this astounding prophecy. Beyond the disaster of Assyrian attacks
in the coming years, God will yet remember his covenant promises and will send
Immanuel.
The northern kingdom of Israel will pass away, as will Syria. Even Egypt and
Assyria will have only their allotted time of supremacy. Ultimately the southern
kingdom of Judah itself will face the Babylonians, and eventually be ruled by
the Romans. But the Kingdom of Immanuel will be established forever. Our faith
is not in any lessor king, or in an earthly powers. Our faith is in "God with
us" who is surely the Head of His people. He accomplished our redemption not
through armies or oratory. He established an everlasting kingdom through His
righteousness and blood.
There is only one way for us to stand in the face of frightening adversaries and
terrifying events. We must have faith in the promises of God. Central to all of
God's promises is the Promised One of Isaiah 7. The faithful of Ahaz's day
looked forward to His coming. We celebrate His resurrection reign, and continue
to believe that to focus on Him is of far greater worth than to tremble in fear
of enemies seen and unseen.
Isaiah 8
I am amazed that so
many people are allied with the Lord. At times we imagine that we are virtually
alone, but then if some tragedy should take place in our lives, we are comforted
by many who say, "You are in my prayers." We did not even suspect that they
believed in God.
As we look at our own lives we seem to exhibit such a minimal commitment to the
Lord. Perhaps if we were to speak to someone about faith or prayer, they might
be surprised to find out about this side of us. Perhaps they would not have
suspected us to be believers. The Old Testament prophet did not always fit into
the wallpaper of his society so very easily and comfortably. His words attracted
enemies and the Lord's call upon His life sometimes pressed him into unusual
acts of obedience.
God gives His servant Isaiah an interesting instruction in this chapter. He was
to father a son and to give the boy a Hebrew name that designated the coming of
an invading army. Before the boy would have any significant speech, the
Assyrians would march through Syria and Israel, subduing these two nations which
were currently threatening Jerusalem and Judah. Not only that but the rush of
the Assyrian army would "sweep on into Judah" like an overwhelming flood.
The Assyrians are pictured as a devouring bird of prey. "It's outspread wings
will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel." While the prophesy is one of
grave difficulty that lies ahead of Judah, the prophet seems to be moved by the
way that God called them the land of "Immanuel" in His words. We remember that
Immanuel means "God with us." In the verses that follow that prophet takes the
leap of thinking that this designation is an encouragement from God that somehow
everything is alright for Judah, since God is with her.
There is a sense in which this is true. Ultimately no weapon of the enemy will
finally win the day against the people of God. Even concerning the particular
threat of the Assyrians, they would not be able to achieve complete dominance
over Judah. Yet God is intent in revealing to His people that everything is not
going to be according to their own plans for peace and prosperity. Just because
they are the land of Immanuel does not mean that God's judgments will never fall
upon them.
Most of all, it is important for the people who are following the Lord that they
not be led astray by all their neighbors into misunderstandings concerning who
should be their fear. The Lord Himself should be regarded as the Holy One. He
should be their fear. Everyone may be worried about the conspiracy between
Israel and Syria. Maybe some percentage of people are even rightly concerned
about the threat of Assyria. Yet none of that changes the fact that the One we
must ultimately deal with is God Himself. He is the One who can send body and
soul into hell.
How do we deal with an unseen God? Many have assumed that the way to approach
the Lord of the Spirit world is to go through the spirits of those who have
died, and to thus enter the world of God's unseen power. This is not the way to
go, even if it is the popular opinion of everyone in a society. God directs us
instead to His teaching and His testimony. We turn to the special written speech
of God given to us. We attend to His Word. The people who will hear His Word are
brothers to us, "children" that the Lord has given to the prophet and livings
signs from the God of heaven and earth.
We today must stay firmly grounded in the Word of God. Everything else is very
unstable, and often quite dangerous. Jesus, the incarnate Word from heaven, also
directed His disciples to the teaching and the testimony of God. We are to hear
Him and to follow Him. All of the Scriptures testify concerning Him. This
Immanuel is our hope, and He is with us. The teaching and the testimony of God
speak to us of his righteousness, his suffering and death, his resurrection and
eternal victory. Though others are continually moved by the latest crisis or
scandal, however genuine these troubles may be, we have the fear of God and the
love of Christ which must compel us, comfort us, and inspire us more than
anything that our neighbors may consider to be a dangerous conspiracy or
trouble.
Isaiah 9
The Old Testament
prophet had two major roles that were very different. One was corrective while
the other was celebratory. He was corrective of the Old Covenant community,
prosecuting God's case against the Lord's own people for their unfaithfulness.
The celebration part of his function was connected to the coming New Covenant
era. In this role he served as a herald of a coming day of blessing.
These two aspects of prophetic ministry are not in conflict with each other, yet
the seeming clash of disciplinary and celebratory messages within any one
chapter can seem quite jarring. Yet when we go through a dark moment of life,
when we may even feel the hand of the Lord's correction, it is wonderfully
strengthening to know that the promises of God for our good have not evaporated.
They are as true as ever and are keenly appreciated as a needed help in our day
of trial.
Chapter 9 begins with the future blessing and ends with the more proximate time
of trouble. The trouble will not be for God's people in Judah alone. The
northern kingdom of Israel, and neighboring nations will face the strength of
the Assyrian war machine. Though many will think that they can face the problems
before them and overcome their adversaries, this optimism will not be warranted.
The challenge will not merely be from the hand of a foreign nation, it will be
from the Sovereign Lord. It will be His anger that has not been turned away. He
will "cut off from Israel head and tail." It will be "through the wrath of the
Lord of hosts" that "the land is scorched." One of the expressions of the Lord's
judgment will be the way that His own people will turn against each other, for
"no one spares another" and "each devours the flesh of his own arm." The people
of God were to be together as one body and nation, but now they destroy each
other, and kill their own national relations, preferring tribal animosity and
envy to the communion between them that should have come from their common
devotion to the God of Israel.
How sad it will be when there would seem to be no one among them who could bring
peace. Yet then we return to the earlier words of promise with which the chapter
begins. There will be a great light coming from Galilee, and the people will see
Him. That great light will come with the birth of a child. We immediately think
of the one called "Immanuel" or God-With-Us who we heard about in the prior two
chapters.
This son will be the "Wonderful Counselor." It will be astounding to consider
how what follows could be said of a descendant of Adam, yet He will surely be
the "mighty God" Himself. He will be so closely connected with the God of
creation and providence, that He will be called "Everlasting Father." Finally
His title of "Prince of Peace" bears further consideration. The prince was like
a military ruler who leads the people toward victory. The peace that He is and
that He brings is the shalom of God's perfect plan. Thus this baby that will be
born, who is none other than the Jesus, this baby shall be the Captain of our
Salvation - the Prince of Peace. And he will bring peace through His government,
a peace that will not end, even "from this time forth and forevermore."
God shall do this, Isaiah announces to His needy loved ones. God has indeed
accomplished all this though Christ. The peace that He has won for us came at
the cost of the life of His great Son. The Prince of Peace took the warfare that
we deserved, and thus we have eternal peace. We yet look forward to a day when
there will be no gloom for the people of God who are in anguish. We have a taste
of that now, but we long for the fulfillment of the promise of the Lord. For
this grand and eternal peace we still look to Jesus, the child who was born for
our sake, who has become both the Author and the Finisher of our salvation.
Isaiah 10
When a powerful oppressor is at his high point, it may be hard for him to imagine that anyone could stand in his way. He can oppress the poor and the fatherless, and who will stop him? Of course he knows about God somewhere deep in his soul, but that can seem so distant an idea as to barely be real. But all of this can change very quickly. When a mightier adversary threatens, even the strong begin to look very weak.
What if the adversary is God himself? There is no one that can stand against the power of God. In Isaiah 10, God speaks in judgment through the prophet against those powerful rulers who imagined that they were invincible. He reveals that they will be the prisoners soon, or even among the slain.
How would an invisible God accomplish such a thing? God uses anything he wishes in the world of the visible and invisible to accomplish all His holy purposes. In the case of His people Israel, God will use Sennacherib and the formidable military might of the Assyrian empire as a rod of discipline and destruction from His hand.
Though God calls Assyria “the rod of my anger,” Assyria also will be judged by God. They were only His tool to use against His people at the appointed time, yet they exalted themselves beyond limit. They considered the God of Jerusalem as nothing more than all the idols of the earth. The time would come when God would finish His work of judgment against His own people, and there would be no safe place of hiding for a rod (Assyria) that tries to lift itself up against the One who lifts it (God). The great Ruler of rulers is the Lord of hosts, the master of men and angels. Why do we ever think that it is safe for us to raise a defiant challenge against the Lord God?
Assyria’s day will come and go, God will preserve a remnant from Immanuel’s land, the remnant of Jacob, and they will return to the land one day. The rest will be gone. It is more than frightening to consider the tremendous scope of the Lord’s judgment against Israel. The remnant will be the object of His eternal affection. The others will be gone from His sight, destroyed before the One Almighty God who shall accomplish all His sovereign will.
The march of the Assyrian army toward Israel and Judah must have been extremely frightening. Nonetheless, Jerusalem itself was finally spared, a fact we will have occasion to reflect upon in future chapters in the weeks ahead. This fact is subtly recorded by Sennacherib himself in his record of his own military conquests. He writes on a clay prism this artifact for public consumption, meant to terrify the enemies of Assyria who would dare to challenge his authority:
“As to Hezekiah, the Jew, he did not submit to my yoke, I laid siege to 46 of his strong cities, walled forts and to the countless small villages in their vicinity, and conquered by means of well-stamped ramps, and battering-rams brought near, the attack by foot soldiers, mines, breeches as well as sapper work. I drove out 200,150 people, young and old, male and female, horses, mules, donkeys, camels, big and small cattle beyond counting and considered booty. Himself I made a prisoner in Jerusalem, his royal residence, like a bird in a cage. I surrounded him with earthwork in order to molest those who were leaving his city’s gate.”
He may have had the King of Judah as a bird in a cage, but that particular wolf never did get that bird. He had to be content to “shake his fist at the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.”
How many have arrogantly exalted themselves against the Lord Jesus Christ, a descendant of Hezekiah, and against the heavenly Zion over which He reigns. They imagine that they will only deal with the pale Galilean who died on a cross, when they will instead have to answer to the exalted Lion of the tribe of Judah. We need to consider the facts of the resurrection, and the power of the immortal Son of God.
It will be very obvious in the day of His visitation that we are not a match for the Lord of Glory. Why do we test His anger today through unbelief and disobedience? He gave His blood for His holy remnant. We must not turn against Christ and His church. Where will we turn if we turn away from the mercy of the cross? Where will we hide if the most powerful Adversary ever known should one day come against us?
As we hear God’s word, we should take a moment periodically to consider that our hope is in the King of the Jews. Our Messiah is a descendant of the Old Testament Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. His heritage has become our heritage, for we have been adopted into His family. This is a great honor for Gentiles who were so far away from God. But the story of Jesus Christ is even better than this.
In earlier chapters God had revealed through Isaiah that the hope for His remnant people would be the gift of “Immanuel” – God-with-us. This hope of Israel will be a descendant of King David. David’s father was Jesse, and so this great gift of a Savior will be “a shoot from the stump of Jesse,” and we are told that he “shall bear fruit.” We who have found peace with God through faith in Jesus Christ are the fruit of this righteous King.
We do not expect to find such great new life coming from a stump. Still, it is one thing to have a shoot come out of a stump, it is quite another to have God the Son born from the line of Kings in Judah. The story of those rulers is full of sin and confusion. Yet God is able to have this great Messiah King to be born from the line of David.
What will He be like, this man who will be born hundreds of years after the prophet Isaiah wrote these words? He will be full of the Spirit of God. Incidentally our own destiny is to have this great gift of the Spirit in much fuller measure. From the Son of God, we will be given good gifts. Though He will not save himself, ignoring the taunting words of his enemies, he will save the beloved remnant of the Father.
This prophetic chapter gives us insights into the character of Christ as King. Power corrupts, we are told, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. But this most powerful of all kings will make righteous judgments, deciding disputes with justice. The qualities of righteousness and faithfulness will be so clearly attributed to Him that they can be called the belt of his waist and the belt of his loins. He will one day bring the frightening vengeance of God against the wicked.
Yet we read of the peace that this Prince of Peace will accomplish, and it is described in words that are idyllic. His sway over all things would change fierce predators and their prey into happy inhabitants of His kingdom. Can a little child be safely sent out to play over a cobra’s hole? But in the Day of Jesus the King, all those who are His, will have perfect security. This will not be a blessing restricted to the lands of Israel and Judah. “The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” Through the knowledge of Christ, peace will be extended far beyond the borders of Israel.
This great people of peace which is His church, will not escape the notice of foreign nations. God will call His people out of their captivity, and will overwhelm any adversaries, and the people of the Lord will come home. Once again, the language of the day of Isaiah, the conflicts with neighboring nations, and the challenge of foreign powers who eye her from afar are referred to in discussing the blessings of the New Testament church and of heaven. Christ, the root of Jesse, will stand as a signal for all the peoples of the world. In Him we will find resurrection life and victory over sin and death.
This is something we experience in part even now. Though we face many trials in this age, we will not turn from the One who holds us in His secure embrace. We experience peace with God through Him even now, and the church is called to live out the life of divine peace, even showing love for enemies in the face of persecution. But there is a far fuller day of peace and blessing that we will experience in the age to come. The same root of Jesse who is yet a descendant of David will bless us with things that no eye has seen or ear has heard.
Since we have such a secure and bountiful salvation in Jesus Christ, it would be a great gift from God if we could turn away from all foolish rebellion and sin today, serving the Lord with gladness despite the tribulations that we face in this world. Our present joys and our eternal bliss would be unavailable to us without the love of Christ. Let us walk then in sincere faith and love, and let us hold firmly to a hope that shall not disappoint.
Isaiah 12
I was discussing life with a friend the other day who is a believer in God, and yet who has faced some serious challenges in her young life. She said to me, “When does the enjoy part start?” We know that our purpose in life is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever, but our enjoyment of the Lord and His many gifts is clouded by the miseries that seem to be inseparable from our current lives. Will it always be this way? When does the enjoy part start?
Despite the fact that our afflictions feel genuinely weighty to us, there is no doubt that there are times when followers of the Lord have faced far worse troubles. The Huegenots in France were Protestant believers in prior centuries when Roman Catholicism was the law of the land in that country. There were times and places when people were all expected to give a coin in honor of Mary at public street-corners with special shrines installed for the purpose. Government monitors were charged with identifying violators who refused to give what was considered due veneration to the mother of the Lord. What happened to those who did not go along with this system? They were put to death.
Not only have others in church history faced horrors such as these, God’s Old Testament people faced dramatic expressions of the Lord’s anger against them for their sin. The time of the Old Testament was coming to a close, and the enemies of God’s nation were going to bring much sorrow into many lives. How can we weigh when trial against another? It is impossible to compare grief between two suffering people. What may seem like a small thing to one person may be an insurmountable obstacle to another. We stand in need of God’s grace for the challenge He has for us today, and others have found His grace sufficient in the past for the special obstacles that they were called to face.
While the level of trials may seem to differ, the person that we ultimately turn to for help is always the same. We give thanks to You, O Lord our God! Our delight in Him is not to be based on whether or not we are feeling the discipline of His hand at this moment. The prophet acknowledges the confession of the faithful. God was angry with Israel, but His intention was to do those things that would be consistent with their eternal well-being.
The Lord God is our strength and so we look to Him in every need as our provision and our Help. The Lord is also our song. We hold Him to be the only right recipient of our worship. The Lord God is our comfort. Even when we feel the pain of troubles, He is with us as our friend and strong companion. The Lord is our salvation. His promise is for today, and even more for tomorrow.
This was true when the Lord delivered the Israelites out of the hands of the Egyptians in the days of Moses. The horse and the rider he threw into the sea, and Israel went through on dry ground. The Lord was also the salvation of His people in the days of the judges and David, and then later in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah as some were restored to the land after a time of exile. How much more is Jesus Christ our salvation since He has taken away all that stood in the way of our complete eternal fellowship with God!
Of course we should sing praises to such a Savior! God is great in our midst. All of His ways are glorious, and His greatness should be known. It is a privilege to proclaim it in the public worship of the church. Even now we can take a healthy portion from the waters of salvation. But when does the greatest enjoy part start? We recognize that in this world we will have tribulation, but we are made to have a greater measure of happiness because we believe that our Savior has overcome the world.
A better day is yet to come. In that day, Immanuel will not be a longed-for future Messiah, or even a baby in a manger whose birth is announced by a choir of angels. In that day the Lord will be forever glorious. The Lord will not be angry with us ever again. How can this be? The Lamb of God has turned away the eternal wrath of God that was against His people. We have a good taste of the enjoy part even now, but in that day when the Lord brings all His purposes to a glorious conclusion, there will be no remaining doubt that the enjoy part has begun.
Isaiah 13
How bad can it get? We live our seventy or so years in this life and face the joys and trials that the Lord ordains for us. It is common for those who begin to see names that they recognize in the obituaries and who are finished their stage of greatest usefulness to feel that their lives are over. Many they loved are now gone. Some people even outlive almost all of their family and friends and find themselves daily feeling like they are virtually alone. Some are able to adjust to this with a calm and joyful demeanor, and are happy for the kindness of strangers. Others seem to be overtaken by bitterness. All may at times consider that their lives are finished and that there is little reason for the next sunrise.
It is easy to overestimate the difficulty of our own lives, or even the challenge that our nation and culture is facing. We imagine that we are facing the worst of all possible outcomes, a hypothesis that will not stand up to any reasonable examination. The worst problem that human beings have is not the loss of friends, family, comforts, or health, or even the loss of public decency. The worst problem that we have is the wrath of God against us for our sin.
For the next several chapters in Isaiah we are called to consider the devastation of this most serious problem, for the Lord has a word to speak against the arrogant nations of the world. He has already been speaking about Assyria, the empire which had Babylon as a crown jewel, and that was eventually overtaken by the strength of the Babylonians. But now God uses His prophet to speak a word against Babylon directly.
One of the challenges of great might, wisdom, or beauty is that pride can be nurtured within our hearts. We forget that there is a God who is above us, the one in whom we live and move and have our being. This pride will lead to a man’s destruction and it is to be resisted. At times a whole society may be swimming in arrogance, and the danger of God’s wrath is so near that it would seem that there is no way out.
Babylon would one day be destroyed. She would face her own day of the Lord. Her pomp, her arrogance, and her ruthlessness would be put to an end. This kind of judgment from God on a society is surely worse than our own personal tragedies. But what will we do when the Lord comes as the judge of all the earth?
There is a sense in which the nation of Babylon specifically stands for all the great cities of the earth. There is no power that can withstand the judgment of God. A great day of terror is coming that is called the Day of the Lord. The challenges that we, the church, or our societies face are only a small foretaste of that horrible day of final judgment. What if our infants are killed in a moment of violence? What if our wives are raped? What if our houses are plundered? Yet this is still nothing when compared with the eternal wrath of God.
Do you hate today’s present trial that you cannot bare? Know that the Day of the Lord is far worse than that trial that would seem to be the worst of all possible enemies at this moment. Babylon, and all the glory of the kingdoms of this world for which she stands, will be brought very low. Sodom and Gomorrah were judged by God with destruction. Do you want that destruction today, when your time has not yet come?
You feel that you cannot stand the trial that the Lord has ordained for you today. How will you stand on the Day of the Lord? How can you stand the wrath of God against sin – which is an eternal wrath? You cannot stand this, but our valiant champion has taken this wrath for you on the cross. Despite the cross of grief or pain that you have at this moment, if Christ has swallowed up death for you, then you can be made to bear patiently the present day of trial by His grace. The pill is no doubt bitter, but do not think that it is the worst medicine you could possibly have. Do not reject the comfort of friends and the encouragement of the Word. Receive every day as a blessing from the Lord. But remember especially this: that the Son of God has taken the Day of the Lord for you on the cross.
It is a fearful prospect to have your nation destroyed. But God is bigger than Babylon, and He is stronger than your personal grief. As you hear these accounts of the righteous wrath of the Lord against the kingdoms of this world, remember that God has made you persevere thus far. It would appear that there is a crown of glory that awaits you, for God has repaired your broken life, and has helped you through days of trial and torment through the cross of His own beloved Son.
When a time of discipline and even destruction has been decreed by God against His own people, it may seem that there would be no hope for a blessed future beyond the days of correction and distress. Here Isaiah speaks of a day beyond the coming troubles. There is a further day when God will once again show favor to Isreal, a day when Babylon, the Assyrians, and the Philistines will face the wrath of God against them.
The opening focus of the chapter speaks of a new day of blessing for Israel. In that day we are told that sojourners will join them and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob. This is such joyful news for weary spirits who have been brought low. It is devastating to think of God’s rejection of His people, and the way that they are publicly exposed and ashamed as their neighboring enemies witness the rejection of Israel by Jehovah, her God. To think that there would yet be a better day when all that would be turned around, a day when foreigners would not run from association with Israel and would not ridicule Israel in her distress, but when they would instead desire to be considered to be in close association with Israel and Jehovah – that is such a wondrous turn around, that it would give great hope to the faithful.
The blessing of Israel is associated with the destruction of her enemies. They will be brought very low. Words of death and images of the world of the grave are their lot. Suddenly we sense that these enemies are far beyond the nations of Babylon or other earthly foes. Now it appears that there are demonic adversaries who would usurp the place of the most high God in the heavens, only to be brought down to the lowest grave. Satan desired to have the place of highest honor, but his end is the pit of everlasting destruction.
This should give some hope to the people of God. Yes there is a horrible day of God’s correction ahead, but beyond that day there is a better day involving the display of God’s remarkable favor for His adopted children. They will be restored to a far better awareness of His love. The good news of God’s faithfulness is bigger than we realize. Just as the leaders of the enemy nations naturally suggest a higher adversary who is here the demonic prince of the north, and the danger for Assyria or Babylon points to the troubles that other ungodly nations will face, the blessing for Zion seems to be larger than life, incorporating the sojourner and all who find refuge in Zion’s God.
We must always keep our hearts and minds settled with the facts of God’s eternal goodness to His elect. His anger lasts a moment, His grace a whole lifetime. Sorrow does come, but their is joy in the morning. The wicked and the righteous can face the unflinching correction of God whenever He pleases, but there is a way out of this frightening wrath. For God will show us love based on His perfect love of His own beloved. God’s intention to bless us is so full and rich. In all of this, Jesus Christ leads the way. He faced the unflinching justice of His Father on the cross, and was victorious over the grave, over the nations, and over the devil for our sake. He will stay near and will direct us in paths of righteousness for His own name sake.
Isaiah 16
Isaiah 17
In short, though we may seem to lose for a time under the oppression of the world, the outcome of our warfare is not in doubt to God, and we must believe what He tells us. Our great leader of the Church, the Lord Jesus Christ, has said that we will have tribulation in this world. But then He adds that we are to be of good cheer, for He Himself has overcome the world. In His strength and faithfulness we stand fast in the gospel. There is no other name by which we must be saved. The enemies of the name of Jesus cannot stand, but the love of God in Christ to the elect will be a present and eternal comfort to those who have conceded that they are weak, but He is strong.
Isaiah 18
It is a mind-expanding
experience to visit another land. More than likely the people we meet there may
speak, eat, and behave differently than the hometown group that we are most
accustomed to. If a person is wealthy enough, they may have some first-hand
experience with neighboring nations, but relatively few people have ever been to
a very exotic location. If that is true in the cosmopolitan era that we live in,
it was certainly the case in the Ancient Near East of Isaiah's day.
While the prophet seemed to be very aware of the neighboring lands, in this
chapter he addresses the more remote land of Cush (southern Egypt and beyond).
We get the sense that we are talking about an exotic people that are far away
from Israel in every way. Nonetheless the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has
something to say to the most remote nations. The people of Cush are stirring up
other surrounding nations, mighty conquerers who are "tall and smooth," feared
by others near and far. They are perhaps flexing their muscles together against
the Assyrians. If they can gather the nations of the remote world of African
tribes in a powerful assault against their enemies, perhaps they will prevail.
Then God addresses all the inhabitants of the world through His prophet. God is
not threatened by the fierce alliances of men. His plans are not overturned by
the strategies and capabilities of strange nations. He is like a Gardener over
all the earth and the people groups of all lands are quietly pruned or rooted
out as He sees fit. If he wants to destroy a powerful nation, and give their
land to the wild beasts, this is not a hard thing for Him to do.
What is very surprising is that at the end of this chapter, the Lord announces
that the tribal nations that Cush is joining together will instead be assembled
by God to bring worship to the Lord of heaven and earth. Isaiah uses the same
language as He did in the beginning of the chapter to describe these distant
groups. They are "a people tall and smooth." They are "a people feared near and
far." They are "a nation mighty and conquering." But the Lord of hosts will
bring them to "Mount Zion."
Surely God is not bringing tribal nations from Africa on pilgrimage to the
earthly Jerusalem. Yet many Africans have been streaming up the heavenly Mount
Zion as believers in Jesus Christ. They serve this one Davidic King, the Jewish
Messiah who atoned for the sins of both Jews and Gentiles. What mercy the Lord
is showing! His plan is for redemption of far off people groups. Now we can call
one another brothers and sisters in Christ though our customs may be very
different. What unites us is far more substantial than what may divide us. We
are in Christ, and we bring our lives as tribute to the crucified and victorious
Savior who has led us up the holy mountain to God through His resurrection and
ascension.
Isaiah 19
Every land has its pride and
glory. In the state that we live in we are proud of a rock formation on the side
of a mountain that looks like the rugged face of an old man. In recent years
this has become more obviously absurd since the rock formation fell off of the
side of the mountain. Some of the residents wanted to hold a memorial service
for the "Old Man of the Mountain." His image still appears on the license plates
of our cars, though the "man" who never was in now most decidedly gone.
The ancient Egyptians had a more reasonable boast in the River Nile. It's waters
were necessary for the prosperity of the economy. Without the overflow of the
Nile the field would have no water and would produce no grain. The effect of
this disaster would be felt by so many within the nation, both high and low, if
the river ever became dry and parched.
Who has power over the Nile? If some evil person or nation could dry out the
Nile by an act of will, the nation would be brought to her knees. But there is a
good God who can dry up the bed of the sea by His own command, and all nations
must finally bow before Him. In Isaiah 19 we read that it is this good God's
intention to do this very thing, and many will humble themselves before Him in
the midst of their great suffering.
The Lord is stronger than the supposed gods of any nation who must cringe before
Him when He comes in power. All the Egyptian idols would be unable to keep the
Nile flowing, and thus to deliver the nation from disaster. The people of Egypt
and her proudest leaders would also be brought low and would have to eventual
admit their inability.
Leadership is a wonderful gift of God. There is little doubt that some people
are able to inspire the confidence of their countrymen and lead them in the
crucial moments that define the future and which require a more then perfunctory
courage. But above all those leaders and beyond all of the people who would
follow, there is a God who really has defined the future before any subordinate
leader forged a pathway of strength. If He chooses to show the counsel of wise
men to be foolishness, or to turn friends into adversaries and brothers into
enemies, He can easily throw a nation into confusion in a moment. They may turn
to their idols or consult the dead, but all of it will be for nothing if the
Lord God Almighty has purposed to bring a people low.
Isaiah indicates that this will happen to Egypt. This part of the story is not
very surprising to anyone who knew the heritage of God's dealings with Egypt. In
this land God's people were slaves for hundreds of years. They cried out to God
and He delivered them through the hand of Moses. He humbles the Egyptians and
their king with miraculous signs and wonders displayed through the agency of His
chosen mediator.
The surprise of Isaiah 19, similar to the good news for the tribal groups
associated with Cush in Chapter 18, is that God has a wonderful plan of grace
which will most certainly reach the Egyptians. Throughout the great exodus of
Israel from the grip of Egypt, God had made a very definite distinction between
Egypt and Israel. One group gets drowned in the Red Sea, the other crosses on
dry land. How shocking is it then when God tells us here that His intentions for
Egypt (and also for Assyria) will be intentions of grace!
These nations had no right to partake in the sacrifices, the offerings, and the
vows of the Jews. They were strangers to the law of the circumcised and could
not partake of the assemblies and rituals of those who worshiped God in the
temple in Jerusalem. Yet here we are told that there is a day coming when both
the Egyptians and the Assyrians will know the Lord and will fear Him. Using the
prophetic idiom of Old Testament sacraments and regulations, Isaiah announces
that there will be a strange common bond between the Egyptians, the Assyrians,
and the Jews in some future day.
Somehow they will all worship together. Their practices will not be some
compromise of three very different systems of religious rituals and customs.
These people will all worship the God of Jacob, and they will be blessed by God,
and will in turn be a blessing to the earth, rather than a terror to the weak.
This is an amazing miracle, and it can only be fulfilled in Christ. Though Old
Testament words are used since the original audience is presented this amazing
truths in the words of their own devotional practices, the reality of the
prophesy can only be a New Testament fulfillment based on the common bond of a
Jewish Messiah.
Through Jesus, Egypt and Assyria are called the people of God, the work of
Yahweh's hands, the inheritance of the Lord. Just as not all Israel is Israel,
in the words of the Apostle Paul, not every individual Egyptian and Assyrian
will be counted among the people of the Lord. Yet many will be counted as the
beloved people of God, bought by the blood of Christ, and granted the gift of
faith in the name of our glorious Messiah. Surely we have not yet seen the
greatest fulfillment of this wonderful prophesy, but in our day we can almost
taste it as we see indigenous church planting movements springing up in the
Middle East in the midst of great suffering.
Only God could have done this, and He appears to be doing it even in our
generation through the message of the Christian gospel. This is no time for the
nations of the world to turn to powerless Egyptian deities or empty and false
philosophies that only bring slavery. Through freedom Christ we have been set
free, and nothing - not even the worst persecution - can separate us from the
love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Isaiah 20
We live in a light-hearted
age in some ways. There is much that is dark all around us, but our preference
is to keep things superficial if possible. We like to fill our minds with the
distractions of frequent entertainment. If we think of the image of someone
running in public naked, we assume that it must be some joke. If we are
witnesses to the event we may avert our eyes, and wait for security to remove
the unruly fan, or wonder what that particular college student could be thinking
of in acting so foolishly. It does not occur to us that God would ever use such
a public display as a sign of judgment or as a warning to His people.
In the world of the ancient near east, public nakedness was not a joke; it was a
reminder of the poverty and humiliation that could come upon a people if they
were carried away as captives by their enemies. In Isaiah 20, the prophet gives
the message of God not through mere words, but through a living parable of the
exile to come. Assyria would soon be the instrument of God's judgment upon many
nations. Many would look for a better tyrant, hoping that they could be a vassal
servant people or perhaps even an ally with some other powerful nation as the
lesser of two evils. In the case of God's people, they may have looked to Egypt
for support, or even to Cush. Yet neither of these powers would be of any use in
preventing the coming Assyrian assault.
Isaiah was to be a living sign of the future exile. The prophet was to walk
around naked and barefoot, perhaps even for three years, as a visual warning to
the people who witnessed this prophetic oracle. We are told that this display
had a very specific meaning. God knew that many would have wanted to look to
Egypt or Cush as a possible deliverer for Israel. Yet this prophecy of Isaiah is
against them.
The people of Israel may have been looking to Africa for special allies to fend
off the Assyrian empire, but this was not to be. The nations that were supposed
to be part of some alliance would themselves be carried into humiliation. There
would be no real help from Egypt or Cush, because the Lord had plans for their
demise by the flood of the Assyrian war power.
We all have a danger coming upon us from God's wrath against sin that is more
than any one nation-state conqueror could ever approximate. What is your hope in
your time of greatest need? The Lord will return to judge the living and the
dead. We are to be watching and working until He comes.
What is your only hope in life and in death? The Heidelberg Catechism moves us
rightly and richly in the direction of Jesus Christ. In him we find comfort. To
trust in something other than the Lord Jesus Christ is madness. We thank God
that He has begun to lead us out of that darkness of self-sufficiency or trust
in some powerful-looking entity. It is time for us to remember the God who made
the heavens and the earth has granted to us deliverance from our enemies through
his mercy extended to us in Jesus Christ.
We must not set ourselves up for failure and debilitating disappointment, by
putting God's plan of redemption on the back burner while we fill ourselves with
mindless amusements or with the fear of some lesser threat who may be coming
against us all one day. We need to recapture again a fear of God; a fear that
awakens us to a better life and calls us to the One who is the key object of our
affection. He is the Savior who has told us that if we lose our lives we will
find them. He has conquered sin and death for us through the love of the cross.
Do not trust in idols. In fact, flee from idolatry. And while you are running
away from one place or habit of rebellion, run into the arms of a Redeemer who
does truly love you, and who demands that you deny yourself, pick up your cross,
and follow Him.
Isaiah 21
The world that we live in is
vast, and the universe beyond causes us to wonder. Even within our own small
area of life in one town within one nation there is much that is happening that
simply escapes our notice. Concerning the movement of time, we live for a brief
period, and our understanding of the affairs of other centuries is very small.
We pick up small pieces of information and consider. We make our preliminary
conclusions, but it should be obvious that we have nothing close to exhaustive
knowledge.
There is a God who is aware of every place and every time in the fullest detail.
His knowledge is far beyond second-hand awareness. He does not learn through
investigation. He knows as the One who decrees. He is the God of Israel, but He
speaks through His prophet to the nations of Babylon, Edom, and Arabia. He has a
word for their future, but beyond His word is the person of One who rules.
First Isaiah speaks of Babylon. He begins by calling them "the wilderness of the
sea," probably a reference to the fact that they referred to their southern
region as "the Land of the Sea." Later in the prophecy, the name "Babylon" is
mentioned, so that there is no doubt about what land is spoken of in these
verses. Yet we normally think of Babylon as the conquering power that defeated
the Assyrians and then Jerusalem and Judah. Here the prophecy seems to say that
they will be greatly distressed by an approaching army, and will be defeated by
the Assyrians. Before they defeated the Assyrians, they were first overtaken by
them. They would later rise against them and have their day of glory for a
season until the next ruling empire would eventually conquer them after their
short time of supremacy.
Isaiah speaks of the vision of Babylon's destruction as one that brought him
anguish, made him bowed down, dismayed, and appalled. At the end of this section
after announcing the coming of armies through the eyes of a watchman, and then
pronouncing the fall of Babylon, Isaiah speaks again of the source of his
prophecy. This comes from the Lord of hosts, who is the God of Israel.
Briefer words of coming difficulties are given to Edom and to Arabia. The word
regarding Arabia seems to be one of clear and very imminent destruction, while
the message regarding Edom is somehow hidden in just a few words of both morning
and then night, with an instruction to come back again if you want to inquire.
The chapter concludes with another reminder that these sure words come from the
Lord God of Israel, who has spoken.
In the vast array of lands near and far and the river of centuries that come and
go, is there anyone who really knows? In the coming and going of nations and
empires through wars and rumors of wars, is there anyone who truly understands?
As lives are turned in very unexpected directions like fallen leaves washed away
by sudden violent storms, is there anyone who rules, who decrees, who ordains,
and who accomplishes his purposes? It is the God of Israel. He is the Lord of
armies. The watchman may see the sand of the deserts raised up to the skies
through the galloping of horses coming through the wilderness. He can sound the
alarm, and call warriors to take their shields in the sudden panic of the most
unwelcome evidence of impending doom. The Lord God is not surprised. He knows.
He understands. He has decreed. He shall accomplish all His holy will.
It is this great God of Israel who was willing to humble Himself for our sake.
He came as a servant for our salvation. He was obedient even to the point of
death on the cross, because this was what was necessary for the eternal glory of
the Father and for the good of the ones who were loved by Him before the
foundation of the world. Kingdoms will rise and fall. In the centuries after
Isaiah, Babylon will become the very symbol of the impressive powers of this
world. Yet she was conquered once in a way that we barely remember, and she will
be conquered again in the years beyond Isaiah. But the kingdom of heaven, and
heaven's King, will last forever and ever. When all appears to be lost, the
faithful gospel watchman is able to take the sure word of truth and announce the
morningstar. The first glimpse of resurrection has come. The full day will soon
arrive. No earthly power can stop the Lord of the Day. Believe in the coming
victory of God with all your heart this day, and live by the faith that the
Lord, the God of Israel supplies through His sure word.
Isaiah 22
Since the fall of Adam the
people who would follow God have had a battle on their hands. Success in any
battle can have something to do with who has the high ground. In the spiritual
battle that we face today, we do not use the weapons of the world, and we do not
try to force people into submission to Jesus Christ. Instead we bring forward
reasonable spiritual propositions for the consideration of people who are being
drawn to the Lord. For this kind of battle for the souls of men, having the high
ground can also be important. We are told to be a city on a hill, which cannot
be hidden. We are to be the light of the world in Jesus Christ, who is able to
draw men to Himself.
Jerusalem was literally a city built on a hill. She was to be a place of great
spiritual vision. Even on the grounds of the temple mount God had made the court
of the temple to be a place where the nations would come for prayer. This city
was to be a light to the world. But instead of being a mountaintop of vision,
Isaiah says that she had become a valley of vision. The view of the world from
the valley may not be the best vantage-point for our understanding of the world
around us, and for world's appreciation of the Lord's kingdom. The church needs
to be like a lamp which is placed upon a stand. It should give light to all the
house. But a "valley" of vision is like a lamp under a basket.
It is amazing that in the midst of statements against Edom, Arabia, Assyria,
Babylon and other nations, God had a word for Jerusalem. She too had done evil
and would face discipline from the Lord. The sin of the leaders is mentioned by
Isaiah. They would one day flee from the city and abandon their people, rather
than stand firm in the faith, listening to the word of God's prophets.
Therefore, a day was coming upon the Land, a day of destruction, but also a day
that God had decreed long ago.
God called His people to weep and mourn, to put on sackcloth and to humble
themselves before God. But they would not look to the source of the discipline
they faced. God would be the one who would bring the day of disaster. Amazingly,
in his discipline of specific officials and the nation more broadly, God would
put an end to the covenant community that was not living as the light of the
world, and God would begin a new community where we are connected to one who is
uniquely the light of the world and who calls us to be the real Jerusalem, a
city set on a hill.
If this new Jerusalem was to be born, it seems that it was necessary for the
glory of the Jerusalem that is below to be diminished some, so that people could
look beyond what was low in the valley and fading away, and could begin to set
their heart on Christ the cornerstone that the builders would reject, on the
foundation of the Apostles and prophets, and on the church as a living letter of
divine light scattered abroad as bread cast upon the waters. This is of course
an amazing privilege, for we are a part of the Kingdom of heaven - the new
Jerusalem.
In the day of Isaiah, God called His people to weep and mourn for the poor
condition of the Jerusalem below and her people. Instead of this humility, there
was a strange arrogance among the leaders, and a hedonistic fatalism among some.
Even a high official like Shebna the steward, was seeking great things for
himself and for the glory of his name in a day of disaster for the people of
God. He would be replaced by a man who would have more concern for the good of
those who were looking to him for godly leadership. Where can great men like
this be found in the church today?
We have such a great man over the household of God. Jesus the Christ is more
than a servant in the house of the Lord. He is the Son of God and the sinless
leader of the people. Everything that He has done has been accomplished with a
full heart for the people that He came to represent. We needed Him, and He has
come. He has opened a door to heaven that no one can shut. But when He shuts
that door no one will be able to open it again. Today the door is open for all
who would repent and believe. Come to the city of light, the city on a hill.
Come to the new Jerusalem and find the peace and security of the new world that
Christ has won for us.
Isaiah 23
International trade is a way
of life for all of the prosperous nations of the world. What that means is that
a disaster in one land will have serious consequences for the economic life of
other countries. We see something of the world of international business in the
history of ancient Tyre, one of the nations that the Lord addresses in Isaiah
23.
Tyre was a place known for its ships and merchants. Many nations counted on
trade with the Phoenicians. If Tyre were to fall, other powers would miss the
economic benefit of their engagement with the businessmen of this port city.
Isaiah lists Tarshish (apparently in Spain), Cyprus, and Egypt as among those
who will be distressed with the coming trial that their trading partner will
face.
Tyre will face a generation or more of trouble, and even the seas seem to be
mourning the loss. The waters are personified here and are said to be made
fruitless, with no birth of any descendants. The loss that places like Egypt
face are not mere business failures. It is presented almost as grief over the
death of a loved one. Egypt will be in anguish. Tarshish will wail. The loss of
prosperity is like the loss of the most precious object of affection and
devotion for these other lands across the waters.
There are few specifics in this prophecy that would help us to pinpoint the
specific historic events that are being referred to in this chapter. What we do
see clearly is the ultimate source of the trouble that Tyre will face. "The Lord
of hosts has purposed it." We also see the reason for these events. It is
because of the "pompous pride" of this land of commercial prosperity. God is
able to bring dishonor upon the proud peoples of the earth, no matter how
honored they may be in the opinion of their trading partners and in their own
eyes.
It appears that there will be some period of disgrace and humiliation that God
has ordained for this land. The Assyrians have been an agent of distress upon
other places. Will they be used by God to humble proud Tyre? If He chooses such
a thing, He can certainly make it happen. Like a forgotten prostitute, the
nation is pictured in a pitiful journey around the cities of the world, singing
songs of better days so that her memory will not be completely erased from the
minds of the lands that once were her customers.
At the end of some defined period, Isaiah seems to say that her business will be
restored to the benefit of the people of the Lord. God's purpose for even this
proud city will certainly be accomplished.
When we have large accounts
we imagine that we are gods and the masters of our own destiny. We proudly boast
about our plans to go here and there and to make more and more. But we do not
even know when our lives will be required of us. In a few short years it is the
destiny of almost every man to be forgotten by others. Even if someone has
established a memorial gift or some wonderful monument, it is the destiny of
almost every man to be unknown by those who look at the name on the trophy and
wonder who this person was.
It is part of the deceptiveness of riches that cause a man to think that this
will never happen to him. The story of our Savior is so very different. He was
born in a state of profound humiliation, and he died on a cross after soldiers
had cast lots for the garment he was wearing. Yet at the name of Jesus ever knee
shall one day bow, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to
the glory of God the Father.
We don't think very much about Tyre and Sidon today. Their day has come and
gone. But the poor man who came to give His life for sinners is still the great
lover of the church, and He will be highly exalted forever and ever. Kings and
kingdoms shall all pass away, but there is something about the person of Jesus
Christ and the story of the events of His life and death that convinces us that
He is worthy of the most serious consideration this day and always.
Isaiah 24
Isaiah 25
Isaiah 26
Even our dead shall live and their bodies shall rise because of our risen and conquering Lord. The people of God from all ages shall be one in Him. Their hearts shall be fully blessed as those who are stayed upon Jehovah. Through the Lord they find the promised and perfect peace and rest of our God even now. May He keep us in His everlasting grace yet again this day. May He restrain the evil of our hearts, our lips, and our hands. For the glory of His name, may we walk in faith in a world of pain.
Isaiah 27
This was the cross of Christ, which though it was accomplished 2000 years ago, yet still we can say that the church lives in the day of the cross, and we still face the dragon’s teeth as we are called to crush Satan under our feet. As the Lord warned, the true followers of Christ will yet have a cross to bear. One day all of this will be done. The day of humiliation will be completely over, and the victory of God will come in its fullness. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has the future firmly in His hand, and who will bring us home in a day of perfect victory, the day when He comes with his angels, who will separate the wheat of the church from the weeds of the world.
Isaiah 28
Isaiah 29
Are you satisfied with everything just as it is? If this is all the heaven that you will ever get, would it be enough for you? No – this is a passing world of fleeting pleasures. We are looking for the new city where the blind see, the deaf hear, and the dead are raised incorruptible, and where all sin has been not only forgiven but entirely removed. We are looking for the temple where Jesus Christ is the pure and holy cornerstone. We want to be in the place where we will one day see as we are seen.