Anyone who has studied and meditated on the prophecy of Isaiah will no doubt agree that nowhere else in the world of literature have so many colossal ideas been expressed within the limits of a single work. Even in literary form the world has produced nothing greater than Isaiah. Its prophecies are magnificent and far reaching in their scope. Centered in them are the most definite prophecies of the Messiah and Saviour that was to come.
Isaiah’s prophecies began with the Babylonian exile and fulfillment has been taking place ever since. Complete fulfillment will only be realized when the kingdom of God has come, and His will is clone on earth as it is in heaven.
Probably nowhere else in the scriptures is the great sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ more vividly described than in the 53rd chapter of this wonderful book. Any one who deeply studies and meditates on the book of Isaiah must be thoroughly convinced that it is the inspired word of God. When one reads and studies the prophecy of Isaiah they cannot help being inspired with hope and courage, and with faith and love to God.
In the chapter read in our hearing from Isaiah this morning the prophet is exhorting us to faith and repentance. He reminds us of the great kindness and mercy that God has for those who will forsake their own pernicious ways and turn to Him. “ Let the wicked forsake his ways, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord and He will have mercy upon him; to our God and He will abundantly pardon.” It does not matter how far we may have gone astray, nor how evil our hearts have been. We may have committed the most grievous of sins. Our Lord is a God full of compassion, gracious, long-suffering in mercy and truth. If we bend our knee to Him in complete repentance, He will abundantly pardon. Everyone who seeks the Lord in righteousness shall be rewarded.
“Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” Our Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed, ‘Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.” One of the Proverbs reads in the Moffatt version, “ A labourer’s appetite labours for him, his hunger drives him to work.”
Pro. 16-26: The needs of a healthy appetite give zest to work, and with the energy used the appetite gains a keener edge. So it is with the things of the mind; a strong desire for spiritual food makes the work of obtaining it seem light, while the effort in turn sharpens the desire.
A rich feast is always in store for those who will turn their minds to the word of God. The more we test and see that the word of the Lord is good, the more we realise the great breach between the holiness of God and the corruption of men. Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that geteth understanding, for he knows that the Lord Jesus Christ is the bridge that has spanned that breach between God and man.” “But now in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more being reconciled we shall be saved by His life.” Jesus says, “ No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” “ If any man thirst let him come unto me and drink.” At the brink of Jacob’s well our Master said, “Whosoever shall drink of this water shall thirst again, but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst again, but the water that I shall give shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” God said through Isaiah, “ Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which satisfieth not?’
At Capernaum when the true bread was in question, and they challenged Him in the synagogue with Moses and the Manna, He said, “ I am the bread of life; he that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. Jn 6:35. Seven hundred years before Christ, God speaking through the prophet Isaiah said in verses 10 and 11 of this 55th chapter. “ For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth; it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please and it shall prosper in the thing where unto I sent it.” There is no doubt that the bread of life was Jesus himself and just as bread is necessary to sustain our mortal life, it is necessary for us to partake of the “bread of life” or there can be not life beyond this transient mortality. Those who feed on him he will raise up the last day and they will be accounted worthy to partake of the true bread of life, even immortality.
In the 6th chapter of John, where Jesus reveals that he is the bread of life, he continually emphasizes the impossibility of eternal life apart from him. He says, “He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me and I in him. This is that bread which came down from heaven; not as your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead; he that eateth of this bread shall live forever.” This is the bread that we should spend our labour and our money for Then we are eating that which is good and our soul will delight itself in fatness. It is only through our Lord Jesus Christ that we can hope to be partakers of the sure mercies of David. God sent his word forth and in due time it was made flesh in the form of Jesus Christ and faith in him is seed to the sower and bread to the eater. Gad’s word did not return to him void. Christ fulfilled God’s word to the letter. He was morally perfect in every way.
Jesus said again in the 6th chapter of John at the 57th verse: “As the living Father hath sent me and I live by the Father, so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.” When Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tested, the tempter said, “If thou be the Son of God command that these stones be made bread.” But Jesus answered and said, “It is written; Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Here again is that spiritual food that we must partake of if we are to develop that new man which is so necessary for life in the age to come. To those reborn in Christ Peter says, “As new born babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby.” The natural man is destitute of spiritual resources. The outward man perishes daily and the renewing of the inward man is as dependent upon the daily feeding on the word, as the new born babe depends upon milk. In 1st Peter 1-24-25 we read, “For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away. But the word of the Lord endureth forever.” When we realise how weak flesh and blood really is, and how fleeting this mortal life can be, we are brought to the point of abandoning self-confidence and leaning more and more on the Rock of our salvation. We recognise that in ourselves there is no good thing and that we must be content to hold on to the hope of the gospel. As the Psalmist says, “ Let thy mercies come also unto me O Lord, even thy salvation according to thy word.” If we renew our inward man daily by partaking of the spiritual food contained in God’s word, our faith is also made stronger day by day, being fully persuaded that what God has promised He is able also to perform. We know that without faith it is impossible to please God. Our faith in God is imputed to us for righteousness, which is so essential for us if we are to receive that crown of glory promised in his word. Solomon, the wisest of all men informs us that “ Every word of God is pure; he is a shield unto them that trust in him.” David says, “As for God, his way is perfect, the word of the Lord is tried, he is a buckler to all those who trust in him.”
Now is the time to take hold of his word and to grow in it. Now is the time to sing our praises to God and to pattern our lives according to his word. It is an infallible truth that now is the time to direct our ambitions and zeal toward the things of God, for the grave cannot praise him, death cannot celebrate him; they that do down into the pit can not hope for his truth.
It is an obvious truth that even among the brethren we spend entirely too much time with things concerning this world. Who among us have not at some time or other neglected our daily readings by saying we have just been too busy. We fail to attend the lectures because it is too far to come or we are too tired. Perhaps it is because we feel that we have heard these same truths, expounded for many years, we already know them well enough. Let us examine ourselves and see what we are putting first; the cares of this life or the hope of a future one. Are our excuses any better than those who are outside the household of faith who go merrily along squandering their fleeting and mortal lives on the foolish things of this world, laboring under the foolish notion that if they live good, clean moral lives toward their fellowmen that they will receive the mercies of God when death overtakes them? We have been greatly blessed in these latter days with the true light of God’s word. Therefore, let he that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall.
Since we have been blessed with the true light of God’s word, it also brings upon us a grave responsibility. This responsibility is shared by every brother and sister of Christ. Every word of God is pure and his word is truth. “Thy word is truth,” counsels the Master and Isaiah exhorts us with these words, “To the law and to the testimony, if they speak not according to this word it is because there is no light in them.” We know how Christ condemned the pharisees for perverting the word of God and making it of none effect by their traditions. “This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” Our responsibility to keep the truth pure and free from perverted thinking of the flesh is a great one. Every word of God is pure and is truth. There is only one gospel and one faith. We have dedicated’ ourselves to defend this one faith in all its phases and to keep it pure in all its elements. Article 41 of the statement of faith reads: “That any brother departing from any element of the one faith, as defined by us in our statement of faith, shall cease to be in fellowship.” An element is the very fundamental or basic part of our faith. In other words the first principles as outlined in our statement of faith which is based on the word of God.
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God.” This is the basis on which we meet each first day of the week. Each Sunday as we partake of this table of the Lord we re-dedicate ourselves to follow him that is the bread of life and the fountain of everlasting joy in all truth and purity. Christ said, “Blessed are they that hear the word of God and do it.” As we stated before, now is the time to praise God and to do his work. What is this transient life? James says, “It is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time and then vanishes away. Few and evil are the days of our pilgrimages. We are not of this world, we are strangers and sojourners, as all the faithful of ages past have been.”
One of the greatest and most difficult lessons for the natural man to learn is that he cannot trifle lightly with God’s word.. This should be obvious to all. Six thousand years ago by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin. Death has reigned over man ever since. “ Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to the flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting.” Therefore the greatest crime, is disobedience to the will of God. Because of this disobedience we have inherited mortality. We cannot continually and wilfully disobey God and expect him to forgive us. He sentenced Adam to death for disobedience. By the obedience and sacrifice of his only begotten son, the way was opened up whereby sin could be destroyed, and the way of life opened up to us again.
Do we realise, brethren and sisters how great this sacrifice was? His meat was to do the will of his Father, and to finish his work. He had done no violence neither was deceit found in his mouth. “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief.” Why did it please the Lord to bruise his righteous servant, to put him to grief, to make him an offering for sin? This is one of the great principles of divine truth that few people discern correctly. It is expressed in Hebrews 9, 24: “that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins.” God is a great king and righteous in all his ways. He is of purer eyes than to behold evil and cannot look upon iniquity. He is not pleased with a continuance of a life of sin. But in his great mercy and forbearance he has provided a way of reconciliation. “Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world,” declared John the Baptist. He was morally sinless, but he was also bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. He bore in his members that same inclination to sin that all the sons of Adam possess. Therefore death had dominion over him for a season. Since he had no sin of his own, it was the sin of others that was on him. It was his mission to take this away. “The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” When Jesus submitted to crucifixion he publicly condemned sin in the flesh, he declarer that God was righteous in his decree that disobedience of his will brings death. His death also- completed the obedience to his Father he had never failed to show throughout his life. Therefore God was able to raise him from death it could no longer hold him in its power. “ The gift of God is eternal life,, through Jesus Christ our Lord.” By his loving sacrifice this life hath abounded unto many. “By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, Isaiah. It is through the Lord Jesus Christ’s great sacrifice that we are justified. This was made possible only through the undeserved kindness and love of God who sent his only begotten son to be the propitiation of our sins. “ So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth; it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please and it shall prosper in the thing whereunto I sent it“ Christ was the word made flesh. It pleased God that he should bear our iniquities. He accomplished and prospered the thing that God had sent him to, namely to be the redeemer of mankind. He is now at the right hand of God, ready to make intercession for us that we may be acceptable to him. We shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace. Instead of evil shall spring forth righteousness and instead of death shall come life everlasting; and it shall be to the Lord for a name and for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. In these emblems before us on the table this morning we look back to his sacrifice, yet we also look forward to his kingdom, wherein we shall partake of the true bread of life, and this mortal shall taste the sweet experience of a sudden change of glory, honour and immortality.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One