epcblog

Devotional thoughts (Monday through Thursday mornings) from the pastor of Exeter Presbyterian Church in Exeter, NH // Sunday Worship 10:30am // 73 Winter Street

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Isaiah 51

Abraham and Sarah had nothing. They were beyond the age of child-bearing people, and even when they were younger Sarah had never been able to have a baby. But look what God did with them! As He promised, He gave them many descendants. Even those who heard the words of Isaiah when they were first given were the descendants of these two elderly people along with millions of others who were part of the nation of Israel. Abraham and Sarah are worth considering. How did they become so fruitful? God organized the events of their lives in such a way that it was unmistakable that He alone can make the barren field yield a harvest of life, and He alone can bring true gladness and songs of rejoicing to those who have lost all hope.

That elderly couple from Mesopotamia could not have even one descendant in their own power. Consider what God did with them. But He will do much more than that. He will make one of their descendants to be a light to the peoples of the earth. He can bring hope to many who are not the physical descendants of Abraham and Sarah. In Isaiah 51, the Lord announces that He will do this, and that the far off coastlands of even distant continents are waiting for Him in the day of His power. The Word will go forth from God, and a great righteousness and a love that man has never achieved or even known will come in the person of Jesus Christ as a shining light to the world.

This world and all that it contains is passing away, but the salvation that God will bring to the ends of the earth through the message of the gospel will be eternal. But what will God’s people prefer, a salvation bought for them with the precious blood of Christ, or the fleeting pleasure of a world that the Lord can fold up in the blinking of an eye? Will we be as foolish as Israel of old and forget the blessing of eternity which we know by faith, or will we forsake everything else, see Christ as the pearl of great price, and then turn to Him for forgiveness and acceptance?

The Lord announces here in Isaiah that His salvation will be forever, but the world as we know it now will not last forever. This is a shocking message. Each of us must consider this question. Which do you want; the eternal salvation that comes through Christ, or this passing world which we cannot keep? Even the most powerful and wealthy miser in his final days must feel his mortal life slip away from him. It is time to take that fact seriously even now. Do not worry yourself with what others think of you, or what they would think if you did what you know to be wise and right, the thing that God surely wants you to do. The day will come either sooner or later when what seems hazy and distant now is very distinctly and clearly known and even visible. Those who love Christ’s eternal kingdom must prefer Him now, though we still see things by faith and not yet entirely by sight.

Though we cannot keep ourselves alive even for a moment without the love and power of God, by the strength of the Lord His redeemed will be made alive, they will be forever kept alive, and they will come to Zion with joyful singing. This will not be merely a temporary return to the earthly temple mount, as great as that was through the order of Cyrus in the sixth century before Christ. The joy that we will have in the heavenly Zion will be fuller than that and it will be forever. When God has cut up and put away our mortal adversary, that dragon of old, then we will be in a place where the very activities of sorrow, and even sighing, will simply be gone.

God alone can do this. He is His own pledge. He says, “I am the Lord your God, and you are my people.” He is the guarantee of what we could never gain for ourselves by our own strength. This should not surprise us, since He is the Creator of the earth and the heavens. He is our Maker. He who is the Word can remake us and secure for us blessings that can never be taken away.

How should we respond to this news? Are we awake to the greatness of what God has done through our Savior and King? Wake up! Respond to the discipline of the Lord who loves you. Does the church insist on further devastation from the Lord as a rebuke for God’s chosen people? God disciplined Israel and called for repentance among the people of stubborn hearts. He calls His church to the very same vitality of faith and repentance today.

Christ has taken the cup of God’s wrath from our hands. The day of wrath will be far from us forever because of the Son of God. He was treated with the penalty due to the tormentors of the Lord’s family so that we might be adopted sons and daughters of the true and living God. Drunkenness with alcohol can be a deadly thing, but it is even more devastating to be drunk with our own pride and with the false delusions of our safety without an atoning sacrifice. Only He could drink the cup of the Lord’s wrath for us and live again. This He has done for us. Now we are safe and secure, though the world be folded up and thrown away, the people of the Lord’s love will be with our God forever. It will not be good for the tormenters of the church in the day of the Lord’s appearing, but because of the blood of Christ, it will be good for all who call upon the Lord’s name in truth.

posted by Pastor Magee @ 7:00 AM

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