Isaiah 45:8

DISCOURSE: 939
THE EFFICACY OF THE GOSPEL

Isaiah 45:8. Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the Lord have created it.

IT is generally thought, that doctrines relating to God’s sovereignty, and to the divine decrees, are chiefly, if not exclusively, dwelt upon by the Apostle Paul. But, if any one read the Old Testament, he will find these doctrines advanced in almost every page. The chapter before us will furnish us with an instance quite in point. God had determined to deliver his people from their Babylonish captivity above two hundred years before they were carried captive, or Babylon itself, as an empire, had any prominent existence in the world: he also named the person by whom it should be effected, almost three hundred years before he was born, and yet there had never been a king of that name; and even specified the means by which he should effect the conquest of Babylon, which was so fortified as to be, humanly speaking, impregnable [Note: ver. 1–4.]: he declared, also, that that person, contrary to all reasonable expectation, should liberate them without fee or reward, and give orders for the rebuilding of their city and temple [Note: ver. 13.]. Who does not see, in all this, Jehovah acting as a Sovereign, according to his own will and pleasure, and directing every thing for his own glory? The Persians, over whom this Cyrus was to reign, had an idea that there were two separate and independent powers, represented under the emblems of light and darkness, who were the authors, the one of all good, and the other of all evil. To these they would be ready to ascribe their failure or success. But God told them, beforehand; “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I, the Lord, do all these things:” and, consequently, they must give all the glory of their success to him. Then he issues his command to the heavens and the earth to concur with him in this great event, and to produce amongst his people those blissful scenes which he had destined them to enjoy.

In this view, the words before us are, not a prayer, but a prophetic annunciation of an event which should assuredly, in due season, be accomplished. And, in our further explanation of them, I will mark,

I. The import of this prophecy—

Its primary reference is to the restoration of the Jews to their own land—
[This is the subject treated of: and to this the words undoubtedly, in the first instance, refer. Certainly, by the decree of Cyrus, the Jewish people would be delivered from most cruel bondage: and, by their re-establishment in their own land, they would, together with an abundance of temporal blessings, again enjoy the blessedness of waiting upon God in the instituted ordinances of his worship. And, inasmuch as this would tend to the advancement of their souls in righteousness and true holiness, it might justify the language by which it was expressed. To the same effect the Prophet Ezekiel speaks: “I will make them, and the places round about my hill, a blessing: and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing. And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase; and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them [Note: Ezekiel 34:26.].”

But it is evident that the prophecy includes in it a more important event; and that]
Its ulterior reference is to the establishment of the Messiah’s kingdom—
[Under similar emblems is the Messiah’s kingdom frequently described. It is chiefly characterized by the outpouring of the Spirit upon God’s Church and people, and the consequent production of the fruits of righteousness among them in rich abundance. Remarkable is that declaration of the Prophet Joel: “It shall come to pass, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions; and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit [Note: Joel 2:28.].” Of the true meaning of those words we can have no doubt; because they were cited by St. Peter on the day of Pentecost, as fulfilled, when he and the rest of the Apostles were enabled by the Spirit to address their audience in the different languages of all the nations to which they belonged [Note: Acts 2:16.]. With a sanctifying efficacy also was this effusion of the Spirit accompanied, as Isaiah also had foretold: for “when the Spirit was to be poured out from on high, then was the wilderness to become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field to be counted for a forest [Note: Isaiah 32:15.].” This, I say, was to characterize the Christian ζra, as David also had foretold: “He shall come down like rain upon the grass, as showers that water the earth. In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth [Note: Psalms 72:6.].”]

But my more particular object in this discourse is, to point out, not merely the sense of the prophecy, but also,

II.

The peculiar beauty of the image under which it is conveyed—

We are no strangers to the benefits arising from the showers which water the earth: and the correspondence between those and the benefits accruing from an outpouring of the Spirit of God is obvious and intelligible to all. You will remember, that our text is a command to the heavens and the earth to perform their respective offices for the renovation of the world. And I wish you particularly to notice,

1. Their mutual dependence, as here intimated—

[Every one knows, that in a season of drought the earth cannot send forth its fruits: it must be watered by the clouds, in order that free scope may be given for the exercise of its vegetative and fructifying powers. In like manner, the clouds, however liberally they may pour forth their stores upon the earth, can produce no fruits, unless they fall upon a fertile soil. On a sandy desert their gifts are wasted, altogether without effect.
I say not that the Spirit of God is equally dependent on the powers of man; for man has no power which he has not first received from God: but in the ordinary course of God’s dealings with mankind there must be a similar exercise of powers on the part of man, to render effectual the gifts of God. However good the seed of the word may be, or however richly it may be watered by the Spirit of God, we see, by experience, that it springs not up when sown by the way-side; and that it then only produces fruit unto perfection, when it is sown in an honest and good heart [Note: Luke 8:15.]. I need not say how barren the heart of man is, it not watered by divine grace. He knows little of himself, who does not feel that “without” constant communications from the Lord Jesus “Christ he can do nothing [Note: John 15:5.].” Yet, at the same time, we must take care to improve the blessings conferred upon us. We must plough up the fallow ground, and harrow in the seed that is cast upon it; and endeavour to take out, from time to time, the weeds which spring up within us, and which, if disregarded, would soon obstruct the growth of the better principles within us. In a word, we must “work out our salvation with fear and trembling, notwithstanding all fruitfulness proceeds from God; yea, and because it is God who giveth us both to will and do of his good pleasure [Note: Philippians 2:12.].”]

2. Their united operation, as here described—

[“Behold the heavens dropping down fatness upon the earth, and the skies pouring down righteousness:” Behold, at the same time, “the earth opening” to receive the benefits, and “righteousness and salvation springing up together.” Behold this, I say, in the field of nature; what a change is wrought, almost instantaneously on the face of the earth! Behold it, also, in the field of grace. Behold a place thus visited: how blessed the change that takes place in the ordinances of religion, in the habits of the people, and in the different institutions which immediately spring up for the advancement of the Redeemer’s kingdom in the world! Behold a soul thus highly favoured: formerly it had not a disposition or desire but towards the things of time and sense: God, and all the wonders of redeeming love were out of sight; and eternity had but a slender influence on its decisions. But now the thoughts go forth with devout affection towards heavenly objects: prayer and praise, which formerly were no more than a mere outward form, are the sweet, I had almost said the natural, exercises of the mind. To fulfil the will of God, and to promote his glory i to enjoy his presence and to taste his love; to grow up into his image, and be made meet for his inheritance; these are now the great ends for which the soul desires to live, and the constant object of its pursuit; and all its tempers, dispositions, and habits, are brought into accordance with these new desires. Let any one, looking back upon his former life, compare with it his state since he has received the grace of God; and he will find, that his soul is become, comparatively, “like a well-watered garden;” and that the fruits of righteousness, of which it once was destitute, are springing up continually, to the praise and glory of his God. The union of the two is inseparable: wherever fruitfulness is, there has previously been the grace of God: and wherever the grace of God descends into the soul, there will immediately spring up the fruits of righteousness, as indications and evidences of its power. “Truth will assuredly spring out of the earth, when righteousness looks down from heaven [Note: Psalms 85:11.].”]

3. The true source and origin of all their efficacy—

[In my text it is said, “I the Lord have created it.” In the material world, all is of God, and of God alone. The whole universe combined could not make one shower, or give fertility to a sandy desert: nor can any power but God’s effect the renovation of fallen man. Hence it is said of the regenerate soul, “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them [Note: Ephesians 2:10; Ephesians 4:24.].” Whatever be the means used by God, the work is his alone. “Paul may plant, and Apollos water; but it is God that gives the increase [Note: 1 Corinthians 3:6.].” To him must every thing be traced, as much as the creation itself; even to his will, which ordains it; and to his power, which executes it: so that to him must all the glory be ascribed by every soul, both in this world and the world to come.]

see now, from hence,
1.

What a blessing the Gospel is—

[No one needs be told what a blessing showers are to the thirsty earth. Precisely such is the Gospel to the souls of men: “As the rain and the snow come down from above and water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give bread to the eater and seed to the sower; so is the word which proceedeth from God,” when accompanied by the Spirit from on high [Note: Isaiah 55:10.]. I would that this were duly understood. Persons form strange notions about the Gospel, as though it were of no use but to produce dissensions in families, and enthusiasm in the soul: but its real and true use, as we may see from what took place at the first publication of it on the day of Pentecost, is to “make glad the wilderness, and to transform a desert into the garden of the Lord [Note: Isaiah 35:1.]. Let the soul, that has experienced its effects, say, whether any other principles can equal it in power, or any other fruits bear a comparison with those produced by it? Verily, “it bringeth forth fruit in all the world,” and “is the power of God unto salvation to all them that believe.”]

2. What is to be done, on our part, to render it effectual—

[The earth is said to “open its mouth,” to receive the early and the latter rain: and it puts forth all its powers to make a suitable return. Thus should we do: we should be looking up to God for the gift of his Holy Spirit; and open our very souls to receive his gracious communications; and then exert every faculty for a suitable improvement of the grace given. We are to “be workers together with God.” We are not to be merely passive, in the receipt of his favours; but active, in employing them to the ends for which they are bestowed. What might we not hope for, if all our hearers came hither with such thirsting spirits, and went hence with such a determination to render unto God the fruits which he requires! Be ye in earnest, Brethren; and we shall see more and more, that, “as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to bring forth, so will the Lord God cause righteousness and peace to spring forth amongst us” in richer abundance than we have ever yet been privileged to behold them [Note: Isaiah 61:11.]

3. To whom we are indebted, if ever it has become effectual for our good—

[I need not say to whom we are indebted, either for the fertilizing showers, or for the fruits produced by them [Note: If this be a Thanksgiving Sermon for Rain, or for a good Harvest, this idea may be a little enlarged.]. Nor need I say how cordially every well-instructed soul will acknowledge his obligations to the Lord, saying, “By the grace of God I am what I am [Note: 1 Corinthians 15:10.].” In ourselves we have no reason to glory over our more unprofitable neighbour; seeing that “it is God alone who has made us to differ from him [Note: 1 Corinthians 4:7.].” But, whilst we give all possible glory to God, from whose free and sovereign grace our blessings have proceeded [Note: James 1:17.], we must so walk as to shew us that “God is with us of a truth; and that all who behold us may acknowledge us to be “a field which the Lord has blessed.”]