Isaiah 57:18-19

I have seen his ways, and will heal him

Observing and healing

This could only be said of God--He alone can see the ways of man.

We have here--

I. A DIVINE ATTRIBUTE. Intimate knowledge of the ways of men. “I have seen.” God has no need to be told. Tale-bearers exaggerate and lie. God does not even trust His angels. They go about the world observing the evil and the good. But it is not upon their reports He acts.” “I know, He says, “their thoughts.” “I have seen his ways. How solemnly should the fact impress us!

1. There is the man who makes a profession of religion. But that man knows how within him there exist the root and seeds of evil, that his life is a constant struggle, and sin with all its might is contending for the mastery. The deeper that man’s piety is, he realizes with the greater pain his weakness and imperfection, and is horrified at the list which is written up against him by an observing God.

2. Not only the righteous are the subjects of Divine observation, but the wicked as well. The observations of Almighty God produce very different results according to the character of the person He observes. To the man who strives after the way of righteousness it is an encouragement and a warning. But to him who neglects religion and follows sin it is filled with terrible dread and is the precursor of ineffable judgment.

II. A DIVINE PROMISE. The humblest efforts after holiness arc regarded by the great King, and are noted equally with the failures. He sees the whole--the follies, the weaknesses, the struggles, and the regrets, and He isfilled with pity. He knows that unaided man cannot divert his way, and therefore He vouchsafes to give a promise, “I will heal.” In this promise we have--

1. A manifestation of love.

2. A manifestation of authority, “Will heal.” It is God only who can heal man.

Application:

1. God will come to those who seek Him. They draw nigh to Him, He draws nigh to them.

2. How joyous is the sound of healing to a sick man! Much more the promise of forgiven sin.

3. Time is passing quickly. What are your ways? Are they such as encourage the Divine advances or repel infinite love? (Homilist.)

The Divine Healer

I. DIVINE KNOWLEDGE.

II. DIVINE MERCY.

1. “I will heal him,” “I will lead him also.” We all need guidance, as we move on through this wilderness.

2. Another part of the healing is the happiness of mind which Christ bestows upon His reconciled people. I will heal him and restore comforts unto him.

3. Then, too, will follow praise. “I create the fruit of the lips.” The songs of heaven will be begun in your souls, even now upon earth.

4. Peace, settled peace. “Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord: and I will heal him.” There is in that one word, “peace,” a treasury of blessedness which you may forego all else to buy. (C. Clayton, M. A.)

Wonder at God’s grace

There are a few objects in nature which never cease to astonish the beholder. I think Humboldt said he could never look upon the rolling prairies without astonishment: and I suppose some of us will never be able to look upon the ocean, or to see the sun rise or set, without feeling that we have before us something always fresh and always new. Now, I have been, not only for the love of it, but because of my calling of preaching it, a constant reader of Holy Scripture, and yet after these five-and-twenty years and more I frequently alight upon well-known passages which astonish me as much as ever. As if I had never heard them before, they come upon me, not merely with freshness, but even so as to cause amazement in my soul. This is one of those portions of Scripture. When I read the chapter describing the horrible wickedness of Israel--when I notice the strong terms which inspiration uses, and none of them too strong, to set forth the horrible wickedness of the nation--it staggers me. And then to see mercy following instead of judgment! It overwhelms me! “I have seen his ways, and”--it is not added, “ I will destroy him; I will sweep him away,” but, “ I will heal him.” Verily God’s grace, like the great mountains, cannot be scaled; like the deeps of the sea, it can never be fathomed, and, like space, it cannot be measured. It is, like God Himself, matchless, boundless. “ Oh, the depths! Oh, the depths!” (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Amazing grace

I. The text declares that THE SINNER HAS BEEN OBSERVED OF THE LORD. Notice,

1. That God’s omniscience has observed the sinner. Man while living in rebellion against God is as much under His eye as the bees in a glass hive are under your eye when you stand and watch all their movements. The eye of Jehovah never sleeps it is never taken off from a single creature He has made. He sees man--sees him everywhere--sees him through and through; so that He not only hears his words, but knows his thoughts--does not merely behold his actions, but weighs his motives, and knows what is in the man as well as that which comes out of the man. God has seen your ways at home, your ways abroad, your ways in the shop, your ways in the bed-chamber, your ways within as well as your ways without--the ways of your judgment, the ways of your hope, the ways of yourdesire, the ways of your evil lustings, the ways of your murmurings, the ways of your pride. He has seen them all, and seen them perfectly and completely; and the wonder is that, after seeing all, He has not cut us down, but instead of it has proclaimed this amazing word of mercy, “I have seen his ways, and will heal him.”

2. But God had not only seen their ways in the sense of omniscience, but He had inspected their ways in the sense of judgment. He says, “I was wroth and I hid Myself.” Do not think because we preach free grace and dying love to you, and proclaim full pardon through the blood of Jesus, that therefore God winks at sin. No, He is a terrible God, “and will by no means spare the guilty.” And yet He whom the angels call “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth”--the, jealous God, the. God who revengeth, and is furious against sin--even He has said, “I have seen his ways, and will heal him.”

3. The Lord had tested him. If you read the chapter through you will see that God says He had attempted to reclaim him by chastisements.

II. THE SINNER IS THE OBJECT OF DIVINE MERCY TO AN EXTRAORDINARY DEGREE.

1. Notice how God speaks. “I will, I will.” Now, “I will “ and “I shall” are for the King; nay, in the highest sense they are only becoming when used by God Himself. It is not for you and me to say “I will”; we shall speak more wisely if we declare that we will if we can.

2. The disease that we suffer from is a disease He knows all about, because the text says, “I have seen his ways.”

3. Then the text goes on to say, “I will lead him also.” The poor soul of man, even when healed, does not know which way to go. There is not a more bewildered thing in this world than a poor sinner when first he is awakened. Have you ever gone with a candle into a barn where a number of birds have roosted? Have you disturbed them? Have you not seen how they dart hither and thither, and do not know which way to fly? The light confuses them. So it is when Christ comes to poor sinners. They do not know which way to go; they see a little, but the very light confuses them. Now, the loving Lord comes in, and He says, “I will lead him also.”

4. “I will restore comforts to him.” God begins by knocking our comforts away. He takes away the comfort we once had in our false peace, and He makes us mourn for sin. But after a while He restores comfort to us. What sort of comfort? The comfort of perfect forgiveness, the comfort of complete acceptance. The Father sets a warm kiss upon the child’s cheek, and that is the comfort of adoption. Whereas we were heirs of earth, we become heirs of heaven, and have the comforts of hope. We receive the comfort of daily fellowship, for we are admitted to speak with God, and to draw near to Him; the comfort of perfect security, for we are led to feel that whether we live or die we are safe in the arms of Jesus; the comfort of a blessed prospect beyond the grave in the land of the hereafter, where the flowers shall never wither; the comfort of knowing that all things work together for good; the comfort of having the angels for our servants, and heaven for our home. “ I will restore comforts to him;” and all this to the man of whom it is said, “Thou didst debase thyself even unto hell.” (C. H.Spurgeon.)

God sees the sinner

In the old time, when the Grecians worshipped images of their gods, it was said that when spiders stretched their webs across the eyelids of the image of Jupiter, the people were regular in their attendance to worship him. They liked to feel that the spiders’ webs prevented Jupiter from seeing their sins, and in their poor, feeble way were no doubt grateful to the insects for covering the eyes of a god who, they thought, would punish them for their sins if he could see their ways. (W. Birch.)

And restore comforts unto him. -

Comfort

The word “comfort” comes orginally from two Latin words, con and fortis, meaning much strength. In time of trouble, when you lift up your heart and bravely bear the bruden, the strength which enables you to do it is called comfort (W. Birch.)

Comforts

1. It is a great comfort have peace of mind. Many people have sought to obtain wealth, hoping it would give peace of mind; but they have been mistaken. But what a comfort it is to those who have obtained it! It flows from the knowledge that our sins are forgiven.

2. Another comfort is that God is with us.

3. What a comfort to know that God is our helper. His fingers are tender, and His heart is loving as that of a gentle mother.

4. It is a comfort to know that God is our strength in time of temptation. When an engine has to lift a weight which is beyond its usual work, the engineer stands at the steam gauge, and when the finger reaches near the danger point, he cries, “Hold hard; it can do no more! “ If he allowed the engine to be pressed beyond the safety point, there might be an accident. Likewise, God knows the gauge of every man’s heart. He knows exactly what trials you can bear, and how much temptation you can stand. He declares that no man shall be tempted above that he is able.

5. It is our comfort to know that God is our support in the pathway of our life.

6. Here is another comfort--that our God is the Friend of sinners. (W. Birch.)