Isaiah 44:1-22

Isaiah 44:1. Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen: Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my Servant; and thou, Jesurum, whom I have chosen.

God cannot bear his people to be sad, he delights to drive away fear, trembling, and mistrust. He loves faith, for faith brings confidence, hope, rest. So he says to us, «Fear not, fear not, be not afraid.» It is God himself, who made us, and who chose us, who says to us, «Do not fear.» Come, dear hearts, lay aside your disquietude, if God bids you cast away fear, will you not do it? Nothing hushes a babe to sleep like its mother's voice. Let God's voice hush you into sweet and blessed calm whenever you are troubled and full of fear.

Isaiah 44:3. For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground:

God will never do anything by halves. He will not only send rain, but the waters shall pour down from the sky. He will not merely moisten the surface of the dry ground; he will send floods to saturate it. God is great in giving his grace. When once you reach the region of grace, you have entered the region of plenty, even the riches of God's unspeakable grace. If, dear friends, you have at this time no spiritual power, and unction, and favor, and love, you may have it, for here is the Lord's own promise, «I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground.»

Isaiah 44:3. I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:

Is that your great burden,--trouble about your boy? Does your dear girl grieve you? Well, he who blesses the father and the mother will bless the children; the God of Abraham is the God of Isaac. Pray that this promise may be fulfilled to you, that your need may get a share of that spirit of grace which has been given to you.

Isaiah 44:4. And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.

You can track a stream by the willows; standing on a hill, and looking down the valley, you can tell where the little brook winds, for there are the willows. So shall it be with your children; they shall spring up by the waters of grace, and be a joy and a blessing.

Isaiah 44:5. One shall say, I am the Lord's

That is the brave son who comes out boldly, and avows his faith: «One shall say, I am the Lord's.»

Isaiah 44:5. And another shall call himself by the name of Jacob;

That is the one who goes and joins the church, and does not say much about it; but he has united himself with the Lord's people: «and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob.»

Isaiah 44:5. And another shall subscribe with his hand unto the LORD, and surname himself by the name of Israel.

He cannot speak much, but he can write; he is not so bold as the others, perhaps, but he is quite as true: «Another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord.» It does not so much matter how our children are converted so long as they really are converted, and as to the particular way in which they join the church, we have only to bid them seek the guidance of God's Word and his Spirit, and follow wheresoever they lead. Pray earnestly, dear friends, that the Lord will bless your children. I thank God that most of the members of the church, known to me, have their children saved; there are many families that are altogether in the church. There are others which have not that privilege yet, but, dear friends, you may have it; ask believingly, act faithfully, watch hopefully, and you shall see it joyfully ere long.

Isaiah 44:6. Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts, I am the first, and I am the last, and beside me there is no God. And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them show unto them.

Jehovah challenges the idol gods to utter a prophecy. Let them tell the future if they can; but they cannot. Prophecy is ever the mark of the one living and true God.

Isaiah 44:8. Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any. They that make a graven image are all of them vanity, and their delectable things shall not profit, and they are their own witnesses, they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed. Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing? Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed: and the workmen, they are of men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together.

Well they may. Men who pretend to make a god, ought to be ashamed.

Isaiah 44:12. The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms:

What irony! God-making, with hammers and bellows!

Isaiah 44:12. Yea, he is hungry,

This god-maker is hungry!

Isaiah 44:12. And his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint.

The god-maker is getting faint. There is a sarcasm about this description which ought to convince the most blind devotees of an idol.

Isaiah 44:13. The carpenter stretcheth out his rule, he marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house.

A god in the house! A god shut up in a room! A god that has been made with compasses and planes! How ridiculous it seems!

Isaiah 44:14. He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it.

The raw material for a god is an ash, a watery tree: «The rain doth nourish it.»

Isaiah 44:15. Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread, yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it, he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto. He burneth part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied: yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire: and the residue thereof he maketh a god,

Oh, the folly of idolatry! Perhaps you do not see your own folly, you who are worshipping yourselves. A man who worships his belly is a worse idolater than the one who worships a god of wood. A man who worships gold and silver, if that gold and silver should take the shape of sovereigns and shillings, is not a bit more justified in his idolatry than if he had made it into the shape of a calf, and had bowed before it in idolatrous homage and reverence.

Isaiah 44:17. Even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god. They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand. And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree? He feedeth on ashes:

Mad people have been known to do even that, they have thrust cinders into their mouths; and this is what everybody does who is not trusting in the living God: «He feedeth on ashes.»

Isaiah 44:20. A deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand? Remember these, O Jacob and Israel;

Think of these false gods, and be ashamed of them.

Isaiah 44:21. For thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sin: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.

These wooden gods have done nothing of the sort. Come back to the true God, and worship him, and be happy in his love.