Isaiah 49:1-23

Isaiah 49:1. Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; the Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;

Our Lord Jesus, that great Prophet of the Church, was in a special manner the Lord's in the matter of his birth. A wondrous holy mystery hangs about his birth at Bethlehem, he was, in that respect, the Lord's in a very remarkable sense. «He hath made my mouth like a sharp sword.» You know how our Lord's mouth, or the Word of his gospel that issues from his mouth, is like a sharp sword how it conquers, how it cuts its way, how, wherever it comes, it pierces «even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.» «'In the shadow of his hand hath he hid me.» You know how the protecting hand of God ever covered Christ, and how his gospel is ever sheltered by the providence of God.

Isaiah 49:3. And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.

It is wonderful condescension on Christ's part to take the name of his Church so that he himself is called «Israel» in this passage; and there is another passage, equally remarkable, where the Church is allowed to take one of the names of Christ: «This is the name wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our righteousness.» Such an intermingling of interests, such a wonderful unit is there between Christ and his Church, that these twain are truly one.

Isaiah 49:4. Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my work with my God.

Our Saviour did, in his earthly ministry, to a large extent labour in vain. «He came unto his own, and his own received him not.» He was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, yet how few of them recognized him as the good Shepherd. He told his disciples that, after he returned to his Father, those who believed in him should do even greater things than he had done. That promise was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost; and since then it has been fulfilled over and over again in the history of the Christian Church.

Isaiah 49:5. And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength.

What though the Jews still reject the Messiah, their sin does not affect his honour. His glory is still as great as ever it was in the esteem of the Most High.

Isaiah 49:6. And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.

What a blessed passage this is for you and for me, beloved! Strangers to the commonwealth of Israel were we; but, now, we who were afar off are made nigh by the blood of Jesus, and so are made fellow-heirs with the seed of Abraham, partakers of the self-same covenant blessing as the father of the faithful enjoys. In this let us exceedingly rejoice; and for this, let us praise and magnify the name of the Lord.

Isaiah 49:7. Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth,

What a true picture this is of the way in which the Jews still treat the promised Messiah! To this day, they gnash their teeth at the very mention of the name of Jesus of Nazareth; and the bitterest words of blasphemy that are ever uttered by human lips come from the mouth of Israel against the Lord Jesus: «him whom the nation abhorreth,»

Isaiah 49:7. To a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.

The Father has chosen Christ to be the precious corner-stone of the eternal temple, and he has also chosen all the living stones that are to be joined to him for ever.

Isaiah 49:8. Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; that thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places.

Dear brethren, what honour the Lord has put upon Christ! In proportion as he has been the despised of men, and the abhorred of the Jewish nation, God has made him to be his own delight, his Well-beloved. He displays through him the marvels of his saving power for his own glory. I pray that it may be displayed in our midst just now, and in the way mentioned here: «I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; that thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness. Shew yourselves.» Come, beloved, after you receive such a message as this from God's mouth, what prison can hold you? What darkness can conceal you? The word of Christ shall break your bonds asunder, and change your darkness into the glory of noonday. May this gracious work be done for any of you. who are prisoners here!

Isaiah 49:10. They shall not hunger nor thirst;

To the woman at the well, Christ said, «Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst.» That is a parallel to this passage:

«They shall not hunger nor thirst; «

Isaiah 49:10. Neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.

Oh, the wondrous sweetness of these exceeding great and precious promises! They are all concerning Christ, you see; undoubtedly, they are given with an eye to us, but yet much more with an eye to him, that he may be glorified in the deliverance and guidance of his people, in the protection of them from danger, and in the abundant provision for the supply of all their needs. It would not be for Christ's honour to let you die of thirst, poor thirsty one; it would not glorify him to lead you where there were no springs of water. Be sure, then, that God will always do that which will glorify his Son, and he will therefore deal well with you for his sake.

Isaiah 49:11. And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted. Behold, these shall come from far and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.

From far-away China, they must come to Christ; the result of his death is not left to haphazard. Some say that his death did something or other, which, somehow or other, will benefit somebody or other; but we never speak: in that indefinite way. We know that Christ, by his death, did eternally redeem his people, and we are quite sure that he will have all those for whom he laid down the ransom price. He died with a clear intent, a definite purpose; and for the joy that was set before him, he «endured the cross, despising the shame.» «He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.» The divine intent and purpose of the death of Christ cannot possibly be frustrated. He reigneth from the tree, and he shall win and conquer world without end.

Isaiah 49:13. Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.

How? Why, by the very coming of Christ, by his birth at Bethlehem, and all the blessings which come with the Incarnate God, his afflicted ones are consoled, and all his people are divinely comforted. Shall we not, then, rejoice in Christ, who is himself so full of joy that he teaches the very heavens to sing, and the mountains to break forth into praise?

Isaiah 49:14. But Zion said,

Hear the lament of the poor Jewish Church, like a castaway left all alone,

Isaiah 49:14. The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.

When we are glad In the Lord, and are singing out our heart's joy, there is pretty sure to be someone or other who sorrowfully sighs,» The Lord hath forsaken me.» People say that there never was a feast so well furnished but that somebody went away unsatisfied; but God will not have it so at his festivals; and hence, the rest of the chapter shows how the Lord comforted this poor Zion, whose lamentation and mourning he had heard. Notice how he begins:

Isaiah 49:15. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb?

«Can a woman» the tenderer parent of the two, «forget her child,» her own child, her feeble little child that still depends upon her for its nutriment and life, «her sucking child,»

Isaiah 49:15. Yea, they may forget,

It is just possible; there have been such monstrosities: «they may forget,»

Isaiah 49:15. Yet will I not forget thee.

«Yet, saith the Lord, should nature change,

And mothers monsters prove,

Sion still dwells upon the heart Of everlasting love.»

How that gracious assurance should comfort the little handful, the «remnant weak and small» of God's people among the Jews! How it should also comfort any of God's servants who are under a cloud, and who have lost for a while the enjoyment of his presence!

Isaiah 49:16. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands;

Where they must be seen, and where he can do nothing without touching his people while doing it. When a name is engraven on the hand with which a man works, that name goes into his work, and leaves its impress on the work.

Isaiah 49:16. Thy walls are continually before me. Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee.

Jerusalem, the very Jerusalem that is in Palestine, shall be rebuilt. God will remember her walls, and the Church of God in Israel shall yet rise from that sad low estate in which it has been these many centuries; and all God's cast-down ones shall be comforted, and his churches, that seem to be left to die, shall be raised up again, for our God is no changeling. His heart does not come and go towards the sons of men.

«Whom once he loves, he never leaves,

But loves them to the end.»

Isaiah 49:18. Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee.

What are all converted Gentiles doing, after all, but coming to the one Church? It is no longer a matter of Jew or Gentile, but all who believe are one in Christ Jesus. Let poor Zion rejoice that she herself is enriched by the conversion of these far-off sinners of the Gentiles.

Isaiah 49:18. As I live, saith the LORD, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth.

Converts are the garments of the church, her bridal array, her ornaments and her jewels. I wish that all churches thought so; but many of them think that gorgeous architecture, the garnishing of the material building in which they meet, and the sound of sweet music, and the smell of fragrant incense and choice flowers, make up the dignity and glory of a church; but they do no such thing. Converts are the true glory of a church: «Thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament; and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth.»

Isaiah 49:19. For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away. The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other,

The children of thy childlessness, so it runs, the children of thy widowhood. It was strange that she should have children then; it is not so among in m, but it is so with the Church of God: «The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other,»

Isaiah 49:20. Shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell. Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been? Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders. And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet;

I have heard this passage quoted as a reason why there should be a State Church, that kings should nourish the Church, Henry VIII., for instance, and George IV. It was poor milk, I am sure, that they ever gave the Church of God. Yet I have no objection whatever to this text being carried out to the full, ay, to the very letter, only mind where the kings are to be put. What place does the verse say that they are to occupy? «They shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet.» There is no headship of the Church here, nothing of that sort; the kings are to be at the feet of the Church, and that is what the State ought to do, submit itself to God, and obey his commands, and give full liberty to the preaching of the gospel. This is all that the true Church of Christ asks, and all she can ever fairly take if she is loyal to her Lord.

Isaiah 49:23. And thou shalt know that I am the LORD.

«Jehovah.» «Thou shalt understand the greatness of thy God, his infiniteness, his majesty, his all-sufficiency. ‘Thou shalt know that I am the I AM.'»

Isaiah 49:23. For they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.

Glory be to his holy name, none that wait for him shall ever have cause to be ashamed; may we all be of that blessed number, for Christ's sake! Amen.