Isaiah 54:1-17

The precious promises, contained in this chapter, belong in the first place to the Church of God; but, as that which belongs to the Church, really belongs to every member of it, we shall not be acting dishonestly with the Scripture if we, who are believers, personally take home to ourselves every drop of comfort that we can find here.

Isaiah 54:1. Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child:

Sing, even though thou art barren. Do not postpone thy song until God's promise is fulfilled unto thee; but sing even whilst thou art desolate and forlorn, and let faith pitch the key-note. Let me, therefore, entreat any of you, who are disconsolate and sad, to give heed to the words of the prophet, and even now begin to sing. Give to God songs in the night; imitate the nightingale, and sing though not a star is to be seen.

Isaiah 54:1. For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.

After all, we who have the deepest sorrow have the highest joy, and if we are sometimes desolate, we need not wish to change with those who always keep the even tenor of their way. If we have great downs, we also have great ups; if the valleys be deep, blessed be God the hills are high, and the view from their summits is glorious. Let us be thankful even if our lot is a hard one, if we are the Lord's, «for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord.»

Isaiah 54:2. Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

This is another act of faith; not only singing before the mercy comes, but getting ready to receive it before it is in sight, stretching the curtains and the cords in order to have room to house the blessing which has not yet arrived. Carnal reason says, «When we have the children, we will enlarge the tent; when we have gathered the congregation, we will build a house of prayer;» but faith says, «I will enlarge my heart that it may be able to take in the blessing which is sure to come. I will be big with expectation. I will open my mouth wide, not when I see the blessing, but before I see it, that God may place the blessing in my open, empty mouth.» May the Lord graciously give us enlarged expectations; for, according to our faith, so shall it be unto us!

Isaiah 54:4. Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.

Here is a third line for faith to run upon, namely, that of courage. Before you are strong, before you have been lifted up out of your weakness, be of good courage, and fear not; for, if you walk by faith, and trust in the Lord with all your heart, you shall never have any cause to be ashamed of having done so. The Lord will always honour your faith because your faith honours him. Be of good cheer, for you shall yet have good reason to rejoice; and all those days, that you are now ashamed to think of, in which you lived without God, and without Christ, your days of sad and terrible widowhood, shall be so completely surpassed by the abundance of mercy which you shall receive from the Lord, that you shall not remember them any more.

Isaiah 54:5. For thy maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.

Oh, how blessed it is that Jehovah, Israel's God, the Lord of hosts, is the God of the whole earth; so that we poor Gentiles may come and hide under the shadow of his wings; and what a joy it is to all believers that this great God has united us in the sacred bonds of marriage with himself! «Thy Maker is thine Husband.» Oh, what bountiful provision will such a Husband make for us! How well will he comfort us! How abundantly will he bless us! So let our hearts be glad in him.

Isaiah 54:6. For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.

Some of you know what it is to have had your affections betrayed, and your hearts broken by unfaithful friends. Now the Lord calls you to come close to himself, that you may prove his faithfulness, and so forget your past sorrows in your present and future joy.

Isaiah 54:7. For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.

These choice words do not need any explanation, this blessed plaster only needs to be applied to the wounded heart, and it will heal it at once. If the Lord will but speak these sentences into our souls, so that we may know that they are really meant for us, our rapture will be complete. Let me read these verses again: «For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith Jehovah thy Redeemer,» thy God, thy next of kin, thine Advocate and Champion. What a blessed name is this, and what a wonderful combination is this, Jehovah, thy next of kin!

Isaiah 54:9. For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed;

There is nothing really stable about them; all things that are visible must melt and flow away.

Isaiah 54:10. But my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee.

What gracious words are these! What majesty there is in such consoling sentences as these! They remind us of Mr. Paxton Hood's lines,

«All his words are music, though they make me weep, Infinitely tender, infinitely deep.»

Isaiah 54:11. O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted,

Where art thou? Hast thou come in here to seek the consolation thou canst not find anywhere else? Then see how God lays himself out to comfort thee; he has put into human language the true sympathy for thee that he feels in his heart; and again he says to thee, «O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted,»

Isaiah 54:11. Behold, I will lay thy stone, with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.

Thou shalt have done with the rough tossing of the troubled sea; and thou shalt come to land, to a royal city which hath foundations of sapphire, to a king's palace where even the stones shall be stained with rich vermilion such as only princes use in their costly buildings: «I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.»

Isaiah 54:12. And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.

See what riches belong to the Church of the living God; and, as I have already reminded you, everything that belongs to the Church belongs to every member of it. So we expect to see our Lord's face through a window of agate, and to go through a gate of carbuncle to meet him in the place of communion, which shall itself be enriched with all manner of precious stones. Yes, and everything that has to do with us, even the very «borders» of our life shall be laid with «pleasant stones.» Happy are all ye who are the favorites of heaven, the beloved of the Lord. Blessed are ye even in your basket and your store; blessed in the common things of your life, as well as in the choicest parts of your Christian experience.

Isaiah 54:13. And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD;

Our children are often our greatest care. We ask, «How shall they be educated? Where shall we place our boys and our girls?» Put them under the care of God; for, as Elihu said to Job, «Who teacheth like him?»

Isaiah 54:13. And great shall be the peace of thy children. In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.

The man who has the fear of God within his heart need have no fear of anybody else.

«Fear him ye saints, and you will then Have nothing else to fear;

Make you his service your delight.

He'll make your wants his care.»

Isaiah 54:15. Behold, they shall surely gather together,

You will have enemies, even if you lead the most blameless life that can be lived; for the absolutely blameless One had many cruel enemies who hounded him to death.

Isaiah 54:15. But not by me:

God is not with them, for he is on your side.

Isaiah 54:15. Whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.

Oh, how often, and how mysteriously, and how terribly God has smitten the enemies of his people! The hand of the Lord has gone out against them as it went out against Sennacherib and his host, in the days of good king Hezekiah.

Isaiah 54:16. Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

Even over the most wicked and the most powerful of men, there is the supremacy of God; and deep and mysterious though the doctrine is, yet divine predestination applies even to such sinners as Judas Iscariot, and the vilest of the vile in all times; and herein is our confidence, that God is greater than death, and the devil, and hell, he is supreme above all the malice and craft and cruelty of the worst and the greatest of men.

Isaiah 54:17. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper;

«No weapon» of any kind however cunningly made, or however deftly handled, «no weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper;»

Isaiah 54:17. And every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.

The tongue that worst of weapons, whose wicked words are sharper than swords, is like a condemned criminal.

Isaiah 54:17. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,

Did I not rightly say that these precious promises belong not only to the whole Church of God as a body, but also to each individual member of that Church?

Isaiah 54:17. And their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

If, then, your righteousness is found in God, in God you shall find everything else that you need for time and for eternity. God grant this unto each one of us, for his dear name's sake! Amen.