In this chapter, God encourages his Church by a promise of the visitation of his Spirit. Oh, that it may be fulfilled to us also!
Isaiah 44:1-3. 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, Jesurun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:
That is exactly what we need. Oh, that God would thus revive his Church! A little while ago, you saw the earth become dry and brown and bare, the very pastures were chapped and parched, and opened their mouths to cry for rain. What could we have done if the clouds had still withheld their nourishment? But at last down came the refreshing showers, and all the face of nature was revived. What we have had upon our fields, we need upon our churches; nothing will do for our souls but a visitation of the Spirit. Let us pray for it. Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly rain, pour out thy life-giving treasures upon thirsty souls even as the floods have been poured out upon the dry ground. Here is a divine promise, let us plead it: «I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring.»
Isaiah 44:4. And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.
You must often have noticed how you can trace the course of a brook by the willow trees that grow upon its banks. When you cannot see the brook from a distance, you can see the willows. So, wherever the Spirit of God comes, young people are converted, we see our children growing up in God's fear, and we know that this is the result of the Spirit's working.
Isaiah 44:5-6. One shall say, I am the LORD'S; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the LORD, and surname himself by the name of Israel. 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.
This is spoken in the Lord's usual majestic style; does it not remind you of the words of our Lord Jesus as recorded in the Book of the Revelation? «I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.» How can he be less than divine who rightly adopts the same style which Jehovah uses in the Prophets: «I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God»?
Isaiah 44:7. 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 shew unto them.
The great God challenges all pretended gods to compete with him, and to show that they have ever prophesied or foretold the future. One of the greatest proofs of the inspiration of Scripture, and that our God is the only living and true God, is that the prophecies hitherto have been literally fulfilled. Go to Bashan, or to Edom, or to Sidon, or to Egypt, and wherever you go, you will see that whatsoever the Lord said concerning the ancient nations and peoples and cities has been carried out to the very letter.
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.
«There is no God» in the world but Jehovah, the one living and true God whom we adore.
Now follows that very wonderful passage descriptive of the making of idols, which we have often read. If there are any of you who worship crosses, and crucifixes, or any other visible objects, please to recollect that God's command is spoken as much to you as to any other idolaters. We may not worship anything that can be seen or handled, for this is the law laid down by God himself: «Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them.» Here, then, is God's description of idol gods
Isaiah 44:9. They that make a graven image are all of them vanity;
They must be very empty-headed and foolish people, or they would not worship a thing which they have graven with their own hands.
Isaiah 44:9. And their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed.
Idolaters are just as wooden and doltish as their idols, or else they would know better than to worship them.
Isaiah 44:10-12. 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. The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers and worketh it with the strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint.
Here is a god-maker, with his tongs, and his coals, and his hammers; yet this god-maker gets hungry and faint! Here comes another.
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.
Fancy a god-maker with his rule and his line, his planes and his compasses! What fine irony there is here.
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 forest is growing stuff to make gods with out of ash, and oak, and cedar, and cypress.
Isaiah 44:15. Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself;
He cuts up part of the tree for fuel, and warms himself with it.
Isaiah 44:15-17. 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, 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.
And have not we seen hundreds of persons adoring a doll, or a little picture said to be a likeness of the virgin, or something of that kind? Ah, me! that even under the garb of Christianity the lowest kind of idolatry should still be common amongst our fellow men; God grant that none of us may ever fall into this deadly evil!
Isaiah 44:18-20. 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:
As madmen will sometimes devour ashes, so surely men who worship things that they have made or bought must be mad: «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?
If thou shalt worship the crucifix, or anything else that is visible, thou art dishonouring thyself, and thou art breaking the law of God. Remember that, «God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.» He will have no similitude. This he abhorreth with his whole heart, and will hold no one guiltless who worships an idol of any kind. Even though the man has reverentially and sincerely bowed before it, he is transgressing against God. These are the false gods; now we shall read of the one true God
Isaiah 44:21. Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee;
«Thou hast not formed me, as these idolaters make their gods; but I have formed thee.»
Isaiah 44:21. Thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me.
God does not forget his people. If you are trusting in him, you may forget him through your infirmity, but because of his infinite love, he will never forget you.
Isaiah 44:22. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud; thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.
First he pardoned their sins, and then he bade them return unto him. What a wonder of mercy this is-free grace removing sin, and then the sweet constraints of gratitude drawing the forgiven sinner near his God!
Isaiah 44:23. Sing, O ye heavens, for the LORD hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.
Pardoned sin is enough to make even the rocks sing; mountains, trees, forests, and even the lower parts of the earth, are made to echo with song when sin is blotted out.
Isaiah 44:24. Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;
God does everything by his own unaided strength. With whom took he counsel when he formed the universe? Who instructed the Ever blessed when he made the heavens and the earth! He did it all by his own wisdom and power.
Isaiah 44:25. That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad: that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish;
This is what he does to those who boast and think that they know better than he does. But simple hearts, that will believe his Word, shall know his will, and shall grow wise unto salvation.
Isaiah 44:26-28. That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof: That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers: That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.
This Book of the prophet Isaiah was written long before the days of Cyrus; yet he is here mentioned by name, and the prophecy of what he would do is here given. We know how completely this prophecy was fulfilled; and the Lord who uttered it, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is our God for ever and ever. He shall be our guide even unto death, blessed be his holy name! Amen.