Isaiah 49:1-3. 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; and said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
Our Lord became, by his incarnation,-by his very birth so marvelous and mysterious, He became that servant of Jehovah by whom God would be glorified. He was, as it were, hidden away, like a sword in its master's scabbard,-concealed and protected, like an arrow hidden in its owner's quiver,-until the time came for God to use him, and then God did use him both as a sharp sword and as a polished shaft.
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.
The Jews, as a nation, were not gathered unto Christ, the highly favoured people, as a whole, did not believe in him. He was expressly sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, yet John was obliged to write, «He came unto is own and his own received him not.» So few became his personal followers that it really appeared as if his life-work had been a failure; but he did what all God's true servants must do, he referred his work to the Lord. He said, «Surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work (or, my record) with my God.» If we are faithful, that is all that our gracious Master requires of us; we are none of us bound to be successful. If we bear our sincere testimony to the truth, and everybody rejects it, our reward will be none the less in the day when the Lord calls us to give as account of our stewardship. If you, my brother or my sister, are loyal to him whose servant you are, when your Lord comes again, he will say to you, «Well done, thou good and faithful servant:.... enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.»
Isaiah 49:5-6. 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. 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.
Though Jesus seemed to fall with the Jews, he has succeeded in a far greater measure with the Gentiles, for great multitudes of them have gladly accepted him as their Saviour.
Isaiah 49:7-8. Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, 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. Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee:
Jehovah will bless his Anointed, he will accomplish his great purposes of love and mercy through him.
Isaiah 49:8-9. 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, Show yourselves.
This is Christ's work today, to call out the forgotten ones who are hidden away in the oubliettes, of the Bastille of Despair. He comes and calls them, «Go forth,.... show yourselves;» and at his bidding they appear, even as Lazarus came forth from the grave at his command. Now listen; this is what becomes of those who come out of sin's prison at Christ's call. They become his sheep:-
Isaiah 49:9. They shall feed in the ways,-
On their way to the one great fold on the hill-tops of glory, they shall find suitable and sufficient pasture: «They shall feed in the ways,»-
Isaiah 49:9-10. And their pastures shall be in all high places. They shall not hunger nor thirst; 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.
Now recall those verses from the Revelation that we read just now, and note what blessings the good Shepherd has prepared for his sheep even while they are upon this earth.
Isaiah 49:11-13. And I will make all my mountain, 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. Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people,
Well may heavens and earth and mountains sing when they have such a theme for their songs as this,
Isaiah 49:13-14. And will have mercy upon his afflicted. But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.
Zion said so, but it was not true; hear what the Lord says:-
Isaiah 49:15-16. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands;
However unnatural an earthly mother may prove, God will never forsake or forget one of his children.
«'Yet,' saith the Lord, should nature change
And mothers monsters prove,
Sion still dwells upon the heart of everlasting love.'»
Isaiah 49:16-21. Thy walls are continually before me. Thy children shall make haste, thy destroyer and they that make thee waste shall go forth of thee. Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all that gather themselves together, and come to thee. 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. 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, 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?
Oh, that we might often have such a glad surprise as this, and be made to marvel at the Lord's gracious dealings with us!
Isaiah 49:22-26. 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, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me. Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children. And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.
The enemies of the Lord's people are his enemies too, and he will overthrow them in his own good time, and make the whole world know that he is their Saviour and Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.
This exposition consisted of readings from Revelation 7:9-17; and Isaiah 49:1.