Hear these inspired words, dear friends, as though they came fresh from heaven, as though God himself spoke them at this moment out of the excellent glory, for indeed he does so. The Word of God never grows old; these messages are just as new as if the ink on the pens of the prophet and the psalmist were not yet dry.
Isaiah 55:1. Ho every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters,
This invitation is not given to you who are full, to you who can satisfy your own needs out of the buckets of your own righteousness. No, the prophet speaks to you thirsty ones, who feel an awful necessity which will not let you rest. Hunger you may appease; but thirst is terrible, none can bear its pangs long. «Ho, every one that thirsteth.» Whatever your age, sex, character, rank, or position in life, if you do but thirst, then the gospel stands with uplifted finger, and cries to you, «Ho!» as do merchants and traders who want to dispose of their wares.
Isaiah 55:1. And he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
In the Lord Jesus Christ there is all you want, and more than you know that you want. As yet you only thirst, but here is bread for your hunger as well as drink for your thirst. Whereas «waters» might seem to satisfy your thirst, here is a superfluity of grace, an exceeding abundance of mercy: «Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.» Christ is as free as the air. As you have only to take in the air by breathing, in order to live by it, so have you only to receive Christ into your soul, and you live by him. As flows old Father Thames through the green meadows, and every dog may come and lap, and every ox may stand knee-deep in the stream, for there is none to keep even an animal away, so is it with Christ: «Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.»
Isaiah 55:2. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread?
Why are you so busy about your ceremonies, your work mongering, your feelings, none of which can yield food for your soul? Come to Christ, and buy without money the Bread of Life which came down from heaven.
Isaiah 55:2. And your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
If we will but hear the gospel, and attentively hear it, «faith cometh by hearing,» and that faith leads us to Jesus Christ, and in him we find that which is substantial, solid, the very thing we need. We find in Christ all that is super-excellent, so that our soul delights itself in fatness. I have no lean Christ to preach to you, no half-starved salvation that will drag you into heaven, and save you «so as by fire.» But in coming to Christ, you are invited to «let your soul delight itself in fatness.» A Christian cannot be too happy; «the joy of the Lord» is beyond all description. You must taste it to prove its sweetness. As honey among the sweets, such is the joy of the Lord among joys; yea, as the sun and the lesser lights in the sky, such is the joy of Christ compared with all other delights that men can ever know. «Let your soul delight itself in fatness.»
Isaiah 55:3. Incline your ear,
You know what that means; bend forward, to catch the faintest utterance of the voice that is speaking.
Isaiah 55:3. And come ‘unto me; hear, and your soul shall live;
We do not live by sight; all the pretty things that you can see in a Romish place of worship will not save a single soul. The preaching of the gospel is God's way of salvation: «Hear, and your soul shall live.» Christ rides into the City of Mansoul through Ear-gate. Take heed what ye hear, and take heed how ye hear.
Isaiah 55:3. And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
Think of God making a covenant with you; this is a very wonderful thing. You may almost leap for joy at the thought that God should ever enter into covenant with you. You think very little of yourself, and reckon yourself to be amongst the most obscure of mankind; «yet,» says the Lord God, «I will strike hands with you, and be your Friend, and pledge my word to you; ay, and make a covenant with you, and an everlasting covenant it shall be, too. Surely, blessing, I will bless thee.» Oh, what a wonder of divine grace it is that God should enter into covenant with sinful man! «Even the sure mercies of David.» You know what David this is; this is the Son of David, the inheritor of great David's name, «great David's greater Son.»
Isaiah 55:4. Beheld, I have given him. for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.
Jesus Christ is a witness to you of his Father's love. I do not knew how God could show his love more fully than he does in the life and death of his Son, Jesus Christ. Christ is the great witness of the Father's love. Behold how he loves his people in that he gives his Son to die for them! Will you not clasp hands with God across this great sacrifice of his only-begotten Son? Let us do so now again as we have often done before. «I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.» If he leads, let us follow; if he commands, let us obey. His command is, that we are to believe in his name, and to be baptized in his name; let us not be disobedient to any part of his holy will. Now comes a promise made to our great Leader, our Covenant Head
Isaiah 55:5. Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.
That is, Jehovah has glorified Christ. It is promised that multitudes shall come to him. «Thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not.» He never saw you in his house before, he never knew you to fall on your knees in prayer, but he is calling even you by his grace and by his gospel. You are here tonight, and he is calling you, even yen; therefore, come to him at Once. There are some here who do not know Christ Jesus our Lord, they are strangers to his love and to his power to save, but the promise is that «nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee.» That implies speed, it is a double quick march. Oh, that many sinners would at once run to Christ! Some who often hear the gospel are very slow in coming to Christ; but I pray that some of you who do not know as much of it as they do may run to Christ at once, and be saved by him. It is a blessed thing to take Christ at the first time of asking. Love to Christ at first sight is the wisest kind of love that can be. May it be largely bestowed on many of you! Listen to these next words
Isaiah 55:6-7. Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:Llet the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Hear the music of the glorious message, «he will have mercy,» «he will abundantly pardon.» Return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon you, he will abundantly pardon you.
Isaiah 55:8-9. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways, my ways saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Perhaps you are thinking that he cannot forgive you, that he cannot possibly mean that he will blot out your sins; but he does mean it, ay, and he is willing to do it now. Oh, that you would come to your pardoning God, through Jesus Christ his dear Son!
Isaiah 55:10-13. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
Now let us read the 136 th Psalm.
This exposition consisted of readings from Isaiah 55:1, and Psalms 136:1