Tonight we shall read that precious chapter of gospel invitation, the fifty-fifth of Isaiah, which, I hope, you all know by heart.
Isaiah 55:1. Ho, every one that thirsteth,
God would have the attention of sinners; he calls for it. Are not sinners eager for God? Oh, no! It is God who is eager for sinners; and so he calleth
«Ho!» Men pass by with their ears full of the world's tumult; and God calleth, again and again, «Ho! Ho!» Be you rich or poor, learned or illiterate, if you are in need, and specially if you feel your need, «Ho, every one that thirsteth.»
Isaiah 55:1. Come ye to the waters,
There are only in one place waters that can quench your thirst; and God calls you that way: «Come ye to the waters.»
Isaiah 55:1. And he that hath no money;
Water is a thing that is sold, not given away, in the East; and he that needs it, must buy it. But he who buys of God, has nothing to pay: «He that hath no money.»
Isaiah 55:1. Come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
See how God's good things grow as we look at them. The first invitation was, «Come ye to the waters;» the next was, «Eat;» but this one speaks of «wine and milk.» Our first idea of the gospel is very simple, it is water for our thirst. Soon we find that it is food for our hunger. Presently we discover it to be wine for our delight, and milk for our perpetual sustenance. There is everything in Christ; and you want him. Come and have him. There is no other preparation needed but that you feel your need of him.
«This he gives you;
‘Tis his Spirit's rising beam.»
What a cheering verse this is to begin with!
Isaiah 55:2. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not?
If you spend your money for that which is not bread, you are likely to be disappointed. «Oh, but,» you say, «I have made many an effort.» Yes, I know you have; but, if you labour for «that which satisfieth not», I do not wonder that you are not satisfied. Let your past defeats drive you to your God. If you have failed hitherto, so much the more reason why you should listen to the Lord's message. He says to you,-
Isaiah 55:2. Hearken diligently unto me,
Salvation comes through the ear, more than through the eye. Hearken;
hearken; hearken diligently, with both your ears, with all your heart,
hearken unto your God.
Isaiah 55:2. And eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
If we will hear, and will believe, we shall be satisfied; we shall be delighted; we shall be overjoyed. The Lord can take our thirst away, and give instead a delight in fatness.
Isaiah 55:3. Incline your ear,
Hold it near the mouth of the gracious Speaker. Be willing to hear what God has to say. Take out that wool of prejudice that has prevented you from hearkening to God's voice: «Incline your ear.»
Isaiah 55:3. And come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
«When thus you live, I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I am not the God of the dead, but of the living; and when once, through hearing the divine Word, you have come to life, I will be your God.»
Isaiah 55:4. Behold, I have given him
One greater than David, even the Beloved of the Lord, the Only-begotten, the Messiah Prince, the King of kings, even Jesus.
Isaiah 55:4. For a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.
God did not give us an angel to lead us, but he gave us his Son; and he did not merely give us his Son to be an example, but to die for us, to bleed to death on our behalf, to be our Substitute, dying in our place and stead. «I have given him.» This is the greatest wonder that ever was. «God so loved the world that he gave his Only-begotten Son;» not, «God so loved the saintly; God so loved the earnest; God so loved the moral;» but «the world», the common-place, sinful world; he so loved those who lay dead in trespasses and sins «that he gave his Only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.» And the Father, in giving his Son, gives him a promise:-
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.
So, brethren, the gospel must succeed. Christ must have whole nations to come to him; they must come; they shall come; for God has glorified his Son, and he glorifies him in this among other ways, in bringing nations to his feet. The gospel is no experiment; there is not a question as to its success. There may be dark days just now, and our hearts may sink as we look around; but the Father will keep his promise to the Son, and that encourages us to look up in the darkest hour. This fact, which is more than a promise, will never be altered, «He hath glorified thee.»
Isaiah 55:6. Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
Oh, may the Holy Spirit make every word I read to be effectual with you! God himself speaks to you tonight, out of a Book which not only was inspired, but is inspired; and he says tonight, freshly from his own lip to you that have not rest of heart, «Seek ye the LORD while he may be found.» He may be found; therefore seek him. «Call ye upon him while he is near.» He is near; therefore call upon him.
Isaiah 55:7. Let the wicked forsake his way,
Do not let him wait till he has finished this thing, or done the other, or till he has so much to bring in his hand. Let him run away from his old master, and from his old way, and from his old self at once. May God help him so to do!
Isaiah 55:7. And the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God,
Whom we love, and in whom we trust, and who has pardoned us: «to our God.»
Isaiah 55:7. For he will abundantly pardon.
The marginal reading is, «He will multiply to pardon.» He will pardon, and pardon, and pardon, and pardon, and pardon, and pardon, ad infinitum. Enormous as the sin may be, God's pardon shall suffice to put it all away. Is this message too hard for you to believe? Oh, broken heart! does this divine truth seem to you to be too good to be true? Oh, trembling one! does it seem impossible that the righteous God can cast all your sins behind his back, and drown them in the depths of the sea? Listen still to our Lord's gracious words
Isaiah 55:9-11. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 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.
God's Word is not ineffectual. If thou wilt hear it, it will bless thee. When God sends snow and rain, they go not back again. The earth receives them; they sink into her pores; they refresh her secret life. Receive thou, O black heart, the Word of God, as the earth receives the snow! O thou dry heart, receive thou the Word as the dry ground receives the shower. It shall not go back again; it shall sink into thine inmost soul; it shall save thee. God can save thee. Believe it; receive his Word into thy heart, and it shall save thee. Mark who you are, who are spoken to in the first and second verses, you who are thirsty, you who have no money, you who have laboured, and are disappointed with the fruit of your toil.
Isaiah 55:12. For ye shall go out with joy,
You poor people who are invited to come to the waters, you who have nothing of your own, «Ye shall go out with joy.»
Isaiah 55:12. And be led forth with peace:
To some places you can «go» by yourselves; to others you must be «led»; but in either case you shall have «joy» and «peace.»
Isaiah 55:12. The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing,
They do not look like singing, do they? They look as if their only music would be the howling of the wild winds about their brow, or the roaring of the wild beasts along their sides; but for you, for you, ye thirsty ones, they shall break forth into singing.
Isaiah 55:12. And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Trees seem to have little sympathy with weary hearts; but when weary heads find peace with God in Christ, as I trust some will tonight, then even the trees of the field seem to be in harmony with man, and they clap their hands in jubilant exultation.
Isaiah 55:13. 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,
Yes, it shall make God's name great when you are converted; for you will talk about what the Lord has done for your soul, and that will bring God fame: «It shall be to the LORD for a name.»
Isaiah 55:13. For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
O ye that thirst, O ye hungry, O ye unsatisfied, may the reading of this Word be blessed to you tonight! Amen.