CHRIST A MIGHTY SAVIOUR
Isaiah 63:1. Mighty to save.
Our subject is the all-sufficiency of Christ to save. Four points expressed or implied—
I. The obstacles to our salvation were very great, arising from the nature and dominion of sin. None but an Almighty Redeemer was equal to the task. The ends to be accomplished every way worthy of the instrumentality employed. There are obstacles arising—
1. From the law and government of God.
2. Out of the state and frame of our own minds, considered as guilty wanderers.
3. From the world in which we live.
4. From Satanic influence. Hence it is evident we need the interposition of One who is able to meet all the ruin entailed by sin, and to accomplish all the objects necessary to deliver alike from its bondage and condemnation.
II. The redemption accomplished by Christ is very glorious, commensurate to the entire exigencies of the case. Judge of the benevolence of the object in connection with—
1. The dignity and essential glory of His nature. He blends the extremes of being in His own person, &c.
2. The provocations of those He came to redeem.
3. His deep and solitary sufferings.
4. The glory of the conquest He obtained.
5. The great principle involved in it, “I that speak in righteousness.”
III. The encouragement to seek this great salvation wrought out by Christ is very ample. His willingness is commensurate with His ability. Remember this at all times.
IV. The danger of rejecting this salvation is very imminent.—Samuel Thodey.
I. That the ruined condition of man required a mighty Saviour. II. That Christ is mighty to save. He is Divine. Became incarnate that He might suffer, &c. The design of His mission was to save (1 John 5:11; Isaiah 28:16; Matthew 1:21; Matthew 3:17). He has done all that is necessary to save man (2 Corinthians 8:9; Philippians 2:7-8; Hebrews 9:24). His power to save is founded on the efficacy of His atonement (Romans 1:4; Matthew 28:18). He is “mighty to save,” from—
1. The law’s curse (Galatians 3:13; Acts 13:39).
2. The defilement of sin (Luke 13:1; 1 John 1:9).
3. The power and malice of Satan (Colossians 1:13).
4. The consequences of sin, the fear and sting of death, the dominion of the grave, and the wrath to come.
5. Includes elevation to glory—body raised, &c. III. What is necessary to realise His saving power.
1. A deep conviction of ruin—that we are ready to perish.
2. A knowledge of Christ as the mighty Saviour. Sense of need. Approval of the method in which He saves.
3. The renouncement of all self-dependence, faith, &c. (Acts 20:21; Ephesians 1:13). Conclusion. Encouragement to the despairing sinner. How important that all should seek and secure salvation. How great the danger of those who reject it.—Helps for the Pulpit, First Series, p. 157.
Isaiah 63:3. The solitariness of Christ’s sufferings.
There is always a certain degree of solitude about a great mind. This, beyond all others, characteristic of the mind of Christ. He was profoundly alone. The measureless inferiority of all other minds to His. His solitariness relates to His entire life and earthly experience, but especially His sorrows. Not simply as being propitiatory, or of unexampled severity, but that there were connected with the nature of this mysterious sufferer certain conditions which rendered His sorrows such as no other of our race could endure, &c.
I. All His sorrows and sufferings were, long ere their actual occurrence, clearly and fully foreseen. II. They were the sorrows of an infinitely pure and perfect mind. The mind that is cast in the finest mould is ever the most susceptible of suffering. Jesus had a capability of suffering, &c., such as no soul of man besides ever felt, &c. III. It was the sorrow of a Creator amid His ruined works. Practical reflections—
1. Gratitude for His marvellous self-devotion on our behalf.
2. Warning to the careless. What more awful intimation could be conveyed to us of the evil of sin, and of the infatuation of those who are indifferent to its fatal consequences, than in the grief and sorrow of Jesus?
3. The strongest encouragement to every penitent to rely on the Saviour’s love.—John Caird, M.A.: The Penny Pulpit, Nos. 1925, 1926.
Isaiah 63:4-5. I. The helpless condition of man. II. The gracious interposition of the Redeemer. III. The sufficiency of His qualifications.
Isaiah 63:6. I. What are we to understand by the anger and fury of the Redeemer? II. Who have reason to apprehend it? III. The impossibility of escape.
Isaiah 63:7-14. I. God’s loving-kindness to His people. He acknowledges them. Sympathises with them. Sustains them. Chastises them in mercy. When they inquire after Him restores His favours. II. The duty of making mention of it. With exultation—praise—gratitude.—J. Lyth, D.D. (See C. H. Spurgeon: Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, No. 1126.)
Isaiah 63:7. Thanksgiving. I. An acknowledgment of great blessings received by the House of Israel.
1. National mercies.
2. Mercies to the Christian Church. 3. Individual mercies. II. An acknowledgment that all these blessings were undeserved. III. A resolve openly and fully to acknowledge the goodness of God. Not to be thankful is inhuman. Not to be openly thankful is unchristian. True love for God will lead us to seek to glorify Him by a public acknowledgment of His goodness. Thus we shall bless our follow-men.—R. A. B.
Isaiah 63:7. I. The loving-kindness of God.
1. Free and sovereign.
2. Rich and varied.
3. Constant and perpetual. II. Its claim upon our acknowledgment. Open. Thankful. Consistent. Exultant. Unwearying.
Isaiah 63:8. I. God’s anticipations. II. Kindness. III. Disappointment. IV. Unparalleled mercy.
I. What God does for His people. II. What He expects from them.—J. Lyth, D.D.