Isaiah 54:1

Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud. Thou that did not travail with child, for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, says the Lord. Enlarge the place of your tent and let them stretch forth the curtains of thy habitation. Spare not; lengthen thy cords and straighten thy stakes. For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left, and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles and make the desolate cities inhabited. Fear not, for you shall not be ashamed, neither shall you be confounded. For you shall not be put to shame; you shall forget the shame of thy youth and shall not remember the reproach of thy widowhood anymore. For thy maker is thine husband, the Lord of hosts is his name, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. The God of the whole earth shall he be called.

Father, as we look into your word, we pray that you would give us wisdom and understanding. We thank you, Lord, that you are that wisdom that is from above. You speak your wisdom through your word to us, desiring first that we know you, know your nature and your will. Lord, also that we would be those who are followers of you, serving you and shining your light to a dark world. God, prepare us for that. Every single day when we wake up, we go out into a world that is against you, contrary to your word. We are to stand and shine brightly. God, I pray that you would transform us by the renewing of our minds as we look into your word tonight. For we ask this in Jesus' name, and all God's people agreed, saying, Amen. You can be seated.

In ancient Israel, barrenness was looked upon as a shame and carried by a woman as a great disgrace. To be barren among the children of Israel was truly disgraceful. Be that as it may, as we come here to chapter 54, the shame and disgrace of barrenness is seen being turned into joy and rejoicing.

As God pictures Israel's exile to Babylon as shame, specifically the shame of barrenness, He speaks prophetically about bringing them back. They would receive temporary wrath from Him because of their sin, but they would also receive enduring kindness from His hand. We see this reflected in Jesus Christ as well. All of these punishments are similar to those that were poured out upon Christ—temporary wrath upon Him so that you and I would receive enduring kindness.

The children of Israel, as we know from the end of chapter 39 of Isaiah, would go into Babylon because of their sin. They would misunderstand the judgment that came upon them, thinking that God was arbitrarily punishing them, being angry with them, and forsaking them. Yet, He has told them repeatedly in the last several chapters that this is due to their own sin. They have sold themselves into slavery, and because of their iniquity, they are separated from their God.

The period of time in Babylon is depicted as that of a barren woman. However, God speaks about how He will revive the barren woman. "Sing, O barren," He says, "and you that did not bear, break forth into singing and cry aloud, you that did not travail with child. For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife." The rejoicing and joy that will come upon them will result from an abundant offspring. Those who were once barren in the city of Jerusalem are seen as that barren place as the people are taken into exile.

God speaks of a future time when there will be great fruitfulness. It will be so fruitful, as stated in verse 2, that they will need to enlarge the place of their tent and stretch forth the curtains of their habitations. They should not spare or hold back. If we were to express this in modern language, it would be like saying to remodel the house and build a second story because they will be so abundant in offspring. They will be rejoicing and will not even know what to do. Therefore, they should enlarge the place of their dwelling, lengthen the cords, and strengthen the stakes. For they shall break forth on the right hand and on the left, and their seed shall inherit the Gentiles, as God said. He is now speaking to Judah and to Jerusalem.

That they would go into exile under Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians. But then, when they would return, God says, "I'm going to cause you to be fruitful in the land once again. You're going to break forth on the right, and you're going to break forth on the left. Your seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and you're going to take the lands of those that dwell around you. Your borders are going to be extended, and desolate cities will be inhabited."

When Jerusalem was taken and all the cities of the nation of Judah were destroyed by the armies of Babylon, they were completely devastated and left desolate. There was hardly anything that remained. For seventy years, while they were exiled there, everything just kind of remained broken down and fallow. Then, when they returned, God says, "You're going to make the land sprout forth once again."

This destruction would come another time after the Babylonian invasion. We know that in 70 A.D., the children of Israel had their temple destroyed by the Romans, specifically in August of 70 A.D. by Titus, the general of Rome. However, it wouldn't be for another fifty years or so that the whole nation would be left desolate. The Romans came in because the Jews, around 120 A.D., rose up against the Romans once again in what was called the Bar Kokhba Revolt. The Romans were so angry about this that they salted the land, destroyed all the cities, and expelled the people from the land once again. For 1,900 years, the land was left desolate.

Until the late 1890s, when the Zionists started to return to the land of Israel, Eretz Israel. They began to cultivate the land, purchasing their own land—what they received from God as an inheritance. They began to buy it from those people who were living there and cultivate the land once again. Now, after they became a nation officially on May 14, 1948, we see, 63 years later, the land sprouting and blooming in such a wonderful way.

God causes the revival of the barren. Isaiah envisions this restoration of his people, which will reach far beyond the borders of old. This has not fully come to pass yet. When it talks about them inheriting the Gentiles and making the desolate cities inhabited, it looks forward to a future time when God will fulfill this in His kingdom and His reign. What comfort this would have been to the people who were looking forward to the exile in Babylon.

They know, based on the prophecy of God through Isaiah, that although they were in the land of Judah around the 690s BC, they are certain they will end up in Babylon as exiles and that their land will be destroyed. How do you comfort someone who is looking forward to that kind of suffering, persecution, and tribulation? The only way to encourage or comfort that person is for them to recognize the blessing that will come after that—the future blessing that is sure and secure. These things will most certainly come to pass.

It would be as if someone were to tell you that tomorrow you are going to lose your job, and about six weeks after that, you will lose your home. You will lose everything that you have. Then they say, "But just, you know, be encouraged." You might respond, "Well, how am I going to be encouraged?" They would then tell you what is going to come after that. After a year, you will receive a job making ten times what you make right now, and you will experience an increase tenfold compared to what you ever had before. In that case, you could look through the tribulation and the difficulty, and you could be comforted and encouraged.

We believers in Christ have a far greater promise than the children of Israel did when they were looking forward to the Babylonian invasion. Yes, God did prophesy that they would return to the promised land, that they would re-inherit Judah, and that they would rebuild Jerusalem, but that is just a temporal kingdom. God has given you and me a promise that is far greater. He has given us what Abraham, our father by faith, looked forward to. Abraham looked for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. That is what we look forward to as well.

Yes, we may experience suffering in this world; we may go through trials and tribulation, but we have this sure and secure promise of a kingdom created for us by our Lord—a heavenly kingdom. A city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. The Apostle Paul in the New Testament had this kind of hope. Turn in your Bibles to Romans chapter 8, just quickly. Romans 8, at verse 18, Paul says, "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us." Paul would go through suffering. If you follow his journey in the Book of Acts and consider his writings and letters, you will see this hope reflected throughout.

He went through hard times. He was beaten with rods, whipped, shipwrecked, and imprisoned. He faced all kinds of challenges that none of us have ever suffered for the name of Jesus Christ. Yet, he looked at those things and said, "These sufferings are not even worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us."

So much did Paul have this sure and steadfast assurance of future glory that he would say to the church at Philippi in Philippians 1:21, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." I wonder, are we living like that right now? There are people in our church and in our nation going through very difficult times. The economic conditions in our nation are hard, with all kinds of heavy burdens. Yet, are we living with that expectation, that understanding that to live is Christ and to die is gain?

As we will see in the passage before us tonight, no weapon formed against us shall prosper. Do we have that assurance? God has prophetically spoken to us time and time again throughout the Scriptures about what is coming—beyond tribulation, beyond suffering—the salvation that is secured for us in Christ. As a result, we ought to be, and the church ought to be, the most joyful crowd of people on the face of the earth today. The world ought to look upon us and wonder, "Why are you so joyful? Wipe that smile off your face." That should be the response.

Unfortunately, a lot of times, we don't reflect that joy in our countenance. I was reading a sermon from Charles Spurgeon a number of years ago, and he basically said that when you speak of heaven, let your face shine with the glory of the sun. But when you speak about hell, your normal everyday face will do. It is sad that this is a reality at times; we walk around as those who are despairing, discouraged, and downcast. Yet, we are the only ones with an absolute expectation of coming good.

The children of Israel had an absolute expectation that they would return to the land, but it was a temporal blessing, not an eternal one. When we read about these expectations they had regarding a temporal blessing, we need to remember that we have an eternal promise from our Lord.

Through the ultimate Redeemer, Jesus, we Gentiles become joint heirs of this eternal kingdom. We are, in fact, as the New Testament reveals, His inheritance. That's an amazing thing. You might think, "Man, He didn't get much of an inheritance if we are His inheritance." But it's a joy to Him that He has received us as His inheritance.

In verses 1 through 3 of Isaiah 54, we see this word spoken about God reviving the barren. Now, in verses 4 and 5, we see a picture of God remarrying the widow. Verse 4 states, "Fear not, for thou shalt not be ashamed, neither be thou confounded. For thou shalt not be put to shame, for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood anymore. For your Maker is your husband. The Lord of hosts is His name, and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. The God of the whole earth shall He be called."

Verses such as the one we see here in verse 4 are always a blessing to me. God's exhortations to be encouraged are not vain platitudes. When He says, "Fear not" or "Be courageous," it's not just empty words. Rather, He gives us the foundation upon which we can build our strength. He says, "Fear not." Why? How can I stand in courage? Well, number one, for you shall not be ashamed. God says, "I want you to be courageous because you're not going to be ashamed."

If you were to look at the word "ashamed" in the original language, you would find that it could also be translated as "you will not be disappointed." You will not be disappointed. Why? Because God will not delay. Yes, there are times when we wonder, "Where is He? Is He going to show up?" Have you ever been in that position before, wondering, "God, are you going to show up? Are you going to help me out here?"

I think John the Baptist was in that position when he was in prison just before his execution. He was wondering, "Where are you, Lord? I expected that you were going to be the one to save Israel, and here I am, about to be beheaded. Where are you?" There are those times when we wonder if He will show up.

It is important for us to remember that although He is seldom early, God is never late. He shows up at just the right time, and we will not be ashamed. He says, "Don't be afraid." Why? Because you will not be ashamed. You are not going to be disappointed because He will not delay. Neither be confounded; that word confounded could also mean neither be humiliated. It literally means do not be wounded by humiliation. For you shall not be put to shame, He says. You will not be embarrassed, as the Lord speaks there.

Now, the third time, those who trust in the Lord will not be ashamed for doing so. They will not be abashed or embarrassed for doing so. He tells them furthermore that you shall forget the shame of your youth, and you will not remember your reproach. It is interesting that in Isaiah chapter 54, verse 4, Isaiah uses five different Hebrew words, which all express shame, to make it very clear that God's vindication far exceeds anything we could ever secure for ourselves. We could try to defend ourselves; we could try to stand up for ourselves, and it would never be as good as when He stands up on our behalf.

What does that mean? It means that we ought to wait for Him to be our vindication. It is always the temptation of our flesh to defend ourselves, to stand up and fight for ourselves. We are told in our culture and society that we have to fight for our rights. But that is not what the kingdom calls for. The Lord says, "I want you to be weak and wait for My strength." When we do that, we find that He always shows up with a mighty arm of strength.

It is so hard for our flesh to wait, though. We want to do something, especially men. We often try to find a way to fix things right now. How many of you men here tonight have fumbled things really badly by trying to find a way to fix it? God puts you in a fix to fix you, and you try to fix it, so He has to put you in another fix to fix the fix that He wanted to fix in the first place. That is a riddle for you to contemplate later.

He speaks here of the reproach of their widowhood. In verses 1 through 3, He talks about their barrenness.

Now He talks about their widowhood. He would revive their barrenness. In verses 1 through 3, He is going to remarry the widow. You see, barrenness was a shame and a disgrace in ancient Israel, but widowhood was a humiliating reproach. The context of this is the widow of a young woman who is without child. Notice that He says, "You will not remember the reproach of your youth, the reproach of your widowhood." The idea is of a young girl who has not yet had children and has been widowed.

The perfect illustration of this is in the Book of Ruth. How many of you have read Ruth? Both of Naomi's daughters-in-law lost their husbands before they were able to have children. Why is that such a humiliating reproach? To many in Israel, if you were widowed at a young age, the law stated that one of the brothers of your husband was to take you as his wife and produce an heir for his deceased brother. However, in the case of Ruth, there were no other brothers. There were no other men in the family. So, who would step in? It was a reproach; it was a humiliation.

What does God say? In verse 5, He states, "For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is His name, and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel." What is this speaking about when it says, "Your Maker is your husband"? The idea is that God will be your kinsman-redeemer. Think back to the Book of Ruth once again. Ruth comes back with Naomi from her home country of Moab after her husband had died. She is a young woman left without children as a widow. She returns to the land of Israel, back to Bethlehem, and there ultimately comes the kinsman-redeemer, Boaz, who is a picture and a type of Christ.

Here is the picture that God gives to us: He says, "I’m going to revive your barrenness," as stated in verses 1 through 3, "and then I’m going to be the kinsman-redeemer to you." Although you will no longer remember the reproach of your widowhood as in your youth, I will step in, I will stand in, I will be the kinsman-redeemer.

Continuing on to verse 6, "For the Lord has called you as a woman forsaken, and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when you have refused," says your God. "For a small moment I have forsaken you."

But with great mercies will I gather you. In a little wrath, I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer. In verses 1 through 3, He spoke to the revival of the barren. In verses 4 and 5, He speaks of removing the reproach of the widow, but now He speaks about the forsaken wife restored. For the Lord has called you, He says.

Pastor Mike McIntosh, his son Jonathan, and Jonathan's wife Sarah wrote a song a number of years ago called "For the Lord Has Called You." The song simply repeats the line, "For the Lord has called you to be in His kingdom." The next line of the song is the response to that. What do we do in response when we realize the Lord has called us? The next line says, "And I will stand up and shout, and I will praise You, Lord Jesus. And I will stand up and sing, and I will thank You, Lord Jesus. And I will stand up and shout, and I will praise You on high." That is the right response when we recognize that God has called us.

Although we may have been barren in past times, although we were widowed, and although we now feel forsaken, when we read about the forsaken bride, the forsaken wife in verses 6 through 8, we need to understand a little bit about the Jewish marriage custom in ancient Israel to really grasp the idea. When a girl was still fairly young, she would be betrothed to a man. A contract would be drawn up between the two families stating that this daughter of mine is going to be given to this man in marriage.

About a year before they would officially be married, they would enter into a formal engagement period. For all intents and purposes, as the law viewed it, they were married, although they were not able to consummate the marriage and did not live together. During that time, if it was found that the girl had been unfaithful or impure, the man could still give a bill of divorcement, and she would be considered forsaken or rejected.

Now, in the Gospel of Matthew,

We know that Mary was almost put away by Joseph in this fashion. In Matthew 1, verse 19, it says that because Joseph was a just man, he didn't want a great reproach to come upon Mary. Remember, she was found with child, and everybody would have thought, "Man, this girl has been unfaithful." Never had a virgin conceived before; it just didn't fit.

Joseph considered putting her away privately until the angel of the Lord came to him in a dream and told him what was really going on. He was about to exercise the right he had to give her a bill of divorcement, but she would have been considered forsaken and rejected, which would have been humiliating. It was a shameful thing among the ancient children of Israel to be barren, and humiliating to be a widow. The picture here is one of absolute disgrace: put away and rejected because of impurity.

God, because of their infidelity, put Israel away. We have already considered that. Back in chapter 49, they said, "The Lord has forsaken us." God asked them, "Where is the bill of your divorcement? You have sold yourselves. You have been unfaithful with your idols." God says, "I have put you away because of your infidelity, because of your idolatry."

But now we read here that the Lord says, "For a moment, I have forsaken you, but with great mercies will I gather you." Yes, for a moment, God says, "I did put you away because of your unfaithfulness. But with great mercies, I will receive you to myself once again." It is indeed great mercy—awesome mercy—that God still brought His people, the children of Israel, out of their captivity in Babylon. He would have had every right under the law to set them apart, to destroy them, to punish them. Yet, with great mercy, He received them back to Himself once again.

But what about us? Have we not tonight received great mercy from the Lord? We are deserving of all wrath, deserving of all punishment, and yet He cries out to us and extends great mercy. "I hid my face," He says. Because of God's wrath, He hid His face from His unfaithful people. But now He promises...

To give them everlasting kindness, verse 9 states, "For this is as the waters of Noah unto me. For as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should be no more over the earth, or go no more over the earth, so I have sworn that I should not be angry or wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee. Neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord, that has mercy on thee."

In verses 9 and 10, we see temporary wrath but enduring kindness. Just as the floodwaters of Genesis were temporary, God's wrath upon His people would also be for just a time. The waters of the flood receded, and God's wrath would also withdraw from His people. However, He says that although the floodwaters receded, we know that mountains will not recede. Mountains are strong and enduring. In verse 10, it states that the mountains will depart and the hills will be removed, but God's kindness shall not depart from us.

Every time you think that the Lord has maybe departed from you or that He has removed His kindness from you, I want you to go outside your house and look at the hills around us here in Escondido. Think that even if those hills are torn from their place, and even if they withdraw from where they are, like the waters of the flood receded, God's kindness is still everlasting. His kindness shall not depart from you. Not only that, neither shall the covenant of His peace be removed, says the Lord that has mercy upon you.

In verse 11, it says, "O thou afflicted, tossed with a tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. I will make thy windows agates, and thy gates carbuncles, and all thy borders as pleasant stones." God speaks to His afflicted, to those tossed to and fro by the storm, to those who were not comforted. He calls to them, who as a result of their sin were in this condition, and He now promises to rebuild their waste places. He says, "You will be rebuilt. I will lay your stones."

I will lay the foundation. I will set the windows. I will set the gates. Every campaign season, we have politicians who regularly promise far more than they can deliver. Often, their campaign promises prove to be empty words a short time after they're elected. They say, "I will do this, and I will do that, and I will cast off this, and I'll get rid of that." But they always seem to fail.

God's promises, however, are different. In 2 Corinthians 1, verse 20, we read that all the promises of God are yes and amen unto the glory of God by us. God's promises are yes and amen. He will bring them to pass. Even though the people of Jerusalem and the nation of Judah would be ripped out of their nation, taken captive by the Babylonians, and their nation sacked and destroyed, God says, "I will bring you back."

When I bring you back, although you have been barren, widowed, and forsaken, and you stand as rejected, unlovely, and destroyed, God says, "I will be the one that restores you, and I will rebuild you with beauty and with strength." How many of us have that for a testimony tonight? We were barren, we were forsaken, we were widowed, and we stood as rejected and unlovely, thinking no one would ever want us. Yet the Lord comes and says, "I want you for my possession, I want you for my inheritance, and I will rebuild the waste places. I will rebuild you with strength and with beauty."

That is a glorious testimony that every Christian has. Our testimony does not have to be filled with all kinds of devastating things, like, "Well, I was a drug dealer, and I killed somebody, and I was in prison, and then I came to the Lord." It doesn't have to be that way. Every single one of us was rejected, barren, widowed, lost, and unlovely—dead in trespasses and sins. But God, in His great mercy, because He loved us, died for us to redeem us back to Himself.

The picture is beautifully seen throughout the Old Testament, illustrated through the nation of Israel. The principles are in the New Testament, while the pictures that illustrate the principles are found in the Old Testament. And so He says, "You will be rebuilt." In verse 13, it states, "Your children will be at rest, and all thy children shall be taught of the Lord."

And great shall be the peace of thy children. No longer shall you be barren, but not only will you not be barren; all of your children, the Lord says, will be taught by the Lord, and your peace will be great. It will be enduring. Great peace, or perfect peace, is granted to all of those who trust in the Lord.

Turn back again to Isaiah chapter 26, one of my many favorite verses in Isaiah. Isaiah 26, verse 3 states, "You will keep Him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee because He trusts in You." God will hold, sustain, and maintain that person in perfect peace. If you look at it in the Hebrew, it's "shalom, shalom." Peace, peace. Words are repeated for emphasis in Hebrew. God says, "I will hold you in a place of perfect peace as your mind is set and stayed upon Me because you trust in Me."

Now, if it's true that God will keep us in a place of perfect peace if we trust in Him, what do you think the logical exhortation is? Look at verse 4 of Isaiah 26: "Trust ye in the Lord forever." If it is true that He will keep you in a place of perfect peace if you trust in Him, then trust in the Lord forever. For in the Lord, Jehovah, is everlasting strength.

Ultimately, this promise given in Isaiah chapter 54, verse 13, about the children being taught by the Lord and having an everlasting peace, will be fulfilled during the millennial reign of Christ. Turn back to Isaiah chapter 2. The first four verses of Isaiah chapter 2 specifically look at that time when the Lord is ruling and reigning upon the earth at a yet future time.

Look at what it says in verse 3: "And many people, not just the children of Israel, but many people, all nations, shall go and say, 'Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and He will teach us His ways, and we will walk in His paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.'"

In that yet future time, when the Lord is ruling and reigning, He will be teaching people there from Jerusalem.

And what will be the result in the world? In verse 4, it states, "He shall judge among the nations and shall rebuke many people. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore." There will be a time when God is personally teaching the nations, and there will be an enduring peace.

Verse 13 is most clearly fulfilled in the millennial reign. It says, "You will be rebuilt and your children will be at rest." In verses 14 through 17, it continues, "Your enemies will be ruined. Righteousness shall be established at that time, and that shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear. From terror, for it shall not come upon you or near you. Behold, they surely shall gather together, but not by me. Whosoever shall gather together against you shall fall for your sake."

Furthermore, it states, "Behold, I have created the smith that blows the coals in the fire and that brings forth an instrument for his work. I have created the waster or the spoiler to destroy. No weapon formed against you shall prosper or succeed, and every tongue that rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me," says the Lord.

God promises that at that yet future time, His people shall be established in righteousness. That which is established in righteousness must be founded upon righteousness. The only right and righteous foundation is Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 11, Paul states, "For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." He is the only sure, steadfast, right, and righteous foundation.

If you are founded upon that righteous rock, if you are founded upon the Lord, then you will be far from oppression. You will have no need to be afraid because no terror will come against you. No terror will be able to succeed against you. Surely, they will gather; surely, the enemy will gather against you.

When you are founded upon that righteous rock, which is Jesus Christ, enemies will definitely gather against you, but not because the Lord assembled them. Notice what He says there: "Behold, verse 15, surely they shall gather, but not by me." What does He mean by that?

Well, back in Isaiah chapter 10, you may remember that God told the people of Judah and Jerusalem, "I have called the Assyrians against you. They are the rod for correction in my hand. They're going to come against you to be my tool to punish you." We've also seen this speaking about the Babylonians. God says, "I'm going to whistle to them from a far country. I'm going to lift up the banner on the hilltops, and they're going to come with speed against you." The Babylonians came, just like the Assyrians came, to bring judgment upon the people of Judah.

The Romans, when they destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD, why did they come? If you read through Matthew chapter 24 and Luke 17 through 19, you find that they came because the children of Israel rejected the Messiah when He came. So it was a punishment; it was the result of their wickedness.

But God says, when you are founded upon righteousness and the enemy gathers against you, it's not because the Lord has called them against you; it's because that enemy hates the Lord. They will gather together, but when they gather against you, they are going to fall. Why? For your sake. They are going to fall before you. They gather together against the Lord's anointed.

In Psalm chapter 2, we read in verse 1, "Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed, saying, 'Let us break their bands asunder; let us cast away their cords from us.'"

But He that sits in the heavens—who sits in the heavens? Remember, heaven is His throne and earth is His footstool. Jesus, He who sits in the heavens, what is His mindset? What is His perspective when the enemy comes against Him?

Now, I want you to think about it in this context. What's our perspective generally when the enemy comes against us? We're fearful. But here's the thing: if we are founded upon the rock, we have no reason to fear. Because notice what Psalm 2, verse 4 says: "He that sits in the heavens..."

When the enemy comes against Him, He laughs. I love that. I think that might be the only time in the Scriptures where you see God laugh—the mirth of God. What does He chuckle at? When the enemy comes against Him and His anointed. And you and I, in Christ, we are His anointed.

Although it causes us to be fearful and to quake, if we're founded upon the rock, we need to gain the right perspective. He that sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have them in derision. In the New Living Translation, it says, "But the one who rules in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them when they come against Him."

God says, "I have created the smith." God is the one who formed the blacksmith—the blacksmith who forms the weapons. He was created by God and was given his insight and wisdom by God. The one who utilizes those weapons, God calls him the spoiler. Both of these individuals were created by God. The implication is that He who made them is greater than them, and we need to have that understanding. God is greater than any enemy that comes against us, even our greatest enemy, our adversary, the devil.

We wrongly think that the devil is the equal opposite of God, meaning that he is the yin and yang principle. You have the good and almighty powerful God, and then you have the wicked and almighty evil devil. No, that's not the way it is. He is a created being, and so we ought not fear him. The smith and the spoiler are created by God. Ultimately, they are under Him.

He says no weapon formed by them will be able to succeed or prosper. But then He says something very, very important. This is the heritage of who? What's it say? This is the heritage of those that are the servants of the Lord. They who serve the Lord stand in possession of these powerful promises. These are not just blanket statements of blessing to all people; this is only for those who serve the Lord.

To those who are the servants and followers of the Lord, the reason they can stand without fear when the enemy comes against them is found in the very last statement of verse 17: "Their righteousness is of me" or "Their righteousness is from me." If we stood in our own righteousness, we would have every reason to fear the enemy when he comes against us. If we were relying on our own goodness when the enemy approaches like a flood, speaking all kinds of accusations against us, then we would fail. We would fall. But we are not standing in our own righteousness, are we? We stand in the righteousness of the Lord.

Isaiah 61:10 states, "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord my God. My soul shall be joyful in my God." Why? Because He has clothed me with the garments of salvation and covered me with the robe of righteousness. I greatly rejoice in the Lord because He has given me His righteousness.

Jeremiah 23:6 tells us, "In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell in safety." This is the name whereby He shall be called: "The Lord our righteousness." We do not stand in our own righteousness.

In Romans 3:22, the Apostle Paul says, "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith in Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe." Who receives the righteousness of God? Those who believe, for there is no difference.

2 Corinthians 5:21 is perhaps my favorite verse in the whole Bible: "For He has made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Christ." Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin for us so that we would receive the righteousness of God in Christ.

Philippians 3:9 states, "And being found in Him, not having my own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." Romans 3:22 tells us that it is righteousness that we receive by faith. Philippians 3:9 reiterates that it is righteousness we receive by faith, not by our own works.

This is the heritage, the inheritance of those who serve the Lord—who stand not in their own righteousness but in the righteousness of Christ. Isaiah 55:1 shows God, through His prophet, calling to the people: "Ho! Everyone that thirsteth."

Come ye to the waters, and he that has no money, come ye, buy and eat. Yea, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do you spend your money on that which is not bread, and you labor for that which satisfies not? Hearken diligently unto me and eat that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness, says the Lord.

The word translated "Ho!" at the beginning of verse 1 is the Hebrew word "oy," which means alas. Listen up, He says; hear what I have to say. God shouts to His people, "Listen up!" As they turn to Him and listen, He says, "If you thirst, come to Me." Where else? What does that remind us of?

Remember John chapter 7, on the last and great day of the feast, when Jesus stood in the midst of all the people gathered there on the Temple Mount? It was the very last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. Alfred Edersheim, in his book on the life and times of Jesus the Messiah, talks about the Feast of Tabernacles and the custom of the Jews in Jerusalem. It's a beautiful picture. It was a seven-day feast that they observed, and all the people would sleep in tabernacles outside so their children would look up at the stars.

We just celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles, and the children would ask, "Dad, why are we sleeping out under the stars?" The parents would respond, "Well, our forefathers, when they traveled through the wilderness, slept under the stars." They would tell all the stories about how God brought them out of Egypt; they tabernacled in the wilderness.

On every single day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Edersheim describes how there would be this great parade of people, a procession from the Temple Mount down to the Pool of Siloam. There would be a crowd of people on the Temple Mount, and a whole crowd of people lining the way down to the Pool of Siloam. They would all be rejoicing and shouting as the priests went from the Temple Mount to the Pool of Siloam.

The priests would take up water in silver pitchers and carry the water back up to the Temple Mount, pouring it out on the Temple Mount. The sign of the old times, their remembrance, was that God provided water for them while they wandered in the wilderness. So, they were bringing water up and pouring it out on the Temple Mount. On the last day, the great day of the feast, everybody would be silent.

The priests would go in a silent procession from the Temple Mount down to the Pool of Siloam. They would act as though they were taking up water, but they would take no water. Then, they would go back up to the Temple Mount and turn the pitchers upside down, revealing that they had no water.

What was this meant to remember? It was a remembrance that when they came into the Promised Land, they no longer needed God to provide water out of the rocks. They had entered a land that flowed with milk and honey. It was at that moment, in this solemn assembly, that Jesus stood up with a loud voice and said, "Ho! If anyone thirsts, let him come unto me and drink. He that believes on me, as the Scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow forth rivers of living water."

If the Jerusalem Post had been around 2,000 years ago, I guarantee that would have been the lead headline the following day: "Crazy Nazarene Rabbi Interrupts the Feast of Tabernacles." "If any man thirsts, let him come unto me."

When we read Isaiah 55, verse 1, our minds should immediately go to Jesus. Why? Because He is the only one who quenches thirst. Jesus answered her in John 4, verse 10, "If you knew the gift of God and who it was that says unto you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked, and He would have given you living water." I love that. He shows her that she is ignorant of two things: if she knew the gift of God and who it was speaking to her, she would have asked of Him, and He would have given her living water.

I love that study, but it's for another day. I can't go there right now. In Matthew 5, verse 6, it says, "Blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness." Why? Because they shall be filled. Everyone that thirsts, Jesus says, "Come to the waters." What waters? The living waters—Jesus. Come to the waters.

And He that has no money—you don't have to have money for it. The call goes out to everyone. Notice that: everyone that thirsts, He calls out to. Of course, there are those who don't recognize their thirst. Some, when they hear Him say, "Hey, everyone that thirsts, come to me," respond, "Well, I don't need Him." But those who do recognize their thirst and come to Him will find that nothing will be withheld from them.

He that has no money, come and buy and eat. How do you buy without money? You just come. He that has no money, come, buy and eat. Yea, come buy wine and milk without money, without price. Why do you spend your money on that which is not bread? Man labors and labors for things that ultimately cannot satisfy or save. He's weary and ready to faint, spending his energy, time, and all of his efforts on things that are ultimately worthless.

So what does God say? Hearken diligently, or listen up, you weary laborer. Listen to me. The Hebrew word "shema" means to hear and then to take notice of what you're hearing, to listen, and then to act, to obey. Shema. Hear and eat and delight, He says. It's important to hear God's word, but it only works effectually in us when we consume it, when we make it a part of our lives.

There are people in our nation constantly hearing the word of God. Maybe they're flipping through the channels and stumble upon our TV show, or they come across David Jeremiah on a Sunday morning. They might be going through the radio dial and hear Chuck Smith, John Corson, or Greg Laurie on 107.9. They hear God's word, and yet it's ineffectual in them. Why? Because they do not hearken diligently. They do not eat it. They do not eat that which is good. Instead, they consume all kinds of things, eating entertainment non-stop.

Our nation is given to consuming entertainment like no other nation at no other time in all of history. It only really becomes effectual when you consume it. It becomes a part of our being, and then we begin to delight in it. Hearken diligently unto me. Eat that which is good and let your soul delight itself in fatness.

Now, there are a lot of things that our flesh can delight itself in in this world, and many men are content to be fleshly satisfied. The enemy will produce all manner of things for you to satisfy the flesh, but there's only one thing...

That satisfies the soul is the word of God. Let your soul delight itself in fatness. We must eat that which is good, and that requires discernment. We've got to choose good things to put into our lives. As Paul says in Philippians chapter 4, "Whatever is good, whatever is wholesome, whatever is lovely, think on those things." And the result? The peace of God will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Many simply eat whatever spiritual meat is set before them without taking care to see that it is good. And so God, through His prophet, says in verse 3, "Incline your ear and come unto me and hear that your soul shall live, and I'll make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David."

If you're in a crowd of dozens of people and there are conversations going on all around you, there's this cacophony, this mixture of just noise. Perhaps you can discern little bits of information from different people around you, but when someone calls your name—when they say, "Chris" or "Eric"—you incline your ear. To bend your ear is literally what this word means in the Hebrew language. You bend your ear to hear, to shema, to listen, to obey.

And that's what God is saying to people: "I want you to bend your ear to me to recognize that I'm speaking to you." You respond, "Okay, you're speaking to me." And now God wants you to hear what He is saying. You might say, "Yeah, I hear what you're saying," but God wants you to listen. Discern what it is that God is speaking and now act upon it. Do it. Be not just a hearer of the word, but a doer also.

If you will do that, what will happen? Your soul shall live. Your soul shall live. Now, we need physical food to sustain our flesh, to sustain our bodies. If we really want our souls to live eternally and spiritually, we need the word of God. We need to delight in the word of God. Not only will our soul live, but God says, "I'll make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David." A covenant characterized by mercy.

God made a covenant with His people under the law. How many of you want to live under a covenant of law? I'd much rather have a covenant of mercy. The sure mercies...

David was a man after God's own heart, a great man of God, yet he was still a sinful man. I am very thankful that God chose to reveal David's shortcomings in the Scriptures for us, lest we think that we could not be like him. Much to David's shock and chagrin, all of his sins are written down in a book that we still study thousands of years later. But I am thankful for it because it reminds us that even sinful men can be men after God's own heart.

Why was David a man after God's own heart? Why did he obtain great mercies, the sure mercies of David? Why, when he should have received punishment like King Saul, did he receive mercy? Well, because he inclined his heart to the Lord and offered obedience over sacrifice. He heard, he listened, he obeyed. Saul didn't do that. There is a beautiful contrast between the kings, Saul and David. Both were sinful men. One was accepted, and one was rejected. One was quick to offer physical sacrifice, Saul; the other was ready to render obedience. Obedience is better than sacrifice, and Samuel told Saul that, but he didn't get it. In 1 Samuel chapter 15, he didn't understand it, and so he was rejected. The kingdom was torn from his hand.

If we, too, incline our hearts to the Lord, we will receive mercy also. Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and a commander to the people. There is discussion among commentators; they often disagree about who the "him" is in verse 4. I believe it is one of two characters: either David, and the context seems to speak that it is David, or it is the son of David, Jesus. David was evidence to the people; he was a witness to the people of God's mercy. Deserving of punishment, yet God gave him mercy.

However, Jesus is most perfectly the evidence of God's mercy. He witnesses to us the mercy of God like no other because God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might receive the righteousness of Christ. He most perfectly fulfills the position of leader and commander. Behold.

Verse 5 states, "You shall call a nation that you know not, and nations that know not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified thee." Here, either David or King David is in view. The New Living Translation reveals, "You also will command the nations, and they will come running to obey, because the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, has made you glorious."

In verse 6, we are encouraged to seek the Lord while he may be found. This is a great exhortation that we give to the world today: seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near. Now is the day of salvation—today. Turn to him while there is still time, because there is coming a time when the wrath of God will be poured out upon the earth, and it will be too late to turn to him for mercy.

Let the wicked forsake his way. If you want to turn to the Lord and come near to him, then the wicked must forsake their current path. Let the unrighteous man forsake his thoughts; he must turn from his wicked thoughts and return unto the Lord. That is repentance. And what will happen? He will have mercy upon him, just as he had mercy upon David.

Think of the passage in 2 Samuel where David sins with Bathsheba. God should have destroyed him. Yet, when his sin is exposed, what does he do? He cries out, "Oh God, against you and you alone have I sinned and done this wickedness." He comes to God, saying, "I need your mercy." Read Psalm 51 when you get home tonight. God promises that he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, he will abundantly pardon.

God says to the wicked and the unrighteous, "Turn to the Lord, repent, and I will have mercy upon you; I will abundantly pardon you." This concept is antithetical to our mindset and totally against our way of thinking. When someone wrongs you or does something wicked, everything in us cries out for wrath, vengeance, and destruction. Imagine the most wicked acts, such as someone killing your child. Our instinct is to demand punishment.

Yet, if that person comes to you and pleads for forgiveness and mercy, everything in us wants to retaliate. But God says, "You have been wicked, you have been unrighteous. Repent, turn to me, and I will have mercy upon you; I will abundantly pardon you."

And we say this is so far from our thinking. Why is it far from our thinking? Well, look at verse 8. For my thoughts, says the Lord, are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways, saith the Lord. And boy, am I thankful that that is true. If God were like you and me, He would not have mercy and abundantly pardon after all the things we've done. And yet He says, "Repent, turn to me." Why? My thoughts aren't like your thoughts; my ways are not like your ways.

Then He describes His thoughts and ways in contrast to ours. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. I don't think like you; I don't act like you. Praise the Lord! We should rejoice daily that God is not like us.

For as the rain comes down and the snow from heaven and returns not there, but waters the earth and makes it to bring forth bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word go forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please. It shall prosper in the thing whereto I send it.

God gives us an illustration. He says, "You see the rain come down from the heavens. The snow covers the land. It waters the land, and as it waters the land, it causes the land to bring forth abundantly, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater." In the very same way that the water waters the earth and causes this growth, God says, "My word, like water, goes forth out of my mouth. And it will accomplish what I sent it forth to do." Just like the rain covers and brings forth fruit, my word will go forth. It will not return unto me void. It will accomplish that which I please. It will prosper.

What a great promise we have here! God says, "My word will prosper where it goes." Now, if that's the case, what part do we play in this? Who are we? If His word is like the water covering the earth, like the rain, what part do we play? We're the clouds. We're to carry the water to this world and faithfully give it forth freely, knowing that it will not return void.

Interestingly, in both the book of Jude and in Peter's second letter, he says that false teachers...

are like clouds without water. They don't have the sweet Word of God. And so we're just to faithfully take forth the Word. Now, read verse 12 with that in mind. You and I are like clouds bringing forth water, which is the Word of God to this world.

For you, church, shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace. As you go out, go into all the world and make disciples, Jesus said. As you go out, what's the response? The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Imagine a land that is drought-ridden, that hasn't seen rain for months. The trees, the fields, and the clouds come and pour out the water. You can almost imagine the trees and the plants of the field clapping their hands and rejoicing as the water pours out upon them.

And so you, church, shall go forth with joy and be led forth with peace, and the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing. On a few occasions in my time serving the Lord over the last 11 years or so, I've had the opportunity to teach Bible studies at various places where they're not receiving the Word of God. There is this abundant joy when dry and weary peoples receive the Word of God.

I remember one occasion a few years back when I was in Germany. I was asked to go and teach at a small worship conference for about 30 or 40 youth that were a part of the German YMCA. The German YMCA is still a Christian organization, and they were having a worship conference. They were in a choir that was traveling around Germany and singing in different places. I went and taught a very simple Bible study; it was basically just a devotion.

Because I had a translator, the teaching, which would have taken about 15 minutes, ended up taking about 30 to 40 minutes. After I left, I drove home with my friend Toby, who was my translator, on a two-hour drive back to Ziegen, where I was living at the time in Germany. When I got home, there was an email already waiting for me. I opened up my email, and it was from the director.

Of this conference, he said the kids were blown away. No one has ever taught them the Bible sentence by sentence, is what he said. They want you to come back. There is this desire in the dry and weary lands for the word of God.

I was talking to Roberto today about the trip to Brazil, and he said everywhere we went, they just wanted the word. "For you shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace, and the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree."

What's the result when the word goes forth? No longer thorns. Thorns, of course, are the result of what? Sin? Genesis chapter 3. So when you go forth bringing the word, there will be fruit—no more the thorn, but the fir tree. Instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle tree, and it shall be to the Lord for a name. It will be to His name, glory to His name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

God says, "I don't think like you think, and my word will be effectual." So He says, "Go forth with joy, be led forth with peace, bring forth the word." This great and awesome gospel that we've been given. Although we've been barren, God has revived us. Although we are forsaken, He has restored us. Although we were widowed, He has remarried us, redeemed us as the kinsman redeemer.

And yes, His wrath was poured out on the children of Israel, but for a time that everlasting kindness would come. His wrath was poured on Jesus for a moment that we would receive everlasting kindness and mercy—the sure mercies of David, if we will repent and turn to Him.

Let's stand and pray. God, Your word is so good. It is sweeter than the honey in the honeycomb. Lord, we thank You that Your word is perfect, converting the soul. God, we thank You.

That you have given us Your Word freely and desire that we would freely bring it to others. Lord, help us to be faithful like the clouds, just carrying the water to the dry land. Your Word is perfect; Your testimony is sure, making wise the simple. Your statutes are right, rejoicing our hearts. Your commandment is pure, enlightening our eyes.

Lord, Your fear is clean, enduring forever. Your judgments are true and righteous altogether. Help us to desire them more than gold, because they are sweeter than honey in the honeycomb. Teach us, Lord, to not only hear Your Word, but to eat it, to delight in its fatness, that our souls would be revived and strengthened.

We praise You in Jesus' name. Amen.