Tape 1 - Desolation to Restoration (Isa. 35 & 40)

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, I'm glad to see you this morning. Even though the weather's a little inclement. We we've certainly needed the rain

It's almost a deluge, but I noticed some areas of the town are being Evacuated and There is a great amount of water going to be washing down they say but however, we're here

On the little rise and so I suppose that all be well I'm glad that you are here to study with us from the word of the

Lord I want you to turn to me to the book of Isaiah the great prince of the prophets of Israel because what we're going to do this morning is we're going to start a series of These four tremendous chapters, we're going to look at chapter 35 chapter 40 and then go to 53 that wonderful description of the crucifixion of our

Lord and then chapter 55 The reason I want to take these four particular chapters is because one could say that in these four chapters we would have gathered the supreme values of the book of Isaiah all that Isaiah is going to cover and The value of the book and the content and intent

The direction that he's going could be wrapped up in these four particular chapters Of course, there are many things that he would say in the other chapters that we need to read

Excuse me So in the book of Isaiah chapter 35 leads us straight to chapter 40 and Then 40 finds its ultimate in chapter 53 and then 53 finds its result in 55 now chapter 35 is very closely connected with chapter 34

But it stands in startling contrast to it You see chapter 34 the book of Isaiah portrays conditions of the utmost desolation whenever we go to chapter 34

In verse 1 come near you nations to hear and hearken you peoples Let the earth hear and all that is the in therein

The world and all the things that come forth from it for the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations

And then it goes on and begins to discuss the desolation that is going to occur

So it gives us the conditions of the utmost desolation whereas chapter 35 Predicts the most glorious restoration

Now in order to get anything like a wrap right apprehension of the value of these four chapters.

We need to take a a wider outlook Than one would normally take you recall that the book of Isaiah opens if you want to look at me at the book of Isaiah chapter 1

Excuse me In chapter 1 it says the vision of Isaiah the son of Amos Which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah Jotham Ahaz and Hezekiah Kings of Judah now these four kings are named in their proper succession.

It was Uzziah and then Jotham then Ahaz and then Hezekiah ruling over Judah and in the reading of the book we'll find in chapter 6 a

Declaration of the death of Uzziah. So if you'll look at me at chapter 6 it begins it's the the place that we know of the great vision of Isaiah and it says in verse 1 in the year that King Uzziah died

I saw also the Lord sitting upon the throne high and lifted up and his train field the temple in The book itself we find in that the first five chapters we have the notes of Isaiah's ministry during the reign of Uzziah and in chapter 6 verse 1 we have the the

Record of Uzziah's death now in the book itself We have no note of any prophetic utterance during the 16 years that Jotham Occupied the throne and during the reign of Ahaz whose death is recorded in chapter 14 verse 28

If you want to look at that chapter 14 verse 28

It says in the year that King Ahaz died was this burden? So in chapter 14 verse 28

We find the death recorded of Ahaz and then the Prophet here was commanded to cease his public work

When Ahaz refused to listen to the Prophet's voice or to accept the sign offered to him

Then his public ministry came to a close It was an hour when the politicians were attempting to make the nation safe by entering into leagues and pacts and treaties with other nations although God had forbidden them to do so in spite of the admonition of the

Lord and the charge and the command of God the People of God continued to make these pacts and these treaties with other nations

But in doing this the Prophet rebuked Ahaz and he offered a sign to show he had no need of such help

He didn't need these other nations. He didn't need to have some kind of a Armed assistance agreement with them

He didn't have to have some kind of a treaty and pact with them that God would take care of them But on his refusal to accept the sign that the

Prophet was giving him then Isaiah was commanded by the Lord to end his public ministry from that point in the eighth chapter where we find these things recorded up to and including the 27th chapter of the book of Isaiah Then we have the record of the instruction given by the

Prophet to an inner circle of loyal people faithful believers of God Then at chapter 28 we find him breaking out again into public utterance and another hour of political peril and then from there

Up to and including the 35th chapter his ministry was again in public.

So this is sort of a layout Thus far in the book of Isaiah now from chapter 28 to 35

The messages were all until we reached the 35th chapter. They were all messages of denunciation.

They were messages of rebuke They were tremendous messages of Admonition the great prophet of God was speaking the

Word of God to the people of God and he was denouncing them For their disobedience and their rebellion

They were concerned first in 28 to chapter 32 with God's own people from chapter 28 to chapter 32

It dealt with God's people then followed a message in which a Syria which had been oppressing the people was denounced and then in chapter 34 the outlook is widened so as to include the entire world as we read in verse 1

It opens come near you nations to hear and hearken you peoples Let the earth here in the fullness thereof the world and all the things that come forth of it for the

Lord hath indignation against all the nations So the prophets outlook was worldwide and he saw judgment coming upon the whole earth

Because of its corruption and its sin now having uttered this word of severest denunciation He suddenly breaks out into the message of chapter 35.

So the outlook of chapters 34 and 35 is Inclusive and in those two chapters the great principles of the sovereignty of God in action are revealed

His judgments are unveiled before eyes Let us always bear in mind that when we speak of the judgments of God We have to recognize that far more than punishment is included now judgment

Maybe and under certain conditions must be of course punitive but Judgment however in the full sense of the word is government based upon righteousness and expresses itself in justice

And in that sense the judgments of God are revealed in these two chapters We could summarize briefly by simply saying that in chapter 34

It is made very clear that corruption under the government of God must always result in desolation

But because God is God that can never be the final word the final word is always not desolation but the word of restoration

God's ultimate is Restoration so we need to fix our attention then upon chapter 35

Because we recognize the background of conditions which were present to the mind of the Prophet and we can understand when he uttered these

Particular words and that background is revealed in that phrase in chapter 35.

Let's look at it together chapter 35 verse 1 the wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them and the desert shall rejoice and Blossom like the rose

Now it is instinct that word the wilderness and the solitary place Because a marginal reading of this passage would tell us we could translate the parched land

It might be a little more accurate than the solitary place because there were people who were living in those areas

Immediately following that we have another word the desert So we have the wilderness and the parched land or the solitary place and then it talks about the desert

So these things which the Prophet was looking they were literal and they were actually real places But they were pictorial and symbolic as they described the situation of the day

Wilderness parched land and desert now if that's the background of the picture in the foreground

Then we have convinced conditions that are revealed to the opposite in contrast in those words gladness rejoicing blossoming joy and singing glory and Excellency notice what it says the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the rose

It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice even with joy and singing the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it

The excellency of Carmel and Sharon they shall see the glory of the Lord and the excellency of God so we have these

Beautiful and marvelous words of contrast and they're all found close to each other and they mark the startling

Contrast between the wilderness the parched land and the desert and a life which can only be described in those radiant words gladness rejoicing

Blossoming joy and singing glory and excellency now This is always the ultimate visions of the messengers of God to men

These messengers never for a single moment condone sin they deal with sin they don't retract from sin

They don't back away from sin They deal with sin and they don't call it by any other name than that which reveals it's a disastrous failure

It is iniquity It is transgression and rebellion against God But these messengers all of them and always see beyond the gloom of the doom to the glory

They see beyond the wilderness to the blossoming and they hear beyond the dirge of human agony and rebellion to the song of restoration and this is true of all the

Hebrew prophets, although they were rough and rugged magnificent and Daring many times in their invective against wrong.

They place their lives on the line on occasion after occasion But every one of them ends up on the note of restoration and that's equally true when we come to the writings of the

New Testament The Apostle Paul who was always looking with intrepid eyes into the appalling sin of the race and the

Corinthians and all the Paganism that was around him as you also can read in his letter to the

Romans, but he nevertheless Constantly rejoiced in the hope of the glory of God and he saw that the groaning of creation in Romans chapter 8

Moved through travail to emancipation and victory when he says the whole earth groans under the curse of sin

Awaiting the redemption of the body. He never this fact is equally seen in the the teachings of the

Lord Jesus himself He never spared the word of denunciation He renounced sin and he denounced sin, but he said to the city that was central to the economy of God Jerusalem your house is left unto you desolate

But he also said you shall not see me henceforth till you say blessed is he that cometh in the name of the

Lord So he looked through the desolation To the restoration and we could summarize everything that we're saying here by simply declaring that the

Bible shows humanity marching through the wilderness going through desolation Resulting from its own rebellion against God but the march ends in the garden city of God all the beauty of the

Apocalyptic vision and the revelation is the culmination of all of these things so that when we turn

From the generalities about these varying chapters We begin to find that it moves in a very rhythmic

Splendor and it flashes with suggestive beauty that very little in the nature of exposition is needed

It speaks for itself But I want us to break it into a few basic movements in the first two verses you have the affirmation of ultimate

Restoration we just read those two verses now in verse 3 and the first part of verse 4

We hear the call to courage Consequent upon the affirmation that things are going to be restored.

So in verse 3 it says Strengthen the weak hands and confirm the feeble knees say to those who are fearful of heart be strong Fear not and so we have that affirmation and then at the end of verse 4

We have an inclusive declaration that is made as to why one should have courage and as to how the

Restoration is going to be brought about he says Behold your God will come with vengeance

Even God with a recompense he will come and save you and then verses 5 to 10

Give us the process or describes the process whereby the restoration is going to occur

Verse 5 says then the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped

Then shall the lame man leap as an heart and the tongue of the dumb sing For in the wilderness shall waters break out and screams in the desert and the parched ground shall become a pool and the thirsty land

Springs of water in the habitation of jackals where each lay shall be grass with reeds and rushes and a highway shall be there and Away, and it shall be called the way of holiness

The unclean shall not pass over it but it shall be for those the wayfaring men though fools shall not err therein

No lions shall be there nor any ravenous beasts shall go up on Go up there on it shall not be found there but the redeemed shall walk there and the

Ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads

They shall obtain joy and gladness and sorrow and sighing shall flee away

So we have the complete picture here what we have in the first two verses

We have God's promise of ultimate restoration and then in verse 3 in the first part of verse 4

We have a call to courage because he promises that restoration and then from the end of verse 4

We have the declaration as to why we should have courage and how this restoration is going to be brought about and then verses 5

To 10 describes for us the process whereby the restoration will occur So in the opening affirmation of the first two verses the prophet illustrates the restoration by using the realm of nature

We are asked to look at the material earth Now it is perfectly clear that the method was intended to illustrate moral and spiritual values

Although the there was the reality of these things occurring literally and materially and physically it will occur

But they also have moral and spiritual values You see the word wilderness does not mean what it might seem to suggest to many people the

Hebrew word that is Translated wilderness literally means a pasture land So when we talk about a wilderness, we often think of a desert without any vegetation whatsoever

But when you see the the did you do it Judean wilderness? It is not like in the desert It is stepping down to the desert

But it does have vegetation and you see some flocks that go about feeding in the varying areas

So when we talk about wilderness, we think of a desert without any vegetation But the wilderness is really a place of pasturage

But here it is a place in a condition which can only be described as parts that is it affords no pasturage

It should be it ought to be but it has none available So the the affirmation of the

Lord here through the Prophet Isaiah is that the parched pasture land shall be glad You see there is a sense in which it is impossible to prove upon that word glad You the

Hebrew word means brilliant or radiant and we have to kind of look at The context of what the

Prophet is saying to get the real meaning of these particular words Let me say it this way the pasture land that is parched and affords

No pastor is to become brilliant and radiant with beauty And of course, that's gladness

Isaiah in another place says that the ransomed of the Lord shall receive joy and gladness

So it is not difficult to lift this material suggestion on to the highest level and apply it to the spiritual and moral in life

You see the background is the desert and the word indicates the same idea, but it does it in another way

That is it refers to a region of sterility. Now the desert here actually is a desert. It is sterile

It has no life in it. No growth. No blossoming of the flowers No blooming of the trees death is everywhere in the desert

It has a ring of finality to it in death and no life And yet that desert is to rejoice and once again, the

Hebrew word is quite suggestive one almost hesitates to translate it literally because if we do so we have to say literally free reading of the

Hebrew means the Desert shall spin as p .i .n. It shall spin But the idea is that the desert will be seen rotating with life and motion as a matter of fact

That is actually true science Every movement of life is a spinning or whirling movement neutrons and protons and the things that make up matter are all whirling on a constant basis

So the result of that whirling of the life principle is that the desert suddenly breaks forth it begins to bud it begins to Blossom and it does so abundantly and also with joy and singing when we reach the 55th chapter

We shall hear more of this singing of nature because it's accompanied by the clapping hands of the trees

But the Prophet has more to say here he goes on to say you'll notice in verse 2 the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it the

Excellency of Carmel and Sharon. So again, our attention is caught by these words glory and excellency glory

Literally means weight weight w -e -i -g -h -t Weight the idea being that of copiousness of quantity you see in the picture

We see life moving across the desert which had been sterile and that in the copiousness of Lebanon The other word is the word excellency, which perhaps cannot be improved upon very much either

But I would change it a little bit to the word magnificence Magnificence to the glory and the magnificence now mark the next declaration

They shall see the glory which is the same word of Jehovah That is the copiousness of Jehovah and the excellency or as we say the magnificence of our

God That is of Elohim the Godhead as he moves through they shall see the magnificence and the glory of the

Lord as Moses was hit In the cleft of the rock and God placed his hand over him and the glory of the

Lord passed by So the contrast between all this and the descriptions that are found in chapter 34 are quite marked.

Are they not? the year of recompense was portrayed in verse chapter 34 in which the streams were turned into pitch and the dust of Brimstone and it was a description of uttermost desolation when you read chapter 34

And then we turn to chapter 35 and we see the pasture lands which have been sterile They're now radiant with beauty as life begins to move throughout them and the desolation of death answers the movement of life

And all the glory and beauty is that of the life of God and the magnificence is that of his excellency?

the one outstanding truth is That the ultimate glory of restoration is that of the revelation of God in the fulfillment of his own purposes

They shall see the glory of the Lord the excellency of our God now

Friends in the view of that the Prophet cried He goes on to say strengthen ye the weak hands and confirm the feeble knees

Say to them that of a fearful heart be strong fear not that is a call to great courage

The language is extremely simple and yet it's most graphic the hands are weak. The knees are tottering

The heart is quite literally liquid that is it's very unstable and the conditions of fear

Those are those of lack of virility These words certainly describe the condition of many good people in the world today we meet them everywhere we go they cannot talk to us at any length without revealing their almost overwhelming sense of the appalling condition of the things in the world today and I don't think anyone would deny the fact of these conditions, but in view of this prophetic utterance

Reinforced by the whole of the biblical revelation. There should be no weak hands or tottering knees or unstable hearts now

It's perfectly true that as we look out over the world today We cannot but be conscious of the wilderness of the world the parched land and the desert about us

It is for us however to listen to the affirmation and the promise of a prophetic word

That these conditions are only transient. They are temporary. They are not permanent We may not understand the mystery

But we can know that we are moving towards the realization of the divine purpose of the excellency and the glory of God So when we ask how it is possible

To be freed from dread and fear and even despair in the presence of conditions as we see them the prophet immediately answers

Our question behold your God will come with vengeance with a recompense of God He will come and save you

So the question is who can make the desert blossom as the rose Who can turn the parched wilderness into the place of springs of water?

We can't do it, but God can and God will he will do it along two lines of activity notice

First of all that he comes with vengeance That's punishment and then he comes with recompense that is reward

God acting in judgment will deal with sin for destruction in order why to the establishment of righteousness and beauty

So then the prophet proceeded to describe the process in which this would be brought about It's quite certain that the wilderness will never be made glad and The desert blossom if the affairs are left to human ingenuity and the cleverness of man

It is only when God acts that these things are brought about the opening word of verse 5

You'll notice it says then then the eyes then when then links the declaration of the divine

Activity with the description of that which follows in the case of the people then Shall the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped

So in the activity of God the first effect produced will be that men shall be brought to sensitiveness instead of dullness eyes

Open to see ears and stop to hear then shall the lame man leap as an heart and the tongue of the dumb

Shall sing now that is humanity brought into the position of ability instead of disability

When God comes with vengeance and with recompense there follows a renewal of spiritual discernment

Sensibility instead of dullness and a renewal of power ability instead of disability sensibility instead of dullness power and ability instead of disability and spiritual discernment

But notice still the prophetic word hide runs on and the glowing saying Shall become like a pool in verse 7 and the parched ground shall become a pool the little reading the glowing saying

The shining sand shall become a pool the Hebrew word rendered Glowing sand means quite literally the mirage a mirage will become a pool

The mirage, you know is something that one sees in the desert as he travels across it

It usually appears as an oasis with water and beautiful vegetation, but it's wholly deceitful because when one reaches that point

Where the water mirage supposedly was and where it was seen once you reach that there's nothing there

But the remaining desert so the force of the figure that is seen the mirage Shall become a pool instead of the mockery of things which have no reality

There shall be the realization of that for which man truly seeks and then again It says in the habitation of jackals

Where they lay shall be grass with reeds and rushes and a highway shall be there and away and it shall be called

The way of holiness the unclean shall not pass over it But it shall be for those the wayfaring man.

Yay fools shall not err therein No lion shall be there nor any ravenous beasts go upon Thereon they shall not be found there so the protected highway for the pilgrim is seen grass where there was desert a

Place of springs of water where there was a mirage a deceit and the character that highway is that it is the way of holiness the whole message of chapter 35

Considered against the background of chapter 34 is that the only hope of this world is found in the judgment of God that is in the government of God It is good therefore that we always remind ourselves that God's government has never ceased

God has never resigned He has not vacated his throne and the force of evil has never been able to dismiss him from the place of full and final

Authority he is still reigning God is still on the throne and the process of his reign through human history is ever that of movement through desolation

Which is the outcome of corruption and he moves towards restoration which results from holiness

So in chapter 35 we are told nothing of the method of God Except this insistence upon the fact of his authority that it is going to come to pass but when we turn to the next section

We will see that the wilderness is turned into a place of gladness and how that is brought about by the purpose and the plan of God Let us now turn to our next section that We're going to look at and it'll be chapter 40 because chapter 35 could move if you were looking for as I said

How to tie the book of Isaiah together we can move from chapter 40 or chapter 35

Right into chapter 40 34 to 35 and then we can move right into chapter 40

I want to look at chapter 40 through 41 verse 7 because that's where it logically breaks down and in chapter 40

If you want to turn with me to that passage in the book of Isaiah The presentation of the servant who is to be the instrument of Jehovah through whom the wilderness is to be transformed

Begins at the 8th verse of chapter 41 so it has a very close connection with chapter 35 and chapter 40 now the last words of chapter 35 are

Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads They shall obtain gladness and joy and sorrow and sighing shall flee away

The first words of 40 are comfort ye comfort ye my people saith your

God The central declaration of chapter 35 is behold your God will come with vengeance with the recompense of God He will come and save you but the central declaration of chapter 40 is behold the

Sovereign Lord Jehovah will come so the chapters are linked together chapter 35 sings of the fact that beyond the desolation there is to be restoration that the wilderness and The solitary place are to be glad and the desert is to blossom as the rose chapter 40 introduces the account of the method by which the wilderness and the solitary place will be made glad and the

Desert will be made to blossom as a rose So we get the full story of that method and it begins in the 8th verse of the 41st chapter with the words

But thou Israel my servant and it runs on to and all the way through the 53rd chapter

And chapter 54 which actually begins sing Oh baron thou that didst not bear now if I could borrow a musical figure to describe the section that you and I are now looking at with this

Great introductory prologue. I would say it is the introductory prologue to the oratorio of the servant of the

Lord if we're going to have Mr. Handel or of Beethoven or one of them we would ask them in writing this oratorio

We would call it the servant of the Lord and then this would be the introductory prologue to that oratorio and it has essentially two

Movements first there is announcement that is made through voices and that occupies the first 11 verses

Then from the 12th verse of chapter 40 and running all the way to the 7th verse in chapter 41

We have an argument through what we might call a question area or through questioning So we have the announcement through the voices now in the announcement through voices.

We have six distinct movements The first of these is contained in verses 1 and 2

Let's look at chapter 40 verse 1 and 2 comfort ye comfort ye my people saith your

God Speak ye Comfortably are literally to the heart of and translates tenderly

Speak ye tenderly and the literal reading of Hebrew means speak to the heart of Jerusalem and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished that her iniquity is pardoned for she hath received of the

Lord's hand Double for all her sins So in the first two we have six distinct movements and in The first one is in verses 1 and 2 and it's of the nature of that general statement that reveals the purpose of God Concerning his people and through his people concerning the whole wilderness

Comfort ye comfort ye my people saith your God and comfort is the word revealing the purpose of God But that comfort is to be based upon righteousness

Notice he says her warfare is accomplished her iniquity is pardoned why she hath received of Jehovah's hand double

For all her sins now the final interpretation of that we'll find in chapter 53

Where we discover how the warfare is accomplished and the iniquity can be pardoned and the comfort then comes

So then we come to the second movement and we see that the second movement is contained in verses 3 to 5 so chapter 40 verses 3 to 5

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness prepare you the way of the Lord Make straight in the desert a highway for our

God now That's how it's normally read and I'll make a comment concerning that in just a moment But let's look at verse 4 every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill shall be made low and the crooked shall be made straight and the rough place is plain and The glory of the

Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it

Here in verses 3 to 5 we hear the voice of the herald the voice of one that cries

It's impossible for you and me to read it is it not without our minds leaping across the centuries to the story of Jesus and the coming of John the baptizer

John the Baptist The voice of the herald is a call to man to fulfill his responsibility in the very presence of the divine determination

The divine determination is what it is comfort comfort comfort you my people and because of that man is called to prepare in the wilderness the way of Jehovah usually we read this verse the voice of him that cries in the wilderness as John the

Baptist because we believe that he may have been down around the Essenes down around Qumran and was living in what is called the

Judean wilderness But actually when you read this in the literal language It actually would read the voice of him that crieth in the wilderness

Prepare ye the way of the Lord you see there would be a break after crieth the voice of him that crieth in the wilderness prepare you the way of the

Lord make straight in the desert a Highway for our God because you see wilderness and desert go together and it wouldn't be separate here

And so is the message of John the Baptist we find a very full Interpretation of how man is to prepare for the coming of God Man is to prepare in the wilderness the way of Jehovah and to make straight in the desert a highway for God You recall we just saw in chapter 35 where it talks about there would be a way there is to be a way it was talking about the parched land the desert the wilderness and Yet there would be a highway through that so God does not proceed to transform the wilderness into a garden

Except when man prepares a highway for him. Then the third movement is very brief and it occupies

Excuse me a part of verse 6 the voice said cry the voice of one saying

Cry is a little reading the voice of one saying cry It is an authoritative command to make a proclamation or to make an announcement

And then that's immediately followed by the fourth movement in our oratorio the servant of the Lord in which the voice of the master

Or the messenger excuse me is heard in obedience to the voice of authority And he says the voice said cry the voice of one saying cry, and he said what shall

I cry? So that's the fourth movement. What shall I cry then the fifth movement? records the reply to that inquiry and runs through to verse 8 it begins by facing the wilderness conditions and Accounting for them notice what it says all flesh is grass and all its beauty is like the flower the field

The grass withereth the flower faded because the breath of the Lord bloweth upon it

Surely the people are grass the grass withereth the flower faded, but the Word of our

God shall stand forever So the grass the flesh is like grass and all the goodliness of it

And the beauty of it is as the flower the field the grass withers the flesh Withers the flower faded the flesh flavors now that is the wilderness

Withering grass fading flower the death of all life These conditions are the result of the fact of what the breath of the

Lord bloweth upon it the breath of God blasts and Presently the breath of God causes the wilderness to blossom you see it depends beloved upon man's

Relationship to the breath of God whether he is blasted by it or blessed by it The same principle is revealed in the prophet

Malachi if you would read at your leisure But the final note in the proclamation is that the

Word of God abideth forever Again your mind is forced to travel to the

New Testament to the letter in which Simon Peter Actually quotes this when he says the Word of our God Shall stand forever and then he adds and this is the word of the gospel which was preached unto you

Then we come back to Isaiah and we find the sixth and the last movement in this it the great

Announcement is found in verses 8 to 11 Look at this wonderful announcement the grass with it the flower fadeth

But the Word of our God shall stand forever. Oh Zion thou that bringest good tidings get thee up into the high mountain

Oh, Jerusalem that bringest good tidings lift up thy voice with strength lift it up Be not afraid say unto the critics excuse me unto the cities of Judah behold your

God Behold the Lord God will come with strong hand and his arm shall rule for him

Behold his reward is with him and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd he shall gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom and shall gently lead those that are young or With young who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and measured out heaven with a span and so it goes

And we find the sixth and last movement would be verses 8 through 11 up to verse 12

It records for us the fact and the reason of the good tidings of the gospel

The fact to be announced is that of good tidings all thou that tell us good tidings to Zion Get thee up into the high mountain all thou that tell us good tidings to Jerusalem lift up thy voice

Twice the phrases repeated good tidings good tidings now in the Greek version the word used to translate

The Hebrew word is the word from which we get evangel or gospel and that's found in the

New Testament That's what Peter meant when he said this is the word of good tidings. This is the evangel This is the gospel which is preached unto you.

It's the Greek equivalent of this particular Hebrew word so far Then the purpose is declared before us that the wilderness is to blossom

That is the message of comfort it is going to blossom and that brings comfort to the heart the

Declaration is made that men must fling up the highway for God and the determination of God is announced to carry out his plan as revealed and to reveal his glory and Excellence now the reason for the good tidings is to be found in the fact that God is going to act

Even though you and I cannot understand all the processes the one thing that gives our hearts assurance is that it is

God Who will act in this passage? Declaring the fact you will find his three great titles are enumerated or rather his name and two titles

We have Elohim the mighty one Adonai the sovereign Lord and these are two titles and then we have

Yahweh They becoming God of grace that is the name of the Lord as we would understand it today so we have might and Authority and love that they are seen merging together and the merging in action

Will make the desert blossom as the rose and the sterile pasture land to be glad Then we come to the second division in this section and it deals with the majesty of Jehovah as revealing the reasons for perfect confidence that in spite of all this desolation all the

Parchness all the aridness all the death all the the dryness and All of those things it reveals the reasons for our perfect confidence that in spite of all the desolation there will be

Restoration you see the world outlook today is certainly not that of a garden blossoming with roses

It's rather that of a wilderness that bristles with thorn Then who then is this

Yahweh this Jehovah this Elohim this Adonai Who claims that he will make the wilderness and the dry place glad and the desert rejoice and blossom as the rose?

That is the question which the movement now under consideration answers. I have described it as a

Questionary it's a series of questions and you can note that in the course of it 15 different questions are

Asked and in this section of 15 questions We have four distinct movements in our oratorio or the prologue

With a servant of God or the servant of the Lord This is the prologue remember of the great oratorio of the servant of the

Lord and each one of these movements Reveals God in a different way In the first we have verses 12 to 17

Notice with me verses 12 to 17 Who has measured the waters in the hall of his hand and measured out heaven with a span and measured the dust of the earth in?

A measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in balance Who has directed the

Spirit of the Lord or being his counselor hath taught him? With whom took he counsel and who instructed him and taught him in the path of justice and taught him knowledge and showed to him the way of understanding

Behold the nations are like a drop of a bucket and are counted as the small dust of balance

Behold he taketh up the coasts as a very little thing and Lebanon is not sufficient to burn nor its beasts efficient for burnt offering

All nations before him are as nothing and they are counted to him less than nothing and vanity so in verses 12 to 17 his splendid isolation as Creator is declared and in the second which is verses 18 to 26

To whom then will you liken God or what likeness will you compare unto him?

The workman melts and casts an image and the goldsmith spreads it over with gold and casts silver chains

He that is so impoverished that he hath no ablation chooses a tree that will not rot

He seeks a skillful workman to prepare a carved image that shall not be moved

Have you not known? Have you not heard? Hath it not been told you from the beginning? have you not understood from the foundations of the earth it is he who sitteth upon the circle of the earth and the inhabitants thereof are like grasshoppers who stretcheth out to the heavens like a curtain and Spreadeth them out like a tent to dwell in who breaketh the princes to nothing

He maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. Yea, they shall not be planted. Yea, they shall not be sown

Their stock shall not take root in the earth and he shall also blow upon them and they shall wither and the whirlwind shall take

Them away like stubble to whom then will you liken me or shall I be equal sayeth the

Holy One? Lift up your eyes on high and behold who hath created these things who bringeth out their hosts by number

He calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might though He is strong in power and not one faileth

So in verses 18 to 26 his transcendence of all similitude that is the impossibility of anyone making anything

That accurately represents him and then the third movement verses 27 to 41 chapter 41

Why sayest thou? Oh Jacob and speakest Oh Israel, my way is hidden from the

Lord and the justice due to me is passed away from my God Hast thou not known has thou not heard that the everlasting

God the Lord the Creator of the ends of the earth Fainteth not neither is weary. There is no searching of his understanding

He giveth power to the faint and to those who have no might he increases strength Even the youth shall faint and be weary and the young men shall utterly fail or fall

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles

They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint And so in this third section

We have his eminence and strength that is affirmed before us and his nearness to all weakness Combined with his own freedom from weakness and then the last movement is in chapter 41 1 through 7 and his action in government is illustrated notice what it says

Keep silence before me old coastlands and let the peoples renew their strength Let them come near then let them speak

Let us come near together to judgment who raised up the righteous man from the east called him to his foot gave

Nations before him and made him rule over Kings He gave them like the dust to his sword and like driven stubble to his bow

He pursued them and passed safely even by the way that he had not gone with his feet

Who has wrought and done it calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord the first and with the last

I am he the coach saw it in fear the ends of the earth were frayed Drew near and came they helped everyone his neighbor and everyone said to his brother be of good courage

So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith and he that smootheth with a hammer him that smote the anvil saying it is ready for the soldering

And he fastened it with nails that it should not be moved So we survey this in its entirety

We have an announcement of comfort a call to proclaim a gospel or good tidings the central

Declaration of the action of God the Lord Jehovah and then a celebration of his majesty

Now, let's go back in the section dealing with the splendor of God is creator Which is verses 12 to 17 you notice there are three questions and every one of them compelling thought who has measured

Who has directed the Spirit of Jehovah and the third question with whom took he counsel

It is this God who in creation sought no counsel asked no advice

Because he needed none who lacked nothing in wisdom and nothing in power Who is the one to make the glad heels?

He's the one that's going to make glad the wilderness and the desert to blossom if we have that vision of God There can be no room for panic.

No matter how dark the outlook. Is that not true? Then we go to the next movement verses 18 to 26 and we find no fewer than seven questions in this particular section the first two of them suggest the impossibility of Representing God in any similitude and the last of them returns to the same implied conclusion and the four questions intervening are the nature of appeal to the people that he's addressing and Every one of these questions is one which actually involves its own answer and the whole section is plainly intended to show the greatness of God as being such that there can be nothing comparable thereto and Consequently, there can be no accurate likeness of Almighty God now in dealing with this the great prophet

Isaiah indulges in satire as he tells how men endeavor to represent God the chief point

I believe in his description of such an effort Is that men are anxious to make a God that they can keep by them and one that will not be moved or carried away?

The prophet you see was addressing himself to God's people So the meaning of the question have ye not known have ye not heard hath it not been told you from the beginning

Have ye not understood from the foundations of the world? You see they knew because they were

God's people they had been told and he declares to them that God is the God That sitteth upon the circle of the earth.

That is that he is the circumferencing God He is governing among world affairs for he he brings princes to nothing

He makes the judges of the earth as vanity. It says yea, they have not been planted. Yea, they have not been sown

Yea, their stock hath not taken root in the earth Moreover, he bloweth upon them and they wither and the whirlwind taketh them away a stubble

This presentation of God beloved is not out of date at all It's as true today as in the day when the great prophet uttered these words now

Let's return to the first question to whom then will you liken me that I should be equal to him saith the

Holy One so the prophet Reemphasizes the truth that the greatness and majesty of God are such that he cannot be represented accurately or adequately by anything man might come up with So far you and I have been looking at the earth and we see

God sitting upon the circle thereof We are now called upon to look beyond that Lift up your eyes on high and see who hath created these that bringeth out their host by number the planets and the stars

And he calls them all by name by the greatness of his might and for that he is strong in power

Not one is lacking. This is the God who will make the wilderness Blossom as the rose now while it is true that man has never been able to create a likeness of God God has given to man a

Representation of himself that is full and final from the period of Isaiah is prophesying we could overleap the intervening centuries

And we find ourselves in the upper room in the presence of a man Radiant in the beauty of his humanity yet with a light shining through his eyes that never shown through human eyes before Speaking to another man one named

Philip and he said he that hath seen me has seen me hath seen the father in him then there was given to men a similitude a

Representation through which God is perfectly known Then we come back to the next movement in Isaiah verses 27 to 41

It was again an appeal to the people of God notice what he says why sayest thou O Jacob and speakest

O Israel My way is hid from the Lord and my judgment is passed away from my God Notice, it's at least suggested that the people are dressed by the use of the two names

Jacob why sayest thou O Jacob and then Israel and speakest

O Israel. It's a recognition Is it not I believe of frailty Jacob.

He had problems. He had difficulties, but God changed his name to Israel strength and Prince of the

Lord So we have at once frailty and strength these people are then reminded of that abiding truth concerning their

God The everlasting God Jehovah the creator of the ends of the earth faints not neither is weary There is no searching of his understanding

And neither is that all the truth as it deals only with what he is in himself because it further declares

He gives power to the faint and to him that hath no might he increases strength

That's illustrated superlatively in the statement. Notice what it says Even the youths shall faint and be weary that is those who are supposed to be incapable of fainting or Weariness one thing we know about young people is they are energetic and they are agile and they're full of virility and and Vigor and vm and they're always moving about and we say you got to keep young people busy and busy

They are they're always looking for something to do and they seem to have boundless energy But here it says even the youths shall faint and be weary They're supposed to be incapable of this and yet the young men shall utterly fall.

That is those whose chief characteristic is virility It fails all strength beloved, which is only human breaks down Human strength will eventually deteriorate human strength will eventually faint human strength

Usually wanes away and human strength causes one to fall unless it is energized

Somehow or other notice what it says But they that wait upon the

Lord but those that wait upon Jehovah Shall renew their strength.

It will constantly continually be renewed That is human life lived in fellowship with God is perpetually reinforced.

It is human life, but it's reinforced It is here that this wonderful paradox of a processional revelation

Notice how the revelation process is here it just progressively moves along watch notice what it says they shall mount up with wings as Eagles now that of course is perfectly natural and an easy exercise of strength if he had wings

Eagles can fly because they have wings. It's no problem for an eagle It's not a lot of effort for an eagle to soar an eagle just flaps his wing and off he goes

He leaps and his wings operate and there he goes So it's it's a fairly natural and easy exercise

But then he goes the next thing says and they shall run and not be weary now running is a little more difficult than flying

One flies there are no obstacles. There are no obstructions an eagle soars through the air and there's nothing up there

There are no poles. There are no trees. There's no power lines. There is nothing there and even in the wilderness There's nothing there to obstruct his flying but running there are all kinds of obstacles and barriers and things that one must watch and Opportunities for the running to be able to be come to a halt and so it's more difficult than flying and finally notice what it says

They shall walk and not faint. I'm going to suggest to you that flying is quite easy if one has wings and Running is not quite so easy

It's a little more difficult than flying but that walking is the most difficult at all why because it is that long

Persistent walk it is that long persistent and continual

Trotting a long life's way to moving along the road of life It's that long persistent walk that is the most difficult at all

You find some people of the Lord who mount up with wings as eagles and they soar but they only do it briefly

Because when the obstacles come and when something occurs, then they're not able to soar

They're not able to get off the ground you find some that take off running and they just run with everything for the Lord They're excited.

They're venturesome and they're enthralled and they're enthused out the things of God But then you look and you find those

Christians That they're not flashy they are not flourishing about but they had that persistent walk with God and It is this

God Who will make the wilderness glad and the desert blossom as the rose?

He is the one that Reinforces that walk as we walk a long life's way.

They shall walk and not faint There is therefore no room for doubt or hesitation but then we come to the final movement in chapter 41 1 through 7 and it consists of a great summons to silence a summons to strength a

Beckoning to approach an appeal to speech and a call to fellowship The whole of this appeal is illustrated by the then present situation

The Prophet was speaking when everything around him looked hopeless I mean everything was hopeless on the horizon was the enemy of the people

Cyrus Seeming to threaten their actual national existence in their minds

It was extremely possible that their entire nation could be annihilated All that they were could be removed from the annals of recorded history

They could be a people no more as other people had disappeared from the scenes and of that outlook

The Prophet says who has raised up one from the east whom he called in righteousness to his foot

He giveth nations before him and maketh him rule over Kings He giveth them as the dust to a sword as the driven stubble to his bow

He pursueth them and passes on safely even by a way that he had not gone with his feet

So the majesty of God was revealed in a very new way in the fact that he was actually overruling all the forces surrounding his people even though they appear to be hostile to them and Even though they were coming against them and the people could not understand it

They saw all of these things approaching and there was fear there was disillusionment and there was discouragement and there was despondency because They couldn't see

What was actually occurring and God gave them this wonderful prophetic word that yes, here comes a mighty nation

Yes, it is a force that seems to be stronger than you. Yes, they could overcome you.

Yes, they may attack you Yes, they may annihilate you. Yes, and then yet God says no No, why because God himself was overruling all of those forces that had circumvented the people all those forces

That seemed to be coming against them God was in control Even though the hostility was there and the people could sense it

Coming as the judgment cloud seemed to be gathering on the horizon to come upon them and to sweep them away

So we ask ourselves once more Who is equal to making the wilderness glad and the desert blossom were they in a wilderness?

Yes, they were Was there a desert? Yes, there was the answers found in this great argument by the questions

He is the creator. He is the sustainer. He is the unwearying the governing one

Therefore it says behold your God Behold your

God Behold your Lord and Beholding him know that the wilderness will yet be glad and the desert blossom as the rose

Beloved there are times in your life in mind That we will be standing in what we feel to be a wilderness that just seems to be a parched land

There is no refreshing stream flowing through there is nothing but that which seems to be a mirage

We seem to move towards it and yet it has deceived us It does not satisfy it is not the way and sometimes the way looks hopeless.

There is no vegetation. There is no beauty There is no pleasantry. There's no enjoyment and it seems like everything comes against us

But yet our God says behold your God It is only for a while you see you and I are moving through desolation and there are times when that desolation becomes extremely personal and it becomes a very prevalent in the personal life and you and I personally have to confront the parched land of the wilderness and the desert the

God says After the desolation you don't stay there. God is going to make that desolation

Restoration he will yet make that wilderness glad and the desert blossom as the rose literally

Upon the planet earth one day when our Lord reigns Spiritually it has occurred with the children of Israel It will occur with the children of Israel whenever God deals with him

According to his prophetic word in Romans chapter 11 and in other places in scripture when he restores them to their rightful place

But as far as your life and mine is concerned as the people of God He also will intervene into the individuality of your own life and personality

Your own personal walk as you walk as you tramp and that persistent tramp that is the most difficult at all tramping through life trotting through the desert walking through the wilderness searching for that which is pleasant to the heart and pleasing to the soul and Thrilling to the spirit and nourishing to the soul of man

Understand that God will turn your personal wilderness. God will make your personal desert blossom as the rose

He will do it because he is your God You know beloved when

I think about the Garden of God, I Find four gardens that stand out significantly in the

Holy Scriptures You and I know about the Garden of Eden where God created that wonderful place and placed

Adam He told Adam you can eat of anything you want. You control everything you name the animals

You have dominion over them and all these things he gave unto Adam But he said just don't eat of that tree

The tree that has the fruit Knowledge good and evil

God wanted to know good God will not withhold any good thing from him. God didn't want him to know evil, but Adam sinned

Eve sinned and sinned and entered into the world in the Garden of Eden We move through the centuries of time.

We find another garden where the Messiah the Lord Jesus Christ knelt and prayed in the

Garden of Gethsemane Gethsemane He said father

Not my will but thine be done. Oh God let this cup pass for me Oh father remove this cup from me

Lord. Take this cup away as his holy soul shrank from becoming sin He knew that he would become sin who knew no sin

That he might make his life a ransom for many The Garden of Gethsemane where they came to arrest him and then they took him to another place

Calvary It is interesting when you go to Israel that there was a garden there Right next to Calvary a beautiful garden and in that garden.

There was an empty tomb He died and he also was buried in that location

Then we come to Revelation chapter 21 verses 1 and following we have the heavenly garden the heavenly paradise

Life sometimes is a wilderness beloved life. Sometimes is a desert but our

God reigns and He loves you and he has a plan and a purpose.

He's going to take us from desolation to restoration Physically the creation shall move from desolation to resolution to restoration

Individually you and I walk through a world of desolation, but we are moving to restoration and individually

Even though there is desolation around us our lives can experience even now the restoration that comes from knowing and walking they shall walk and not think

They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength They shall mount up with wings as eagles they shall run and not be weary They shall walk and not faint our father and our

God How we love thee how we praise thee and adore thee in our feebleness and our weakness

With so much desolation and desert around us. We thank you that our eyes Can see in our ears can hear and our hearts can behold that we are moving through desolation to restoration

We thank you for your word through the great prophet Isaiah the example of your people We thank you for the comfort that comes to our hearts from knowing him who loved us and gave himself for us

We thank you that you have a plan and a purpose and a process for the whole of creation we thank you to have a plan and a purpose and a process for we who know thee and father that we are moving through and This is not our home

We thank you that while we are even here we can have that restoration of heart and that restoration of soul we can know that there's a

Water that quenches our thirst we think about a wonderful Lord when he said if you drink of the water that I give you you shall

Never thirst Lord evermore. Give us this water. Let us drink from thy hand