Highlights From Isaiah 9:-01 From Darkness to Light — James K. Boswell

The Prophecy of the Coming King

Isaiah 9, verses 6 and 7. The joy of having you here today. And many blessings will come to us. Please, by the ministry, tell others of it and encourage them to come along with your services. If you need a visit, by the way, as minister, we can be of any help along this line.

Let us have the name and address, we certainly will go and see them. And the government shall be upon you. Now, notice that word is in the singular. His name shall be called Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

For the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end. And with justice from henceforth, even forever, the zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform there. Now, let us have a chorus. You've got the leaflet there.

At least I trust you've got them back from you as you took them home. And probably tomorrow we'll have a few more for you. And you'll all be able to have one. So let us have a new chorus. It's a new life.

I'm sure you'll say it much better. Yeah. You'll sing it at all up here. Now, you sing right out this day. My parents don't know this chorus. You don't know it wherever you've been all this long time.

We had it this morning. You just sing, I think, one unit part of the promise and you'll get it. Isn't that right? Now, you've got it, so let it go this time. Will you? I'll slow down and you sing right out.

And then you'll have more copies tomorrow night. All together sing it now. Once more for the last time tonight. It's a new life. Thank you very much. Now, just a very short version. It is not enough to have thy word opened to us by the hand of a mere man, nor even by an act of parliament.

Thy word must be opened to us by the Lord tonight, and revealed to us by our adorable Lord Jesus. By thy presence tonight, there may be many questions, Father, in those hearts that need an answer. Many problems have got to be solved.

We recognize Christ as the answer to every question. So we depend upon the Spirit of God right now to fill our vision with the Lord Jesus in his purest name. Now, this morning we're looking a little at the first few verses of this wonderful ninth chapter of Isaiah.

From Darkness and Sin to the Light of Christ

Notice the two emblems there. They're black and white. Darkness and light. First of all, then, to blend up with reminders of ignorance and of sin and of sorrow, with like reminders of purity, multiplying joy, increasing joy, the joy of fruit, the joy of success, the joy of victory, the joy of glorious emancipation, and the joy of the utter destruction of the enemy.

Now, of all that before you, come with me now to verse number six. Think again of this expression, not of Judah, but of both Israel and Judah, and us. Now, forget all about them for a moment, but let's think of this immediate congregation.

May you hear the Spirit saying, Christ a thousand times be born in Bethlehem, yet not in your heart, is your soul. The same time you come across the expression of child in this wonderful prophecy, we're not dealing with those things just now.

We're thinking of this particular one, of us. Then we come to the next great manifestation. First of all is incarnation, the child born. I certainly believe in the virgin birth of our adorable Lord Jesus Christ.

That great theologian of a day gone by, John Wesley, said, the great creator contracted to expand in this cribling maid. Matthew chapter one, we read this wonderful expression, so and so begat, so and so begat.

Then comes down, and Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born a gospel. In the same Matthew's gospel, chapter one, you'll read, that of Abraham to David are fourteen generations. From David to Babylon are fourteen generations.

From Babylon to Christ there are fourteen generations. Now, you can read these any way you like. You certainly will find the first section, fourteen. The second section, fourteen. When you come to the first section, you only find thirteen names.

Is there a discrepancy? Is there a contradiction? A thousand times no. The fourteenth one is the Holy Ghost, and we bow before God tonight, and we worship, and we adore Him, we hear the word, and that Holy One, when you ever read of the seed of the woman, is in connection with the birth of the Lord Jesus.

Every other time it's the seed of the man, the seed of the man. When it comes to the birth of the Lord Jesus, it is the seed of the woman. So no wonder this evening we sing from our hearts, God's manifestation in heaven, heaven's beloved one, will fill them with God's love, that every knee, reminding us of His glorious manifestation.

This one is God, the very God, came into a body like unto your body, my body, and apart from sin. We bow before Him as we hear the words, for God's soul of the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, who, simple believers, on Him, should not perish, but has everlasting life.

Creation falls forth when the fullness of time must come. God sent forth His Son, born within of the child born, and the Son, given there was never a time when it was not the Son, but there'll be a time when there'll never be the Son.

We thank God this evening, ah, that God gave His Son. There you have now His wonderful incarnation and His manifestation, but now let us think for a moment of the designation here, and when it was said, and the government shall be upon His shoulders, and I shall call His name, wonderful, countenance, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

Christ's Designation, Occupation, and Glorification

Now there you have the designation of God's beloved Son. Look at verse 7, and you have His occupation, see what it says here, and of the increase of His government, and peace shall be upon Him, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and with justice, from henceforth even forever.

And there you've got the occupation of this one unadorable Lord. Then the last phrase, you have His glorification. It says, Dear Lord, the Lord of all, the Lord of all, the God of all, the God of all, I want to take your heart from my heart tonight, His incarnation, His manifestation, His designation, His occupation, and now lastly, His glorification.

For this evening, for a short time, I want to insert your thoughts around this wonderful name, and that's it, the name is Wonderful. Let me just pause here for one moment. May I ask you this question?

Does the name of the Lord Jesus still fill your heart with wonder? Because He is wonderful, does it mean that name fills you with ecstasy? Every part of being my friend tingles with the glory, the glorious joy, why?

He is wonderful. And I want to suggest to you this evening, for five little expressions, proving to your heart and my heart the Lord Jesus is really wonderful. There's no word to really say that word wonderful like, it's wonderful, Jesus.

Something about that is so thrilling, isn't it? Something is so precious. My friend, does Christ fill your heart with wonder tonight? Does the very image of that name just do something within you that fills you and fills you and fills you whole heart with ecstasy and real joy?

Is not I wonder why? Is it because you may not know Him, a reality in your own mind? We present you, my friend, tonight not merely Christ, a figure in history, but a figment of the imagination. We present Christ to you, our living Lord.

And we can truthfully say tonight, you ask me how I know He lives? Within my heart. And this Father's name is wonderful, fills our heart with wonder and with honor. Keeping that before you now, He is wonderful, first of all, in His grace.

The Wonder of Christ's Grace

He is wonderful in His grace. It says in Deuteronomy chapter 8, verse number 9, Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, though He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor, that we through His poverty might be made rich.

Now those expressions, ye know, but do we really know? Do we really know? Now we may know this is a text of Scripture, but I know the living reality in my own life. Ye know the grace. What does the Bible say in Titus 2, 11?

The grace of God that bringeth salvation to all men has appeared. For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should do it. And Paul said, Remembered by the grace of God what I am, it is no longer I, but the grace of God that worketh in me.

If anyone knew this wonderful Christ and all His magnificent wonders and grace, it was the man Paul. And remember he said these words again, Ye know the grace, though He was rich, were we able tonight to measure the immensity of the riches that belong to our adorable Lord Jesus Christ.

And we think of this one who came in earth's trench, poverty, went right down to the loose deck, my friend. Yes, and were we able tonight to fathom the depth of the poverty he went into, then let we be able tonight to measure the immensity of the riches that belong to our adorable Lord Jesus.

But let us come closer to the verse now. Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. I love that title, don't you? The Lord, Savior, Christ, He is my sanctifier. Lord, He is my sovereign. And ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, though He was rich, yet for all my sins.

In your verse, chapter 22, it goes something like this. The blessing of God made us rich, and added no sorrow thereto. Now, I want you to notice a pretty full contrast here. Tonight, we have the blessing because Christ became the curse.

That same name brings out the expression He took the cup of the wrath of God, He drank it as blood of dread. Now, nothing but blessing remains for you and for me tonight. Oh, the wonder of it all. Tonight, we have the blessing because He became the curse.

Tonight, we have the riches because He became poor. Tonight, we have the joy because He became the man of sorrows. For the meditation, for the worship, gathering, to meditate, we shall not be because He cursed.

Cursed is everyone that hangeth upon a tree. Then tonight, we have the riches because He became poor. We shall not have the joy because He became the man. Ye know the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, though He might be made rich.

The Gentleness and Compassion of Christ

Yes, He is wonderful. He is wonderful in His grace. The second name is wonderful in His gentleness. He is wonderful in His gentleness. It says in 2 Corinthians 10, verse number 1, By the meekness and the gentleness of Christ.

Isn't that a lovely expression? The meekness and the gentleness. Gentle, through understanding, so sympathetic, so full of compassion. I think of that time when He gazed over the city of Jerusalem. He stood there and said, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how oft would I have gullied thee the chicks and the gullied chicks under the wing, but ye would not.

Oh, the compassion of our adorable Lord Jesus. The boys and girls would love to come to Him. They would love to gather around Him. He was so gentle, so understanding. He could say, Come unto Me, the gentleness of the Savior.

He could see there a beloved, that weeping wounded mother, and saw a beloved, a pure procession. As He gazed upon that weeping wounded mother, His heart was moved with compassion and His gentleness moved out toward that dear woman.

And He stopped the procession, and touched the beards of young men and eyes did re-arise. Jesus said, He sat up and began to speak, and He said, I love this thought. And Jesus delivered Him to His mother.

Isn't that just like Him? He delivered Him to His mother, and as soon as He was free and full of sorrow, He went and said, Come! He gave Him back to His mother. May not the Lord Jesus only refer to the lamb, sometimes refer to the lion.

We thank God for the lamb character of the Lord Jesus. We thank God for the lion character of the Lord Jesus. I am thinking of all the gentleness and all the weakness. He said, I am meek. Now, meekness is not weakness.

Moses was a very meek man. He certainly was not a weak man. And the Lord Jesus said, Thy gentleness has made thee great. Two women, driving along on the January, Angus was one of them, they were talking about the gentleness of the Lord Jesus.

And these are two of the characteristics of a overseer in an assembly. And I'm driving along there, and my ear wide open to this conversation. I was getting a real theological discourse. And now they came to the conclusion, never give offense.

The theological discourse, a gentle man never gives offense. Adore Him. You'll worship Him. I said to my wife, Adwoa, that there are chapels in the month of November. And a coffee hour, 135 women were there, discussing the fact of the qualification of an overseer.

And this is the conclusion they came to. Be gentle. And they must be meek. And they declared, a gentle man never gives offense. Never takes offense. Offend the nature that is offended. So the damn nature, that energized by the Holy Spirit, shall be marked by those two wonderful features.

Christ's Glory and Exaltation

What are they? Gentleness. Wonderful. Then furthermore, He's wonderful in His glory. Wonderful in His glory. Now, look at this. He's wonderful in His grace. But now the very central one is, He's wonderful in His glory.

Hebrews 2, verse number 9,. But we see Jesus. Saints write, Jesus lives full in His wonderful face. And the things of the earth are both strangely dim in the light of His glory. But we see Jesus, who was made a little Lord.

And speaking reverently, Christ was never made anything. By His own voluntary will, He became a little Lord. And there you have it. We live in His glory. He's a wonderful Savior. Let us pause for one moment here, shall we?

I asked you a moment ago, do you see Him? When Thomas had seen the new Prince, in whose lovely hands and feet had seen that spear of His thigh, Thomas prostrated himself before Him and cried, My Lord and my God.

When Mary saw Him and said, My Lord. Not the Lord is nearer to you than your neighbor. That was the desire that was along in the yearning of her heart. Is that why you are here, darling, tonight, dear one?

In the presence of the Lord Jesus? You've come to hear His voice? You've come to see Him? Then, my friend, tonight, listen. The very one who led the heights of heavenly glory came right down to the scene of sin and sorrow.

The grace of the Lord Jesus showed Him a great debt for our sake to be paid. For He came right down, down, down. He's the one now who's going to account this cruel cross. Not as agony, not as anguish and shame.

Crying down upon that cross for your sin and for mine. He was buried on the third day. He rose a day from the dead. As it are, He ascended right up far above all principality and power, might and dominion.

Every name that is named, not only in this world, also in that which is to come. God put all things under His feet. And the night will lift up as He cries. Look, ye saints, the sight is glorious. See the man who sorrows now from the fight returned victorious.

Every name to Him shall bow. Yes, thank God tonight He is wonderful in His glory. Only once you ever read the Lord Jesus asking for His own will. As in John 17, verse 24, it says, Father, I will, that they whom Thou hast given Me be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory.

Yes, thank God one day they're going to behold His glory. Then He said, the sufferings of the little while are nothing to be compared for the glory shall be revealed in us. Paul said, if we suffer with Him we shall be glorified together.

Oh, dear one, lift up your heart tonight. Look away from yourself. Look away from the Lord Jesus. He said, we're going to behold His glory. We're going to share His glory. And His glory, my friend, is going to be revealed through His people one day.

He's going to make us anointed as rock. We shall all be conformed with image. He's all. We'll have His day to love and laugh. And my friend, in that day we shall display with glory our adorable Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ's Greatness and Coming Kingdom

Yes, that day is not far away. He's wonderful in His grace. He's wonderful in His gentleness. He's wonderful in His glory. The wonder of it all. That, fortunately now, He's wonderful in His greatness.

He's wonderful in His greatness. And Luke chapter 1, verses 32 and 34. Let us read these, shall we? Kids, I must quote them. They would like to do that. Luke chapter 1, and I think it's verse number 32.

News to go, I like to. Verse number 30. The angel stayed on for her, Mary. Fear not, verse 28 says, the only time you ever read of that word highly in connection with the Lord Jesus is in Philippians chapter 2.

God has highly exalted Him. Here, now, in connection with this humiliation, it says concerning Mary, highly fevered art thou amongst women. Now, look at verse 30. Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found fever with God.

And, behold, thou shalt conceive, and thy woman shalt bring forth a son. Thou shalt call His name Jesus, and He shall be great. And shall He be called the Son of the Highest. The glory of God shall be given unto Him.

And God shall give Him the throne of His father David. And He shall reign over the house of Jacob. You can't spiritualize that. He has not yet sat upon the throne of David. He has not yet reigned in the house of Jacob.

And a member of His kingdom. And I'm not going into prophetic discourse just now. But I'm thinking of these words. And He shall be great. Beloved is wonderful in His greatness. He's great in His character.

Think of who He is. The Son. He's great in His love. God said, remember, and He shall be great. There's something of a wonder that comes over your spirit life. Cause you to bow before Him in worship, and in true arrangement, God says that He is higher than the heights.

He's higher than the heavens. He's higher than the kings of the earth. Yes, He shall be great. Beloved is great in His suffering. Great in His sorrow. Great in His death. Great in His resurrection. He's great in His glorious exaltation.

He's great, God's great, unchanging high priest. Now, one day alone, He's going to burst the clouds and descend to the air. And there's going to be a rapture of the Midian. And remember that may be tonight.

And maybe this very night, the listening sky is now gone. But hear the bridegroom's voice saying, Rise up, my love, my heroine, and come away. Oh, does your heart sing out tonight? Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Even so, come today. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Catch up thy bride away. Oh, how my heart is yearning. Longing for thy returning. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Even so, come today. Yes, beloved, when that takes place.

And the rapture. And we're called home to the great marriage supper of the Lamb. We see all the royal dainties. Loading. They're laying at my friend's royal banqueting table. There we are by God's gracious grace.

The recipient of all that God has provided for us. For His own beloved son. We'll have the bar before Him and say, He's wonderful in His greatness. All heaven bowing toward Him. All heaven lauding Him.

All heaven praising Him. All heaven adoring Him. I will go near Him then without any physical limitation. Cry. Woe to you, O Lamb of God, if thou that every knee to Thee should bow. Bring forth the royal diamond.

Yes, He's wonderful in His greatness. Friends, tonight, let this one fill your heart. Let it fill your heart with wonder. Let it fill your heart with joy. Oh, to know my friend is to love Him. I trust and love Him tonight.

The Government of the Prince of Peace

That's because I must close. He's wonderful in His government. Wonderful in His government. But now please back to our chapter. We're right here. Chapter six. Verses... Chapter nine, rather. Verses six and seven.

And what do we read? And the government shall be upon His shoulder. Now, verse seven. Of the increase of His government and peace, there shall be no end. There shall be no end. He is wonderful. I want just to touch your hearts as we close tonight.

This one is wonderful in His greatness. Wonderful in His greatness. Wonderful in His gentleness. Wonderful in His government. Shall be a government. The Prince of Peace, my friend, shall rule that scepter, and there shall be peace without any war.

And as the waters now cover the sea, and no one shall have to say, No, the Lord, for all men shall know Him. Though far before Him, the Lord Him, He'll praise Him, and acknowledge His Lord, the glory of God the Father.

The Shepherd Carrying the Sheep

Well, here's the thought. I ask you to notice that good as in the singular, in verse six. The government shall be upon His shoulder. When I was a youngster back in Scotland, so many years ago, not quite so many, that I remember those dear, all those divine, just as safe as younger fellows.

When you're ministering the Word of God, Bible class, announcing the glad tidings of teaching God's people, always think your message plays across the work of Christ. Place it right in the center, in the center, and build all around it.

And as I said, you'll never become a modernist, and you'll never wander. You'll always have plenty of material to work with. That plays across the work of Christ in the center of your message. But when you come to Luke chapter 15, he's there about the shepherd going up after the sheep.

And he searches, and he searches, and searches. And you say, well, where does the cross work here? May I give Father, and searches, and searches, until, and there's the cross. The grocery my friend, doing up 7 -8 for the way, he went all the way.

Having loved his own, he loved the very other ones. So the very other ones carried his cruel cross. And the good shepherd, he gave his life for the sheep. We find Christ sitting down, picking that sheep up, and what did he do?

He placed the sheep now upon his shoulders. No longer the singular. Friend, you see how precious you are to the Lord Jesus? The government of the whole universe, he's going to bear upon one shoulder what he's bringing you and me all to heaven.

It takes both his shoulders for that. Did you get that? It takes both. He says in 5, chapter 33, that the love of the Lord shall dwell where? Between. Marietta, Georgia. When they were meeting in the civic center quite a number of years ago, that place was fancy capacity.

One laundry morning, the family Bible arm sells into banks. When the younger people stood up, let the others get a seat. And I had also come to the platform, his brother, the principal of a school in Atlanta, where a little boy took my seat.

The Father's Heart and Shoulders

And down I saw that dear fellow there, and over his shoulder was his little boy. Now the little boy was leaning right over his dad. Right over his daddy's heart. Right over his daddy's shoulder. Now I looked at that picture.

The heart, the place of affection. The shoulder, the place of strength. Said, Lord, that's just where I am. That's just where I am. And that's where you are tonight as a child of God. You're going to place this heart, the place of affection.

You're going to place between his shoulders the place of strength and power. Something else I noticed about that little boy. How close his mouth was to his daddy's ear. He would whisper so gently in his daddy's ear.

And his daddy could hear that whisper. Now notice something else. How close that little boy's ear was to his daddy's mouth. All the intimacy. All the closeness. Now I rejoiced as I hung upon that scene.

Invitation to Receive Christ and Share His Glory

Lord, that's just where I am. Now this one was wonderful in his grace. In his gentleness. And in his glory. And in his greatness. He is also wonderful in his government. And that one stubs your heart's door tonight.

He wants to come in. He wants to come in. Will you let him in tonight? I've known this one man for over 40 years. I've proved him in many parts. He's never failed. He's never failed once. You'll never deceive who you from your heart see right now.

Lord Jesus. I owe this my lord. Thank thee for thy immense grace. You and I receive this.