A Vision of the King
(No. 3238)
A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1911.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING,
OCTOBER 4, 1863.
"Your eyes shall see the King in His beauty: they shall behold the land
that is very far off." Isaiah 33:17.
This morning [See Sermon #533, Volume 9–THE QUEEN OF THE SOUTH, OR,
THE EARNEST ENQUIRER.] I spoke to you concerning the visit of the Queen
of Sheba to King Solomon and tried to use it as illustration of the
spirit in which sinners should come to Him who is far wiser and greater
than Solomon. This evening I am going to continue in much the same
strain while I try to speak to you, under the guidance of the Holy
Spirit, from the well-known words which I have just read in your
hearing. This passage is a rather difficult one to explain–at least
certain expositors have done their best to make it appear to be so!
They imagine that we have here a threat that the Jews should be carried
away to Nineveh as captives and that in that far-off land they should
see the Assyrian "king in his beauty." But I venture to say that if you
read our text in its context, you will see that a threat would be
altogether out of place here in the midst of so many precious promises
to the people of God! There is nothing but love and kindness for them–
where there are threats, they are for their enemies!
It is possible that the historical setting of the text is this–that
the Jews who had seen their king, Hezekiah, in his "day of trouble, and
of rebuke, and blasphemy"–when Sennacherib's vile letter had been
brought to him, should live to see that same "king in his beauty" when
the angel of the Lord had so mysteriously smitten the great host in the
camp of the Assyrians and Hezekiah had gone up to the House of the Lord
to return public thanks for the miraculous deliverance which had been
worked in answer to prayer and in accordance with Isaiah's prophecy.
But all students of Scripture must agree that "the King" here mentioned
is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ–and that the promise of the text
relates partly to the latter-day Glory, and more fully and more
gloriously to the saint's experience in Heaven–"Your eyes shall see
the King in His beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far
off."
Without any further preface, I will try to direct your thoughts to
these four things. First, a King pre-eminent Secondly, a vision
predicted. Thirdly, a peculiar beauty. And, fourthly, a land possessed.
I. First, dear Friends, we have plainly enough in the text, A KING
PRE-EMINENT–"Your eyes shall see the King." No name is given and no
name is needed. It is here as it was when the spouse began the
Canticles by singing, "Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth."
There was no need to say to whom she was referring, for the chaste
bride wanted no kisses from anyone but her Beloved!
I am speaking to those who know the Lord and, therefore, I say to
them–You know, Beloved, that our Lord Jesus is King by Divine right.
He is the brightness of His Father's Glory and the express Image of His
Person. God has appointed Him heir of all things, and by Him God made
the worlds. "For by Him were all things created that are in Heaven, and
that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or
dominions, or principalities or powers: all things were created by Him,
and for Him: and He is before all things, and by Him all things
consist." He "is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and
Lord of lords." Well did the inspired Prophet write concerning Him,
"The government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be
called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there
shall be no end." It is by His permission that other kings reign! And
when He pleases, He can in a moment remove the mightiest monarchs from
their throne! He is the only Sovereign who is King by Divine right–the
absolute Disposer of all events, to whom all power in
Heaven and earth has been given by His Father–in whose hands are the
issues of life and death, and at whose belt hang the keys of the unseen
world!
You remember too, Beloved, that our Lord Jesus Christ was a King even
when He was upon the earth as a Man. He ruled over all the forces of
Nature. Stormy winds were hushed to sleep by His commanding word,
"Peace! Be still." All diseases fled at His approach and the very
demons proved that they, too, were under the control of His Sovereign
Power! Even the king of terrors, Death, himself, had to openly
acknowledge the sway of the far mightier King of kings and to yield up
at His bidding those who had passed beneath the grim portals of his
dread domains! Yet how shamefully wicked men maltreated this mighty
Monarch, before whom the holy angels had bowed in lowly obeisance, or
waited on poised wings ready to fly on any errand on which He might
deign to send them! You know the sad, sad story of the shameful
indignities to which our King was subjected. They hung a soldier's coat
around His shoulders in mockery of the imperial purple. They thrust a
reed into His hand as a sham scepter. And for a crown, they twisted
cruel thorns that pierced His blessed brow as they smote Him again and
yet again, and bowed the knee before Him in the mere semblance of
adoration. Yet there was a regal majesty about Him even when He was
thus crowned King of Grief. When Pilate asked Him the direct question,
"Are you the King of the Jews?" He did not deny it. And even when He
hung upon the Cross as a condemned criminal, the official title set up
above His head in Hebrew, Greek and Latin was, "This is Jesus, the King
of the Jews." He was much more than that, for He was Lord of all men
and all angels, too, and He could, in an instant, have summoned all the
shining legions above to come to His relief! But He resolved to go
through to the bitter end with the great work He had undertaken–and to
be both Prince and Savior to give repentance and remission of sins to
all for whom, as the great Kingly Substitute, He was laying down His
life–
"To the shameful Cross they nailed Him,
And that Cross became His throne.
Li the tomb they laid and sealed Him;
Lo the Savior bursts the stone
And ascending,
Claims all empire as His own!"
This same Jesus is now King in Heaven. After His degradation came His
exaltation. When He ascended up on high, leading captivity captive, He
was welcomed back to His Throne with royal honors. The 24th Psalm gives
a graphic and poetic description of the royal reception accorded to
Him–"Lift up your heads, O you gates; and be you lifted up, you
everlasting doors; and the King of Glory shall come in. Who is this
King of Glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O you gates; even lift them up, you everlasting
doors; and the King of Glory shall come in. Who is this King Glory? The
Lord of Hosts, He is the King of Glory." This glorious King and Lord is
also the Ruler in Providence–nothing can happen without His knowledge
and permission! It is true that His universal Sovereignty is not yet
recognized and that this Divine King is still "despised and rejected of
men." But the day is coming when He shall appear again upon this earth.
And at the hour decreed from all eternity, He shall be acclaimed as
"King of kings, and Lord of lords," when "the kingdoms of this world
are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ: and He shall
reign forever and ever." What "His beauty" is now, and ever shall be,
mortal mind cannot conceive and mortal tongue can never tell. When John
saw Him, as the "Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last," he fell at
His feet as dead! And when Paul "was caught up into Paradise," he
"heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful (or possible) for a
man to utter." Probably we can best express our anticipation of seeing
our "King in His beauty" by singing, with Dr. Watts–
"There, where my blessed Jesus reigns, In Heaven's unmeasured space,
I'll spend a long eternity In pleasure and in praise! Millions of years
my wondering eyes Shall over Your beauties rove; And endless ages I'll
adore The glories of Your love."
I must not forget to remind you that our Lord Jesus Christ is still
King in His Church on earth That is the true Established Church, for it
is founded upon the Rock and it is so firmly established that "the
gates of Hell shall not prevail against it." Christ's Church is a royal
Church, for it has a King–no, more–the "King of kings "at the head of
it. "The Lord reigns" everywhere, but let us who are His loyal subjects
especially set Him on high upon the throne of our hearts and–
"Bring forth the royal diadem, And crown Him Lord of all!"
II. Now, secondly, we have A VISION PREDICTED–"Your eyes shall see the
King."
Mark well that this is not a vision to be seen by you who have never
looked to Christ by faith and who have never trusted to His precious
blood to cleanse you from your sin! The sight of the glorified Savior
is only for those who have looked upon the dishonored Savior hanging on
the Cross of Calvary–it is their eyes that "shall see the King in His
beauty."
And, first, this will be a near sight By faith we have had, as it were,
a telescopic view of Christ, but we are yet to see Him face to face,
and to talk with Him as we talk with a dear familiar friend. Even a
distant sight of Him ravishes the heart, but oh, what must it be to see
Him without a veil between us? We need not envy John who leaned his
head upon his Master's bosom, for we shall have closer communion with
our glorified Lord than even the beloved Apostle enjoyed while here
below!
Then, changing only one consonant, it will be a dear sight, as well as
a near sight! We shall look upon our heavenly Bridegroom with eyes
shining with sinless love and we shall rejoice that He is our Husband,
our Beloved, our All-in-All! I must leave your sanctified imagination
to conceive what this sight must be, for I cannot possibly picture it
for you. I look upon a child and see some comeliness in it, but the
child's mother can see beauties that no stranger can perceive– the
love of the heart adds to the appreciation of the eyes. So is it with
this near and dear vision of our King that is promised to the
Believer–"your eyes shall see the King in His beauty."–
"Then shall I see, and hear, and kotow
All I desired or wished below–
And every power find sweet employ
In that eternal world of joy!" And further, as it will be a near and
dear sight, so will it also be an assured sight We often fancy that we
see certain things, but we are not sure that we really see them. There
is much here that tends to cheat the eyes and pervert the vision, but
when we see Jesus as He is, it will be an assured sight about which
there will be no possible question. No one of us will then have to
ask–
"Do I love the Lord, or no, Am I His, or am I not?"
We shall not then have to search and see whether our spot is the spot
of God's children, for we shall know even as we are known! And the King
Himself shall say to us, "Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the
Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."
And then, Beloved, it will be a satisfying sight. There is no solid
satisfaction in anything that the eye can see in this world. People
say, "See Naples and die," but I have met many who have seen even that
fair city and they have all wanted to live to see something more! Even
Naples could not satisfy them. The most charming vision that sea, or
land, or even the starry sky can give, can never satisfy an immortal
spirit! But the Believer in Jesus says with David, "I shall be
satisfied when I awake with Your likeness." When my "eyes shall see the
King in His beauty," my soul will exclaim, "It is enough, my Lord! My
eyes have at last found the one Object upon which they can rest
forever! I am perfectly satisfied with You."
Yet even the word, satisfying, cannot fully express all that this
vision of the King will be, for it will be a ravishing sight, a
rapturous, ecstatic, entrancing, transporting vision! I cannot find
words that are adequate to describe this sight! One must see it to know
how glorious it is. Heaven will be a place of many surprises, but the
vision of our glorified King will astonish us forever! We shall be
amazed to all eternity that such a wondrous Being as God's eternal Son
could ever have loved such worthless worms as we are–that so glorious
a King could have stooped so low as to take up for Himself our
nature–and then that He should have been willing to endure for our
sakes the death of the Cross! That will be a
marvel that we shall never be able to understand! We shall also be
surprised that we did not know Him more fervently and that we did not
do, and dare, and even die for Him who had loved us so much that He did
die for us! Perhaps some of us, now and then, have had such rapturous
experiences that we have felt like the Apostle Paul when he wrote,
"whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell." But the
extraordinary seasons have never been permanent with any of us, and
usually they have been very transient. Yet, up yonder it will be our
normal ambition to be lost and swallowed up in a never-ending ravishing
vision of our glorious and beauteous King!
I must not omit to remind you that this will be an assimilating sight.
I don't like that long word, but I mean that it will be a sight that
will make us like He, upon whom we shall then be gazing! "We know that
when He shall appear, we shall be like He, for we shall see Him as He
is." It is looking by faith to Christ that gives us any likeness to Him
which we possess even now–but a clear view of our gracious "King in
His beauty" shall transform us into a perfect likeness to Him. "In all
things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren–and His
brethren shall, ultimately, in all things be made like unto Him!
I will add only one more characteristic of this vision of Christ–it
will be an everlasting sight When our Sabbath services are over, some
of you go out of the Tabernacle with heavy hearts. You have to go home
to a sick household, perhaps to a persecuting husband or an ungodly
wife. You are coming with us to the Communion Table and when you leave
the assembly of the saints, you will have to go where you will cry with
the Psalmist, "Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the
tents of Kedar!" I do not wonder that you sang with such heartiness
just now–
"Oh when, you city of my God,
Shall I, your courts ascend
Where congregations never break up,
And Sabbaths have no end?"
Ah, well, that everlasting Sabbatismos–that eternal keeping of Sabbath
may be nearer than you think! And when once you enter into that blessed
state, you will remain in it forever. "Your eyes," my poor Brother or
Sister, "shall see the King in His beauty," and you shall never lose
that rapturous vision!
III. Time fails me, so I must go on to the third point, A PECULIAR
BEAUTY–"Your eyes shall see the King in His beauty."
Now, the "beauty" of a king consists, first, in his person, so you
shall see the beauty of Christ's Person. It is delightful to think of
the priestly, prophetic and royal offices of our Lord Jesus Christ, but
our choicest meditations must ever cluster around His blessed Person.
All His garments smell of myrrh, aloes and cassia. His name is as
ointment poured forth, but He, Himself, is "altogether lovely." It is
no phantom, no shadow at which we are to look, but we are to see the
King, Himself–that King who once was the Babe in Bethlehem, the
Carpenter at Nazareth–who went about doing good, preaching the Gospel,
healing the sick, raising the dead, feeding the fainting
multitudes–that same Jesus who agonized in Gethsemane and died on
Calvary–this is the King whom we are to see in all the Glory of His
combined Deity and Humanity, very God of very God, yet just as truly
Man!
The "beauty" of a king also consists in part in the glory of his
official robes and jewels and ornaments. "Your eyes shall see the king
in His beauty–not as men saw Him when His ruby robe was formed from
His own blood, when His only diamonds were His tears or the flashing of
His eyes in pity for His foes–and who the only crown He wore was made
of thorns. Pilate mockingly said to the Jews, "Behold your king!" But
the heavenly heralds, with sound of trumpet, will cry to the saints in
a far different fashion, "Behold your King!" and they shall behold Him
"crowned with Glory and honor." On His head shall be many crowns–the
crowns which His Father has given Him, the crowns which He has won from
His enemies, the crowns which shall be cast at His feet to tell of His
universal Sovereignty–and they shall see Him "clothed with a vesture
dipped in blood…and on His vesture and on His thigh a name written–
King of kings, and Lord oflords."–
"Sinnersin decision crowned Him, Mocking thus the Savior's claim;
Saints and angels crowd around Him, Own His title, prase His name;
Crown Him, Crown Him; Spread abroad the Victor's fame.
Hark! Those bursts of acclamation!
Hark! Those loud triumphant chords!
Jesus takes the highest station:
Oh what joy the sight affords!
Crown Him, crown Him,
'King of kings, and Lord of lords.'" Again, a king's "beauty" consists
in the trophies that tell of his triumphs. When kings return from their
wars, they delight in displaying the flags that have been captured from
their foes, or the prisoners and other tokens of victory by which they
are surrounded. In the olden days, the great warrior kings would have
their stricken foes chained to their triumphal chariots, or marching as
slaves in the victor's possession. And the Lord has given to Christ the
necks of His enemies and they will gladly grace His triumphal
procession, for they are captives who have been made willing in the day
of His power and who, strangely enough, share in the Glory of His
triumph, for they are now His friends, His brethren with whom He
delights to divide all that He has!
Further, the "beauty" of a king sometimes consists in the splendor of
his court and the excellence of his courtiers, and our eyes are to see
our King in His beauty surrounded by "a great multitude, which no man
could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and
tongues…clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands," crying
with a loud voice, "Salvation to our God who sits upon the Throne, and
unto the Lamb." "These are they which came out of great tribulation and
have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."
Beside these sinners saved by Grace, there will be the innumerable host
of holy angels who have never sinned and who all yield unfaltering
obedience to our great Lord and King. What a sublime spectacle it will
be when the great Commander-in-Chief shall have the whole army of the
redeemed gathered before Him for the final review–not one soldier of
the Cross missing, not one dead, or wounded, or captured by the enemy,
but all of them more than conquerors through Him that has loved them!
May you and I, Beloved, be among them!–
"With them numbered may we be,
Now and through eternity!" IV. Now I close with but a brief mention of
A LAND POSSESSED.
Read the text thus, "the land that is very far off' from sinners. They
look upon this world as something that is present to their senses, but
they regard the world to come as so "very far off " that it hardly
seems to concern them at all! They take no more interest in the "Land
that is very far off" than a poor farmer in a country village takes in
some Republic in South America of which he has only heard the name.
They know no more about Heaven than swine know about the stars in the
firmament, perhaps not as much, for the swine can see the stars, but
Heaven is "very far of" from sinners so long as they remain in their
sins! Yet if they will but leave their sins and look to Jesus in all
the beauty of His substitutionary Sacrifice for the guilty, that
far-off land shall be brought very near to them and, in God's good
time, they shall enter it and abide there forever and ever!
Sometimes, Heaven is "the land that is very far off' from the doubting
Christian, so that he fears that he shall never get there. He dreams of
a rough road that has no end, or cries out that he has no hope of
escaping from the Slough of Despond. Yet, to a Believer in Jesus,
Heaven is not "very far off." No, it is so near that he may be there
before I have finished my sermon, or even before I have finished this
sentence–
'One gentle sigh, the fetter breaks:
We scarcely can say, 'He's gone!'
Before the willing spirit takes
Her mansion near the Throne!" Do not fret about tomorrow! You may be in
Heaven before tomorrow. Even if we have to abide here a while–
"Though in a foreign land,
We are not far from home;
And nearer to our house above
We every moment come."
I find that the marginal reading is "the land of far distances." Heaven
is a land of magnificent distances where there shall be abundant room
for the multitude that no man can number and where in all things, even
in the number of the
saved, Christ shall have the pre-eminence. Shall Satan capture the most
of men? I do not believe that he will–if he could do so, he would have
the pre-eminence, but that can never be! Christ "shall see of the
travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied." But do you think that a
small number of souls saved would satisfy Him? Would that be a fitting
sequel to His soul-travail? Oh, no! I believe in a great Heaven and a
great multitude of great sinners saved by the great Sacrifice of the
great Savior, who shall bring great Glory to His great name and the
great Grace of the great Father, Son and Spirit forever and ever! But,
my dear Hearer, however great it all is, of what use will it be to you
if you do not have a share in it? My text says, "Your eyes shall see
the King in His beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far
off." That applies to every Believer in the Lord Jesus Christ! Is that
what you are? If so, my text is a promise to you as surely as if your
own name had been mentioned in it! If you will now believe in Jesus, if
you will trust Him, if you will rely upon Him–it all means the same
thing–this promise is for you and it shall be fulfilled in your
experience in God's own time! May God the Holy Spirit give you the
Grace to turn your eyes by faith to the Lamb of God who died for
sinners upon the Cross of Calvary! And then to you, even to you, I can
repeat the promise of the text, "Your eyes shall see the King in His
beauty: they shall behold the land of far distances." The Lord grant
it, for Jesus' sake! Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: REVELATION 7:9-17; ISAIAH 49.
Revelation 7:9. After this. I thought I would read this familiar and
very precious passage once more as so many of our number have gone home
to Heaven during the past few weeks. There has been a great flight of
the Lord's doves upward to the heavenly dovecotes lately. We will think
of them as we read these well-known words–"After this"–
9. I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of
all nations, and kindred, and people, and tongues, stood before the
Throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in
their hands. Their purity is indicated by the white robes in which they
were clothed and possibly, also, their royal priesthood, while their
victory over all their foes is typified by the palms which they held in
their hands. Montgomery was right when he wrote–
"Palms of Glory, raiment bright, Crowns that never fade away, Gird and
deck the saints in light, Priests, and kings, and conquerors they."
10. And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which
sits upon the Throne and unto the Lamb. They all sing one song and it
is the same song that we sing on earth, "Salvation to our God." They
know nothing up in Heaven of any salvation by the works of the Law or
by human merits. Oh, no! They sing, "Salvation to our God which sits
upon the Throne, and unto the Lamb."
11. 12. And all the angels stood round about the Throne, and about the
elders and the four beasts, and fell before the Throne on their faces,
and worshipped God saying, Amen: Blessing, and Glory, and wisdom, and
thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God forever
and ever Amen. You see that all the Glory is given to God– man is lost
sight of–humanitarianism has no place of honor in Heaven, though many,
nowadays, make so much of it here on earth. It is unto Father, Son and
Spirit–unto the one and only Creator, Savior, Inspirer that the angels
ascribe "blessing, and Glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor,
and power, and might…forever and ever."
13-17. And one of the elders answered saying unto me, Who are these
which are arrayedin white robes? And whence came they? And I said unto
him, Sir you know. And he said to me, These are they which came out of
great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in
the blood of the Lamb [See Sermon #1316, Volume 22–why the heavenly
ROBES ARE WHITE.] Therefore are they before the Throne of God,
and serve Him day and night in His Temple–and He that sits on the
Throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither
thirst anymore, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For
the Lamb which is in the midst of the Throne shall feed them, and shall
lead them unto living fountain of waters: and God shall wipe away all
tears from
their eyes. [See Sermons #643, Volume 11–NO TEARS IN HEAVEN; #1800,
Volume 30–HEAVEN BELOW and #2128, Volume 36–HEAVEN ABOVE AND HEAVEN
BELOW.] This is a vision of the heavenly life above. I want you
to keep the last two verses in your minds, for we shall presently meet
with very similar expressions in a place where, perhaps, you would
scarcely have expected to find them–and there you will see that those
expressions are used concerning
the heavenly life below as here they are used concerning the heavenly
life above. Turn to the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, the 49th Chapter,
and there you will read a passage which brings us back to earth. It
takes us from the Lamb in the midst of the Throne in Heaven to the Lamb
amidst the despising and rejecting sons of men. It is our Lord Jesus
Christ who is here speaking–
Isaiah 49:1-3. Listen, O isle, unto Me, and hearken, you people from
far; The LORD has called Me from the womb, from the matrix of My mother
has He made mention of My name. And He has made My mouth like a sharp
sword; in the shadow of His hand has He hid Me, and made Me a polished
shaft; in His quiver has He hid Me and said unto Me, You are My
Servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. Our Lord became, by His
Incarnation–by His very birth so marvelous and mysterious–He became
that Servant of Jehovah by whom God would be glorified! He was, as it
were, hidden away, like a sword in its master's scabbard–concealed and
protected like an arrow hidden in its owner's quiver–until the time
came for God to use Him. And then God did use Him both as a sharp sword
and as a polished shaft.
4. Then I said, Ihave labored in vain, Ihave spent My strength for
nothing, and in vain: yet surely My judgment is with the LORD, and My
work with My God.The Jews, as a nation, were not gathered unto Christ.
The highly favored people, as a whole, did not believe in Him. He was
expressly sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, yet John was
obliged to write, "He came unto His own and His own received Him not."
So few became His personal followers that it really appeared as if His
life-work had been a failure–but He did what all God's true servants
must do–He referred His work to the Lord. He said, "Surely My judgment
is with the Lord, and My work (or My record) with My God." If we are
faithful, that is all that our gracious Master requires of us–we are,
none of us, bound to be successful! If we bear our sincere testimony to
the Truth of God and everybody rejects it, our reward will be none the
less in the day when the Lord calls us to give an account of our
stewardship. If you, my Brother or my Sister, are loyal and true to Him
whose servant you are, when your Lord comes again, He will say to you,
"Well done, you good and faithful servant…enter you into the joy of
your Lord."
5, 6. And now, says the LORD that formed Me from the womb to be His
Servant, to bring Jacob again to Him, Though Israelis not gathered, yet
shall Ibe glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and My God shall be My
strength. And He said, It is a light thing that You should be My
Servant to raise up the tribe of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of
Israel: I will also give You for a Light to the Gentiles, that You may
be My salvation unto the end of the earth. Though Jesus seemed to fail
with the Jews, He has succeeded in a far greater measure with the
Gentiles, for great multitudes of them have gladly accepted Him as
their Savior!
7, 8. Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and His Holy One, to
Him whom man despises, to Him whom the nation abhors, to the Servant of
rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because
of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and He shall
choose You. Thus says the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard You,
and in a day of salvation have I helped You. Jehovah will bless His
Anointed! He will accomplish His great purposes of love and mercy
through Him.
8, 9. And I willpreserve You, and give You for a Covenant of the
people, [See Sermon #103, Volume 2–christ in the coveNANT.] to
establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate
heritages, that You may say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that
are in darkness, Show yourselves. [See Sermon #2397, Volume 41–"OUT OF
DARKNESS INTO LIGHT."] This is Christ's work today,
to call out the forgotten ones who are hidden away in the dungeons of
the Bastille of Despair. He comes and calls them, "Go forth…show
yourselves." And at His bidding they appear, even as Lazarus came forth
from the grave at His command. Now listen–this is what becomes of
those who come out of sin's prison at Christ's call! They become His
sheep–
9, They shall feed in the ways–On their way to the one great fold on
the hilltops of Glory, they shall find suitable and sufficient
pasture–"They shall feed in the ways."
9, 10. And their pastures shall be in all high places. They shall not
hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for He
that has mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water
shall He guide them. Now recall those verses from the Revelation that
we read just now and note what blessings the good Shepherd has prepared
for His sheep even while they are upon this earth!
11-13. And I will make all My mountain a way, and My highways shall be
exalted. Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the
north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim. Sing, O
heavens, and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O
mountains: for the LORD has comforted His people. [See Sermon #3012,
Volume 52–god
COMFORTING HIS PEOPLE.] Well may Heaven and Earth and mountains sing
when they have such a theme for their songs as this!
13, 14. And will have mercy upon His afflicted. But Zion said, The LORD
has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me. Zion said so, but it was
not true! Hear what the Lord says–
15, 16. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have
compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, they may forget, yet will 1not
forget you. Behold, I have engraved you upon the palms of My hands.
[See Sermons #512, Volume
9–A PRECIOUS DROP OF HONEY and #2672, Volume 46–NEITHER FORSAKEN NOR
FORGOTTEN.] However unnatural an earthly mother may prove to be, God
will never forsake or forget one of His children–
"'Yet,'says the Lord, 'should Nature change And mothers, monsters
prove, Sion still dwells upon the heart Of everlasting love.
16-21. Your walls are continually before Me. Your children shall make
haste, your destroyer and they that make you waste shall go forth from
you. Lift up your eyes round about, and behold: all that gather
themselves together, and come to you. As I live, says the LORD, you
shall surely clothe yourselves with them all, as with an ornament, and
bind them on you, as a bride does. For your waste andyour desolate
places, and the land ofyour destruction, shall even now be too narrow
by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed you up shall be
far away. The children which you shall have, after you have lost the
other, shall say again in your ears, The place is too strait for me,
give place to me that I may dwell. Then shall you say in your heart,
Who has begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am
desolate, a captive and moving to and fro? And who has brought up
these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been? [See
Sermons #2692, Volume 46–CHURCH INCREASE and #2776, Volume 48–THE
CHURCH A MOTHER.] Oh, that we might often have such a glad surprise as
this and be made to marvel at the Lord's gracious dealings with us!
22-26. Thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up My hand to the
Gentiles, and set up My standard to the people: and they shall bring
your sons in their arms, andyour daughters shall be carried upon their
shoulders. And kings shall be your nursing fathers, and their queens
your nursing mothers: they shall bow down to you with their face toward
the earth, and lick up the dust ofyour feet, andyou shallknow that I am
the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for Me. Shall the
prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? But
thus says the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken
away, and theprey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will
contend with him that contends with you, and I will save your children.
And I will feed them that oppress you with their own flesh; and they
shall be drunk with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh
shall know that I the Lord am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty
One of Jacob. The enemies of the Lord's people are His enemies, too,
and He will overthrow them in His own good time–and make the whole
world know that He is their Savior and Redeemer, the Mighty One of
Jacob!