I Have Chosen Thee
Our Bible passage, introduction to Sunday 19th November service and hymns are below.
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Our principal verses are:
Isa 41:1 Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment.
Isa 41:2 Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow.
Isa 41:3 He pursued them, and passed safely; even by the way that he had not gone with his feet.
Isa 41:4 Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.
Isa 41:5 The isles saw it, and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came.
Isa 41:6 They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage.
Isa 41:7 So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.
Isa 41:8 But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.
Isa 41:9 Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.
Isa 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
I Have Chosen Thee
Gospel days are in view as Isaiah begins to preach his sermon concerning the Messiah and His saving work. In chapter 40 the Lord repeatedly asked, ‘Have ye not known? Have ye not heard?’ These questions served to emphasis the Messiah’s divinity and unique ministry which God’s prophets had long foretold amongst the Jews. However, Christ’s ministry would be expansive and worldwide. Now the Lord calls on the isles, that is, the Gentile nations beyond Israel to present themselves before the Lord to witness an account of Christ’s deeds and irrefutable power.
The righteous man
The evidence concerns the Lord’s own work in raising up ‘the righteous man from the East’ and various suggestions are given to identify this person. Some suggest Abraham who was called from Ur of the Chaldees in which case the Lord is showing how from earliest days a chosen people of faith were set apart to serve God’s purpose. Some think Cyrus, king of Babylon, is meant who returned the Jews to Jerusalem from exile in the days of Nehemiah. In this case such control over a mighty heathen king as Cyrus shows Christ’s greater dominion.
The power of preaching
John Gill suggests the apostle Paul is a suitable candidate for the ‘righteous man’. Then the success of Paul’s preaching among the Gentile nations and its inroads upon the kingdoms of this world in gospel days demonstrates Christ’s supremacy, ‘the pulling down of strong holds’ Paul tells the Corinthians. Paul opened new lands to the gospel passing safely ‘by the way that he had not gone with his feet’. Under his preaching the nations were dust to the sword of the Spirit as sinners were brought to conversion and faith.
Christ the Giver of grace
Some say Christ is the quintessential ‘righteous man from the east’ raised up by the Father who gave to His Son ‘the nations before him, and made him rule over kings’. It is best to see Christ wherever Christ may be seen and view Him as the first recipient of every divine promise and thereafter the Dispenser of all divine grace. Every blessing the church receives, or an Abraham or Paul possesses, comes to us from heaven through Christ, in whom every promise of God is yea and in Him Amen.
Union with Christ
If it is, indeed, the Lord Jesus who is intended under this ‘righteous man’ title then another comforting thought arises. Our Saviour in these verses is called ‘Jacob’ and ‘Israel’, names typically reserved for God’s elect people. This reinforces our union with our Saviour. So fully and completely has the Lord Jesus united Himself to His chosen people and identified Himself with the elect for whom He died that He gives us His name and He takes ours. When the Lord Jehovah sees Christ He sees the church, Christ’s Bride. When He sees Christ’s Bride He sees His dearly beloved Son.
Christ chosen of God
The Lord Jesus is the first chosen Son of God and all God’s elect are chosen in Christ. Christ’s people, taken from the ends of the earth by gospel preaching, are one body, one family, one church. This message of victory was comforting to the believing remnant of the Old Testament. It is evidence to believers of every age that Christ will not fail to protect His own for whom He died, saying, ‘Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel’.
A threshing instrument?
For the church to be likened to ‘a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth’ might seem strange. The meaning is that first the apostolic witness and thereafter the ministry of the preached word in every age reaps a reward of souls gathered to Christ by God the Holy Spirit. What gave comfort to Isaiah’s hearers was the confident certainty that God’s word would not return void but would accomplish that whereunto it was sent. God Himself would plant a forest in the wilderness of this world by calling His elect to faith, water it from mountain rivers and prosper it.
We are the proof!
Isaiah’s argument is that the success of Christ’s kingdom by apostolic preaching would silence the gainsayers. Regeneration cannot be achieved by human effort, only divine power and purpose, ‘That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the LORD hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it’.
Lifeless idols and the living God
The final section again compares the impotent, deaf, dumb and lifeless idols made by the hand of man to the lively, powerful and successful work of God who methodically gathers His church from amongst the nations by gospel preaching. The Lord challenges idolators to bring forth their own gods that their works may be contrasted with Christ’s works and exposed by the power of God.
The gospel of good tidings
The One living God has done all His good will and fulfilled His purpose by saving and securing the elect of God. ‘The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.’ God Almighty shall say to His church, Look carefully at the weak and foolish idols of men, then look to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of faith, and be comforted.
Amen
Our hymns are below.
Hymn 1
Gadsby selection 622
“Be not dismayed; for I am thy God.” Isa. 41. 10
W. Gadsby L.M.
1
Poor fearful saint, be not dismayed,
Nor dread the dangers of the night;
Thy God will ever be thy aid,
And put the hosts of hell to flight.
2
Nor sin, nor Satan, can o’ercome
The arm that vindicates thy cause;
God, thy own God, will lead thee home,
In spite of all that may oppose.
3
Should hosts within, and hosts without,
At once unite to make thee yield,
Thy God shall put them all to rout,
And make thee master of the field.
4
In every sore and deep distress,
“I am thy God” shall be thy stay;
Thy God shall all thy woes redress,
And drive thy guilty fears away.
5
This soul-supporting truth contains
All blessings that a God can give;
In sorrows, sicknesses, or pains,
Thy God will every need relieve.
Hymn 2
Gadsby selection 957
“I am thy God.” Isa. 41. 10; 43. 1
A. Steele L.M.
1
Why sinks my weak, desponding mind?
Why heaves my heart the anxious sigh?
Can sovereign goodness be unkind?
Am I not safe, since God is nigh?
2
He holds all nature in his hand;
That gracious hand on which I live
Does life, and time, and death command,
And has immortal joys to give.
3
’Tis he supports this fainting frame;
On him alone my hopes recline;
The wondrous glories of his name,
How wide they spread, how bright they shine!
4
Infinite wisdom! boundless power!
Unchanging faithfulness and love!
Here let me trust, while I adore,
Nor from my Refuge e’er remove.
5
My God, if thou art mine indeed,
Then I have all my heart can crave;
A present help in times of need;
Still kind to hear, and strong to save.
6
Forgive my doubts, O gracious Lord!
And ease the sorrows of my breast;
Speak to my heart the healing word,
That thou art mine, and I am blest.
The Lord Jehovah has revealed to His people His great works of creation, providence and salvation that we might be comforted as we trust in Him. Jehovah called the Som Jesus Christ in eternal council to stand Surety for His people and to come and suffer as Substitute for their sins. All we who are chosen in Christ have much to thank God for.
19 November 2023