Willows By The Water
Our Bible passage, introduction to Sunday 10th December service and hymns are below.
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Our principal verses are:
Isa 44:1 Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen:
Isa 44:2 Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen.
Isa 44:3 For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:
Isa 44:4 And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.
Isa 44:5 One shall say, I am the LORD'S; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the LORD, and surname himself by the name of Israel.
Isa 44:6 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
Isa 44:7 And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them.
Isa 44:8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.
Willows By The Water
There are a lot of trees in our chapter today. Isaiah speaks of cedar, cypress, oak and ash; all valuable trees of the forest, all prized by woodsmen and craftsmen for strength, grandeur and utility. Then the prophet speaks of another tree, the willow, not so grand or valuable, in fact, often little more than a weedy shrub. Isaiah likens God’s elect to the willow and pictures the Lord suppling the water-loving tree with all the moisture it needs. It is a type of distinguishing grace. In the gospel age, the spiritual descendants of Isaiah’s readers will be quickened with grace from heaven and ‘shall spring up … as willows by the water courses’.
Jesurun, my beloved people
God the Father dedicates Himself to redeem, save, preserve and provide for this people. He promises never to forget His elect saying, ‘Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen’. If these words are considered as being addressed first to God’s Son in His mediatorial office and thereafter to all His people formed in Him, the full gospel import of this passage will begin to appear. Jesurun is another name for spiritual Israel, and carries the sense of the beloved and upright One.
Spiritual Jacob and spiritual Israel
As God’s remnant people in Isaiah’s day faced the wrath of Assyria and exile in Babylon the every-mindful Saviour comforted them with views of His great salvation and promises of spiritual deliverance. Our God still calms our fears by protecting those He delights to bless, nourish and refresh with views of Christ’s mighty redemption. God’s elect are again named with names symbolical of God’s everlasting love and free grace. Jacob and Israel are appellations for God’s spiritual church, chosen in the Beloved, created and formed in the womb of the morning to be Christ’s eternal companion. A people to honour His glory, witness His beauty and serve His cause.
Sins blotted out
Divine redemption is asserted by the blotting out of transgressions and the taking away of sin. The Messiah’s purpose is set clearly before the Old Testament people. Alluding, no doubt, to earlier evidences, the Lord the Redeemer describes the buying back of spiritual Israel from sin, Satan, and the law as having already occurred. The redeemed people are already bought; the purchase price already paid. It is true the Lord Jesus had not yet come, nor yet shed His blood but in the mind of our eternal, ever-present God, Christ is the Lamb of the everlasting covenant slain from the foundation of the world.
‘Have not I told thee?’
God’s promises are to be received by faith as if already performed. The Lord ‘confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers’. Being assured of their deliverance, redemption, restoration and ultimate glory the people of God are to sing, shout and praise the Lord. The angels sang in heaven at the incarnation of Christ. The Gentiles sang in the lower earth when the gospel went forth by the apostles. Kings and commoners, great and small, sing praises to the Lord for His great salvation. On the basis of God’s sure mercies the Lord’s people sing the Lord’s song in a strange land.
‘He hath shut their eyes’
Once again, in setting forth what He shall do for His church the Lord strongly denounces the foolishness of idolatry. A man cuts down a tree, burns some to keep warm, more to cook his meal, then carves what remains into an idol before which he bends to worship. These are ignorant, blind people but so that all spiritual wisdom may be seen to be by grace it is said, ‘They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand’.
Cyrus, my shepherd
In the final verse a significant and detailed prophecy concerning a future Babylonian monarch is begun. A king called Cyrus will ascend to the throne whose lot it will be to fulfil God’s will and restore the Jews to their own land to rebuild their city and temple. Just as previous Assyrian kings had been tools in God’s hand for punishment, Cyrus would be a shepherd to nourish and preserve. He would be the means of bringing the Jews from exile that the Lord Jesus Christ should be born in Bethlehem and walk in the courts of Jerusalem’s temple.
Amen
Our hymns are below.
Hymn 1
Gadsby selection 669
Welcome to Jesus. Isa. 44. 22; Dan. 9. 9
W. Gadsby 10s
1
Poor sinners, sunk in sin’s tremendous cell,
Tormented with the fiery darts of hell,
On Jesus call, though wretched be your case;
He came the lost to seek and save by grace.
2
What though your sins like mountains on you fall,
And God’s just law with terror fills your soul,
Jehovah Jesus is the sinner’s Friend,
And he has answered all the law’s demand.
3
’Tis true, in self you have no ground for joy,
Nor can you hope the law to satisfy;
But Jesus’ blood has full atonement made,
And faith therein will make the conscience glad.
4
Here sinners, black as hell, obtain relief;
A filthy Mary, and a dying thief;
And guilty I, though vile as they could be,
Have proved his mercy sovereign, rich, and free.
Hymn 2
Gadsby selection 1046
“We hanged our harps upon the willows.” Ps. 137. 2
T. Kelly L.M.
1
My harp on yonder willow lies,
Silent, neglected, and unstrung;
My cheerful songs are turned to sighs;
Sad is my heart and mute my tongue.
2
Once I could sound the note of praise,
As loud as others I could sing;
But retrospect of former days
No help in present grief will bring.
3
But why should I give way to grief?
I see my remedy at hand;
Does not the gospel bring relief
To such as self-convicted stand?
4
Yes, ’tis a faithful, cheering word,
That Jesus came to save the lost;
This truth with richest grace is stored,
And to the vilest yields the most.
Our Lord Jesus Christ will have His inheritance of the people whose salvation He secured at Calvary. They are an ancient, appointed people, called into union with Christ in the covenant of grace and set apart for all time and eternity in their beloved Saviour. The sins if these chosen people are removed from before God’s sight having been blotted out and carried away by their Redeemer. These great promises are the foundation of our everlasting security and eternal joy.
10 December 2023