Everlasting Kindness
Our Bible passage, introduction to Sunday 18th February service and hymns are below.
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Our principal verses are:
Isa 54:4 Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.
Isa 54:5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
Isa 54:6 For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.
Isa 54:7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
Isa 54:8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.
Isa 54:9 For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.
Isa 54:10 For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee.
Everlasting Kindness
Seven hundred years before Christ’s incarnation Isaiah wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost concerning things to come and blessings to be fulfilled. He wrote to encourage and comfort the hard pressed people of His own age and did so by telling them beforehand of the Messiah’s success and how this success would be measured. Having spoken of God’s righteous servant being sacrificed for the sins of His people the prophet goes on to describe the fruit of Christ’s suffering and the harvest He achieved.
Prepare to go big
The Old Testament remnant was by definition small. Even the number of Christ’s followers in His own lifetime was not large. He called them His ‘little flock’ and they seem to have numbered only one hundred and twenty in Jerusalem soon after Christ’s ascension. Isaiah foresaw that following the return of Christ to heaven the apostles and the small church that remained would see a great increase in conversions as the gospel was preached among the Gentiles. He told the remnant all about it.
Our Maker our Husband
Paul describes marriage as a man and a woman becoming one flesh. When the Lord Jesus joined Himself to our flesh He united Himself to His church as the Husband of His Bride. The Lord Jesus Christ, our Maker is our Husband, our Head, our Representative and our Redeemer. God the creator became man in flesh to redeem His people from their sin and gather them to Himself as one body from out of the whole earth.
A gathered people
Isaiah has previously spoken of ‘the LORD, your redeemer’. He promised the remnant people that ‘Zion shall be redeemed’. However, this work was bigger than one family and one nation. The whole number of God’s elect would be gathered by their Redeemer-Husband from near and far. The visible church would be increased and no effort or resource should be spared in enlarging their tents. This is the people who will sing in heaven, ‘Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation’.
‘Everlasting kindness’
The spiritual dimension of God’s promise to His elect is evident in Isaiah’s reference to the everlasting nature of the Lord’s grace and mercy. ‘With great mercies will I gather thee … with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.’ Here we see how the salvation of the body, the church; comprising every individual member from amongst the Jews and the Gentiles, is God’s absolute promise and not conditional on man’s freewill. Unless it can be proved there is divine kindness in hell then everlasting kindness, just as everlasting love, must be particular.
‘The covenant of my peace’
God swears with an oath of certainty, enlisting in evidence His promise to Noah, of which the rainbow is the sign, and also the durability of the mountains. He will be faithful to His word. He has undertaken to redeem, deliver and gather His church. God calls this His covenant of peace because it is founded upon the atoning and reconciling work of the Lord Jesus Christ as Representative and Surety of those for whom He died. God’s love and kindness is the foundation of His everlasting covenant of grace and peace.
The storms of life
God is aware of the trials and hardships encountered by His people in this tumultuous world. He promises help and care for His elect ‘afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not (otherwise) comforted’. The comfort of believers in this life is rarely derived from physical ease or temporal, earthly security. Yet, the precious stones listed imply the spiritual beauty, value and strength granted to the Lord’s people. Justifying righteousness and knowledge of gospel truth confirms the preservation of the elect. Being taught of God assures the spiritual peace that passeth understanding despite the trials we must face.
The smith and the waster
The Lord promises to safeguard His own children whom He watches over. Any who plan to trouble us should understand that their devices will be thwarted. God holds the elements of this world in His hand. The smith and the waster are both Christ’s to order and everything bends to His will. ‘No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.’ This is the Lord’s promise to His people, it is the ‘heritage of the servants of the LORD’.
The comfort of sovereign grace
Every generation of the Lord’s people will endure trials of varying severity. Despite this we are constantly upheld by the Lord and supplied with faith to believe in Christ. We have placed our hope in the good news of His successful accomplishments. Despite the challenge of our individual experiences, Zion, the city of God, is being built brick by precious brick and cannot be harmed or destroyed. Isaiah took comfort in foreseeing Christ’s people gathered in this our gospel day. We, too, should be comforted with the daily evidence of God’s promises being fulfilled before our eyes.
Amen
Our hymns are below.
Hymn 1
Gadsby selection 323
Return of Joy. Isa. 54. 7-10; Job 34. 29
W. Cowper L.M.
1
When darkness long has veiled my mind,
And smiling day once more appears,
Then, my Redeemer, then I find
The folly of my doubts and fears.
2
I chide my unbelieving heart,
And blush that I should ever be
Thus prone to act so base a part,
Or harbour one hard thought of thee.
3
O let me then at length be taught
(What I am still so slow to learn)
That God is love, and changes not,
Nor knows the shadow of a turn.
4
Sweet truth, and easy to repeat!
But when my faith is sharply tried,
I find myself a learner yet,
Unskilful, weak, and apt to slide.
5
But, O my Lord, one look from thee
Subdues the disobedient will;
Drives doubt and discontent away,
And thy rebellious worm is still.
6
Thou art as ready to forgive
As I am ready to repine;
Thou, therefore, all the praise receive;
Be shame and self-abhorrence mine.
Hymn 2
Gadsby selection 82
Stability of Covenant. Ps. 89. 28; Isa. 54. 9, 10
B. Wallin L.M.
1
Rejoice, ye saints, in every state,
Divine decrees remain unmoved;
No turns of providence abate
God’s care for those he once has loved.
2
Firmer than heaven his covenant stands,
Though earth should shake and skies depart.
You’re safe in your Redeemer’s hands,
Who bears your names upon his heart.
3
Our Surety knows for whom he stood
And gave himself a sacrifice:
The souls once sprinkled with his blood,
Possess a life that never dies.
4
Though darkness spread around our tent,
Though fear prevail and joy decline,
God will not of his oath repent:
Dear Lord, thy people still are thine!
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Husband of His Church and cherishes His Bride with everlasting love and everlasting kindness. He has promised never to leave us and to teach us personally of His grace and goodness.
18 February 2024