An Everlasting Name
Our Bible passage, introduction to Sunday 3rd March service and hymns are below.
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Our principal verses are:
Isa 56:1 Thus saith the LORD, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.
Isa 56:2 Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.
Isa 56:3 Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree.
Isa 56:4 For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant;
Isa 56:5 Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.
An Everlasting Name
For all the comfort and encouragement granted to the Old Testament saints by Isaiah’s prophecies concerning the Messiah, the remnant people were not to imagine that the coming gospel age would be a time of blessing without trial. The gospel must go to all nations, and the Lord’s elect will be gathered from the ends of the earth, but the growth of the church would not be trouble-free. Each generation of God’s people have their peculiar blessings and their distinctive difficulties as we shall see in this and the coming chapters.
When God speaks
Isaiah opens this prophecy with a ‘Thus saith the LORD’. It is our privilege to be always listening for the word of the Lord God while seeking opportunity to follow in His ways. He calls His people to ‘keep … judgment, and do justice’ which we do by trusting Christ and deferring to God’s word as our rule of faith and conduct. Isaiah calls on the remnant of his age to live expectantly looking for the soon appearance of the Messiah, for, says the LORD, ‘my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed’.
‘Blessed art thou, O Lord’
The Lord Jesus Christ is our salvation and our righteousness. It is precious to consider Christ as the ‘blessed man’ in verse 2. Who but He can properly lay hold upon ‘judgment, and do justice’, or ‘keep the sabbath’? (The sabbath commandment is given to indicate the whole law.) Who but Christ can keep ‘his hand from doing any evil’? As the Saviour lived perfectly and was obedient to all His Father’s will so the blessings He won on the cross flow to those He acted for and represented.
Strangers and eunuchs
Isaiah foretells how the coming of Christ will bring an expansion of the gospel call and the enlargement of the church under the apostolic ministry. Two indicative examples are given of the changes this will bring. Before this, the son of a stranger had no right to share in the blessings of Israel. Before this, a eunuch was a reproach in Israel for being unable to father children. Now these distinctions would be removed. The types, symbols and legal distinctions that Paul calls the middle wall of partition were to be taken away. By grace, believing Jews and believing Gentiles were one in Christ Jesus.
Welcome to Jesus
Those who once were shunned and excluded will now be welcomed and honoured in Christ’s kingdom. The despised will be called by an everlasting name. Redeemed sinners will bear the name and glory of their Saviour. They will be called the sons of God, a title Christ Himself will confess on the last day. The sons of strangers will be given an inheritance. Those who once were separated and far-off now delight to love and serve the Lord Jesus who first loved them.
God’s holy mountain
In the apostolic age, under the preaching of the gospel, those who once were outcasts are brought into the holy mountain, that is, the church of the living God. This is the general assembly of God’s elect and the church of the firstborn. It is a holy assembly because it is populated with people made holy by the righteousness of God. Here holy doctrines are proclaimed and pure worship is offered to the holy God. It is a mountain for prominence in God’s sight, lasting strength and distinction.
An extensive work
The Lord will gather the outcasts of Israel, i.e. the elect remnant from amongst the Jews. He will also gather many others, a great multitude spanning countries and centuries. Jews and Gentiles will be called throughout the gospel dispensation until the whole number of God’s elect from all nations will be gathered and united in the body of Christ. Not one of God’s chosen people, Jew or Gentile, will be missed when the Lord comes to gather His jewels.
Dumb, useless dogs
God’s elect will be converted and brought into the church, yet in time, Isaiah tells his listeners, the communities of the Lord’s people will be infiltrated by false professors and abused by false teachers for their own ends. The church of God will be attacked from without and within. Isaiah speaks of blind watchmen and describes them as dumb, greedy, lazy dogs. They are dumb as to true doctrine and spiritual truth yet they manage to call the beasts of the field and forest to spoil and devour God’s flock while they gorge themselves with wine.
We have been warned
The beasts of the field and forest are different foes at different times and places. The blind watchmen are false teachers. By neglecting to preach the true gospel, as watchmen upon the walls of Zion should, they fail to protect the Lord’s people and expose them to danger. They do not care for men’s souls but exploit them for their own gain. More will be said of these men in coming chapters. For now it is sufficient to know that the Lord sees and knows their works and the Lord’s people have been warned of their presence.
Amen
Our hymns are below.
Hymn 1
Gadsby selection 738
The House of Prayer. Isa. 56. 7; Eph. 2. 13
J. Swain L.M.
1
Jesus, how heavenly is the place,
Where thy dear people wait for thee!
Where the rich fountain of thy grace
Stands ever open, full, and free.
2
Hungry, and poor, and lame, and blind,
Hither the blood-bought children fly;
In thy deep wounds a balsam find,
And live while they behold thee die.
3
Here they forget their doubts and fears,
While thy sharp sorrows meet their eyes;
And bless the hand that dries their tears,
And each returning want supplies.
4
O the vast mysteries of thy love!
How high, how deep, how wide it rolls!
Its fountain springs in heaven above,
Its streams revive our drooping souls.
Hymn 2
Gadsby selection 864
At Recommending a Minister. 1 Cor. 3. 21-23
J. Hart 8.7.
1
Holy Ghost, inspire our praises,
Touch our hearts, and tune our tongues;
While we laud the name of Jesus,
Heaven will gladly share our songs.
Hosts of angels, bright and glorious,
While we hymn our common King,
Will be glad to join the chorus;
And the Lord himself shall sing.
2
Raise we, then, our cheerful voices
To our God, who, full of grace,
In our happiness rejoices,
And delights to hear his praise.
Whoso lives upon his promise,
Eats his flesh and drinks his blood;
All that’s past, and all to come, is
For that soul’s eternal good.
3
Happy soul, that hears and follows
Jesus speaking in his word!
Paul, and Cephas, and Apollos,
All are his in Christ the Lord.
Every state, howe’er distressing,
Shall be profit in the end;
Every ordinance a blessing,
Every providence a friend.
4
Christian, dost thou want a teacher,
Helper, counsellor, or guide?
Wouldst thou find a proper preacher?
Ask thy God, for he’ll provide.
Build on no man’s parts or merit,
But behold the gospel plan;
Jesus sends his Holy Spirit,
And the Spirit sends the man.
5
Bless, dear Lord, each labouring servant;
Bless the work they undertake;
Make them able, faithful, fervent;
Bless them, for thy church’s sake.
All things for our good are given;
Comforts, crosses, staffs, or rods;
All is ours in earth and heaven;
We are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
God's blessings come to those who have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are united with our brothers and sisters in Christ and enabled to worship with joy and gratitude for all the Lord has dome for us. We are blessed to be cared for, loved, accepted and protected by our Lord God.
3 March 2024