The Oil Of Joy
Our Bible passage, introduction to Sunday 7th April service and hymns are below.
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Our principal verses are:
Isa 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
Isa 61:2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
Isa 61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
Isa 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
Isa 61:11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
The Oil Of Joy
The close connection between this chapter and Luke 4:14-21 means there is no doubt as to the identity of the preacher said to have been anointed by the LORD. Isaiah is prophesying the very words of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus read this passage in the synagogue at Nazareth at the commencement of His ministry and declared it fulfilled in Himself. God the Holy Spirit descended upon the Lord Jesus, as a dove at His baptism. This was witnessed by John the Baptist who declared ‘for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him’.
A well-informed people
We are again reminded how much of Christ the Messiah these Old Testament believers understood. By prophetic revelation they looked forward to Christ’s coming in faith, being ‘just and devout’ men and women, ‘waiting for the consolation of Israel’. Isaiah tells us the Lord Jesus was called to preach the acceptable year of the LORD, or, we may say the appointed time of acceptance and atonement between God and His people.
God’s glory is paramount
In His covenant role it was Christ’s calling to bring comfort to those who mourned in Zion. This comfort is in the form of spiritual justification and conversion. Salvation is God’s sovereign work, ‘the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified’. Christ gives His people ‘beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness’. These are fruits of grace and describe spiritual transformation in a sinner’s life, ‘that they might be called trees of righteousness’ and be fruitful in the garden of the LORD.
The work of gospel preachers
The service of these transformed individuals in the gospel age is in view. They are like shepherds and plowmen. The apostles and the Lord’s preachers shall gather and build up the church through gospel preaching. Truth which had been lost and wasted over many years will be recovered and built upon. Principally, it is the work of gospel preachers that Isaiah is foretelling. ‘Strangers’ and ‘the sons of aliens’ refer to pastors and ministers of the gospel who will preach Christ to Jew and Gentile without distinction according to the priesthood of all believers.
Reassuring the remnant
Isaiah tells his generation that the gospel age will usher in a time of spiritual restoration and rejoicing. The whole church will boast Christ alone as its Head and Saviour. It will be a time of everlasting joy and enduring peace. Not that there will be no more hardship, there will be. Yet, for it grace, peace and joy will be given in measure and these blessings will reign amongst God’s elect never be removed. Spiritual wisdom and discernment will also be given to the Lord’s people. The work of the church in preaching Christ for truth and righteousness will bring about God’s purpose of salvation (Ephesians 2:8-10).
The blessed covenant of peace
Here Isaiah speaks again of the everlasting covenant. The Jews had long been aware of this promise. Moses, Samuel, David, Jeremiah and Ezekiel all spoke of it. Now, says Isaiah, it will be renewed and God’s people will again rejoice in its promises, privileges and liberties. Gospel blessings are enduring blessings to be enjoyed by generation after generation of the Lord’s people. God’s elect are blessed with all spiritual blessings. Their assurances of grace, mercy and peace are built upon the sacrifice of Christ and the faithfulness of God to endless generations.
Righteous and holy
Dr Hawker encourages us to see the final two verses of this chapter first as a song in the heart of Jesus our Saviour and thereafter, in union with Him, upon the lips of His people. All the blessings of the church come through the Lord Jesus and all God’s promises to us are ‘Yea, and in him Amen’. Christ’s church is really and actually clothed with garments of salvation and covered with the robe of righteousness. This is a blessed truth. God’s elect are not waiting for justification. We are, right now, righteous and holy in God’s sight, and that will never change. We are all beautiful in Christ.
God’s generous provision
It is God’s sovereign will and good pleasure to bestow this righteousness. Out of love for His church He has accomplished everything necessary for our cleansing, redemption and glory. We who are in Christ Jesus lack no good thing. We should not be discouraged or distressed, God’s blessings in His planted and well-watered garden will continue to spring forth. These promises ought always to reassure and comfort God’s people. Neither God nor His church shall be ashamed or defeated. On the contrary, ‘The Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations’.
Amen
Our hymns are below.
Hymn 1
Gadsby selection 1127
“Awake, O north wind.” Song. 4. 16; Isa. 61. 11
J. Kent L.M.
1
When Zion’s sons, great God! appear
In Zion’s courts for praise and prayer,
There, in thy Spirit, deign to be
As one with those who worship thee.
2
Without thy sovereign power, O Lord,
No sweets the gospel can afford;
No drops of heavenly love will fall
To cheer the weary, thirsting soul.
3
Winds from the north and south, awake,
Take of the things of Jesus, take;
Diffuse thy kind celestial dew,
Bring pardon, peace, and healing too.
4
Then shall we count the season dear
To those who speak or those who hear;
And all conspire with sweet accord,
In hymns of joy, to praise the Lord.
Hymn 2
Gadsby selection 524
Glad Tidings. Isa. 61. 1-3; Matt. 11. 5, 28
W. Gadsby 11s
1
The gospel brings tidings, glad tidings indeed,
To mourners in Zion, who want to be freed
From sin, and from Satan, and Mount Sinai’s flame,
Good news of salvation, through Jesus the Lamb.
2
What sweet invitations the gospel contains,
To men heavy laden with bondage and chains;
It welcomes the weary to come and be blessed
With ease from their burdens, in Jesus to rest.
3
For every poor mourner, who thirsts for the Lord,
A fountain is opened in Jesus the Word;
Their poor parchèd conscience to cool and to wash
From guilt and pollution, from dead works and dross.
4
A robe is provided, their shame now to hide,
In which none are clothèd but Jesus’s bride;
And though it be costly, yet is the robe free,
And all Zion’s mourners shall decked with it be.
5
A ring that denotes his unchangeable love,
Is put on the finger, God’s kindness to prove,
(This love no beginning can know, nor an end,)
And Zion shall wear it in praise of her Friend.
When the Lord Jesus came into this world He told the people of Nazareth that He was the One of whom Isaiah wrote. The Lord Jesus has fulfilled all the promises Isaiah foretold He would. We are blessed with beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of salvation and a robe of righteousness in our Saviour.
7 April 2024