A Present Brought To The Lord
Our Bible passage, introduction to Sunday 30th April service and hymns are below.
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Our verses are:
Isa 18:1 Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia:
Isa 18:2 That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled!
Isa 18:3 All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye.
Isa 18:4 For so the LORD said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.
Isa 18:5 For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and take away and cut down the branches.
Isa 18:6 They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth: and the fowls shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.
Isa 18:7 In that time shall the present be brought unto the LORD of hosts of a people scattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of the LORD of hosts, the mount Zion.
A Present Brought To The Lord
It is not certain which land Isaiah is referring to in these verses though it is generally assumed the African nations of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan are intended. These nations occupied the land of Cush, named after Noah’s grandson. The reference to vessels of bulrushes likely supports this theory. Boats of this structure were used on the river Nile and perhaps along the Red Sea coast. The inclusion of these nations shows the broad scope of the prophet’s ‘burdens’ and ‘woes’.
Scattered and peeled!
Again, there is a question as to the identity of the people called ‘a nation scattered and peeled’. Some identify it as the Cushites, being descriptive of their tall height and shaved bodies. They have a ‘terrible’ reputation perhaps because they had terrorised neighbouring nations ‘from their beginning’. Interestingly, Nimrod, called ‘a mighty one in the earth … a mighty hunter before the Lord’, was a son of Cush. His reputation was as a warrior or hunter of men’s souls.
Under God’s rod
Other writers identify the Jews themselves as the ‘nation scattered and peeled’. This is the view we shall take. It may refer to when the cities of Judah, all but Jerusalem, were overrun by the Assyrian army, a tool in God’s hand. Assyria came like a mighty river and scattered, then peeled the nation in the sense of spoiling and plundering. Terrible and wonderful things had been the portion of God’s people, the Children of Israel, from their beginning.
Touch not the apple of His eye
Although Assyria was defeated by the Lord in a single night, other predators circled humbled and vulnerable Judah hoping to exploit their weakness. Isaiah sounds a warning to all people, to the nations of the world, concerning God’s defence of His chosen people. He will raise an ensign on the mountain and sound a trumpet. He will move to cut off any nation who raises a hand against the people whom He cherishes.
Perfect timing
But when? When will the Lord rise to assist His troubled people? Note Christ’s words in verse 4, for it is He who speaks to His prophet. The Lord may seem to be at rest; thoughtful and measured, but He is not unaware of His people’s need. On the contrary, He is considering how best to bless His children and confound their enemies. Let this comfort you and me. Does the Lord appear to be tarrying when we pray for help? Does sought-for relief seem delayed? The Lord is fully aware of your need. He has the best plan to achieve His purpose of blessing His people and assailing their foes.
‘I will come to you’
We may spiritualise this for the church of Christ and apply it to the experience of individual believers. We often feel our enemies in the world, and our own flesh, rise up against us and take advantage of us when we are down, when we feel weakest in spirit and are most humbled before the Lord. Do not think God fails to notice your need or appreciate your urgency. His love for you is greater than any mother’s for her child and any husband’s for his wife. Our Saviour knows exactly what is best for us. He will come and will not tarry.
Christ and His gospel
God will raise an ensign. He stated this in chapter 11:10, ‘a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people’. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Ensign and His gospel trumpet shall call to the nations to gather God’s elect into His rest there to enjoy the blessings of sovereign grace and generous goodness. Do you cry, ‘How long, Lord?’ You shall discover His timing is perfect. It will come, ‘afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower’.
A perfect present
And what shall be the outcome? Hear the prophet again. ‘In that time shall the present be brought unto the LORD of hosts.’ What present is this? The present of the scattered people, the peeled remnant, the Lord’s tried, vexed, stretched and trodden-down elect shall come to their rest, they shall take up their blessings, they shall be presented to God.
Perfect in Christ
What a presentation it shall be! We shall be presented as a chaste virgin before Christ; ‘holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight’. We shall be ‘presented faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy’. Could there be a better prospect for a weary sinner? Could there be a greater comfort to hold fast, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord? May the Lord our God bless us with strength to endure and patience to wait for that glorious day when Christ shall present us ‘to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but … holy and without blemish’, ‘perfect in Christ Jesus’.
Amen
Our hymns are below.
Hymn 1
Gadsby selection 1105
“But one thing is needful.” Luke 10. 42; Ps. 73. 25
S. Medley L.M.
1
Jesus, engrave it on my heart,
That thou the one thing needful art;
I could from all things parted be,
But never, never, Lord, from thee.
2
Needful art thou to make me live;
Needful art thou all grace to give;
Needful to guide me, lest I stray;
Needful to help me every day.
3
Needful is thy most precious blood;
Needful is thy correcting rod;
Needful is thy indulgent care;
Needful thy all-prevailing prayer.
4
Needful thy presence, dearest Lord,
True peace and comfort to afford;
Needful thy promise to impart
Fresh life and vigour to my heart.
5
Needful art thou, my soul can say,
Through all life’s dark and thorny way;
In death thou wilt most needful be,
When I yield up my soul to thee.
6
Needful art thou, to raise my dust
In shining glory with the just;
Needful when I in heaven appear,
To crown and to present me there.
Hymn 2
Gadsby selection 214
“Lord, remember me.” Luke 23. 42; Ps. 25. 7
(Author Unknown) 148th
1
Dear Lord, remember me,
A sinner weak and vile,
Full of impiety,
And fraught with sin and guile,
I cannot hope but in thy blood;
Remember me, O Lord, for good.
2
Unable to depend
On nature-strength and power,
Jesus, my soul befriend;
Teach me to trust thee more;
Save me from sin and all its smart;
O save me from my treacherous heart!
3
Upon thy oath I rest;
My feeble soul secure;
By sin I am oppressed,
But thy salvation’s sure;
Though like a bottle in the smoke,
I know thy vessels can’t be broke.
4
’Tis true, dear Lord, I am
A sinner vile indeed!
Yet hoping in the Lamb,
Who deigned for such to bleed;
And while the Spirit seals my heart,
My soul believes we ne’er shall part.
5
Christ ever will defend
The people of his choice;
He loves them without end,
And in them does rejoice;
For them he shed his precious blood,
And will present them all to God.
Here Isaiah teaches us about the Lord’s elect, a scattered and peeled people. He shows us how the Lord Jesus Christ is an ensign and a trumpet to call God’s remnant people from amongst the nations. He teaches us how to interpret enduring trials and he confirms the promises that we shall be presented to God as a holy, perfect people in Christ.
30 April 2023