1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,000 Invite you to take your Bibles and turn with me to the book of 2 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:05,720 Isaiah for using the red Bibles and the chairs around you. 3 00:00:05,720 --> 00:00:10,360 You'll find our passage today on pages six O 5 and six O 6. 4 00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:17,480 We're going to be looking at a chapter 44, beginning in verse 5 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:21,760 24 down through the end of chapter 45. 6 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:25,200 If you've been with us, then you know we've been studying the 7 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:27,560 book of Isaiah. We have moved into the last 8 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:30,840 section of the book, chapters 40 through 66. 9 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:38,880 We have seen a shift of focus, a shift of, of, of tenor In the 10 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:42,400 book, the first part of the book, there's a lot about the 11 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:46,000 rebellion of, of God's people, both Israel and Judah. 12 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:49,200 There's a lot of talk about coming punishment. 13 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:53,120 There is a lot of talk about the coming exile, but in the last 14 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:57,000 section of the book, in chapters 40 through 66, there is much 15 00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:01,560 more of an emphasis on hope and promise, and particularly the 16 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:06,440 promise of return from exile. The the Lord, as we've seen all 17 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:09,120 throughout the book and especially in the last number of 18 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:12,720 chapters, has been talking about a deliverer that is going to 19 00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:17,200 come, who will rescue and deliver the people out of exile. 20 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:20,000 And now we're getting more and more details about that 21 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:22,960 deliverer. This last section of the book 22 00:01:22,960 --> 00:01:26,160 was written by Isaiah in the second-half of the 8th century 23 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:30,600 BC, but it's mostly addressed to God's people who were in exile 24 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:33,600 in Babylon about 150 years later. 25 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:37,200 And as we read the passage today, I want you to have a 26 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:41,160 sense, just be thinking about, have a sense of how hope 27 00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:44,680 producing these words would have been for God's people to hear 28 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:47,480 it. He is trying to encourage His 29 00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:54,400 people to trust Him, to trust that His plan is right and good 30 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:57,440 and good for them. Listen as I read to you from 31 00:01:57,440 --> 00:01:59,720 chapter 44, beginning in verse 24. 32 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:05,920 Thus says the Lord your Redeemer, who formed you from 33 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:09,039 the womb. I am the Lord who made all 34 00:02:09,039 --> 00:02:12,560 things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the 35 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:16,800 earth by myself, who frustrates the signs of liars and makes 36 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:21,760 fools of diviners, who turn, who turns wise men back and makes 37 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:24,800 their knowledge foolish? Who confirms the word of His 38 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:27,760 servant and fulfills the counsel of his messengers? 39 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:31,880 Who says of Jerusalem she shall be inhabited, and of the cities 40 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:35,960 of Judah they shall be built, and I will raise up their ruins. 41 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:40,320 Who says to the deep Be dry, I will dry up your rivers. 42 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:44,800 Who says of Cyrus? He is my shepherd, and He will 43 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:49,320 fulfill all my purpose, Saying of Jerusalem, she shall be 44 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:53,360 built, and of the temple your foundation shall be laid. 45 00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:58,320 Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right 46 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:02,680 hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose 47 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:06,360 the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may 48 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:09,400 not be closed. I will go before you and level 49 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:12,960 the exalted places. I will break in pieces the doors 50 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:16,040 of bronze and cut through the bars of iron. 51 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:19,800 I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hordes in 52 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:24,400 secret places, that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God 53 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:28,840 of Israel, who call you by name. For the sake of my servant 54 00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:32,440 Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by name. 55 00:03:32,440 --> 00:03:35,880 By your name I name you, though you do not know me. 56 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:39,080 I am the Lord, and there is no other besides me. 57 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:42,400 There is no God. I equip you, though you do not 58 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:47,160 know me, that people may know from the rising of the sun and 59 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:50,120 from the West that there is none besides me. 60 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:52,760 I am the Lord, and there is no other. 61 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:55,080 I form light and create darkness. 62 00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:57,640 I make well-being and create calamity. 63 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:01,280 I am the Lord who does all these things. 64 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:05,120 Shower, O heavens from above, and let the clouds rain down 65 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:07,480 righteousness. Let the earth open, that 66 00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:11,320 salvation and righteousness may bear fruit, that the earth 67 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:14,680 caused them both to sprout. I the Lord have created it. 68 00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:19,560 Woe to him who strives with him who formed him a pot among 69 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:22,200 earthen pots. Does the clay say to him who 70 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:26,200 forms it, What are you making, or your work has no handles? 71 00:04:26,760 --> 00:04:29,640 Woe to him. Woe to him who says to a Father, 72 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:33,600 What are you begetting, or to a woman with what are you in 73 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:36,640 labor? Thus says the Lord, the Holy One 74 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:40,720 of Israel and the one who formed him, asked me of things to come. 75 00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:44,480 Will you command me concerning my children and the work of my 76 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:47,560 hands? I made the earth and created man 77 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:49,880 on it. It was my hands that stretched 78 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:52,720 out the heavens, and I commanded all their host. 79 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:56,040 I have stirred him up in righteousness, and I will make 80 00:04:56,040 --> 00:04:59,360 all his ways level. He shall build my city and set 81 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:03,120 my exiles free. Not for price or reward, says 82 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:06,720 the Lord of hosts. Thus says the Lord, the wealth 83 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:10,600 of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush and the Sabians, men of 84 00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:14,240 stature shall come over to you and be yours. 85 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:17,160 They shall follow you. They shall come over in chains 86 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:19,640 and bow down to you. They will plead with you, 87 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:23,400 saying, surely God is in you, and there is no other, no God 88 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:26,560 besides him. Truly you are a God who hides 89 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:28,640 himself, O God of Israel, the Savior. 90 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:31,400 All of them are put to shame and confounded. 91 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:35,680 The makers of idols go in confusion together, but Israel 92 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:38,960 is saved by the Lord with everlasting salvation. 93 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:43,080 You shall not be put to shame or confounded to all eternity. 94 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:46,320 For thus says the Lord who created the heavens. 95 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:49,000 He is God who formed the earth and made it. 96 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:52,040 He established it. He did not create it empty, He 97 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:55,480 formed it to be inhabited. I am the Lord, and there is no 98 00:05:55,480 --> 00:05:58,760 other. I did not speak in secret in a 99 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:01,040 land of darkness. I did not say to the offspring 100 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:05,280 of Jacob, seek me in vain. I, the Lord, speak the truth. 101 00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:09,760 I declare what is right. Assemble yourselves and come 102 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:12,920 draw near together, you survivors of the nations. 103 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:16,560 They have no knowledge you carry about their wooden idols, and 104 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:19,080 keep on praying to a God that cannot save. 105 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:23,400 Declare and present your case. Let them take counsel together. 106 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:27,080 Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? 107 00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:30,560 Was it not I the Lord? And there is no other God 108 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:33,560 besides me, a righteous God and a Saviour. 109 00:06:33,840 --> 00:06:38,080 There is none besides me. Turn to me and be saved all the 110 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:41,360 ends of the earth. For I am God, and there is no 111 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:45,320 other by myself. I have sworn from my mouth has 112 00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:48,960 gone out, and righteousness, a word that shall not return to 113 00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:51,560 me. Every knee shall bow, every 114 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:55,240 tongue shall swear allegiance only in the Lord, it shall be 115 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:59,680 said of me are righteousness and strength to him shall come and 116 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:02,280 be ashamed. All who were incensed against 117 00:07:02,280 --> 00:07:06,200 him in the Lord, all the offspring of Israel shall be 118 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:10,360 justified and shall glory. Let's pray together. 119 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:23,840 Father, such powerful words this morning, powerful because they 120 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:26,960 are your word. So we ask for the power of the 121 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:31,760 Holy Spirit to be at work taking your word and pressing it into 122 00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:35,240 our hearts and our minds, making us more and more like what it 123 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:38,000 says. And above all, today, Father, 124 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:42,200 help us to see Jesus. Help us to be encouraged and 125 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:45,720 equipped and challenged by the gospel, for we ask it in Jesus 126 00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:54,040 name, Amen. Well, we've been able to share 127 00:07:54,040 --> 00:07:57,960 with some of you some of the things going on in the Harper 128 00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:00,920 family over the last six weeks or so. 129 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:06,920 On September 16th, we got a phone call and it was our middle 130 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:10,160 son, Riley. He was letting us know that he 131 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:14,200 had recently had a mole on his head removed and it came back as 132 00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:17,560 Melanoma. As you can imagine, that was 133 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:21,840 quite a shock, pretty jarring, especially as some of you will 134 00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:26,920 remember that 15 years ago this past week, my father passed away 135 00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:31,120 from stage 4 Melanoma. He was. 136 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:34,559 He died about four months after he was diagnosed. 137 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:41,320 So you can imagine as we heard this diagnosis, it was a pretty 138 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:46,200 jarring thing for the family. There was a week between when 139 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:50,200 Riley was diagnosed and when they did a full body PET scan. 140 00:08:51,200 --> 00:08:56,960 That was a pretty rough week as we had to wait knowing about the 141 00:08:57,040 --> 00:09:01,280 Melanoma but not knowing how far it possibly had spread. 142 00:09:01,280 --> 00:09:05,840 There were lots of what ifs, there was a lot of trying to 143 00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:10,840 resist worst case scenario thinking, and it was a pretty 144 00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:13,160 hard week. What is God doing? 145 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:22,680 How is this a good thing? Wouldn't his plan be better in 146 00:09:22,680 --> 00:09:26,720 some other way? The PET scan came back mostly 147 00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:30,880 negative except for a just a small area around where the mole 148 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:32,800 was and that was actually expected. 149 00:09:32,800 --> 00:09:35,800 So that was actually incredible news for us. 150 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:39,400 A plan was put into place. He was going to have surgery to 151 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:43,280 remove more skin around where they took the mole off. 152 00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:48,200 It ended up being an area about a half dollar in size that they 153 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:52,480 removed skin from. They mapped out the lymph nodes 154 00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:58,840 that go to that particular area for biopsies and they did end up 155 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:03,360 removing five of the nodes that in his neck and in his head. 156 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:07,280 Again, we had to wait for the biopsies to come back. 157 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:11,880 It was again a little easier having the results of the PET 158 00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:14,840 scan, but still another hard week. 159 00:10:15,360 --> 00:10:20,600 Thankfully all five of the nodes came back negative for any kind 160 00:10:20,600 --> 00:10:23,760 of cancer spread. So that was great news. 161 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:28,480 Then we had to wait again. Riley was scheduled for a second 162 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:33,320 surgery to reconstruct and repair the area around where the 163 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:36,200 mole had been removed. Now it was even easier to wait 164 00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:41,280 for that given the good news that we had heard, but still 165 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:45,440 some anxiety about the reconstruction that they were 166 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:49,160 going to be doing. Now, thankfully that as of a 167 00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:52,200 little over a week ago, all of the surgeries are completed and 168 00:10:52,520 --> 00:10:57,960 Riley is in the healing process and quote UN quote, cancer free. 169 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:05,520 It's been a challenging 6 weeks in moments like that in in 170 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:09,040 circumstances like that when they happen in our lives, it 171 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:14,120 tests what we say we believe. Do we really believe what error 172 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:21,560 my God ordains is right? Will we truly trust the Lord and 173 00:11:21,560 --> 00:11:25,320 believe that He is sovereign, that He is in control, and that 174 00:11:25,320 --> 00:11:30,320 His purposes, His plans, are right and good? 175 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:34,640 Those are questions that God's people have wrestled with from 176 00:11:34,640 --> 00:11:38,040 the very beginning. Certainly they are questions 177 00:11:38,040 --> 00:11:42,160 that God's people in Isaiah's day were asking those living in 178 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:45,600 the days of Isaiah's ministry, hearing about the coming 179 00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:48,960 judgement and destruction and exile that they would 180 00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:52,160 experience. And those reading Isaiah's words 181 00:11:52,160 --> 00:11:54,200 while they were in exile in Babylon. 182 00:11:55,280 --> 00:12:00,000 Remember, Isaiah ministered around 7:40 to 700 BC before the 183 00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:03,080 southern Kingdom of Judah had been taken into exile. 184 00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:06,000 And now in this section that we're reading the last part of 185 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:10,360 the book, he, he's writing to people who were in exile around 186 00:12:10,360 --> 00:12:16,080 5 the five 80s to the five 30's. The people had lost everything. 187 00:12:16,760 --> 00:12:19,240 They had lost their land, they had lost the temple. 188 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:22,280 They had lost all of the the rituals that they were supposed 189 00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:24,160 to be doing. They had lost their freedom. 190 00:12:25,120 --> 00:12:28,280 They were living in a Pagan nation under the authority of a 191 00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:32,320 Pagan king with Pagan gods and idols everywhere. 192 00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:39,240 What was God doing? Is God in charge? 193 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:44,200 Were His purposes and His plans being worked out? 194 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:46,560 Is was He sovereign and in control? 195 00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:51,080 And if so, what is he doing? Doesn't he care about his people 196 00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:53,880 anymore? What about the covenant that he 197 00:12:53,880 --> 00:12:58,600 made with them? God spoke to His people then and 198 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:02,640 now through the ministry of Isaiah, and He tells His people, 199 00:13:02,640 --> 00:13:06,000 He reminds His people, that He is sovereign and He is in 200 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:10,560 charge, and whatever He ordains is right, is good. 201 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:13,240 The Lord had not forgotten His people. 202 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:16,240 He had not forsaken His people. He was still faithfully 203 00:13:16,240 --> 00:13:19,640 upholding the covenant that He had made with them, and He was 204 00:13:19,640 --> 00:13:24,600 going to send a deliverer, a shepherd, and an anointed one to 205 00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:30,880 rescue and restore and redeem His people and His name with 206 00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:37,760 Cyrus. So he says, trust the Lord, rest 207 00:13:37,840 --> 00:13:42,160 in the Lord, follow the Lord, obey the Lord, love the Lord. 208 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:46,120 This is the same message for God's people today as well. 209 00:13:46,120 --> 00:13:51,440 We can truly sing and believe whatever my God ordains is right 210 00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:55,160 that in the midst of hard and difficult and challenging and 211 00:13:55,160 --> 00:13:59,280 painful circumstances of life, we can trust the Lord. 212 00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:03,440 He has not forgotten us. He has not forsaken us. 213 00:14:03,640 --> 00:14:06,880 He has even sent a greater deliverer to us, a greater 214 00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:12,200 shepherd anointed 1 the Messiah, the Lord Jesus himself, and he 215 00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:16,160 loves us. He is working out his rights and 216 00:14:16,160 --> 00:14:20,040 good plan and purposes in our lives. 217 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:22,920 So let's look at the passage today and see how the Lord tells 218 00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:25,560 his people then and now these things. 219 00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:28,280 Let's let's look and see how He tells them that a shepherd is 220 00:14:28,280 --> 00:14:33,240 coming, that this shepherd would be his anointed and that 221 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:39,720 whatever God does is right and what the purpose of God's plan 222 00:14:39,880 --> 00:14:42,440 really is. And then ask, So what? 223 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:45,480 What difference does it make? First of all, we see that he 224 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:47,560 tells them that a shepherd is coming. 225 00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:52,280 You can see that in verses 24 through 28 of chapter 44, and he 226 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:55,400 begins the section at the very beginning of verse 24 by 227 00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:57,920 reminding the people who they are. 228 00:14:58,720 --> 00:15:01,920 What does he say? He says they are God's people 229 00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:04,480 who have been formed by God in the womb. 230 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:10,200 They are a people who the Lord loves and cares for that much. 231 00:15:10,800 --> 00:15:13,800 He's been knitting them together from the very beginning of 232 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:17,480 existence. They are known by the Creator of 233 00:15:17,480 --> 00:15:22,120 the universe, known thoroughly and intimately and specially. 234 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:27,360 They are part of God's family, but He doesn't just tell them 235 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:31,760 and remind them who they are, He also reminds them who He is. 236 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:35,840 You can see that at the end of verse 24 through verse 27, that 237 00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:38,080 first of all, if you look in your text, you'll notice that He 238 00:15:38,080 --> 00:15:42,280 says the Lord and the Lord is all capitalized. 239 00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:46,800 You'll remember that that's recognition that it's the word 240 00:15:46,800 --> 00:15:49,680 Yahweh. It's that special name that God 241 00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:53,160 gave to His people as He covenanted together with them. 242 00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:57,920 It pointed to the fact that this God was a God of steadfast love 243 00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:02,440 for his special people. He also says that he is the 244 00:16:02,440 --> 00:16:06,360 Redeemer, the God who loves his people so much that he would 245 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:08,840 redeem them and not forsake them. 246 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:13,720 He is the Creator God who has made all things he says, who 247 00:16:13,720 --> 00:16:16,360 alone has stretched out the heavens and spread out the 248 00:16:16,360 --> 00:16:19,680 earth. He is the God who frustrates 249 00:16:19,680 --> 00:16:23,160 liars and makes fools of those who pretend that they know the 250 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:28,120 future. He is the God who is more wise 251 00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:32,320 than even the wisest of wise men, who makes their knowledge 252 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:36,280 look foolish. He is the one who confirms and 253 00:16:36,280 --> 00:16:39,440 fulfills the words of his messengers that he sends out. 254 00:16:39,960 --> 00:16:43,400 He is the one who promises that his people return to the 255 00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:46,040 promised land and that it will be rebuilt. 256 00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:53,240 He is the one, as we see in verse 27, this reference to the 257 00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:55,200 Exodus. He is the one who brought his 258 00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:59,360 people out of Egypt by drying up the Red Sea for his people to 259 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:03,240 cross, pointing to the fact that he will lead his people out of 260 00:17:03,240 --> 00:17:07,760 bondage and exile once again. He reminds them who they are. 261 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:11,800 He reminds them who he is, and then he tells them in verse 28, 262 00:17:13,520 --> 00:17:17,640 I'm sending a deliverer. I'm sending a shepherd. 263 00:17:18,599 --> 00:17:22,359 He finally reveals to his people how he is going to do this 264 00:17:22,359 --> 00:17:26,640 incredible work. He is going to raise up Cyrus to 265 00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:28,680 be the means of the people's release. 266 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:32,800 This is the first time that the deliverer, the promised 267 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:38,920 deliverer, is named. Cyrus was to be the king of the 268 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:42,200 Medes and the Persians. He would eventually conquer 269 00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:46,840 Babylon and send God's people back home at around 536 BC 270 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:52,920 Isaiah is proclaiming who he is 150 years before that, and 271 00:17:52,920 --> 00:17:57,840 notice he refers to Cyrus as the Lord's shepherd. 272 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:03,280 It's a term that was frequently used in the ancient Near East 273 00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:07,240 for kings and for leaders. Of course, it has even more 274 00:18:07,360 --> 00:18:10,960 meaning as we think about the ultimate shepherd that would 275 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:13,920 come, the ultimate deliverer that the Lord would send for his 276 00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:16,800 people. And notice what he says that 277 00:18:16,800 --> 00:18:18,720 this shepherd will do in verse 28. 278 00:18:19,360 --> 00:18:22,040 He will fulfill the Lord's purposes. 279 00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:26,240 He will do things that will cause Jerusalem to be rebuilt. 280 00:18:27,080 --> 00:18:30,040 He will cause the temple to be reconstructed. 281 00:18:32,080 --> 00:18:35,160 Then, as we move into chapter 45, we see not only that Cyrus 282 00:18:35,160 --> 00:18:38,560 will serve as the Lord's shepherd, but that the shepherd 283 00:18:38,880 --> 00:18:43,360 will be the Lord's anointed. You see that at the beginning of 284 00:18:43,360 --> 00:18:48,240 verse 1 of chapter 45, he's referred to as the Lord's 285 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:50,920 anointed. That would have been astonishing 286 00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:54,600 for the people to hear. It's the term that is used 287 00:18:54,600 --> 00:18:57,560 regularly in the Old Testament for Israel's prophets and 288 00:18:57,560 --> 00:19:01,200 priests and kings, and the literal translation of that word 289 00:19:01,200 --> 00:19:05,640 is Messiah. Likely not what the people 290 00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:09,080 wanted to hear. A Pagan king was going to be the 291 00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:14,520 Lord's anointed over them. It's a reminder to us that God's 292 00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:18,960 plans are not our plans. He's the one working out His 293 00:19:18,960 --> 00:19:22,320 right and perfect and good plan and purpose. 294 00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:26,120 Now what are we told that the Lord will do through this 295 00:19:26,120 --> 00:19:27,800 anointed one? Well, you can see that at the 296 00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:31,640 end of verse one through verse beginning of verse 3, the Lord 297 00:19:31,640 --> 00:19:34,560 would be at work through this anointed Cyrus to subdue the 298 00:19:34,560 --> 00:19:40,760 nations, to disarm the kings, to open the way for God's people to 299 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:44,680 return home. And we'll be given treasures and 300 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:47,200 hordes that are in secret and dark places. 301 00:19:48,840 --> 00:19:50,320 And why is the Lord going to do that? 302 00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:56,080 Well, we see that at the end of verse 3 through verse 8, He's 303 00:19:56,080 --> 00:19:58,040 going to do it first for Cyrus's sake. 304 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:02,240 See that at the end of verse three, he says, I will give you 305 00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:04,760 the treasures of darkness and the hordes and secret places 306 00:20:04,760 --> 00:20:09,320 that you may know, that you, Cyrus, may know that it is I the 307 00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:13,080 Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. 308 00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:18,640 The Lord was going to do this. Work through Cyrus so that Cyrus 309 00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:21,840 would know that it is the Lord, the God of Israel, who has 310 00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:25,400 called him and raised him up for this purpose. 311 00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:30,000 So that Cyrus would know that the Lord God Almighty knows 312 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:33,840 Cyrus by name. He calls him by name. 313 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:39,920 Even though Cyrus may not know the Lord, may not believe in the 314 00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:44,640 Lord, he would know that it was the Lord God Almighty who was 315 00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:47,800 doing these things. But the Lord's going to do this 316 00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:50,640 not just for Cyrus's sake. He's also going to do it for the 317 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:53,840 sake of His people. The beginning of verse 4, for 318 00:20:53,840 --> 00:20:57,400 the sake of my servant Jacob and Israel my chosen. 319 00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:03,360 And in verse 6 that people may know from the rising of the sun 320 00:21:03,360 --> 00:21:06,640 and the and from the West that there is none besides me. 321 00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:09,280 I am the Lord, and there is no other. 322 00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:13,480 The Lord was going to use Cyrus for the sake of His people. 323 00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:17,360 He was raising up this deliverer, this, this shepherd, 324 00:21:17,520 --> 00:21:21,160 this anointed One, for the sake of the Lord's own people, 325 00:21:21,360 --> 00:21:25,520 because He cares for them. He has not forgotten them and He 326 00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:29,000 will not forsake them. And just to make it crystal 327 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:30,880 clear, who was going to be doing all of this? 328 00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:33,440 Who was going to be accomplishing all of this? 329 00:21:34,360 --> 00:21:37,720 We see at the end of verse 6 through verse 8, the Lord makes 330 00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:41,600 it abundantly clear it wasn't the people that was going to 331 00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:44,680 accomplish these amazing things. It wasn't even ultimately Cyrus 332 00:21:44,840 --> 00:21:49,680 that was going to accomplish it. I am the Lord, He says, who does 333 00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:54,720 all these things at the end of verse 7, verse 8, it is the Lord 334 00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:58,640 alone who rains down salvation and righteousness from heaven. 335 00:22:00,640 --> 00:22:04,000 It is the Lord who is at work accomplishing His will, His 336 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:08,040 purposes, His plans, fulfilling His promises. 337 00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:13,360 He may choose means to do so, like the Babylonians, like 338 00:22:13,360 --> 00:22:17,960 Cyrus, but it is the sovereign Creator and the covenant keeping 339 00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:21,640 God who accomplishes His plans and purposes. 340 00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:26,520 Now the Lord surely knew that his people or others might 341 00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:30,120 question what He was doing or question how He was doing it. 342 00:22:31,440 --> 00:22:34,520 So as we look at verses 9 through 13, we see that God 343 00:22:34,520 --> 00:22:37,760 tells them very clearly whatever He does is right. 344 00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:42,040 He gives them these two analogies in verses 9 and 10. 345 00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:45,440 First one is of a Potter and clay. 346 00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:48,360 And the implied question is, is it right? 347 00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:51,840 Is it appropriate for the clay to question the Potter and how 348 00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:56,800 he makes his pots? And the second analogy is in 349 00:22:56,800 --> 00:23:00,280 verse 10, using the idea of parents and children. 350 00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:01,920 Is it right? Is it appropriate for children 351 00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:04,960 to question their parents, to question them, having children 352 00:23:05,520 --> 00:23:07,800 accuse them of making a wrong decision? 353 00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:12,440 And of course, the answer to both is absolutely not. 354 00:23:12,440 --> 00:23:15,800 It's not appropriate, which is what the Lord goes on to say in 355 00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:19,240 verses 11 through 13. The the people had to be 356 00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:23,560 questioning what the Lord was doing, how he was doing it, 357 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:27,880 raising up a Pagan king, calling him the Lord's shepherd, calling 358 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:31,960 him the anointed one of the Lord, giving him those kingly 359 00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:35,160 and priestly and titles of Israel. 360 00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:42,080 How could the Lord do this? A Pagan king that would rescue 361 00:23:42,080 --> 00:23:45,720 God's people, who would give an order for them to return home, 362 00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:49,080 who would still have a measure of authority over them, who 363 00:23:49,080 --> 00:23:51,960 would give orders to rebuild Jerusalem and rebuild the 364 00:23:51,960 --> 00:23:54,240 temple. How can this be right? 365 00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:59,320 God's plan surely must be wrong. And the Lord answers in verses 366 00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:03,280 11 through 13. Thus says the Lord, the Holy One 367 00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:06,440 of Israel, and the one who formed him, asked me of things 368 00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:09,560 to come. Will you command me concerning 369 00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:12,520 my children? In the work of my hands I made 370 00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:16,720 the earth and created man on it. It was my hands that stretched 371 00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:19,000 out the heavens, and I commanded all their host. 372 00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:22,160 I have stirred him up in righteousness, and I will make 373 00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:25,480 all His ways level. He shall build my city and set 374 00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:31,680 my exiles free, not for price or reward, says the Lord of Hosts. 375 00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:35,200 The Lord is the Creator. He made the heavens and the 376 00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:37,640 earth. He created mankind. 377 00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:40,040 He is the commander of the heavenly host. 378 00:24:40,040 --> 00:24:43,360 If the Lord decides to accomplish his purposes through 379 00:24:43,360 --> 00:24:45,920 Cyrus, that's the end of the story. 380 00:24:48,360 --> 00:24:51,400 He is the omnipotent, omniscient, perfectly good 381 00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:57,480 Creator. He is not to be questioned in 382 00:24:57,480 --> 00:25:02,560 his plans. What's implied here is that the 383 00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:07,080 people are being told to trust him, trust his plans and His 384 00:25:07,080 --> 00:25:11,920 purposes because they are right, because they are good. 385 00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:16,520 And to remind the people once again that his, his plans and 386 00:25:16,520 --> 00:25:20,400 his purposes are are right and good and good for them. 387 00:25:21,360 --> 00:25:26,480 He tells them that once again. You can see that in verses 14 388 00:25:26,480 --> 00:25:31,040 through 25. The purpose of the Lord's plan, 389 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:35,520 the reason why it's right, the reason why it's good, is because 390 00:25:35,520 --> 00:25:39,840 He's going to save His people. You could see it in verse 17. 391 00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:44,720 But Israel is saved by the Lord with everlasting salvation. 392 00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:49,840 You shall not be put to shame or confounded to all eternity. 393 00:25:50,240 --> 00:25:52,920 The Lord is about the business of saving His people with an 394 00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:56,400 everlasting salvation, removing their shame, removing their 395 00:25:56,400 --> 00:25:59,120 confusion. This is the covenant keeping 396 00:25:59,120 --> 00:26:02,680 God. And He says that His plan, His 397 00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:06,680 purposes are to redeem His people through His steadfast 398 00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:10,840 love. You see it again in verse 25. 399 00:26:12,120 --> 00:26:17,440 In the Lord, all the offspring of Israel shall be justified, 400 00:26:21,360 --> 00:26:24,120 shall be justified. That that that's what the Lord 401 00:26:24,120 --> 00:26:27,360 is doing. That's why His plan and His 402 00:26:27,360 --> 00:26:30,240 purposes is it is right, it is good. 403 00:26:30,240 --> 00:26:33,400 It's because He is about the business of justifying His 404 00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:36,600 people. It's the Hebrew word for 405 00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:40,200 declaring right and in the Septuagint, which is the Greek 406 00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:43,080 translation of the Old Testament, the word that is used 407 00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:47,480 here in Greek is the exact same word that Paul uses in Galatians 408 00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:52,000 2 For our justification by faith in Christ alone. 409 00:26:54,600 --> 00:26:56,920 That's what our God is doing. That is what His plan and His 410 00:26:56,920 --> 00:27:00,760 purposes accomplish. Although people may not 411 00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:03,920 understand or even agree with how the Lord is accomplishing 412 00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:09,200 His will and His purposes, He reminds them it is His plan, it 413 00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:13,720 is His purposes, and they are right and they are good. 414 00:27:14,800 --> 00:27:18,000 He is at work in the business of saving His people with an 415 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:21,760 everlasting salvation of justifying His people. 416 00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:25,880 It's not the only purpose for His plan though. 417 00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:29,120 We we see in verses 18 through 23 He's also going to turn the 418 00:27:29,120 --> 00:27:33,120 nations to Himself. Verse 22, Turn to me, He says, 419 00:27:33,120 --> 00:27:35,440 and be saved all the ends of the earth. 420 00:27:36,360 --> 00:27:40,960 Verse 23 to me every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall 421 00:27:40,960 --> 00:27:44,560 swear allegiance. Part of what the Lord is doing 422 00:27:44,560 --> 00:27:48,000 through His plan with Cyrus and His people is calling the 423 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:52,280 nations to himself. The language that we read in 424 00:27:52,280 --> 00:27:55,400 verses 20 and 21, it's the language that we've seen often 425 00:27:55,400 --> 00:28:00,360 about a courtroom scene. Assemble yourselves, he says. 426 00:28:00,360 --> 00:28:03,640 Draw near, present your case, take counsel together. 427 00:28:04,800 --> 00:28:08,320 The verdict that you will come to will be what I've already 428 00:28:08,320 --> 00:28:13,120 told you, just as I have declared it from of old. 429 00:28:13,120 --> 00:28:18,040 He says I am the Lord, there is no other God besides me. 430 00:28:18,040 --> 00:28:21,880 I am the righteous God, I am the saving God and there is no 431 00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:24,640 other. So he says to the nations, turn 432 00:28:24,640 --> 00:28:30,880 to me and be saved, because one way or another all will bow 433 00:28:30,880 --> 00:28:35,880 their knee and swear allegiance to the Lord God Almighty. 434 00:28:37,400 --> 00:28:41,200 We see one other purpose for what God is doing, not just that 435 00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:43,720 he's going to save his people and turn the nation's to 436 00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:45,880 himself, but also that he would receive glory. 437 00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:51,840 We see it in verses 24 and 25 that he would receive glory from 438 00:28:51,840 --> 00:28:55,840 his people, all people. He says at the end of verse 25, 439 00:28:56,320 --> 00:29:00,320 this is his greatest purpose of all, that God receives all glory 440 00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:03,760 and honor and praise because He alone deserves it. 441 00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:08,080 It's His plan, it's his purpose, it's his work. 442 00:29:08,280 --> 00:29:13,360 He accomplishes it and it is right and it is good, and all 443 00:29:13,360 --> 00:29:19,000 glory belongs to the Lord. So what do we do with all of 444 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:25,480 this? Three things. 445 00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:31,960 First of all, we need to see Jesus as the greater and 446 00:29:31,960 --> 00:29:36,000 ultimate Cyrus. I don't know how we can read 447 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:40,760 chapters 44 and 45 of Isaiah and not see how the the Lord is 448 00:29:40,760 --> 00:29:46,000 pointing us to Jesus. Jesus is the greater and 449 00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:49,800 ultimate Cyrus. Jesus is the greater and 450 00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:53,360 ultimate deliverer that had been promised, the greater and 451 00:29:53,360 --> 00:29:59,760 ultimate shepherd anointed. 1 Messiah It is through the Lord's 452 00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:03,200 Messiah, the Lord Jesus, that He would bring salvation to His 453 00:30:03,200 --> 00:30:06,080 people. It is through the Lord's 454 00:30:06,080 --> 00:30:09,960 Messiah, Lord the Lord Jesus, that He would work justification 455 00:30:09,960 --> 00:30:13,120 for His people. It is through the Lord's 456 00:30:13,120 --> 00:30:16,040 Messiah, the Lord Jesus, that He would be able to declare His 457 00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:19,840 people righteous in His sight. It is through the Lord's 458 00:30:19,840 --> 00:30:23,720 Messiah, the Lord Jesus, that God would receive the greatest 459 00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:28,400 glory and praise. When we, when we read these 460 00:30:28,400 --> 00:30:33,360 chapters of Isaiah, these ancient words, it should make us 461 00:30:33,560 --> 00:30:38,720 marvel again at the gospel that Jesus would come into the world 462 00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:42,280 and lead his people not out of exile and back to the promised 463 00:30:42,280 --> 00:30:46,680 land, but he would lead us out of death and punishment and 464 00:30:46,680 --> 00:30:48,800 judgment because of because of our sin. 465 00:30:49,920 --> 00:30:53,560 That he would lead us into eternal life to an infinite and 466 00:30:53,560 --> 00:30:58,000 eternal inheritance, to being reconciled with God. 467 00:30:59,920 --> 00:31:05,960 Do you believe this gospel? Do you believe this gospel? 468 00:31:05,960 --> 00:31:10,520 Do you believe in trust in this ultimate anointed shepherd? 469 00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:15,440 Have you put your hope and your trust and your faith and Jesus 470 00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:19,600 alone for your salvation, for your being declared right in 471 00:31:19,600 --> 00:31:24,000 God's sight? Are you resting in Christ alone 472 00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:29,200 for being accepted by God and of having eternal life in heaven? 473 00:31:29,200 --> 00:31:34,480 If not, don't leave this building today until you do. 474 00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:39,480 Cry out to the Lord and ask Him to reveal Himself to you who He 475 00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:43,800 truly is and your need for the Lord Jesus Christ. 476 00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:52,160 Secondly, God's word is trustworthy. 477 00:31:54,280 --> 00:31:56,440 I didn't really point it out earlier as we were going through 478 00:31:56,440 --> 00:31:59,200 the passage, but multiple times. Multiple times. 479 00:31:59,200 --> 00:32:05,960 In this passage, the word of the Lord is mentioned 5 separate 480 00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:09,640 times. We read thus says the Lord 481 00:32:11,320 --> 00:32:16,280 chapter 44, verse 24. Chapter 45, Verse one. 482 00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:25,360 Verse 11, Verse 14, Verse 18 again and again and again. 483 00:32:25,360 --> 00:32:30,880 Thus says the Lord. Chapter 44 Verse 26 It is the 484 00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:35,280 Lord who says that Jerusalem in the temple will be rebuilt. 485 00:32:36,360 --> 00:32:39,720 Chapter 44, verse 27. It is the Lord who told the Red 486 00:32:39,720 --> 00:32:43,120 Sea to part to allow his people to cross on dry ground. 487 00:32:44,560 --> 00:32:48,600 Chapter 44 Verse 28 It is the Lord who speaks to Cyrus telling 488 00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:53,120 him what he will do. Chapter 45 verse 19 it is the 489 00:32:53,120 --> 00:32:57,360 Lord who doesn't speak in secret, but the one who speaks 490 00:32:57,360 --> 00:32:59,320 truth and declares what is right. 491 00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:04,360 Chapter 45 Verse 21 it is the Lord who spoke his plans and 492 00:33:04,360 --> 00:33:08,960 declared it of old. Chapter 45, verse 23, it is the 493 00:33:08,960 --> 00:33:14,400 Lord who has sworn by himself from his mouth go out righteous 494 00:33:14,480 --> 00:33:17,280 words. All of this points us to the 495 00:33:17,280 --> 00:33:21,160 reality that the word of God is fully trustworthy. 496 00:33:22,760 --> 00:33:28,960 It is worthy of our trust. And if it's trustworthy and we 497 00:33:28,960 --> 00:33:32,680 trust it and we believe it, then it means we need to follow what 498 00:33:32,680 --> 00:33:35,720 it says. We need to obey it. 499 00:33:36,560 --> 00:33:40,840 We are to read God's Word and to see the ways that our lives need 500 00:33:40,840 --> 00:33:43,120 to change to be in conformed to it. 501 00:33:45,600 --> 00:33:50,000 We are to be and to do what God's Word says. 502 00:33:52,480 --> 00:33:54,880 The fact that God's Word is trustworthy also means that in 503 00:33:54,880 --> 00:34:01,040 terms in in times of darkness and discouragement, depression, 504 00:34:01,040 --> 00:34:06,560 confusion, doubt, we can turn to the promises of God and His Word 505 00:34:07,200 --> 00:34:11,040 and be comforted by them because we know that they are true and 506 00:34:11,040 --> 00:34:14,600 trustworthy. We can be filled with hope and 507 00:34:14,600 --> 00:34:18,280 peace as we meditate on the promises that the Lord will 508 00:34:18,280 --> 00:34:24,040 never leave us or forsake us, that He is with us in the valley 509 00:34:24,040 --> 00:34:28,520 of the shadow of darkness and doubt and pain and even death. 510 00:34:30,280 --> 00:34:33,280 The promise that He who began a good work in US will bring it to 511 00:34:33,280 --> 00:34:37,760 completion. The promise that He will so 512 00:34:37,760 --> 00:34:42,560 preserve us, enabling us to persevere to the end. 513 00:34:43,400 --> 00:34:52,199 God's Word is trustworthy. And lastly, whatever my God 514 00:34:52,199 --> 00:34:57,880 ordains is right. Many of you probably remember 515 00:34:57,880 --> 00:35:00,400 the story of this first hymn that we sang this morning. 516 00:35:01,360 --> 00:35:03,680 It was a hymn that was written by Samuel Rodagast. 517 00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:08,040 He was a 17th century German pastor and teacher and hymn 518 00:35:08,040 --> 00:35:12,600 writer, and he wrote the hymn, his first hymn, in 1676. 519 00:35:14,200 --> 00:35:16,080 You sang it already this morning. 520 00:35:16,080 --> 00:35:18,760 You probably had a sense of how personal it was. 521 00:35:20,240 --> 00:35:25,080 He wrote it for a friend, Gastorius, who is sick, 522 00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:30,760 discouraged and depressed. And he wrote this hymn to 523 00:35:30,760 --> 00:35:35,200 encourage his friend, but also to exhort him to trust the Lord 524 00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:38,280 even in the difficult circumstances of life. 525 00:35:40,080 --> 00:35:43,800 Gastorius was so moved by the words, he ended up writing the 526 00:35:43,800 --> 00:35:48,960 tune to accompany the hymn. The hymn was a favorite of King 527 00:35:48,960 --> 00:35:50,840 Frederick William the Third of Prussia. 528 00:35:50,840 --> 00:35:55,720 It was sung at his funeral. Bach even used the song in 529 00:35:55,720 --> 00:36:00,400 several of his cantatas. Some believe that the hymn is 530 00:36:00,400 --> 00:36:05,120 actually meant to be antiphonal. That means two parts, singing 531 00:36:05,320 --> 00:36:09,760 the hymn back and forth to one another, feeling the weight of 532 00:36:09,760 --> 00:36:13,200 the hymn but also the deep hope of the words. 533 00:36:13,720 --> 00:36:17,240 That in the midst of the storms of life and the dark days and 534 00:36:17,240 --> 00:36:21,280 the difficult circumstances when things are not going well, that 535 00:36:21,280 --> 00:36:26,360 we would remember that despite our circumstances, the Lord is 536 00:36:26,360 --> 00:36:30,800 sovereign and in control even when it doesn't feel like it or 537 00:36:30,800 --> 00:36:34,000 seem like it. That He is at work accomplishing 538 00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:38,400 His purposes and His plans, and they are right and they are good 539 00:36:38,600 --> 00:36:44,000 and they are good for us. That the Lord is worthy of our 540 00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:47,560 trust. We are never forsaken. 541 00:36:48,760 --> 00:36:52,320 That He is our Father in heaven who loves and cares for us. 542 00:36:53,400 --> 00:36:56,160 That He has demonstrated that love and care by sending the 543 00:36:56,160 --> 00:37:00,560 great Deliverer, the great anointed Messiah and His name is 544 00:37:00,560 --> 00:37:04,400 Jesus. Through his life and death and 545 00:37:04,400 --> 00:37:07,360 resurrection. We see the love of God for us. 546 00:37:07,360 --> 00:37:13,440 Now that doesn't mean that we won't have dark days, days when 547 00:37:13,440 --> 00:37:18,000 we are tempted to doubt the Lord's care and love and concern 548 00:37:18,280 --> 00:37:19,840 it. It doesn't mean that we won't 549 00:37:19,840 --> 00:37:23,520 have times and season when the Lord feels far away from us. 550 00:37:23,680 --> 00:37:26,480 It doesn't mean that we won't have things happen in our life 551 00:37:26,480 --> 00:37:33,760 like Melanoma or worse. But when those days, when those 552 00:37:33,760 --> 00:37:37,640 times when those seasons, when those circumstances come, we 553 00:37:37,640 --> 00:37:41,320 must be vigilant to come back to these wonderful truths and 554 00:37:41,320 --> 00:37:47,920 promises of our God and tell ourselves what is true and put 555 00:37:47,920 --> 00:37:51,440 ourselves around God's people who can tell us what is true. 556 00:37:52,800 --> 00:37:58,400 And remind ourselves once again that whatever God ordains is 557 00:37:58,400 --> 00:38:02,160 right and good and worthy of our trust. 558 00:38:03,760 --> 00:38:14,000 Let's pray together. Father, we confess that in the 559 00:38:14,000 --> 00:38:20,280 midst of the challenges that we face, our own sin, the the 560 00:38:20,280 --> 00:38:24,880 fallenness of the world that we live in, the circumstances that 561 00:38:24,880 --> 00:38:30,640 we encounter in this life that are hard that beat us down. 562 00:38:30,640 --> 00:38:37,040 It is, it is hard for us put our hope and our trust in how you 563 00:38:37,040 --> 00:38:40,880 are at work in our lives to really trust You. 564 00:38:42,680 --> 00:38:45,640 And so we pray, Father, that you would help us, that you would 565 00:38:45,640 --> 00:38:47,440 strengthen us. We thank you for Your word and 566 00:38:47,440 --> 00:38:50,320 we know that you are at work through it, through the work of 567 00:38:50,320 --> 00:38:54,280 your Spirit to strengthen us. We pray as we come to the table 568 00:38:54,280 --> 00:38:59,240 now, we pray that you would be at work through it as well to 569 00:38:59,240 --> 00:39:04,120 strengthen us, to strengthen our faith so that we might go out 570 00:39:05,080 --> 00:39:11,200 and truly believe that you are a good God and a God who is in 571 00:39:11,200 --> 00:39:15,120 control. All this we ask, and the one who 572 00:39:15,120 --> 00:39:19,720 gave his life, that we might be justified by faith, the Lord 573 00:39:19,720 --> 00:39:22,200 Jesus Christ Himself. Amen.