113. Hear and Your Soul Shall Live

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Hymns: RHC 266 I Am Coming, Lord 267 Only Trust Him 268 Lord, I’m Coming Home 

Isaiah 55

1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. 3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. 4 Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. 5 Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee. 6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9 For asthe heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. 12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

Hear and Your Soul Shall Live

OUTLINE

  • Invitation to Unsaved Souls (v1-4)
  • Come Urgently to the LORD (v5-7)
  • Fulfilling the Will of the LORD (v8-13)

INTRODUCTION

The desire of God is for men estranged from Him be reconciled to Him. Men are estranged from God as a result of their sin. In the estate of men’s misery, He draws them to Him. Our text in Isaiah 55 sets the stage to give the urgent invitation to fulfil the purpose of God to save lost souls.

  • Invitation to Unsaved Souls (v1-4)

1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. 

The invitation is to come and eat that which is good to truly satisfy not the physical body but the dire needs of the soul. 

The prophet reasons with his listener, “let your soul delight in fatness.” The opposite is the leanness of the soul, a description of a man without God, that is far from Him.

The invitation from God comes with no strings attached, there is no cost involved to receive the true satisfaction of the soul – “buy wine and milk without money and without price.”  

There are things that money can buy. Though money is spent yet the soul will remain unsatisfied. So the prophet explained, “To spend money on that which is not bread, that does not satisfy the hunger of the soul, it money not well-spent. One is not dissatisfied.”

This was exactly what our Lord Jesus explained to the people in John 6:26-27 (KJV) Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. 

Jesus further clarified in John 6:32-33 (KJV) Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

3 Incline (give attention) your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. 

This verse recalls Solomon’s words – Proverbs 2:2 (KJV) So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;

Literally: To give attention to wisdom your ears, you shall stretch out your heart to understanding.

Listen carefully with a mind to believe, understand and obey.

Notice that the preposition “l” occurs three times – attached to the words (give attention, wisdom and understanding) It expresses motion towards a thing or person. It is directive! We are to focus our minds to wisdom and to understanding of God’s Word.

The “stretching out of the heart” to the things of God reminds me of John Calvin theologian of the 16th century reformation – Calvin’s emblem is a heart aflame in the hand of God – “promptly and sincerely in the work of the Lord.”  It must first begin with us stretching out our hearts to God that He may transform it for service.

Come to Jesus and be saved – Matthew 11:28 (KJV) Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

John 6:37 (KJV) All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

John 6:38-39 (KJV) For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. 39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

When we come to Christ, and be saved, God makes a everlasting covenant with us that endures to eternity. We are saved for all eternity.

John 17:2 (KJV) As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.

John 17:8-9 (KJV) For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. 9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

I will confirm to you, and fulfill in you, the solemn promises made to David. 

Psalm 89:2-4 (KJV) For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens. 3 I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, 4 Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.

Romans 1:3-4 (KJV) Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; 4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

The word mercies here refers to the promise made to David; the mercy or favour shown to him by promising to him a successor, that should not fail to sit on his throne, 2 Sam. 7:16; Psalm 89:4; 132:11-12. 

These mercies and these promises are called “sure,” as being true, or unfailing; they should certainly be accomplished.

 The word David here does not refer, as many have supposed, to the Messiah, but to the king of Israel God made to David a promise, a certain pledge; he bestowed on him this special mercy, in promising that he should have a successor who should sit for ever on his throne. 

This is used by the Apostle Paul in Acts 13:34 (KJV) And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.

This promise was understood by the Jews, and is often referred to in the New Testament, as relating to the Messiah. And Paul here says that that promise here is fulfilled. 

The only question is, how it refers to the subject on which Paul was immediately discoursing. That point was not mainly to prove his resurrection, but to show particularly that he would never die again, or that he would for ever live and reign.

And the argument is, that as God had promised that David should have a successor who should sit for ever on his throne; and as this prediction now terminated in the Messiah, the Lord Jesus, it followed that, as that promise was sure and certain, he would never die again. He must live, if the sure promise was fulfilled. And though he had been put to death, yet under that general promise was the certainty that he would live again. 

The meaning is, it was impossible that the Messiah, the promised successor of David, the perpetual occupier of his throne, should remain under the power of death. Under this assurance the church now reposes its hopes. Zion’s King now lives, ever able to vindicate and save his people. [Barnes]

4 Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.

This is evidently the language of God respecting the Messiah, or of David as representing the Messiah. 

An examination of these passages will show that they all refer to the Messiah by the name of David; and it is morally certain that in the passage before us, the name David (Isaiah 55:3) suggested the Messiah. 

It seems to me that this is to be regarded as a direct address respecting the Messiah, and that the object of the speaker here is to state a reason why he should be embraced. 

That reason was that God had constituted him as a leader. Lo, I have constituted him as a prince to the people, a king and ruler over all kingdoms. 

Messiah would be a monitor or a mediator between people and Him who would accuse them. 

The idea is, that he would sustain the relation of a sovereign. One of the important offices of the Messiah is that of king.

  • Come Urgently to the LORD (v5-7)

5 Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee. 

God will do a work of salvation to draw the people of the nations to Him.

The Spirit of Christ will be sent forth after Christ’s ascension to accomplish the work of saving souls.

John 16:7-11 (KJV) Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. 8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 

The longsuffering of the LORD awaiting the sinner to repent will not be forever, there will come a time when it is too late to repent just as the rich man who died and found himself tormented in hell fire (Luke 16).

7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

God will not reject the penitent. He will forgive their transgressions through the blood of Christ that was shed for the remission of our sins.

Isaiah 53:5-6 (KJV) But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 

  • Fulfilling the Will of the LORD (v8-13)

8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. 12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign thatshall not be cut off.

God’s salvation through Christ’s atoning sacrifice for man is out of man’s imagination. It is unimaginable but to be received with humility and faith.

The power of God to save is like the water that causes the seed to grow to a plaint and the bud that springs forth to flower.

So shall the preaching of God’s Word accomplish His holy purpose to save souls.

The saved souls received peace in the heart and joy in the soul. There will be singing and rejoicing for the saved soul!

Acts 3:7-8 (KJV) And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ancle bones received strength. 8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.

John 5:8-9 (KJV) Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. 9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.

John 5:14 (KJV) Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.

And instead of the brier – The brier is everywhere an emblem of desolation, and of an uncultivated country.

The myrtle-tree – The idea here is, that under the gospel the change would be as great in the moral world as if a field all overrun with briers should at once become thick set with myrtles.

And it shall be to the Lord – The reference here is to all that had been said in the chapter. The gift of the Messiah; the universal offer of the gospel; the bestowing of pardon; the turning of the wicked unto God; and the great and salutary changes produced by the gospel, would all be a memorial of the benevolence and glory of the LORD. [Barnes]

For a name – It should tend to diffuse his name; to spread abroad a knowledge of himself.

An everlasting sign – Here it means that it would be an eternal memorial of the mercy and goodness of the LORD.

A sign – A pledge; a token; an evidence of the fulfillment of what is predicted. The word does not, of necessity, denote a miracle, though it is often so applied. 

Here it means a proof, a demonstration, a certain indication that what he had said should be fulfilled. As that was to be such a demonstration as to show that he was “able” to deliver the land, the word “here” denotes that which was miraculous, or which could be effected “only” by the LORD.

That shall not be cut off – The gospel with its rich and varied blessings shall erect enduring monuments in the earth, to the praise and honour of God. It will be more enduring as a memorial of Him than all altars and statues, and temples erected to celebrate and perpetuate idolatry; as wide – diffused as are His works of creation, and more fruitful of blessings than anything elsewhere conferred on man. [Barnes]

CONCLUSION

Hesitate not, but come the Lord and be saved forever. Amen.