Isaiah 42:4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law. Previous verses at the close of chap. 41. indicate the utter failure of the hope of man from man. How often it is so in human history; man fails to find leadership and help in man! In expounding the text, I shall need to open up the whole passage. Follow me, therefore, and obey the first word of the chapter, which is, "Behold." 1. We are commanded at all times to behold the Son of God. But specially in cloudy and dark days ought we to behold Him. When after having looked, and looked long, you see no man and no counsellor, then this precept has an emphatic force about it," Behold My Servant, whom I uphold," and, when all other saviours fail, look to the Saviour whom God has set up. 2. Our great comfort is that the Lord Jesus Christ is always to be beheld. Behold Him, and your fears and sorrows will fly away. The text leads us to consider what is the work which Jesus Christ has undertaken, in which He will not fail nor be discouraged. He has come to "set judgment in the earth," and "the isles shall wait for His law." The earth is to be delivered from misrule and sin, and men are to be submissive to His instruction and direction. Whatever He has undertaken, He will perform; whatever commission He has received, He will fulfil. "He shall not fail nor be discouraged" till all His work is done. I believe in the final perseverance of the Lord Jesus Christ. I. LET THIS TRUTH BE CONSIDERED AND BELIEVED. 1. It is certainly a very marvellous enterprise which our Lord Jesus Christ has under taken. The salvation of a single soul involves a miracle. The salvation of myriads upon myriads of the human race: What shall I call it but a mountain of marvels? The problem staggers us. The systems of evil are colossal. The hold of evil on the race is terrible. Man is inveterately a sinner. By the use of an accursed logic he puts darkness for light and light for darkness, and thus stultifies his conscience, and hardens his heart. If, perchance, you convince his judgment, you have not won his affection, you have not carried his will, you have not subdued his mind. Nothing but Omnipotence itself can save a single soul. What must be that mighty power which shall cause nations to run unto the Lord! 2. The task is rendered the more severe because our Lord Jesus at this present works largely by a Church, which is a poor and faulty instrument for the accomplishment of His purpose. Let this battalion and the other waver as it may, He who holds the banner in the very centre of the fight will never be moved: He will hold the field against all comers. 3. Notice who He is that hath undertaken all this. "Behold My Servant, whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom My soul delighteth." He who is thus spoken of will not fail nor be discouraged for — (1) He is God's own special Servant. (2) Then God says of Him, "My servant, whom I uphold." If God upholds Him, how can He fail? The text may be read, "Behold My Servant upon whom I lean," and the picture is of a great Oriental monarch Who comes forth leaning upon a favourite lord, whom honours by placing him in that position, indicating thereby that he trusts his affairs with him, and regards him as his right-hand man, a very pillar of the State. We say it with reverence, God the Father leans on Jesus the Christ. He rests His honour and glory with the person of the incarnate God. (3) Then the Scripture adds this very significant word, "Mine elect in whom My soul delighteth." The chosen of God, the most choice one that God knows, shall He prove a failure? God said of the world, that it was very good; but we read not that His soul delighted in it: but, see, the very soul of the God-head is moved and filled with delight because of the Saviour, commissioned to redeem. (4) Furthermore, our Lord is the abiding-place of the Holy Spirit. "I have put My Spirit upon Him." He who is owned, honoured, trusted, sustained, loved, and anointed of God cannot but be successful. (5) The success of Jesus is guaranteed by the decree of God. It is written, "He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles." Oh, those blessed "shalls" and "wills"! 4. It may be that at times we fear that the Gospel is not prospering nor fulfilling the purpose for which God hath sent it. Possibly this may arise out of our Lord s way of working, which is so different from what our minds would choose. "He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street." You are in an awful hurry, are you not? But He is never in haste. You would make a great stir and noise, but Jesus will not thus spread the Gospel. You would go out and fight all the enemies of truth, and set clamour against clamour, cry against cry; but "He shall not strive." You would shout, and rage, and rave; but He shall not cry. You would advertise to the ends of the earth; but He shall not cause His voice to be heard in the street. When Mohammed commenced his enterprise he announced that Paradise was to be found beneath the shadow of swords, and numbers of brave men rushed to the battle; they swept everything before them, and stained continents with blood: they carried the name of Allah and Mohammed over Asia and Northern Africa, and seemed intent on conquering Europe: and yet the work done will not endure. The prophet and his caliphs did indeed strive, and cry, and cause their voices to be heard in the street: but Christ's system is the very reverse of that. Behold His battle-axe and weapons of war! Truth Divinely strong, with no human force at the back of it but that of holiness and love; a Gospel full of gentleness and mercy to men, proclaimed not by the silver trumpets of kings, but by the plain voices of lowly men. The Kingdom comes by the Holy Spirit dropping like dew on human hearts, and fertilising them with a Divine life. 5. Note well the spirit in which He works. "A bruised reed," etc. You cannot work in hot haste in this spirit. Gentleness makes good and sure speed, but it cannot endure rashness and heat. We know reformers who, if they had the power, would be like bulls in a china-shop; they would do a great deal in a very short time. But the world's best Friend is not given to quench and bruise. II. LET THIS TRUTH BE BELIEVED AND ENJOYED. 1. Enjoy it by recollecting that Jesus has finished the work for His people. 2. He will finish the work in His believing people. 3. He will finish His work by His people. If you have the Revised Version, the margin will give you some rather singular information. The text might be read thus: "A bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking flax shall He not quench: yet He shall not burn dimly nor be bruised." Though He deals with bruised reeds and smoking flaxes, yet He Himself is not crushed, nor does His light become a mere glimmer. 4. The text has in it great comfort to those of you who are as yet outside of the Church of God. Read the sixth and seventh verses — "He shall not fail nor be discouraged," till He has done, what? — the Divine will, and this is a part of it: "To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house." Turn your sightless eyeballs this way. "Ah!" saith one, "but I am worse than that, I am shut up in prison." Read the seventh verse again: — "To bring out the prisoners from the prison." "Oh, but," saith one, "in my case it is blindness and slavery united." Listen, then! He has come to "bring them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house." ( C. H. Spurgeon.) Parallel Verses KJV: He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law. |
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