Now let's pray together.
Lord God, we praise you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, acknowledging your greatness and your glory.
Acknowledging, too, that we will only ever catch a brief glimpse of all you are in your absolute perfections.
But Lord, we thank you for what we find in your word, teaching us that you are the eternal king, that you rule over all things and over all people, that you are our creator, that you are our sustainer,
that you are moving all of history forward in your intended direction until the return of our Lord Jesus, until he comes in judgment and in final salvation and establishes the new heaven and the new earth for his people.
Lord, we thank you that you are the God who is mightier than the oceans.
We have seen so much of the power of the weather in the storms that have gripped so much of Europe in recent days.
But we recognize you are mightier by far.
Lord, we praise you that your word is unbreakable, that it is the word of the king and it is unchanging.
Lord, we thank you that you are the God who is perfect in holiness.
Thank you that you never change, you never diminish in your perfection, that you remain always our holy, holy, holy God.
And we thank you that from your glory and your power and your goodness, you are able to strengthen us.
And so we pray once again that as you meet with us, that you would meet with us to do us good from your word.
That as we see something of your glory, that it would cause our hearts to worship.
That it would cause our lives to be lived under your good rule.
So guide us in our time together.
Guide us in our discussions later.
And all for your glory we pray.
Amen.
So, again, we are going to be thinking about another of our key doctrines.
This time it's the glory of God to think about it in God's word and to think about its significance for everyday life.
We'll shortly be reading from Isaiah 40, a wonderful text to think about the glory of God.
But before that, a couple of introductory questions.
First of all, what do we mean when we're talking about the glory of God?
Paul Tripp has a helpful definition for us.
He says, God's glory is the greatness, beauty and perfection of all that he is.
So it's a helpful working definition for us.
To speak of the glory of God is to make a declaration that God has majesty, that God is great.
And at the same time, that becomes for us an invitation.
As we recognize the greatness of the one true God, that we would worship him.
So God's glory, seeing God's glory, should lead us to worship.
We've already sung from Psalm 93, but we could mention Psalm 48, verse 1,
which begins, great is the Lord and most worthy of praise.
Psalm 93, which began, the Lord reigns.
He is robed in majesty.
The Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength.
Psalm 95, verse 3, the Lord is the great God, great King above all gods.
Psalm 145 testifies to the reality that one generation will say to the other,
speak to the other of the glorious splendor of the majesty of God.
So the Bible is full and our Psalms are full of the greatness, the beauty, the perfection of God.
That being the case, why do we need to see the glory of God is something that we'll think about this evening.
And one important reason why we need the glory of God is because within all of our hearts,
there is what we might call a glory war.
There is a battle for hearts and minds going on.
So one thing that is true for all of us as people is that we are hardwired or we are programmed to seek glory
and to seek something that is glorious.
God made us that way, so ultimately that we would seek him and find him and recognize his supreme glory.
But because of sin, so often we become glory thieves.
Since Adam and Eve, there is that desire within us to be like God,
to want to put ourself at the center, and so we rob God of glory.
But also we exchange the creator for created things, and we give glory to those created things.
And we might see that when our fascination and obsession is taken up with, let's say, a sports team,
or with art, or with a particular person rather than God.
But we were made that only seeing and responding to the glory of God would be what would truly satisfy us.
Because only God is eternal and infinite and unlimited in his greatness, perfection, and beauty.
And so we can chase after these lesser things, and they may satisfy for a while, but they cannot satisfy ultimately.
But there is that battle going on in our hearts, and ultimately, only God's grace in the gospel is going to win that battle for us.
Only as we see the glory of God in the person and work of the Lord Jesus are we going to be truly captivated by God and his glory above all lesser things.
So that's one reason why we need the glory of God, because of that war that goes on in our hearts all the time.
We also need it because sometimes in our thinking our God becomes too small.
The Bible is very clear that God is unlimited.
He's eternal and infinite. He's almighty and perfect.
But sometimes, in our own thinking, especially if we lose sight of God's revelation in the Bible,
we lose that sense of the infinite gap that is between our great God and ourselves.
We bring him, as it were, down to our level.
Or, on the other hand, we might apply our limits to God.
You know, our wisdom is not perfect.
Our understanding is not perfect.
Our love is not perfect.
So we imagine God being like that.
Or we can think of God as being personal, and he is,
but we fail to see how majestic and other he is,
emphasizing one over the other.
And the result when we do that is we begin to lose a sense of worship.
And if we lose sight of the greatness and glory of God,
it can be very easy then for us to become discouraged,
for us to begin to have doubts,
for us to begin to wonder,
well, can Christ's kingdom really prosper?
Can God move in power again?
Think about our city or think about our nation?
And so we're going to come shortly to Isaiah chapter 40,
and that was the reality for the folks that were hearing that word from God.
And because they were exiles, and they were discouraged,
and they were fearful.
But I imagine that we can relate to that in our own time.
Two vital steps that we want to take to recover a right sense of God's glory then
is on the one hand to remove any thought of limits
when it comes to thinking about God.
And secondly, and this is where we see it a lot in Isaiah 40,
is to compare God with those powers and those forces
that we typically think of as great,
recognizing that God is greater than.
So with that in view, let's turn in our Bibles
to the book of Isaiah and chapter 40,
and we'll read the whole chapter,
and then we will think about it together.
And the words are on the screen if you don't have a copy of the Bible yourself.
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.
A voice of one calling,
in the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low,
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain,
and the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people will see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
A voice says, cry out.
And I said, what shall I cry?
All people are like grass,
and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the Lord blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God endures forever.
You who bring good news to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,
lift up your voice with a shout.
Lift it up.
Do not be afraid.
Say to the towns of Judah,
here is your God.
See, the sovereign Lord comes with power,
and he rules with a mighty arm.
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
He tends his flock like a shepherd.
He gathers the lambs in his arms,
and carries them close to his heart.
He gently leads those that have young.
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales,
and the hills in a balance?
Who can fathom the spirit of the Lord,
or instruct the Lord as his counselor?
Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,
or showed him the path of understanding?
Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket.
They are regarded as dust on the scales.
He weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.
Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires,
nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.
Before him all the nations are as nothing.
They are regarded by him as worthless,
and less than nothing.
With whom then will you compare God?
To what image will you liken him?
As for an idol, a metal worker casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold,
and fashions silver chains for it.
A person too poor to present such an offering,
selects wood that will not rot.
They look for a skilled worker,
to set up an idol that will not topple.
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
He brings princes to naught,
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
No sooner are they planted,
no sooner are they sown,
no sooner do they take root in the ground,
than he blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.
To whom will you compare me?
Or who is my equal, says the Holy One?
Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens who created all these.
He who brings out the starry host one by one,
and calls forth each of them by name,
because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.
Why do you complain, Jacob?
Why do you say, Israel, my way is hidden from the Lord?
My cause is disregarded by my God?
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary,
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall.
But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not be faint.
Amen.
Wonderful chapter.
We're going to begin by thinking about
six necessary comparisons
as we want to see the glory of God.
So here is Isaiah, and he's led by the Spirit,
and he's speaking to these discouraged
and anxious people of God.
And he gives these beautiful words of comfort.
Comfort to be found in the glory of God
and knowing the God of glory.
And the emphasis is on the fact that God has no limits
and God has no rivals when it comes to his glory.
So six points of comparison or contrast.
First in verses six to eight,
the glory of the word of God
compared to us as people.
What does Isaiah, led by the Spirit, say about people?
All people are like grass.
The grass withers and the flowers fall
because the breath of the Lord blows on them.
It's the emphasis there.
We are frail.
We are fragile.
As people, we are constantly changing.
In some ways, we are growing and developing.
In other ways, we are experiencing loss
and we are decreasing.
And ultimately, what we discover there in verse seven
is that our breath is given by God.
Our breath is taken by God.
Our lives are in the hands of God.
But while we are constantly changing
and we are marked by fragility,
verse eight,
but the word of our God endures forever.
His word never changes.
His is the one word
that is never in need of an upgrade,
an update, or any form of correction.
So in the word of God,
we have a glorious stability
for our changing lives
and in our changing world.
So the word of God compared to people.
The next comparison to think about
so we can see the glory of God
is related to the tasks of God.
Verses 12 to 14.
He goes to these huge things of creation
who has measured the waters
in the hollow of his hand.
So there's the oceans pictured
as if they were just in the palm of God's hands
or with the breadth of his hand
marked off the heavens.
We think about the sky and all its vastness
as if God measured them so easily
with just the breadth of his hand,
weighing the mountains on the scales.
Compared with the God of glory,
all of these acts of creation
are small,
as wonderful as they are.
We may very well find ourselves
being amazed by the discoveries
that there are within the natural world,
amazed by the latest documentary
from David Attenborough.
But even as we listen to those documentaries
and we see those scenes,
we recognize that as people
there is still so much
that we have not explored,
there is so much that remains unknown,
and beyond all that
is the stark reality
that we did not create,
but God did.
And in verses 13 and 14,
in a sense there's a challenge.
Who else could do this?
Who else could measure the oceans
in the palm of his hand?
Who else has measured
the dust of the earth in a basket?
Who is big enough?
Who is wise enough?
Who is creative enough
to make all of this?
And of course the answer is no one.
And so the people of God
are invited in verse 9,
and we'll come back again and again
to recognize and to say,
here is our God.
He is a God of glory,
and we can see it in his great tasks.
And we see it also in contrast
with the nations.
Think again about Israel's national story.
Think about their position geographically,
always being threatened
by larger empires,
more powerful nations all around,
sometimes threatened,
sometimes taken into captivity
as they have been in their recent history.
And we can imagine them
looking across their borders,
often with anxiety and fear,
and God says,
remember,
surely the nations are like
a drop in a bucket.
They're regarded as dust on the scales.
Those enemies
that you are so fearful of,
verse 17,
before him,
before the God of glory,
all the nations are as nothing.
They're regarded by him
as worthless and less than nothing.
Think about that
when we watch the news.
The focus on the news just now,
I guess,
is on the force of Russia
and the threat from Russia.
Or perhaps if you read
from items from the persecuted church,
you get your stories of mission,
and you learn about the governments
of Afghanistan and North Korea and Iran
and their determination
to try and squeeze out Christianity
within their country.
We are invited to read Isaiah 40
and to remember that those nations,
and indeed our nation,
is not in control,
but God is.
Those nations are not setting
the course of world history.
Our glorious God is.
And so the answer to Israel's fear,
the answer to our fear,
is to behold our God
and see him in comparison
to the nations.
We can move then to verses 21 and 22.
Think about God in comparison
with the world.
And we recognize we live
in a wonderful world.
It's a vast world.
There are over seven billion people
living in the world.
There's incredible variety
and complexity in our habitats
and weather systems
and geology.
Compared to us,
we are dwarfed by the world,
but God dwarfs his world.
So verse 22,
our God sits enthroned
above the circle of the earth
and its people
are like grasshoppers.
What you find in this section
is the ease with which God creates.
He stretches out the heavens
like a canopy
and spreads them out
like a tent to live in.
Here is the unlimited glory of God.
Here is the ease with which
he created this vast universe.
And here is a picture
of his rule as king
over his creation.
I read an interview this week
with Alistair McGrath,
who writes a lot on science and faith.
And maybe you've heard him
in sort of debates with atheists.
And he does a lot on
helping people to see
that you can be a scientist
and have faith.
And he speaks about
the wonder of the natural world
as a gateway to faith.
that as Christians,
we should be looking
at the world around us
and it should be leading us
to worship.
He had that wonderful thought
that they're thinking
about the most beautiful thing
that we can imagine,
whether that's the beauty
of the Alps
or the beauty
of the Great Barrier Reef,
whatever it might be,
that glory is real,
but it's tiny compared
to the infinitely greater
grandeur and glory of our God.
And so the natural world
becomes a gateway
to worship
when we remember
here is our God
in contrast
with the world
that he made.
Moving from there,
in verse 23 and 24,
there is this comparison
between God
and the great rulers
of the world.
God brings princes
to naught
and reduces the rulers
of this world
to nothing.
And again,
there's that image
of planting
and taking root
and then he blows
on them
and they wither
and a whirlwind
sweeps them away
like chaff.
History is full of
the stories
of powerful rulers,
some achieving fame,
some achieving infamy.
There have always been
great leaders
in every generation,
in every century,
in every nation,
but the common theme,
according to Isaiah 40,
is that God
reduces them all
in the end
to nothing.
But the achievements
of the great
and the good,
the achievements
of the evil dictators
did not spare them
from death.
And again,
it's helpful for us
to remember
that while there will
always be princes
and presidents
and dictators
and dot-com billionaires
and there'll be
powerful people
in the world,
they don't determine
ultimately
how the world goes.
only the eternal,
unlimited,
glorious God
does that.
Proverbs 21,
verse 1,
the king's heart
is like a stream
of water
in God's hand.
He directs
as he pleases.
He is greater
than the greatest
men and women
who have ever lived.
And then the last
comparison,
and it's maybe,
I think,
for many
where we find ourselves
when we think
about the glory
of God
in the natural world.
He goes to the stars.
To whom will you
compare me
or who is my equal,
says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes
and look to the heavens.
Who created all these?
He who brings out
the starry host
one by one
and calls them forth
each by name
because of his great power
and mighty strength
not one of them
is missing.
Nothing,
on the one hand,
can make us feel
smaller
than standing
under a canopy
of stars.
But perhaps
nothing too
reminds us
of the glory
of God
than that same
night sky.
Even the language
of galaxies
and light years
serves to put us
in our place
as people.
Our galaxy,
the Milky Way,
were we to leave
to this very moment
to try and get
to the center
of our galaxy,
it would take us
25,000 light years.
And a light year
is moving at the speed
of 186,000 miles
per second.
Scientists tell us
we can see on average
6,000 stars
with the naked eye
as we look up
if the night is clear.
For each one
of those 6,000 stars
there is for each
of them 20 million
that we cannot see.
There is glory
but it's tiny
compared to the glory
of God.
God who brings
out the stars,
who sets them
on their course.
God who names them
including the trillions
that we will never see
and his power
keeps them shining.
So again,
our telescopes
function as powerful
tools for worship
as they encourage us
to see
behold
our God,
the God
of glory.
So when we
look
and when we
see the God
of glory
what happens?
Is it we get
a new lens
through which
to view life?
So we watch
our news
or we read
our newspapers
and
where
perhaps our
natural tendency
is towards anxiety
or sadness.
We're invited
to turn
those stories
and those situations
and those nations
to God
in prayer
and to remind
ourselves
of the God
who sits
enthroned
in glory
who is
working out
his purposes
even when we
struggle to see
how that can be.
It changes
how we look
at the natural world
whether that's
sunsets
or whether that's
the flurry
of snowflakes.
They are opportunities
for our praise.
Opportunities
for us
to have conversations
about God
as creator
about the reality
of intelligent design.
reflecting on
the glory
of God
and the fact
that he is
unlimited
should give us
comfort as we
consider our
uncertain future
each day
because it's not
uncertain to God
and so there's
an invitation
to learn to rest
and to trust
into who he is
and to his
governing
and caring
for us.
To see
the glory
of God
I think
is to change
our prayer
lives as well.
In the one
hand
we will praise
as much
as perhaps
we say
please.
We'll just
want to
worship
but also
as we understand
who is our
God
it's going
to encourage
us to ask
more boldly
in our prayers.
Sometimes
our prayers
are too small
because our
God is too
small.
Our God
and his
grace
are not
small
and so
we are
invited
to pray
boldly
and with
confidence.
And when
we consider
the glory
of God
it should
also
be shifting
our priorities.
Why are we
here?
What's life
all about?
Sometimes
we lose
sight of
our primary
calling to
glorify the
God of
glory.
So there's
a question
for us
to ask
ourselves
regularly
how can
I see
and enjoy
the glory
of God?
How can
I give
God glory
in this
moment?
So there's
those six
necessary
comparisons.
But we're
going to
look briefly
at three
necessary
corrections
that we
find in
our text
as well.
So Isaiah
again inspired
by the Holy
Spirit is
using the
smallness of
human language
trying to
put the
hugeness
of God's
glory to
us so
that we
can catch
a glimpse
of it and
he does
that for
good reason.
There are
three questions
well there's
more than
three questions
but we're
going to
look at
three questions
in our
text to
show us
why over
and over
again the
people of
God are
being invited
to behold
their God
and to
see his
glory.
The first
question by
way of
correction we
find in
verse 18
and verse
25.
To whom
will you
compare me
or who
is my
equal
says the
Holy One.
God
is God
doing
through
Isaiah
there?
He's
speaking
to that
human
tendency
that we
have
either to
apply our
weaknesses
and our
limits to
our thinking
about God
or looking
at verse
18 to
make lesser
things equal
to him
in the
establishing of
idols in
our hearts
and in
our lives.
And so
we need
that question
with whom
then will
you compare
God so
that we
would recognize
truly that
God is
incomparable,
that God
truly is
unlimited,
that his
love for
his people
is steadfast
and constant,
that we
don't judge
God's love
by the measure
of our
fluctuating
love,
that his
wisdom is
complete and
absolute,
past,
present,
future,
there is
nothing hidden
from God,
that his
power is
absolute,
that he has
no rivals,
there is no
one who's
going to come
along and
set God's
plan off
course,
and that
his ways,
all his
ways,
are good.
Luther once
wrote to
Erasmus
to say,
your thoughts
of God
are too
human,
and Isaiah
40 is
written to
warn us
against that.
Isaiah
40 should
have that
purpose of
renewing our
mind to
see God's
glory so
that we
wouldn't
compare him
with anything
within his
creation.
Second
question to
think about,
verse 27,
why do you
complain,
Jacob?
Why do you
say,
my way
is hidden
from the
Lord?
My cause
is disregarded
by my
God.
So the
circumstances
of God's
people are
causing them
to doubt,
causing them to
think, well,
either God
can't see,
God can't
know,
God can't
care,
he's forgotten
us.
Maybe those
are questions
and feelings
that we
relate to
in our
own personal
lives,
maybe we
look at our
national
condition and
we think,
has God
simply
forgotten
us?
And the
response of
Isaiah 40
is again
to draw
the minds
of those
hearers and
those readers
towards the
glory of
the Lord,
the person
O God,
the powerful
God,
the covenant
making,
covenant
keeping God,
the one
who will
not and
cannot
abandon
his people,
to a
saviour who
will never
abandon
his sheep.
We need
to understand
that while
our circumstances
can cause
us to fear,
there is that
bedrock
certainty that
our way is
never hidden,
that God is
working his
purposes out.
for us,
in the time
that we
find ourselves,
we go to
the cross
to recognise
that and to
take heart
in that,
and we
understand
there,
Jesus,
the perfect
sinless
Son of
God,
went to
the cross
and felt
that sense
of being
abandoned
and forsaken
by his
Father as
he became
our sin
bearer,
carrying
our sin
and guilt.
why?
So that as
he faces
the punishment
that we
deserve,
we will
never be
condemned,
we will
never be
forsaken.
Our sin
is paid
so there
is nothing
that can
separate us
from the
love of
God that
is in
Christ
Jesus.
So even
if we
feel it,
there is
a truth
that we
need to
know that
our way
is never
hidden
from our
glorious
God.
Third
question that
helps to
correct our
thinking.
Verse 28,
do you
not know,
have you
not heard,
the Lord
is the
everlasting
God,
the creator
of the
ends of
the earth.
He will
not grow
tired or
weary,
and his
understanding
no one
can fathom.
Of course
the idea
of God
being
everlasting,
God
being
eternal,
is hard
for us
to process
and we'll
never get
our minds
around it,
but we
need to
hold our
grip on
that reality
that God
is everlasting.
Especially
to think
for ourselves
as the
people of
God
about his
everlasting
love.
The
everlasting
God has
everlasting
love for
his children.
God's love
for us
is eternal,
it has no
beginning,
it has no
end.
When we are
trusting in
the Lord
Jesus Christ
as our
saviour,
we have
always and
we will
always enjoy
the glorious
love of
God.
Our
creator,
the
all-powerful
one,
the all-wise
one,
is there
as our
loving God
to give
us strength,
to renew
our strength.
And so
we need to
remind
ourselves,
and Isaiah
40 is so
helpful of
this,
we need to
remind ourselves
of the
majesty of
God,
the beauty
of God,
the perfection
of our
God.
As we
fight against
that sin
in our
lives where
we would
make God
small,
or we
would take
glory from
God because
we give
it to
other things,
it's that
powerful
antidote
against
idolatry
and against
discouragement
and fear.
We need
to see
who our
God
is.
two
necessary
comforts
as we
close,
the two
bookends
to this
wonderful
chapter.
And we'll
get there
in a minute,
but before
we go
there,
just to
remind
ourselves,
in verses
10 and
11,
we have
this
surprising
and wonderful
image.
See,
the sovereign
Lord comes
with power
and he
rules with
a mighty
arm.
So here's
the God
of glory,
the God
who is
king,
the God
with all
power,
and what
does he
do?
He tends
his flock
like a
shepherd.
He gathers
the lambs in
his arms
and carries
them close
to his
heart.
We're used
to the
idea of
all-powerful.
We don't
tend to
think that
those who
are all-powerful
are also
fully loving.
Perhaps
we're used
to loving
someone,
but we lack
power to
help them.
But here
is the
God of
glory and
he is
powerful
ruler and
he is
tender
shepherd
saviour
at the
same
time.
And out
of that
loving
kindness
he's given
us this
beautiful
chapter.
A
wonderfully
encouraging
comforting
chapter.
And let's
look at the
bookends
just as we
finish our
time.
Verse
one.
Comfort,
comfort my
people,
says your
God.
There is
comfort in
knowing the
God of
glory.
Here is
God and
he's coming
to his
dispirited
people and
he's revealing
his glory
to them.
And he is
reminding them
and comforting
them with the
reality of
his redemption.
That he has
come to
renew their
strength,
to give
strength to
their faith.
Verse
five.
The glory
of the
Lord will
be revealed.
And here
is where we
are invited
to rest.
To rest
in this
God of
infinite glory
who holds
the church
in his
hands.
We are
precious to
him.
He loves
us and
he loves
us always.
And so
the glory of
God is
intended to
comfort us.
It's
intended to
give our
faith
backbone.
As we
live on the
margins like
the people in
Isaiah's day,
as we can
perhaps feel
forgotten,
as we can
easily be
discouraged,
we need to
find comfort
from knowing
the God of
glory.
That's one
bookend.
The other
bookend,
verse 31,
those who
hope in
the Lord
will renew
their
strength.
Our
hope,
where does
it come
from?
Our
hope rests
in the
glory of
God,
in the
God of
glory.
Unlike
us,
God is
unlimited in
his power,
in his
wisdom,
and in
his love.
And in
our God
there is
this promise
of strength
for today
and bright
hope for
tomorrow
because this
is our
God.
The God
who moved
heaven and
earth to
save his
people in
the sending
of his
son will
ensure that
he gives
us the
strength that
we need
to soar
and to
run and
to walk
all the
way to
eternal
glory with
him.
One final
word,
to go back
to verse
five where
we read
and the
glory of
the Lord
will be
revealed and
all people
will see
it together.
When is
God's glory
most fully
revealed?
The gospel
writers tell
us this
passage is
fulfilled in
the coming
of Jesus.
Luke chapter
three.
It's the
testimony of
John.
We have
seen his
glory, the
glory of
the one
and only,
full of
grace and
truth.
The glory
of the
Lord is
revealed in
a new
way in
the coming
of the
Lord Jesus.
Jonathan
Edwards,
that Puritan
theologian,
wrote a
little
treatise on
why did
God create
the world.
And his
wonderful and
kind of
startling
observation is
that God
created the
world that
Jesus Christ
his son
would have
an outlet
for all
the love
in his
heart.
That he
would have
the opportunity
to pour
out his
love on
his church.
And that
makes sense
when you
think about
how is the
climax of
God's glory
revealed?
world.
It's
revealed in
Jesus,
the perfect
sinless
son of
God dying
on the
cross to
complete God's
plan of
salvation,
to bring
his people
into that
eternal
fellowship
of love.
So that in
the coming
of Jesus,
in the
ministry of
Jesus,
God's glory
goes further
and shines
brighter than
it ever
has done
before.
The glory
of God
is revealed
in Jesus.
And so
with Isaiah
and the
people of
his day,
we're invited
once again
to behold
our God.
So let me
pray about
that and
then we'll
sing and
then after
that we'll
have a
chance for
those of
us who
are able
to stay
to discuss
together the
glory of
God.
So let's
pray together.
Lord, we
thank you
for this
part of your
word.
and we
thank you
for the
way it
reminds us
that you
are a
God without
limits and
a God
without rivals,
that you
are a God
of great
glory,
that you
are the
God of
almighty
power,
but at
the same
time the
God of
tender,
loving
care.
We thank
you for
the way
your glory
is revealed
in the
natural
world.
We thank
you that
your glory
is revealed
in your
word.
And we
thank you
that your
glory was
revealed in
the coming
of the
Lord Jesus
our Savior.
Thank you
for your
glorious love
demonstrated to
us in
his sacrificial
self-giving
death on
the cross.
And Lord,
we pray that
you would
help us to
keep your
glory in
view,
hope and
confidence and
comfort.
We
recognize
all too
easily that
our hearts
are pulled
away from
you,
that we
are captivated
by lesser
things.
So Lord,
please renew
our hearts
and our
minds as
we consider
your far
greater glory.
we pray in
Jesus'
name.
Amen.
So we
will close
singing together
the hymn
Behold Our
God and
let's stand
together to
sing.
Amen.