Well, good morning, church. Would you turn with me back to Isaiah chapter 40? Again, that's page 561
in the Pew Bible. We're starting a new sermon series today that will take us through the rest
of the summer. Now, if you've been at Trinity for a while, you typically know that on Sundays
we pick a book of the Bible or a section of a book, and then we preach through it in order.
And we do this kind of preaching, expository preaching, because we believe that the Bible
is God's Word. And when we listen deeply to Scripture, God speaks to accomplish all of
His purposes in us and through us for His glory. Now, this summer we'll be looking at a section
of Isaiah that starts in chapter 40 and ends in chapter 55. Historically, Isaiah wrote these
chapters in the 8th century B.C., when the people of Judah had just seen their northern neighbors
conquered by the Assyrians, and when they themselves had just received the warning that
captivity was coming for them too. We see this at the end of Isaiah chapter 39 in verse 6. One day,
not Assyria, but the kingdom of Babylon would come and carry them off into exile. The nation was
conquered in that way. There typically was no coming back. That was the end.
So what message does God give to Isaiah to speak into the future for His conquered people?
After judgment comes, after exile comes, when the people are defeated and humiliated,
when they're weary under sin and suffering, what does God have to say?
Well, chapter 40 begins that message, and it begins by speaking to a people whose hearts are weary.
We'll find at the end of the chapter that the people have grown exhausted. They're despondent.
They're tired. They're worn out. They're weary of their own sin, and they're weary of the suffering
of the world. What will God say to His weary people?
Perhaps you're feeling a bit weary this morning. Weary perhaps because of trials, or weary perhaps
because of ongoing struggles with sin. Perhaps you've come with a desire for renewal, for fresh
strength, for fresh wind in your spiritual sails. And maybe you sense this desire not just personally,
but corporately. You know, every church will go through seasons when we need to be refreshed,
when our weary souls need to be strengthened, when it feels like our arms are drooping and our strength
is waning. Well, if that's what you're feeling this morning, then Isaiah 40 is for you. It's for us.
Now, chapter 40 has three parts, and we'll look at all three in order. But the main message of
Isaiah 40 that pulls it all together is found right in verse 1 that we read earlier in the service.
To the weary in heart, God speaks good news, and it's a good news of what? It's a good news of comfort.
And comfort here means more than just kind of soothing. Comfort in the Bible means strengthening.
It means building up. It means renewing. This is the kind of comfort that comes when the general
returns from battle returns from battle and announces that the war has been won. This is the kind of
comfort that comes when the parent returns from searching and announces that the lost child has come
home. This is biblical comfort. It's strength. It's renewal for the weary soul. And like I said,
this message of comfort comes in three parts. In verses 1 through 11, what we hear is a promise
of comfort. And then in verses 12 through 26, we'll see the proof of that comfort. And then in verses 27
through 31, we'll take a look at the imparting, the imparting of that comfort. So let me pray,
and then we'll take a look at these three things together. Pray with me as we come to God's Word.
Father, as we turn to your Word now, we ask humbly and expectantly, we ask that you would speak to us
the word that we need to hear. God, on this send-off Sunday when many in our community are celebrating
commencements of various kinds, we pray that you would revive us today by the Spirit of your Son,
our Lord Jesus, in whose name we pray. Amen. So first then, in verses 1 through 11, we hear the promise
of comfort. We read these verses earlier in the service, so I won't read them all again, but look
down with me at verses 1 through 11. Verses 1 and 2 announce this message of comfort. God here is
recommissioning Isaiah to speak a fresh word to the people, and it's a twofold word. First, that their
warfare, that their hardship, that their captivity is coming to an end, which would have been utterly
unheard of in the ancient world. We're going to be brought back from exile? But second, and even more
wonderfully, it's a message that their iniquity is pardoned. Because the question before the people
of Israel wasn't just, will God deliver us from our political and material exile? It wasn't just,
is God going to reestablish us back in our land much deeper? The question was whether God would atone for
their sins. Would he cure the much deeper disease that separated them from their God in the first place?
And verses 1 through 11 say, yes, God's comfort will come. Not just liberation, but also wonder of wonders,
pardon for sin. From the Lord's hand, Isaiah says, that is out of God's own initiative, they would receive
double, that is exactly what they need, and even more than enough to cover their sins and bring them home.
And then after this opening declaration of comfort, there are three voices that ring out in the rest of
this section. Three promises of comfort to weary and despondent hearts, to hearts that are downtrodden
in sin and suffering. These three voices come. And the first voice, if you look at verses 3 through 5,
this first voice promises that the glory of God, that is the Lord's presence, is coming to your rescue.
And nothing will stand in God's way. Valleys will be lifted up, mountains made low, uneven ground will
be made level, rough places will be made smooth as a plain. In other words, God will clear every obstacle
and he will come. And all flesh, people from every nation will see it, not just observe it, but experience
it. And then a second voice comes in verses 6 through 8. And this voice reminds us that we're
fickle and we're frail. Even our best efforts, our greatest glory is like grass. It fades.
And if God's Spirit were to come, if the mighty wind of his presence were to move among us
in our frailty, in our fickleness, what would be the result?
Surely we would turn back to dust.
Ah, but here's the promise of the second voice. We are fickle, but God is faithful.
God's word stands forever. He's faithful to all of his promises, even though we are not.
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever, the second voice says.
And then the third voice comes in verses 9 through 11, and it comes with good news. A gospel of glad
tidings, a word not just for Jerusalem, but for all the cities near and far. And what is this good news?
Good news that when the Lord comes in might, when he comes to fulfill his promises,
his mighty ruling arm that we see in verse 10 will become his merciful carrying arm of verse 11.
Here is good news that the mighty God, the strong one, is also our shepherd. He will come in mercy.
He will gather the lambs in his arms. He will carry them in his bosom and gently lead those that are with young.
So friends, let this speak to your weary soul.
Do you doubt if God is willing to come and comfort you today, to strengthen you?
Do you doubt if God is willing to come and renew our church and breathe fresh life into us?
Listen to these voices from Isaiah.
You know, our weary hearts will often say the circumstances are too hard or too challenging.
The valley is too deep. The path is too rough. But listen,
God says he's willing to move heaven and earth to come to us.
Our weary hearts will say, but our faithfulness is too frail.
We don't deserve God's comfort. We're like flowers, beautiful one day, but barren the next.
But listen, God is willing to be true, to be faithful, even when you are not.
His word will stand even if every word of yours falls to the ground.
Our weary hearts say, but God must not care for us.
We're like sheep who've gone astray.
But listen, God is willing to take his mighty arms and gather you up like a shepherd carrying a lamb.
There can be no doubt that God is willing to comfort his weary people.
That's the promise of verses 1 through 11.
But this, of course, raises another question, doesn't it?
Our weary hearts may hear that God is willing to comfort us, to come, to forgive, to restore,
but then a second doubt starts to creep in.
Perhaps God is willing, but is he able?
He may have the desire to comfort, but does he in fact have the power to do so?
We hear this promise of comfort, but what proof do we have that it will come true?
What makes this more than just empty words?
Well, this brings us to the second part of Isaiah 40.
In verses 1 through 11, we hear the promise of comfort,
but then in verses 12 through 26, we hear the proof of this comfort.
What is it that makes these promises of comfort more than just empty words?
Well, because these promises are not the idle chatter of a mere creature
or the mute oracles of a false God.
These are the promises of the one true God, the creator of heaven and earth.
God steps forth and says here,
I am the proof of my promises.
Listen to these verses as I read them, Isaiah 40, 12 through 26.
God says,
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure,
and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?
Who has measured the spirit of the Lord, or what man shows him counsel?
Whom did he consult and whom made him understand?
Who taught him the path of justice and taught him knowledge
and showed him the way of understanding?
And of course, you get the implied answer there, right?
No one.
Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket
and are accounted as the dust on the scales.
Behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.
Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,
nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering.
All the nations, there is nothing before him.
They are accounted by him,
or we might say they are accounted before him
in comparison to him as less than nothing, an emptiness.
To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness compare with him?
An idol?
A craftsman casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and casts for its silver chains.
He who is too impoverished for an offering
chooses wood that will not rot.
He seeks out a craftsman, a skillful craftsman,
to set up an idol that will not move.
Do you not know?
Do you not hear?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers.
He who stretches out the heavens like a curtain
and spread them like a tent to dwell in,
who brings princes to nothing
and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.
Scarcely are they planted,
scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth
when he blows on them,
and they wither,
and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
To whom then will you compare me
that I should be like him,
says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high
and see
who created these,
who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name,
by the greatness of his might,
and because he is strong in power,
not one is missing.
You know, perhaps one of the greatest dangers
in the church today
is that our view of God
is much, much too small.
We say that we believe in God,
we say that he created all things,
but we don't really believe it.
The majesty of God,
the immensity of God,
the incomparable holiness of God
is lost on us.
We look to the idols of our age,
success and personal freedom,
or cultural approval,
and they all look so desirable
and so important.
They're so big in our eyes
and in our hearts,
and yet Isaiah says in verses 19 through 20,
it's all just wood and metal.
It can't speak,
it can't move,
and it surely can't save.
Let God be big,
and those things be small.
Consider the oceans,
Isaiah says.
Vast and powerful.
Go stand on the shore of the ocean
and feel how small you are
before the waves and the deeps.
But now consider
all those oceans,
all those deeps,
wave upon wave.
Creatures we can't imagine,
of size and power
that seem unfathomable.
God measures those waters
in the hollow of his hand.
Like you or I would scoop up
a drop of water from the sink,
so are all the oceans
to God,
the creator.
And now think of the nations,
all the power
and glory
and culture.
We could spend a whole lifetime
traveling,
discovering,
and learning,
and still not scratch
the surface
of all the diversity
and wonder
of human cultures
and nations,
couldn't we?
But compared to God,
it's like dust
on the scales.
Isaiah isn't saying
that God doesn't care
for humanity.
God indeed does care.
Isaiah's point,
rather,
is one of comparison.
The nations are like dust
compared to God.
They don't even move
the scales.
They're weightless,
fleeting,
gone in a moment.
But God,
he is all substance,
wisdom,
permanence,
power,
beauty.
Is this the God
you believe in,
friend?
Utterly beyond compare?
Utterly holy?
The maker of heaven
and earth?
Or do we worship
a mere idol?
There's only one God
and the Lord
is his name.
And if that is the God
you say you believe in,
then go out.
Go out on a dark,
clear night,
Isaiah says in verse 26.
Go out on a dark,
clear night
and lift up your eyes.
Look at the vast array
of stars,
millions upon millions
and millions more
that you will never see
and never know.
Consider,
Isaiah says,
that your God
has arranged them all.
We could never count them,
let alone catalog them,
but God has called them
all by name.
Every star
and every galaxy
into the vast stretches
of the universe,
God has named them all.
And in his might
and in his power,
not one is missing.
If your heart is weary,
Isaiah says,
if you doubt his ability,
his power to save,
go look at the stars.
And then as you stand in awe,
overwhelmed by their number
and beauty,
consider
the God who made them all
and who named them all
has made you.
What are we to think
in the face
of God's transcendence
and majesty?
Are we to think
that he is too great
to care?
No,
Isaiah says.
Rather,
we must understand
that God
is too great
to fail.
Not one is missing.
And if that is true
of the stars,
friends,
how much more true
of you.
How much more true
of his people
he's called by name
and chosen
from before
the foundation
of the earth.
You are not
just the product.
Friends,
you and I,
you and I
are not just
the product
of dust
and stars
and time.
You bear
the very image
of God.
What good news!
And though your sin
has brought great ruin
and great judgment,
it has not thwarted
God's willingness
nor God's ability
to save.
comfort.
The one who promises
comfort
is himself
the proof
that those promises
are sure.
And so,
from promise
to proof,
Isaiah now brings
it all home.
In verses 27
through 31,
we have the impartation
of this comfort.
Look with me
at verse 27.
Let me read
verses 27
through 31.
Why do you say,
O Jacob,
and speak,
O Israel?
My way
is hidden
from the Lord
and my right
is disregarded
by my God.
Have you not
known?
Have you not
heard?
The Lord
is the everlasting
God,
the creator
of the ends
of the earth.
He does not
faint or grow weary.
His understanding
is unsearchable.
He gives power
to the faint
and to him
who has no might
he increases strength.
Even youth
shall faint
and be weary
and young men
shall fall exhausted.
But they who wait
for the Lord
shall renew
their strength.
They shall mount
up with wings
like eagles.
They shall run
and not be weary.
They shall walk
and not faint.
You can hear
in verse 27,
can't you,
this cry
of the weary heart.
This cry
that says,
God must not
see me.
God doesn't
see me
and God
doesn't answer me.
He must be
unwilling
or unable
to truly comfort,
to truly save.
Perhaps we're
beyond saving,
beyond.
But no,
God says,
have you not
known?
Have you not
heard?
God is the
eternal
creator,
all wise
and unwearying.
The wonder
of wonders,
this eternal,
all wise,
all powerful
creator
gives.
It is in his
nature not just
to be strong,
but to give
strength.
Look again
at verse 29.
He gives
power
to the faint
and to him
who has no
might,
he increases
strength.
God
gives.
But how?
How does it
come to us?
How does God
give this
strength to
the weary?
Well,
from the
perspective of
the New Testament,
we see this
more clearly
than Isaiah
or the exiled
people of Judah
could ever have
seen.
You know,
when Matthew
and Mark
and Luke
take up their
pens to write
the story of
Jesus,
where do they
begin?
Well,
Matthew starts
with a genealogy,
you know,
and Luke
starts with an
old priest
in the temple,
but for all
three of them,
when the story
really gets going
and John
the Baptist
appears on
the scene
as the herald
of the great
coming king,
whose words
do they
quote?
What Old
Testament promise
is being
fulfilled,
do they say?
It's this
one,
Isaiah 40.
A voice
cries in the
wilderness,
prepare the
way of the
Lord.
It's Isaiah's
message of
comfort that
rings out
when the
Messiah comes.
The
redemptive
ages turn,
and the
kingdom of
God is
finally at
hand.
And the
New Testament
writers say
it's coming.
The Lord
is here,
comforting
his people.
When the
sovereign
creator takes
on flesh
and moves
heaven and
earth to
comfort his
people,
the real
return from
exile can
begin.
The real
pardon for
sins can
be given.
When the
good shepherd
takes us
up into
his arms
and lays
down his
life for
the sheep.
When the
double payment
for sin is
made,
and when the
stars go
black as
the Son of
God hangs
on a cross.
Imagine,
friends,
the holy
one,
the sinless
one,
becomes
sin so
that sinners
can be reckoned
sinless.
The creator
becomes weak
so the
weak can
become strong.
God
gives,
which is to
say he
imparts this
comfort,
this strength
by grace.
If God's
word is the
promise and
God's majesty
the proof,
then it is by
God's free
grace that it
comes to us.
And if it
comes to us
by grace,
then we
receive it,
not by
being strong,
but by
acknowledging our
weakness.
Look again at
verse 29.
God gives
power.
Who?
Not to the
strong,
but to the
faint.
What about
the strong?
What about
those who are
in their
prime?
Well,
look again at
verse 30.
Even youths
shall faint
and be weary,
and young men
shall fall
exhausted.
Now,
if you're like
me and you're
starting to get
over the hill,
you think,
I wouldn't
mind for a
little bit of
that young
man's strength,
you know?
Give me some
more of that.
And yet,
Isaiah says,
even the
strength of the
strongest will
fail.
Even the
best earthly
strength will
not sustain
you.
So how do
we get this
different kind
of strength?
Verse 31,
They who
wait for the
Lord shall
renew their
strength.
They who
wait for the
Lord shall
renew their
strength.
It's not
in the
working,
but in the
waiting,
that renewal
comes.
Now,
what does it
mean to
wait on the
Lord?
Well,
that word
wait here
means to
trust the
Lord with
patient
expectation.
In other
words,
it means to
put your
hope in
Him.
You know,
too often we
put our
hope in
our own
ability,
our own
strength,
our own
strategies,
but real
strength comes
when we
stop hoping
in ourselves
and transfer
our hope
to the
Lord.
And too
often we
put our
hope in
new
circumstances,
a new
relationship,
a new
job,
maybe a
new
political
leader,
but none
of these
things will
truly comfort
or truly
strengthen.
Real
strength
comes,
real
renewal
comes,
when we
wait,
when we
hope,
in the
Lord.
This is
fundamentally
what it
means to
become a
Christian,
to transfer
our hope,
to transfer
your hope,
hope for the
forgiveness of
sins,
hope for
eternal life,
hope for
purpose,
hope for
meaning,
to transfer
our hope
to Jesus
Christ alone.
And that's
ultimately what it
means to live
as a Christian
too,
to hope
in him
alone.
Is it
weakness
to hope
in the
Lord,
to wait
on him
rather than
in our
own
strength?
No,
this is
where true
strength is
found.
Isaiah
promises to
all who
will admit
their
weakness
and wait
on the
Lord.
He says
they shall
mount up
with wings
like eagles.
They shall
run and
not be
weary.
They shall
walk and
not faint.
Friends,
here is
comfort indeed.
To know
your sins
are forgiven
in Christ.
To know
of your
adoption in
God's family
and heir
of the
coming kingdom.
To know
that it's
secure.
To know
that everything
in life
will be for
your ultimate
good and
God's ultimate
glory.
Here is
strength and
comfort like
nothing else.
strength.
And it's
a fresh
strength,
Isaiah
says.
Your
strength
will be
renewed,
refreshed.
And he
says it's
going to
be a
different
kind of
strength.
Isaiah
says you're
going to
mount up
with wings
like eagles.
It will
be nothing
like you've
experienced
before.
But it
will also
be a
divine
strength.
Isaiah
says you
won't be
weary and
you will
not faint.
Which is
what Isaiah
said of
God's own
strength in
verse 28.
But notice
something else
in verse 31.
Notice how
Isaiah's
metaphors here,
they go from
flying to
running to
walking.
The movement
of these
metaphors is
what?
It's slowing
down, isn't
it?
As we
continue to
live the
Christian life,
as we grow
older, we
may find
ourselves slowing
down from an
earthly perspective.
we used to
fly, we
used to
run, now
we just
walk.
But notice
though we
may slow
down, God's
provision of
strength is as
strong as
ever.
Even if you
don't soar like
an eagle anymore,
you'll still run
and not be
weary.
Even if you
don't run like
you used to,
you will still
walk and not
be faint.
And even
when walking
is no longer
possible, and
you lie down
for perhaps
the last
time, and
the Lord
calls you
home, even
then his
strength will
be sufficient
for you.
His power
will be made
perfect in
your weakness.
And even in
death, friends,
his comfort
will be
sufficient to
uphold you
through those
waters and to
usher you into
the presence of
your Savior
forever.
The grass
withers, the
flowers fall,
but the word
of our God
will stand
forever.
in the
16th century,
in the
heart of the
Reformation,
the authors
of the
Heidelberg
Catechism
began their
great tool
of instruction
with this
question.
They said,
what is your
only comfort
in life
and in
death?
We don't
start catechisms
that way
anymore.
You know,
if you put
your kids
in children's
ministry,
we're not
going to
say,
what is your
only comfort
in life
and in
death?
We probably
should,
though,
right?
What is your
only comfort
in life
and in
death?
And here
was the
answer they
gave,
that I'm
not my
own,
but belong
body and
soul in
life and
in death
to my
faithful Savior,
Jesus Christ.
He has
fully paid
for all my
sins with
his precious
blood and
has set me
free from
the tyranny
of the
devil.
He also
watches over
me in such
a way that
not a hair
can fall
from my
head without
the will of
my Father
in heaven.
In fact,
all things
must work
together for
my salvation
because I
belong to
him.
Christ,
by his
Holy Spirit,
assures me
of eternal
life and
makes me
wholeheartedly
willing and
ready from
now on to
live for
him.
Here is
comfort indeed,
friends.
Not just a
promise,
not just
proof,
but a real
imparting it
to us
through Jesus
Christ,
our Lord.
Lord,
let's pray
together.
Father,
as we
pause now
in these
quiet
moments,
our prayer
to you
is simple
and it's
profound.
Lord,
would you
come
and would
you comfort
us and
give us
strength?
Lord,
help us
to mount
up with
wings like
eagles.
Help us
to run
and not be
weary.
Help us
to walk
and not
faint.
Work in
us by
your Holy
Spirit this
preserving and
empowering
grace that
we might live
all of our
days for you
and the
strength that
you provide
and that
you would
get much
glory in
us and
through us,
God.
May we
say that
in our
weakness
then we
are strong
because of
you,
Jesus.
We pray in
your name.
Amen.
Thank you.