Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.heritagesermons.org/sermons/7192/isaiah/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] The Lord's Heart will attract your attention this evening to the prophecy of Isaiah, reading from chapter 40 and verse 11.

[0:12] The 40th chapter of the prophecy of Isaiah, reading from verse 11. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

[0:37] The 40th chapter of the prophecy of Isaiah, reading from verse 12.

[1:07] His inability to understand spiritual reality, for our benefit, uses many figures. Christ did when here below, and this was one of the figures he used.

[1:25] I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. When we come to look here at our text this evening, in this opening word, he, so clearly the chapter here in the context tells us exactly who this is.

[1:49] In the previous verse we read, Behold, the Lord God will come with a strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him.

[2:01] Behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock. We see that this is none other than the eternal Son of God.

[2:18] He is spoken of in the Gospel of John so beautifully. In the beginning, was the Word, says our authorised version.

[2:33] And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And then we read, of him, without him, was not anything made that was made, in him was light.

[2:52] And the life was the light of men. We read, the Word was made flesh. And this is John, and he dwelt among us.

[3:04] And John says, we beheld his glory. The glory is of the only begotten of the Father. Full of grace. And truth.

[3:18] And if there is one thing that stands here in this text tonight. It is the love.

[3:32] The tenderness. The compassion. Of the eternal Son of God. To his poor wandering sheep. And as we look at this Word.

[3:47] He shall feed. The Lord Jesus Christ. Spoke of this. Man, he said, does not live by bread only.

[4:01] Of every word that proceedeth. Out of the mouth of God doth man live. The food that lies here spoken of.

[4:14] Is spiritual food. It's divine. It has its figure in the manner. That's found in the wilderness of ancient Israel.

[4:28] Divinely given. One thinks of the words that relate to.

[4:38] The last supper. The last supper. The Lord spoke. Feeding this bread.

[4:50] And drinking this cup. They were figures. Of his blood and righteousness. He went. He went.

[5:02] Further to his disciples. And spoke of eating my flesh. And my blood. When we start to consider this. This food.

[5:16] Spiritual food. His people. Cost him something. It was only in his. Humanity.

[5:26] That this. Divine food. Was prepared. We see lying in our text.

[5:38] Beneath. Its glorious. Sacred simplicity. The sacrifice. On Calvary's cross. The shedding of his.

[5:50] Precious blood. The glory of his. Sacred righteousness. As. The man.

[6:01] Christ Jesus. Walked. This earth. In suffering sorrow. Temptation. Affliction. Humbling himself.

[6:14] As the apostle says. And becoming obedient. Unto death. Even the. Death of the cross. I say. Without. This pathway. Then it's the.

[6:28] Figure he used. The good shepherd. Go is before his sheep. There's a lot. Of truth. In its depth. That lies in that.

[6:40] He went. Before his sheep. In his. Glorious humanity. Here in this world. To enter in.

[6:51] To their pathway. He could. From his. Courts of heaven above. Have viewed the scene.

[7:02] And seen it perfectly. And understood it. But we read that. Eternal son of God. Was made perfect. Through suffering. Let me inquire.

[7:15] How was that? He was made perfect. In this respect. Believe it's Job. Says it. He knoweth.

[7:25] The way that I take. When you look into that. In heaven. As he reigns now. Right hand of his father. All power.

[7:36] Being put under him. He still. That human heart. Retains. Those thrown in highest bliss. And he understands.

[7:49] The temptations. The fears. The sorrows. I've proved it. In some of my. Deepest sorrows.

[8:00] I've known. His presence. Known. That. He understood. How many of you.

[8:10] Here tonight. Have gone to him. In particular. Times. In your life. And you've prayed.

[8:24] Not. A formal prayer. I would distinguish. Between the. Apostle Paul's.

[8:34] Prayer as a Pharisee. And his prayer. As a Christian. The Pharisee's prayer.

[8:46] Was very solemn. I thank thee. O God. I'm not as other men. But his prayer. As a Christian. The Lord Jesus Christ. Said to Ananias.

[8:57] Behold. He prayed. There. There. There. There. There. Was a broken hearted. Sinner. At Calvary's cross. Pleading that. Precious blood.

[9:07] Of Christ. For his own soul. That he. Might know. Might know. The pardon. And peace of God. And you know. We read. He rose straight away. From that. Prayer. And preached.

[9:18] Cry. That he is the son of God. He knew him. Or how many of you here. Have come. To that mercy seat.

[9:29] To plead his name. And received. A positive answer. And you carry the sweet memory of it. In your heart.

[9:41] A prayer hearing. And a prayer answering God. How many of you. Come. With your sins. With your guilt.

[9:53] Conscious. Of the filth. Of your own heart. Conscious. Of. What Job. Spoke of. When the Lord. So. Doubt with him.

[10:04] Bringing him to cry. You might say. To me tonight. How did. Job. The cry. How was brought. Job brought. To Christ.

[10:16] Well I say to you. The Lord Jesus said. Abraham. Saw my day. I believe he saw it.

[10:27] On Mount Moriah. As he offered the ram. All those ancient figures. Pointed to Calvary's cross. As the apostle Paul. They said. They said.

[10:38] They were patterns. They pointed. To the cross. Job. Came to that place. Where he.

[10:50] Under divine teaching. Knew. And felt. Solemnly. The vileness of his heart. And the Lord drew near.

[11:02] Christ came. And he could say. I know. That my Redeemer liveth. And no worms destroy this body.

[11:13] Yet in my flesh. Shall I see God. For I shall see for myself. And mine eyes shall behold. And not another.

[11:26] Though my reins be consumed within me. The Lord brought him. To see himself. To plead and beg. To that pardon. To that. To that.

[11:37] The sweet psalmist of Israel said. In the 23rd Psalm. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. The Lord had fed his dear servant.

[11:50] With spiritual food. And knowledge of himself. He brought him to his. Mercy see. To plead and beg. For that pardon.

[12:01] As we read in the psalm. It's the prayer of so many. Pardon my iniquity O Lord.

[12:13] For it is great. And I believe this. There is a knowledge of him. Feeding his flock.

[12:25] And a blessed hope. That you are among them. When that. Love and blood. Is known in our hearts. And that.

[12:38] Which. Flows from it. The peace. Of God. Which passes all understanding. I say the Lord. Feeds his sheep. With spiritual food.

[12:51] Heavenly food. The articles. Of the bread and wine. Our glorious figure. As often as you eat this bread.

[13:03] And drink this cup. You do show the Lord's death. Till he comes. You show. Your faith.

[13:15] In him. You show. Your knowledge. And understanding. Of the. Value of that. Precious death.

[13:26] And of that. Blood. That did for sin atone. And there is a. Spiritual feeding. And it's put.

[13:37] From this angle. He. Shall feed his flock. There's something peculiar about this. You know. In that.

[13:49] In that. 23rd Psalm. He. Says the psalmist. Leadeth me.

[14:03] He goes before me. My sheep hear my voice. And they follow me. And the.

[14:13] Psalmist. The shepherd himself. Understood well. The. Work of the shepherd. And. It is very simple. He maketh me.

[14:27] To lie down in. Green pastures. The shepherd knows.

[14:39] That. You can't. Make a sheep. Lie down. There are only. Certain ways.

[14:50] To do that. And any shepherd. Will tell you this. If a sheep is hungry. It will not lie down. If a sheep.

[15:03] Is frightened. It will not lie down. Only when a sheep. Is satisfied. And.

[15:18] Is at rest. Will it lie down. And that is so. With God's dear people. He feeds them. In what the psalmist.

[15:29] Speaks of. Is green pastures. It is a spiritual figure. It is the work of the spirit. To feed. The sheep. To take the things of Jesus.

[15:42] And apply them in their hearts. To. Reveal Christ. In the reality of faith. As formed in their heart. The hope of glory.

[15:53] Glory. The apostle. The apostle. Long after his. Road to. Damascus. Experience. Said in his letter.

[16:04] From Rome. To the church at Philippi. That I might know him. When we stop to consider that prayer.

[16:15] At the end of his day. We see what he meant. He had a view that. The prophet Isaiah had.

[16:26] Of the eternal God. In all his magnitude and glory. The apostle saw that. He'd only known a little of him. On the road to Damascus. There was so much.

[16:38] That he wanted to know. About him. There was so much. He needed teaching. He needed.

[16:50] To be made. To lie down. The shepherd knew how to do that. Red his soul.

[17:01] And gave to him. As Christ said. My peace. I leave with you. My peace. I give unto you. Then the sheep. Would lie down at peace.

[17:12] The apostle. Came to that peace. In his. Time. When. He could truly say. For me to live is Christ. And to die is going.

[17:23] Death. Had no sting. O grave. Where is thy victory? O death. Where is thy sting? It was gone. Fear. Was taken away. Regarding. Meeting his God.

[17:35] Face to face. And he could say. In the glory of that. Last letter to Timothy. I'm now ready. The Lord had.

[17:47] Fed him. The Lord had taught him. And he was now ready. He wasn't alone.

[17:58] In speaking like this. When in Egypt. Jacob. came to bless. The. Sons of. Ephra.

[18:08] Of Joseph. Ephraim. And Manasseh. As he. Conducted that. Cross-handed blessing.

[18:19] Which so puzzled Joseph. He said. The Lord. That led me. The Lord. That. Fed me.

[18:30] The Lord. That redeemed me. From all evil. Bless the land. Oh. Here the Lord.

[18:41] Had. Fed his dear servant. Given him faith. Strengthening him. To trust in him. Many times. He'd been in such a low place. All these things.

[18:53] Were against me. Said old Jacob. They weren't. He couldn't see. What was going on. The Lord was teaching him. What he sowed.

[19:06] In deception. Of his old father. Isaac. He was now reaping. From his own son. But the Lord. Hadn't left him. The Lord was feeding him. Giving him heavenly wisdom.

[19:18] Teaching him. What he was. In God's sight. When he heard. That Joseph was alive. He could. Feed upon. The mercy of God. Oh.

[19:28] How he could say. In the simplicity. Of his words. It is enough. I've been such. A fool. I've brought.

[19:39] So much. On my head. But. In the beauty. Of this. Text. I have a gentle God. He gently. Has led me.

[19:51] He's dealt with me. In rich mercy. He shall feed his flock. He feeds his flock. You know. With. Revelations of himself.

[20:02] To them. The rare. Few. Far between. But I think. Of Moses. And how he asked the Lord.

[20:14] To show him his glory. Not. Any visible manifestation of him. Very beautifully. Spoken of.

[20:26] In the. Hiding of his dear servant. In the cleft of the rock. Beautiful figure of Christ. While he passed by. In all his majesty.

[20:36] And holiness. But when the Lord. Did reveal himself. To Moses. It was Christ. Who was revealed. His eternal son. The Lord.

[20:48] The Lord God. Merciful. Gracious. Plenteous. In goodness and truth.

[20:59] Forgiving iniquity. Transgression and sin. For no means. Clear the guilty. All what he saw there. And what he felt.

[21:10] And he. Rebel that he was. His meekness. Spoken of in scripture. Moses is his most meek. His meekness.

[21:21] Was but natural. It wasn't divine. We see him. Being angered. And. Able to enter the promised land.

[21:32] But you know. Scripture. Has a final. Word on that. He stood. With. His redeemer. His God.

[21:44] His long suffering saviour. On the mount of transfiguration. The dear. Poor. Unbelieving.

[21:55] Elijah. They both stood there. Redeemed. By the blood of Christ. Washed. In his precious blood.

[22:07] Father. Fed. In this earth. With a knowledge of Christ. With glorious. Spiritual food. Instructed and.

[22:18] Taught in the way. And brought. To the footstool of mercy. To commune. With their God. Here below.

[22:29] He shall. Feed his. A flock. Like a. Shepherd. You know. The eastern shepherd.

[22:41] Goes. Before. The sheep. It has. Sometimes. Been the custom. Here in this land. In past centuries. For the shepherds. To. Lead.

[22:52] Their sheep. I've seen. Photographs. On. Sausby Plain. Of the shepherds. Walking ahead. Of their sheep. A beautiful figure.

[23:04] They're not. Driven. They follow. It was the. Principle of the Lord's teaching. Follow thou me.

[23:21] He goes before them. A stranger. Says Christ. Will they not follow? They know not the voice of a stranger.

[23:31] You. What do they know? The voice of their shepherd. And they know him well. They've heard his voice.

[23:46] It is. The work of God is. In its outward principles. It's no different in any generation. In. We might.

[24:02] Be quite clear about this. That when the Lord. Spoke to his servant. The apostle Paul. On the road to Damascus. Only the apostle.

[24:12] Heard. His voice. Those that were with him. Didn't. The Lord spoke. To him. And him alone.

[24:25] Hear a deep mystery. Not with unnatural ears. Or unnatural eyes. Shall we behold the Lord. He comes.

[24:36] By faith. Into the hearts. To his dear people. And speaks. He did. To his servant. Elijah. In the cave. And very beautifully. There is described.

[24:49] In scripture there. At that point. The voice. Of the eternal son of God. And it's spoken of. As the still.

[25:01] Small voice of God. The Lord. The Lord. In no way. Needs. To raise his voice. He speaks.

[25:14] Quietly. Gently. But there. Is a power in it. There is authority in it. It was not in the fire.

[25:32] Nor in the wind. Nor in the earthquake. That he came to Elijah. You read of that voice. Of God speaking. Into his people's hearts.

[25:42] In the case of Lydia. At Philippi. It's so. Gentle. Lydia. Whose heart. The Lord opened. No earthquake.

[25:55] Was needed for her. It was for the jailer. Oh. How. Then the. Lord. Causes.

[26:06] Floth. And. Brings them. To follow him. I believe the jailer. Almost certainly. Was a man. Who'd scourged the apostle. The night before. But he was to be brought.

[26:20] To his feet. And at the feet of the apostle. Was to beg. What must I do. To be saved. You know. There is a divine.

[26:32] Miraculous change. Has taken place. He's been brought. To follow. He's been brought. To be one of the sheep. My sheep.

[26:47] Hear my voice. And I know them. Have we been brought. To be one of those sheep. To know Christ. Hear his voice. And to follow him.

[27:03] He shall. Feed his flock. Like a. Shepherd. One other thought.

[27:15] And that is this. There is a. Certainty. In this. I would say.

[27:25] An absolute certainty. He will. That. Heavenly food. Which. Spiritually. He. Procured. On Calvary's cross. For them. He will feed them.

[27:37] They will understand. The. Blessedness. Of his death. And they will be brought. To a sweet home. That.

[27:50] When he prayed. On the. Cross. When he prayed. At the last supper. And said. I pray not. For the world. But for those.

[28:00] Who now has given me. They will have a sweet home. They are one of those. Who were given to him. By his father. To redeem. And gather to glory.

[28:17] There is a. Power in that prayer. Of Christ. At the last supper. He. Would.

[28:30] Gather his flock. Together. He said. Other sheep. I have. Which are not of this fold. Them also. I must bring. And there shall be.

[28:41] One fold. And one shepherd. He said. Mercy. If. We have been brought. Into this fold. Brought to know him.

[28:55] And we go on now. To the. Second part of the text. And that is this. He shall gather the lambs. With his arm. And. Here we enter on another figure.

[29:08] That scripture uses. And that is. Children. Lambs. Lambs. One of the hymn writers.

[29:20] I think it is. John. Tenick. Usually puts it. In this. Verse. Children. Of the heavenly king. As you journey.

[29:31] Sweetly sing. Sing. Sing your great. Redeemer's praise. Glorious. In his works and ways. Christ said himself. Except you become.

[29:41] As little children. You shall in no wise. Enter into the kingdom of God. And we see here. This. Blessed word. Gather. Oh. You know.

[29:53] If we were not gathered. We'd never come. Our natural propensity. Is to wander. And unless.

[30:05] The Lord deal with us. We'll never follow him. We look around us. Upon the face of humanity. And what do we say. Of the evil.

[30:18] In discipline. The defiance. The rebellion. The scenes in our streets. Of late. With the young. Killing each other. The chaos.

[30:32] The hatred. The malice. Why. This world. Is full. Of the clearest evidence.

[30:43] That man is fallen. There's much. Argument. Over how that happened. The evidence.

[30:57] Of the fact. Is quite clear. That sin is in this world. And men are lovers of pleasure. More than lovers of God. They hate God. They mock Christ.

[31:09] They blaspheme his name. The world is full of false religions. scripture says so clearly. So clearly. clearly he that hath the Son hath life he that hath not the Son hath not life we come to look at this God as spoken of in the prophecy of Isaiah here in the 40th chapter he that created this universe we called upon here to view the majesty of the heavens and would seek to find the limits the causes they will never recognise the hand of God has done it this world the Apostle Paul says so beautifully the things which are seen were not made of the things which do appear no scripture shows us very blessedly what we need faith to believe in this world was created seven days and it was done by the word of God without him was not anything made that was made let there be light said Christ and there was light and so on all the glories that lie here and man upon him in his fallen condition and we see the evidence crystal clear the soul that's in it it shall die whatever age the old saints live to yet it reads in scripture and he died and he died and sin is the cause of it the apostle had a hope beyond it oh death where is thy sting oh grave where is thy

[33:16] I thank God he's conquered both put sin away and conquered the grave I thank God through Jesus Christ my Lord he is gathering his flock to himself and he's preparing for eternal glory there is a great spiritual figure here the body scripture speaks of it it is sown a natural body it is raised a spiritual body we shall never fathom what that means but he will gather the man his children as taught by his spirit he will gather them together they are gathered out of a godless world separated from him called by his spirit one of the acts of gathering scripture shows in great detail is the call of Nicodemus he came apparently inquisitive he came at night he was afraid to come in the day he came to Christ and he listened and the Lord said to him are there master in Israel and knowest not these things and taught him the way of salvation salvation and said to him except a man be born again gathered he cannot see the kingdom of God oh how the

[35:04] Lord loved Nicodemus and was gathering him he taught him in the greatest glorious simplicity the wind blow work of the spirit the gentle wind of the spirit blew and it did blow in Nicodemus' heart we don't read hardly anything about him but what we do read shows us that the Pharisees knew there was a chain they detected his love to Christ and they said to him aren't there one of them when he came forth from being a secret disciple from the shadows of his fears and came to Calvary's cross to take the body of Christ down oh how clearly we see he was one of the lambs gathered and we see it again and again in scripture the Lord gathering the lambs it's a beautiful figure my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me oh look in your own life in your own spiritual experience and search your heart as to whether the

[36:19] Lord has gathered you that he's called you to himself whether as we read in the following verse carry them beautiful figure a child being carried a lamb being carried the Lord went on in his day to speak of the lost sheep 99 when the one was recovered loved gathered not forgotten the Lord gathers his dear children himself and they know what Moses knew when he came to his dying hour and he could say there's none like the God of Jeshurun who riders upon the heaven in thy help his excellence upon the sky and he said this the eternal God is thy refuge and underneath are the everlasting hour love have you ever spiritually experienced what it is to be carried by God carried through deep waters perhaps of the region deep sorrows major operations

[37:36] I passed away and known the blessed nature of what it is to be carried to feel those everlasting arms underneath those arms of love and mercy upholding the child of God he shall feed his flock like a shepherd he shall gather the lambs in his arms and carry them in his bosom I would say one point at that he draws them to himself like a mother holding her child closely to herself little one full of fear but oh the peace of being held in its mother's heart and it knows its mother do you know Christ have you felt his love have you known what it has been to be drawn to him nothing to compare to it in this world it's full of many fears and temptation much that separates us between our souls and our

[38:54] God but when he draws us to himself and we are carried in his bosom it is his heart that we see here they're his sheath and ye shall be says scripture my sons and daughters saith the Lord God almighty they're his all that the father giveth me he said on one occasion shall come to me and him that cometh unto me are in no wise cast out we read of that other figure in scripture the bride and the bridegroom blessed figure but in that figure in the song of Solomon are these words it is the bride wrapped in the arms of the bridegroom in deep and tender love and affection my beloved is mine and

[39:56] I am his a glorious heavenly union the lord reveals to his dear sheep his deepest affection for them they're wondrous they're foolish they stray he loves them with an eternal love and he will never let them go and finally shall gently lead those that are with young I love that word there's some beautiful words in scripture hezekiah after his solemn illness which carried all the hallmarks of being a mortal illness wrestled with his God in prayer his God heard him and he was healed and his he says of it I'll go softly all the days of my life very blessed figure it's the same here gently lead his she all the compassion of the

[41:13] Lord Jesus Christ his dear people he will lead them in the greatest love and tenderness just as a mother deals with her child and gently holds it in her arms so we read here he will gently lead them you see they can't hurry they're like the little child when they're being taught they don't immediately grasp what they're being taught and they need to have that gone over again and explained to them and perhaps a third time they still don't really grasp it the teacher is gentle she doesn't condemn them accuse them of laziness no it's patient and we're like this you know we need patient handling we're fools we are indeed we need the gentle hand of our God we wander the hymn writer says from sin depart to sin return we do but oh to be and we need it gently there it's a blessed mercy that we have such a God and all his compassion and all his holiness and all his love and all his blood that we might be one of his sheep because he will gather them to his eternal kingdom he will lead them to that heavenly city and one day in the sacred nature of his purposes he will bring them to be with him forever amen in the

[43:24] Thank you.