Our scripture lesson tonight comes from Isaiah chapter 41. Isaiah chapter 41, we'll read the first 20 verses. Hear now the word of our God. Listen to me in silence, O coastlands. Let the peoples renew their strength. Let them approach, then let them speak. Let us draw together near for judgment. Who stirred up one from the east, whom victory meets at every step? He gives up nations before him so that he tramples kings underfoot. He makes them like dust with his sword, like driven stubble with his bow. He pursues them and passes on safely. By paths his feet have not trod. Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, the first And with the last, I am he. The coastlands have seen and are afraid. The ends of the earth tremble. They have drawn near and come. Everyone helps his neighbor and says to his brother, be strong. The craftsman strengthens the goldsmith and he who smooths with the hammer, him who strikes the anvil, saying of the soldering, it is good. And they strengthen it with nails so that it cannot be moved. You, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend, you whom I took from the ends of the earth and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, you are my servant. I have chosen you and not cast you off. Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded. Those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them. Those who war against you shall be as nothing at all. For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand. It is I who say to you, fear not, I am the one who helps you. Fear not, you worm, Jacob, you men of Israel. I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord. Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I make of you a threshing sledge, new, sharp, and having teeth. You shall thresh the mountains and crush them, and you shall make the hills like chaff. You shall winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the tempest shall scatter them, and you shall rejoice in the Lord, in the Holy One of Israel. You shall glory. When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I, the Lord, will answer them. I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the Bear Heights and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water and the dry land springs of water. I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive. I will set in the desert the cypress, the plain, and the pine together that they may see and know, may consider and understand together that The hand of the Lord has done this. The Holy One of Israel has created it. This is the word of the Lord. This morning we heard that God saw and God knew. And when God sees and God knows, then God does something about it. Now we hear that Israel, the servant of the Lord, will see and know that the hand of the Lord has done this. The Holy One of Israel has created it. But because God sees and knows and does something about it, therefore we will see and know what he has done. we will see it. It's when Habakkuk prays that God would revive, renew his work in our day, that's what Isaiah says, and that's what God will do. And of course, this is what God has done in Jesus, that he has brought about the new creation, that the hand of the Lord has done this. The Holy One of Israel has created it. Isaiah loves to speak of the Lord as the Holy One of Israel. Understandably, back in Isaiah 6, at His call, Isaiah had seen the vision of the Lord and the seraphim crying out, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory. And as Isaiah shows over and over, the Holy One of Israel, Yes, He is high and exalted, but He is also near to the lowly and contrite. Last week we heard three voices calling Jerusalem and Judah to listen to the Lord. God has decreed that Jerusalem shall fall to the hand of Babylon, but he has also promised that the exiles shall return. God himself will come to Jerusalem. The glory of the Lord will be revealed as he comes down the highway in the wilderness, and those who trust in him, those who wait for him, shall have the strength to walk with him to Zion. as the end of chapter 40 put it, 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. Chapter 41 now continues this theme, but now no longer are the heralds speaking to Jerusalem, no longer is Zion, Jerusalem, speaking to the cities of Judah, but now the Lord himself speaks. God himself announces the message that the heralds had told us to listen up for. What is the word of our God that endures forever? Again, think back to the grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. What is this word that stands forever? What has the mouth of the Lord spoken? in chapter 41 he speaks of his purposes for his servant. Now Isaiah 38 to 55 focus on the theme of the servant of the Lord and the servant theme is introduced in verse 8 of chapter 41 for the first time and it will continue as the dominant theme for the next 15 chapters. Who is the servant of the Lord? Well here in chapter 41 Isaiah says that the servant is Israel, my servant. the offspring of Abraham, my friend. So let me just give you a quick summary of where we're going in this, because for Isaiah, Israel is the servant of the Lord. Of course, the problem for Isaiah, as Isaiah will continue to show, is that Israel has failed as a servant, and we'll see much of that failure in the coming chapters. Here at the beginning of the servant songs, Isaiah will speak of the servant unambiguously as Israel. But as we go along, more and more we see ways in which the servant then also delivers Israel. And so to sort of get to the end of the story quickly, Jesus will do and be all that Israel was supposed to do and be. So to say that Israel is the servant and to say that Jesus is the servant is not at all a contradiction. because Jesus is all that Israel was supposed to do and to be. But as we go through, we'll also see how Isaiah increasingly, as the chapters go by, is recognizing that also only God can do what Israel needs done. And so Jesus will also do and be all that Israel's God was supposed to do and be. because Jesus is God and man in one person. Now verses 1 through 7 start off in chapter 41 by setting out who is God. Last week we heard that God is the creator of the ends of the earth and now he reveals himself as the ruler of history. He calls for the coastlands to listen in silence and actually we'll see chapter 41 and chapter 49 or echo each other, listen to me, oh coastlands. Isaiah has very carefully structured this section. Chapter 41 calls the coastlands together for judgment. Chapter 49 will call the coastlands together for blessing, because of what happens in between chapters 41 and 49, but we'll see that as we go. The peoples, the nations, are now called to renew their strength, something that those who wait for the Lord do in chapter 40 verse 31. God calls the Gentiles to his counsel. You may recall chapter 1 verse 18, come let us reason together. At the beginning of the very first section of Isaiah, God called for a judgment day to come for Judah and Jerusalem. Now he calls for a judgment day for all nations, for the Gentiles. Then, in verses two to four, Isaiah speaks of the great king who destroys his enemies. Who is this great king? Speaking of asking the question, who stirred up one from the east, whom victory meets at every step? He gives up nations before him so that he tramples kings underfoot. He makes them like dust with his sword, like driven stubble with his bow. He pursues them and passes on safely by paths his feet have not trod. Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, the first, and with the last, I am he. So who is the one who was stirred up to trample kings underfoot? The rabbis thought this might be referring to Abraham. After all, Abraham defeated many kings in the battle in Genesis 14. Other rabbis thought, no, actually Joshua defeats the nations of Canaan. So perhaps it's referring to Joshua. Who stirred up one from the East? Who is this one from the East? I would suggest that Isaiah leaves the identity of the one unanswered for a reason. Because it's actually not referring to just one particular king at this point. In fact, it's not even clear that this great king is a good guy in the story. The point that God is making is that God himself is the one who directs the steps of generals and conquerors. All military campaigns in the time start in the east among the great powers. Damascus, Assyria, Babylon, all the great nations come from the east. But all of these armies, all of these generals must acknowledge that God is the author of their victories. Who has performed and done this? Calling the generations from the beginning, I the Lord, I Yahweh, the first and with the last, I am He. He is the I am who appeared to Moses. He's the Lord of history. He's the ruler of the nations of the earth. And Isaiah says the coastlands have seen this. The coastlands, Tyre, Philistia, the coastlands of the Mediterranean, tremble at the coming of the armies of the king. But notice what they do when they tremble. Do they turn to the Lord? Far from it. The coastlands have seen, verse five, and are afraid. The ends of the earth tremble. They have drawn near and come. Everyone helps his neighbor. Isn't this good? Helping your neighbor. Love your neighbor as yourself. This is going great. Says to his brother, be strong. Encourage each other. Great. But the craftsman strengthens the goldsmith and it turns out they're making an idol. There is a certain camaraderie found in idolatry. When humanity joins together in opposition to the Lord, there is a certain fellowship that unites those who join in common cause. But here, the common cause of the idolater is contrasted with the fellowship that God has with his servant. Sure, you can make common cause in idolatry and it can work for a time. I remember a couple that they were drug addicts, and our church tried to help them for many years. And one of the things we noticed about them was that this couple worked together extremely well, either for good or for evil, and sometimes it was only 30 seconds apart. They had that camaraderie, but that camaraderie was twisted in the wrong direction. And in a very real way, you can see in Isaiah the roots of Augustine's great phrase, you have made us for yourself and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you. Augustine's speaking in that opening section about how his pursuits of friendship got him in trouble and led him astray. And that's why God turns to you, his relationship with Israel, his servant, that you, Israel, my servant. There is a people that is not like the nations, or at least is not supposed to be like the nations. Israel, the servant of the Lord. So just a brief outline of what Isaiah is doing here in these opening chapters, chapters 41 and 42. He calls for the day of judgment on the nations. And so, and now we hear first, God's blessing to my servant Israel in verses eight to 20. twice where God says, fear not, behold, concluding with six, I wills, in verses 17 to 20. But then at the end of chapter 41, beginning of chapter 42, there are three more beholds as God challenges the idols, concluding with 11 more, he wills, as God says what he will do. And then finally, in chapter 42, verses 5 to 17, we hear God's promise. with his declaration of who he is, we're coming back to this, again, we start with who God is and then who his servant is, we'll end chapter 42 with who God is. And then a call to praise him concluding with 14 more I wills. So basically every section in this, where God concludes each section by saying, I will do this, I will, trust me, believe me, I will. Isaiah 40 called us to hear the word of the Lord. Now we hear, this is what God says. This is God's introduction to the servant who will bring forth justice to the nations. But tonight we must content ourselves with looking just at the first part of this, as God blesses my servant Israel. And twice in this section God says, fear not, behold, concluding with the five I wills in verses 17 to 20. Isaiah provides first three pictures of God's blessing and care for his servant. In verses eight and nine, we have the picture of Israel as the chosen servant of the Lord. Israel, my servant. Jacob, whom I have chosen. The offspring of Abraham, my friend. You, whom I took from the ends of the earth. Basically, you have this summary of the story of Genesis in the book of Exodus, that God had called Abraham his friend. and had made his covenant with Abraham and promised Abraham that all nations would be blessed through Abraham's seed. And when God called Israel out of Egypt, he said to Pharaoh, Israel is my son, my firstborn. Let my son go that he may serve me. Notice the servant language used even in the call of Israel. Israel was the servant of the Lord at Mount Sinai. when Israel came to worship God, to serve the Lord. Israel is the son of God, Israel is the servant of the Lord, and this is because Israel is the offspring of Abraham, the friend of God. God chose Israel, and God will not cast them off. His election is the foundation for our confidence. And God follows this up with two fear not statements, and each fear not is followed by a behold, sort of, fear not, instead, see this. Verse 10, fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. God promises that he is with us. He is present with his servant. Harold Jerusalem had proclaimed in chapter 40 verse 10, Behold, the Lord Yahweh comes with might and his arm rules for him. Now God declares, I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. So do not be afraid. Now, in Isaiah's day, exile is still future. Babylon is coming. They're going to take you captive. But do not be afraid. Your children will be exiles in a foreign land, but fear not. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. And now, it might be tempting to say, but there's all these bad things coming. What about the... It's easy to get fearful. It's easy for those fears to begin to take over and control us. Lots of problems with anxiety and panic attacks. Obviously, people tend to be fearful. But Isaiah reports and records for us the word of the Lord. Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. And notice the behold. What are you supposed to see in place of the fears? Verse 11, Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded. Those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them. Those who war against you shall be as nothing at all. Four, I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand. Yahweh, your God, the one who has a righteous right hand, verse 10, is the one who holds your right hand, verse 13. So that whatever situation you're in, you can have confidence that God holds your hand in the midst of the troubles. And when... I know sometimes we're like, If this is all just sort of like someday, never gonna see it in my lifetime, but remember that God very often gives us glimpses of this in this life. Sure, there's, I mean, as all of you can testify, there's plenty of misery to go around in this life, but God also gives us the glimpses of these vindications, the glimpses of, Ask each other for your stories. Part of it is, I've heard so many of your stories that there are times when I'm sort of like, I'd love to use that as a sermon illustration, but it's not quite fair to you to do that. So just ask each other for your stories, because there's some great stories of things that God did in your lives that show God's vindication of his servants who were just trying to do what they believed to be the right thing, in very non-religious moments, but just doing what they believe God called them to do in a potentially, sort of like, oh, this could be a career-ending move. But I think I need to do what God calls me to do. And God uses it, and blesses it, and vindicates, and wow, now the person I thought might be against me is for me. Thank you, God. How did you do that? I wasn't trying. That's the sort of thing that these glimpses in this life where it's just, it's because God made the world to work that way. And so it does happen, even in this life. So this is why, because I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand. It is I who say to you, Fear not. I am the one who helps you. I am the one who does for you what you could not possibly do for yourself. And then the second fear not begins precisely with the point that the first fear not ends with, but with a twist. Verse 14, fear not you worm, Jacob. Wait a second, we thought this was the servant of the Lord From servant to worm. Well, part of it is, I think, we think of the servant of the Lord in glorious terms. But think of David, the servant of the Lord, who in Psalm 22 says, but I am a worm and not a man. The servant of the Lord is such a worm. Israel, a soft, feeble worm with no strength of his own. A worm has no backbone. And again, God says, I am the one who helps you. I am the one who does for you what you cannot do for yourself. Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. Think back to the book of Ruth, the kinsman Redeemer who redeems Naomi and Ruth and brings life and salvation The Redeemer is the one who delivers and protects the one who depends on him. Because Israel, the servant of the Lord, Israel, the worm, is helpless and in need of a Redeemer, in need of redemption. So fear not, you worm, Jacob. And as the first fear not ended with the behold, so also the second. Now, what are you supposed to see? Behold, I make of you a threshing sledge." Okay. The worm is a threshing sledge. Talk about a great picture. This worm with no backbone, no strength, is the threshing sledge that threshes the mountains. The winnowing fork that winnows the nations as the wind, the ruach, the spirit of the Lord carries them away. But this is, are we surprised anymore? This is how God does things. It's the weak and the helpless who puts to shame the powerful and the proud. And all of this because of the work of the Spirit of the Lord. Chapter 40 had spoken of the breath of the Lord, the Ruach of Yahweh, blasting the grass. And the nations are but grass. He blows on them and they wither. And also here, the Holy One of Israel who helps you is the Holy One of Israel in whom you shall glory. God is present with His people and so He will make His servant Israel the instrument of judgment against the nations. That's something we'll see as we keep going through the servant songs. But verses 17 to 20 then set forth the final picture of God's care for his people in this opening section. But this time he doesn't use the fear not behold pattern. Instead he does what he'll do several times in these chapters. He'll use a rapid fire series of verbs stating what he and his servant either will do or will not do. And verse 17 sets the stage. When the poor and needy seek water And there is none. And their tongue is parched with thirst. I, the Lord, will answer them. I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. If you're hearing pre-echoes of Jesus' call, I thirst, you're on the right track. When the servant is parched, God will open rivers on the bare heights. and fountains in the midst of the valleys. And he sets forth four ways in which he will do this. I will open rivers on the Bear Heights and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water and the dry land springs of water. Verse 18 emphasizes water. Verse 19 emphasizes shelter. I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive. I will set in the desert the cypress, the plain, and the pine together. God will provide water and shelter in the desert. Why do we need water and shelter in the desert? Well, because we're in Babylon, we're in exile and we're trying to return home to Jerusalem. How are we gonna get across the desert? God himself will provide for his people in the midst of the desert that they may see and know That they may consider and understand together that the hand of the Lord has done this. The Holy One of Israel has created it. So, who's the they here? Who may see and know? Well, it's the poor and needy from verse 17. Who's the poor and needy from verse 17? Well, it's the worm, Jacob, my servant Israel. God is faithful to his servant. Israel is surrounded by enemies and is helpless and powerless and has no hope except their hope is in the Lord who made heaven and earth. Israel is surrounded by enemies but God is righteous and therefore he will be faithful to his promises. Israel is weak and helpless, but the Lord is a Redeemer, and so He will blow away their enemies by His spirit wind. Israel is parched with thirst, but the Lord is the Holy One. And because He's holy, that doesn't just mean He's high and lifted up and far away. Because He's holy, He also is impelled to draw near to the weak and the helpless. Because God's holiness is not just that which makes him other and distant. God's holiness is also that which impels him to draw near because he wants a holy people for himself. So who is the servant of the Lord? Well, it's Israel, the chosen one, the elect servant whom God has called and redeemed. But that's just the beginning. Already we are beginning to see that God is bringing about the servant of the Lord who will bring judgment to the nations. Because God is not finished with Israel yet. He will faithfully bring his servant through exile to glory. Remember, that's always where the story is going. Take heart, oh servants of the Lord, because the servant has come. And though he endured exile and death, he has been raised to glory at the right hand of the majesty in heaven. And so you may rest assured that God has indeed opened a highway in the wilderness where the redeemed may travel safely. He has made in the wilderness a pool of water and trees for refreshment that as you walk, The reason why there's this oasis, the reason why there's this refreshment in the wilderness is because we're not to the end of the journey yet. This is why I can say with confidence that it's not just at the end of the journey that you will get refreshment. He gives refreshment in the middle of the journey. That's why the highway in the wilderness has trees and water to refresh his people. not just that you feel like, but you are in the wilderness, in the desert, and you may feel parched with thirst. But rest assured, beloved, that our Lord Jesus Christ has brought forth fountains in the midst of the valleys. The river that flows from our Savior is a river of living water to sustain you in all times and places. So drink deeply of him because from his heart flows the river of the water of life that can quench the most powerful thirst. So let us pray. Oh Lord, our God, how we thank you that you have done this, that you did not leave us in our misery and our sin, but that you sent your only begotten son, to come in our flesh, to bear in his own humanity the wrath and curse that was due to us for sin. How we thank you for your great kindness to us. And we pray that you would comfort and strengthen us, that you would provide for us this refreshment that we need as we walk in the midst of the veil of tears. Help us, Lord, to keep our eyes fixed upon Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. that we might cling to him. Lord, have mercy on all those who are fearful and grant to them that they might fear not because you are the one who helps them. Be for them their help and their shield, their encouragement and their strength. Lord, have mercy on all those who are dealing with the discouragements of life and the sufferings and the afflictions of body and of soul. Have mercy, O Lord, and grant them refreshment in the midst of the burning desert that you would give water and refreshment to those who thirst. Lord, have mercy upon your church throughout all the nations, that in every land and in every tongue, the glorious gospel of our Savior might go forth with great power, and the river of living water might flow from the heart of Jesus to every land and every tongue, that your refreshment, your refreshing streams would be poured out upon the nations, that all those who are weary and heavy laden might come to Jesus and find rest. Lord, have mercy. Have mercy upon our rulers and give them wisdom to lead and to guide us rightly, and overrule the folly of their hearts, that when they act improperly, Lord, use even their folly for the glory and goodness of your Son and the kingdom of our Savior, that through all these crazy days, that you would still continue to show forth your mighty power, to reveal your mighty works in our day, that we might see and behold the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world through his own death and resurrection. Lord, help us. And as we go through our week, as we set forth on the paths that you have called for us, Lord, help us to keep our eyes fixed upon Jesus, to love you with a whole heart, and to love our neighbor as ourselves, and to repent and believe your gospel day by day. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.