As we have worked through this portion of the prophecy of Isaiah, we have noted that here we find a text of promise. A text of promise, which really secures light to a people. Now, while the prophet Isaiah was a minister of the gospel to Judah, the promise of light, the promise of mercy in this text is not to Judeans, but to Galileans, to that obscure place that is elsewhere, well, in our texts and elsewhere, called Galilee of the nations or Galilee of the Gentiles. To them, says the prophet, light will arise. They will know mercy. And friend, that's staggering, isn't it? If you contemplate what we've seen from the seventh chapter till now, you notice that Isaiah is sent to a generation that is really convinced that their principal crises are either national subjugation under the Assyrian empire, or a coup d'etat exercised by an alliance between Israel and Syria. The prophet says, no, your real crisis is apostasy. Your real crisis is that you have forsaken the living God. And your real crisis requires a greater deliverance than you can imagine. And in fact, you require a greater deliverer than you know. And in this text, the prophet sets before them this greater deliverance and this greater deliverer. And of course, as we read from Matthew's gospel last time we were together, that greater deliverer, of course, is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one who is the light that shines upon these people who were once in darkness. He is the deliverer that Isaiah's generation had forsaken. He is the deliverer of our text. A friend, as you look at our text, you notice in the first line of the sixth verse that the prophet He sets before us these words, he says, for unto us, for he says, that is, of course, telling us the ground or the reason for all that is gone. All of the mercy, light previously described for this reason. For unto us, he says, for unto us, a child is born. Unto us, a son is given. But note the pronoun. Friend, here, the prophet speaks, but it's not the prophet himself, in solitude. In fact, as you look at the text, you recognize that these are the words of the Galileans. This is the Galilean cry, their creed. This is the people who were once in darkness, upon whom the light has shone, and this is what they confess. All that has gone before they says is because of this. A child has been given to us. The Son has been given to us. And note, friend, what they say, this one has been born to them, given to them. Beloved, note what they say. They're saying here that He has been made their possession in a sense. They have a right and a title to Him. And what they say here is that all that has gone before, the deliverance, the light, the mercy previously described is simply because this child, this son has been given to them. A little bit as we look at this very familiar text, you and I re-recognize that is a text of abounding grace. And it's a text of abounding grace because we recognize those who are speaking are those, as we've already said, who were immured in sin, who were under the fetters of darkness, a people, as we read already, a people who walked in darkness. And yet what is their chorus, their creed, their great confession? All the light that they've received, all the mercy that they know is because a child has been born under them. A son has been given under them. And so they are secure. And so they rejoice. And beloved, what then this text teaches us is a very simple theme. It is that Christ is given to great sinners. Christ is given to great sinners. And I want us to see that briefly tonight by looking first of all at the object that the prophet sets before us. I want us to see then Christ offered secondly. And finally, I want us to look at Christ as he's obtained. So take first of all, the object of our text. We're told simply that it is the child. It is the son here described. And friend, it would be remiss of us if we didn't begin by saying that it's significant that he describes a person. These people are given not an idea, they're given a person. They're given not a work wrought by this person, but the son himself. It's right for us friend to linger there for a moment. Because the person so described is the person we've already encountered from chapter seven and following. It's of course, Emmanuel, the one who is God with us. And this is then the child born, the son given. Friend, as you look at this text, we do need to keep before us just the language of our text. The Lord Jesus was given himself. It was not just his work, but his person that was made over to sinners. Friend, what does that mean? Friend, I want you to notice that of course, as we look at this text, there are so many echoes of it in the New Testament. The apostle twice says explicitly, not that Christ simply did something for his people, but that he gave himself for them. The apostle, of course, friend, is looking to the very self-same theme that we are in our text this evening. We were given a person, says the apostle and the prophet alike. And who is this person? We're told in that second line that we are given a son. And of course, beloved, we're here looking at the Son of God. God the Son in all of his perfections and in all of his beauty. Friend, he is made over to sinners. The ground of his mediatorial work, the efficacy of the work of redemption rides upon the perfections of his divine person. Its worth, its efficacy is because he is God the Son. And friend, we are told that he himself is made over to sinners in our text. The one who is from eternity, fairer than the sons of men, who is beauty itself, who is always the father's delight and rejoicing, that is the son who is given. And then we're told, friend, first of all, that he was a child given. A child was born unto us. And friend, that speaks, of course, to the incarnation. The Lord Jesus, he took not upon him the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham. This, the divine son came as a child and was given to his people as such, as God sent his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh. This, which is given in our text. And beloved, we need to stop at this first point and just ask the question, do we make much of this? Because our text does. The cry of the Galileans in our text is one of enthusiasm, but it starts here. Not what Christ has wrought, but who he is. Not the fact that he's procured benefits, but that he has been given to them himself. Christian, do you make much of the fact that you have not only been given riches in the Lord Jesus Christ, that you who believe you have been given Christ himself, the divine son made over to you. The Galileans made much of it, love it and so should we. That is then the object of our text. What of the author? As you look at the words of our text, you notice that this child is born. and this son is given. And the point of emphasis in the text, of course, is that he is given unto us. We who were once in darkness, we who were among the nations who were themselves long in darkness, he has been born unto and given unto us. And beloved, the language of possession there shouldn't be lost on us. It's something that we ought to meditate upon because here you find a people saying that he is in a sense legally ours. He has been gifted to us. And so we are tethered to him such that we can say that he is ours. And friend, you and I, we shouldn't lose as well in this text that it's a profound thing, that those who are so legally tied to the son, who have a legal warrant and right to him, again, are those who were once walking in darkness. What you find in this text is that Christ is really Gifted to great sinners. Christ is really gifted to great sinners. And I want you to notice the manner. As we've read through those first verses of chapter nine, you remember that these were a people who were continuing in sin and in darkness. And upon them, and note the passivity, upon them the light came. This is not something they worked for, not something they contrived, not even something they asked for. And so friend, the idea is that this is something that came upon them without their merit. They did not earn the light that shone. So they did not earn the child that was born, earn the son that was given to them. This is something that is only from God, from its start to its end. Friend, this is only the work of the Lord. It's striking as you look at John 4, how the Lord Jesus describes himself. He says, if thou knewest, speaking to the woman of Samaria, if thou knewest the gift of God and who it is that saith to thee, in the original, friend, it is this, if thou knewest the gift of God, who is the one speaking to thee. Note, friend, how the Lord Jesus describes himself to a woman in the darkness. He says, he himself is the gift of God. The gift from God. Friend, one that was not merited, one that was not earned. That light that surprises those who walk in darkness. You and I, we ought to see in this text, friend, that Christ is made over to these ones, legally in offer, legally in grant. What do I mean by that? Friend, the Lord Jesus describes himself in his ministry. He describes the entirety of the gospel as bidding those to come to the marriage feast. Of course, you have it in the parable. Go ye therefore, says the man to his servants, go ye therefore into the highways and as many as you shall find bid to the marriage. Friend, however you recontextualize the text, however you disassemble it, however you try, friend, to reorganize it, it means the same thing at the end of the day. Christ is saying that the gospel goes out to the highways and to the byways, and those to whom it, to come. Now friend, if they have an obligation, obligation to come, then they have a right and a title to come. Otherwise, friend, the offer is not valid. What that means, beloved, is then in the offering of the gospel, you have sinners come under the warrant and even the right to lay hold of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is, as it were, given over to them in the offer, just as those who were bidden to the wedding were given that true invitation, that legal right and obligation to come. Friend, it's important for us to recognize this. The Lord Jesus is given indiscriminately to sinners in the offer of the gospel, in that they have a warrant and a legal right and obligation to take hold of him. It's important for us to see that friend. It's important for us to see that this evening because beloved, that means that in this sense, in the sense of warrant and in the sense of right, every single one of us in this room this evening has equal right and equal warrants to lay hold of the son that is given in this text. Beloved, remember the words that we read in the end of the Scriptures. The Spirit and the bride say, come, and let him that heareth say, come, and let him that is a thirst come, and whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely. Friend, that can only be true if Christ himself is made over to sinners in the offer of the gospel. And so long as he is made over to them indefinitely, indiscriminately. Beloved, it's important for us to see this, but allow me to press this, perhaps even in language that's more bold than my own this evening. One of our Scottish Presbyterian forebears puts it this way, even on a sermon on our own text. He says, Christ is given to mankind sinners indefinitely. It is not to the elect only, but to sinners indefinitely, elect or non-elect, sinners of the race of Adam, without exception, whatever they have been, whatever they are. In the warrant, friend, Christ is given to sinners. Elect or reprobate, each have an equal right and title, friend, because each have an equal obligation to come. It's important for us to see that friend, because that friend leaves us without excuse this evening. None can say, well, I cannot come. I have no right to come. because I do not know if my name is in the book of election. None can say so. Beloved, just remember that election limits who will come, but by no means does it limit who should come, not one. The son that is given this evening in the offer of the gospel, he is given in such a way that everyone is warranted and obliged to take him. That leads us to our third and our final point this evening. Here is Christ offered. But friend, the offer of Christ is not of itself sufficient for the saving of the soul. There are many who are warranted to take hold of Christ who do not. And so we come to Christ as he's obtained in the text. The text reads again for unto us. Unto us. We who were once in darkness, but now joy before God according to the joy and harvest and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. We who are delivered by the hand of God in such a way that only God receives credit as in the day of Midian, as you read in verse four. Friend, these ones have Christ not only in the offer, but they have Christ in arms. They have Christ not only in the warrant of the gospel, but they have Christ in possession. And so they rejoice, and so they are secure. And beloved, as you look at this confession of faith in verses 6 and 7, you notice what they're saying. They're saying that all that they have received, all the mercy and all the grace previously described, is simply because they have Him. Because they have Him. They are safe. Because they have Him, they rejoice. And beloved, here then you and I, we are taught that Christians esteem Christ as the chief and as the source of all blessing. Yes, Christ is offered, he's granted, he is in a sense legally gifted to all of those to whom the gospel goes, but friend, only is he saving to those who possess him by faith. And here you find those who do lay hold of him, who count him their chiefest security and joy. Christian, do you see him so even this evening? In the scriptures, you find the apostle putting it this way. He says, the believer, they have a nation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before them, which hope they have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, which entereth into that within the veil." He goes on to say, it is all lodged in Christ. For note what he says, those who have laid hold of the Lord Jesus, they are so secure, they are sure and they are steadfast, immovable. Friend, the heavens and the earth are more movable than the saint. Christian, All of your security must be rooted in this, that you possess the unchanging Christ. But it's not only beloved security that we read, that they have as they possess him, but they rejoice. And I want us to end really on that note. You find here that the Christian, he rejoices as he has the Lord Jesus. And this is an important point for the Christian life. Beloved, you can assess a Christian. You can measure his wellbeing by his proximity to the Lord Jesus. What I mean by that is just what you have in the Song of Solomon. You remember the bride. She describes herself thus in chapter three. She says, by night on my bed, I sought him whom my soul loveth. I sought him, but I found him not. She's distant from the Lord Jesus, and she's not content to be so. Beloved, she is now impelled to action. So she says, I will arise now and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways will I seek him whom my soul loveth. Beloved, note, note that she is not most concerned about having his gifts or his wealth. But that which leads her out in the middle of the night to pursue Christ is Christ himself. Beloved, it is proximity to her beloved that will drive her out of her lethargy, out of her sloth and drive her to the Lord Jesus because she loves him. All of this comes down to what we find in our text. The chiefest thing the Christian has for security and for joy is Christ himself. Yes, his benefits are unspeakable, riches unsearchable, but the Christian knows that the greatest of gifts is indeed the son himself. As we close our time this evening, friend, just two points of examination I think are necessary. The first point is, is this the confession of your faith this evening? Is this the confession of your faith that we find in our text? That all of the mercy and all of the grace that you have and that you hope for, it's all just because you have him. You have Christ himself. Well, let me put it to you a different way. Friend, one day, and that day is hastening far faster than you and I ourselves imagine, you are going to lose your grip of everything. One day, one day your grasp on your possessions, on your profession, on your pension, on your family, on all of your possessions and on all of your goods, even on all of the work that you've done and even on your own legacy, death will loosen your grip on all. And you will be left bare, you will be left naked in that moment. The scriptures say, the scriptures say that in that moment, Friend, the believer still possesses Christ. He may have lost spouse and child. He may have lost possession, wealth, and of health. But if he has the Lord Jesus Christ, he still has him in that moment. So friend, do you have him this evening? Because if you have him, then you have everything. But if you don't have him, you have nothing. You have nothing unless you can say, He has been given to me and possessed by me by faith. Sir, ma'am, you have nothing. So do you have the Lord Jesus Christ this evening? I want you to know as we leave this text, friend, that again, In the overtures of the gospel, each of you tonight are offered the Lord Jesus Christ. The warrant is yours. What is set before you is life and death tonight. What is set before you is everything and nothing all at once. And each and every soul this evening has that same right and that same warrant to lay hold of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so will you come? Will you come? As we leave this text, friend, this should lead us into humility. As we've seen, all of this is given and all of it is unmerited. It is from God's side alone that the Lord Jesus Christ is made over to sinners. And this should lead us then also to thanksgiving. We who have laid hold of the Lord Jesus, your inheritance is greater than that of angels. Friend, though you were lost and undone in Adam, though you are and I but clay, Your privilege is not to call God only God, but to call him your God. To say that he has become my portion and my lot. For the angelic host do not have such a rich, such a wealthy inheritance. And so it should induce us to thanksgiving, to say that we have the son. given to us. But friend, the exhortation from this text, of course, is to make our calling and election sure. Be sure that this is the confession of your own faith. And for those who do, friend, this text should lead us, this text should lead us to search out that which is ours. Friend, we should be leaving our carnality behind. when confronted with such sublime truths. Christ is made over to you, believer. Is yours in possession, Christian? So what does the world have to offer you? If we know our possession, friend, we will live differently. I'll close, friend, with something I perhaps could have read this morning, given our theme then. But it's the last words of Lady Colt Ness. She was a Covenanter who passed away after burying her 12th child in 1675. But as she lay dying, she gave her testimony to her children. And in the midst of that testimony, she says thus to them. She says, all the greatness, all the learning in the world, what is it without grace? Remember that word, not many noble, not many mighty, not many wise are called. Say not this to discourage you from reading and learning, but let it not make you neglect duty. And lay it upon you and charge you before God. And as you would meet with me again and with comfort, be diligent in reading the scriptures and in prayer. And satisfy not yourselves with your morning and evening prayers. But I charge you in the sight and presence of the Lord not to judge your religion to be true and sincere if you carry no further than morning and evening prayers. In all these things I say unto you, I shall be witnesses against you. I've spoken these words as a dying mother. I pray the Lord you may never forget them. And she closes pleading that they would lay hold of the Lord Jesus Christ as most necessary of all. Friend, let all the world offer what it may. Our text urges us to be sure that this son is ours in possession. May the Lord lead us to diligently lay hold of him and for his own namesake. Amen.