We read God's Word in Isaiah 56. We take verses 3-8 as our text and we'll not read that section a second time, so pay special attention to it as we read it. The Word of God in Isaiah 56, Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment and do justice, for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it, that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. Now begins our text. Neither let the son of the stranger that hath joined himself to the Lord speak, saying, The Lord hath utterly separated me from his people. Neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths and choose the things that please me and take hold of my covenant. Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. Also the sons of the stranger that join themselves to the Lord to serve him and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, everyone that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it and taketh hold of my covenant, even unto them will Even them will I bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar, for mine house shall be called a house of prayer for all people. The Lord God, which gathereth the outcasts of Israel, saith, yet will I gather others to him beside those that are gathered unto him. All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest. His watchmen are blind, they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs. They cannot bark, sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand. They all look to their own way, every one for his gain from his quarter. Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink, and tomorrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant." Thus far we read the Word of God. Beloved Saints in Jesus Christ, as a body having many members, so the Church of Jesus Christ is made up of all sorts and kinds of people, not only of those who are married, but also of those who are single, whether single because they are widowed or widowered, or divorced, or young and never having married. The Church of Jesus Christ is made up not only of those who are strong and able, but also of those who have in their flesh or mind some true disability. The Church of Jesus Christ is made up not only of those who for generations have been members of a faithful congregation, but of those who have newly come to the knowledge of the Reformed faith or joined this congregation. Each trial of every child of God is a different trial, and yet those of whom we've spoken, the single, the disabled, and the newcomers, have in common, perhaps, that they feel to be on the fringes of the church. If the church is a body, they are the appendix of the body, which can be disposed of easily with little consequence. Is not the church, after all, the place in which the covenant of God comes to be manifest? And is not the faithful church, after all, that church that proclaims that the covenant of God is with believers and their seed, so that it seems that the gospel is more for the married and more for families than for the single and unmarried and childless. Bearing in mind that the people of God might think this way, God, through the prophet Isaiah, gives in our text a word of encouragement to all who seem to be on the fringes of the Church of Jesus Christ. And that word, in one word, is this, there is a place for you in the church of Jesus Christ. Whether it be the church as gathered in the Old Testament, the church as found today at every nation, tribe, and tongue, or the church as it will be perfected and glorified in heaven, there is a place for elect believers, no matter what their outward circumstances. There are, of course, other scripture passages that make essentially the same point as our text. You think of the well-known passages in Romans 12 and in 1 Corinthians 12, which speak of and even elaborate on the figure of the church as a body with many member And you think particularly of that passage in 1 Corinthians 7 in which the Apostle Paul, himself single, sets forth the blessedness of the single life when lived in the service of God. But our text, as it is found in the Old Testament, is rich and even more is richer than the others in the encouragement that it gives to those who find themselves in such a circumstance of life. For strangers, rather the sons of the strangers, and the eunuchs, God says, I will gather you, also you, unto myself. I call your attention to the text under the theme, Divine Encouragement for Strangers and Eunuchs. First of all, notice for whom this encouragement is. Secondly, what this encouragement is. And finally, with what certainty this encouragement is given. Our text addresses two different groups in the Church of Jesus Christ. Those two different groups are mentioned in verse 3, and then verses 4 and 5 speak of one of them specifically, and 6 through the end of the other. They are the son of the stranger on the one hand and the eunuch on the other. The son of the stranger refers to the child of heathen parents whose ancestors were not members of Israel, were not Jews by blood, and so not members of the covenant of God. For Israel, this refers to Ammonites or to Moabites. Or, perhaps more specifically, for Isaiah is addressing the people as he sees them in captivity, this may refer to the Babylonians or the Assyrians or one of any other nationality who has come to know of the God of Israel. For us, the son of the stranger applies broadly to anyone who is born and raised in unbelief, by the grace of God, has come into the Church of Jesus Christ, and more broadly can apply to any who seem to be strangers in the Church, not as well known on the outside fringes perhaps, but for all that, members of the Church of Christ. The term eunuch applies to a male who has been appointed to serve the king And because he must give his entire life to the service of the king, he has been castrated. Perhaps he keeps the king's harem of wives and is castrated in order that those women have to him no appeal and there is no possibility of his defiling the wives and concubines of the king. Or perhaps he is castrated because he must be so devoted to the king's business as one of the king's high-ranking officials in the kingdom that he must not be distracted by wife or children from his business. Think very really and concretely of Daniel and his three friends. And we think of them concretely not only because Isaiah speaks and has in mind the time of captivity, but because apparently they also were, perhaps against their will, made eunuchs in the service of the king of Babylon. The Bible does not say in as many words that they were eunuchs, but it does refer to the man who had the charge over them, read Daniel 1, when they were taken into captivity and when they were given pulse to eat as the prince, the chief of the eunuchs. Application then can be made to any who are impotent and infertile and unable to bear children. It can refer as well to those who are not married, for the eunuch did not marry. And as castration was a form of disability, the term can refer to those who are disabled in the Church of Jesus Christ, whether divorced, widowed, or unmarried. whether enduring the affliction of Down syndrome, autism or epilepsy, or any other disability, all such are represented by the eunuch. The text makes plain about both of these groups that they are truly in the church of Jesus Christ, outwardly and inwardly. Outwardly, they have joined themselves to the Lord, that is said of the son of the stranger, and then demonstrating that they are indeed a part of the church of Jesus Christ, is their love for the law of God, and their being mindful of His covenant. And with regard to both groups, the text makes that point. Verse 4 speaks of the eunuchs that keep Jehovah's Sabbaths, that choose the things that please him and that take hold of his covenant. They keep his Sabbaths, and that refers not only to the weekly Sabbath, but it refers also to the feasts and festivals that Israel was to enjoy and keep during the year. The Passover, the Feast of Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles. These were not those who treated those Sabbaths and feasts very casually. They understood that these periods of rest, whether weekly or of a different duration, were given by God to His people as a picture of the friendship that we have with Him and He with us in Jesus Christ. And so they keep his Sabbaths and choose the things that please him. They keep his law. And they keep his law not only because outwardly there is some pressure to, they will be put out of the congregation if they don't, but they choose to keep his law out of a heart that loves that law. And they take hold of his covenant. Referring perhaps to the rite of circumcision, but more broadly to any covenantal demand and obligation that God lays hold on His people and understanding that all of these laws that must be kept are ways in which we demonstrate Jehovah is our friend. That said of the eunuch, but some of the same words and terms are used in verse 6 to refer to the son of the stranger. the one that joins himself to the Lord to serve him and to love the name of the Lord. This is one who, having grown up worshipping idols, has renounced all idolatry and has come to see that Jehovah, God of the Jews, is the only true God and must be worshipped. And so he also keeps the Sabbath of God from polluting it and takes hold of God's covenant. These spiritual characteristics and this description that's given of these sons of the strangers and eunuchs demonstrates that they are in the covenant of God not only outwardly because they are either Jews or have joined themselves to the Jews, but in their heart. And so the text speaks. not just to any who finds himself or herself single against their will, or disabled, or on the fringes, but to those who are indeed members of the body of Jesus Christ. That description of the sons of the stranger and of the eunuchs is significant then, both doctrinally and practically. doctrinally to emphasize that the Word of God in our text, and of course it's true of all of His Word, is not just for anybody. It is not even just for anybody who happens to sit in a church building and say, I am a member of a true church of Jesus Christ. It is particular. The love of God and the promises and blessings of God always are particular for the elect, for those redeemed in Jesus Christ and by his blood, for those in whom the Holy Spirit works, and for those then who truly believe the promises of God in Christ. Doctrinally significant, and then practically Sometimes we look at or speak of that segment in the congregation of which the text speaks, those on the fringes, the single, and we say, why don't they do more? Why don't they get more involved? Why don't they go to retreats? Why don't they attend Bible study? Now those are fair enough questions. They're the kind of question the individual themselves ought to consider and give answer to. But what our text does, as it describes these on the fringes of the church, is show how genuine faith will fundamentally show itself in their membership in the church of Jesus Christ. by going to church, by keeping the Sabbath holy, by taking hold of God's covenant in any way possible, keeping His law in all respects, loving Him with a whole heart. The Word of in the text as it comes to the single or the disabled in the church is not a word that first of all says, get more involved, but first of all a word that causes them to face the question, how deep is my love for Jehovah? the struggles that I had in connection with membership in the church of Jesus Christ, my feeling like a fifth wheel with all the couples that I went around with before my spouse died, my feeling like the married people don't understand me because I'm single, that is not to me the first and foremost question or complaint that comes to our mind and to our lips, but first of all, this, do I love Jehovah above all else? Have I renounced all other gods? Do I find in my relationship to God in Jesus Christ a friend greater than all friends? And though I might feel like a stranger in the Church of Christ, do I keep His law. That's the question. Now, those to whom or of whom the text speaks do these things, do them in such a way that everyone else would look at them and say, of course, they're God's children. And yet they are discouraged. The text speaks of their discouragement in verse three. The eunuch says, I am a dry tree. And the stranger says, the Lord hath utterly separated me from his people. The fear, the discouragement is not, first of all, others don't notice me. I'm not welcomed. I feel as though I don't fit in. But the fear and the discouragement is, first of all, what Jehovah might think of me. The Lord hath utterly separated me from His people. I am a Gentile and the promises of God are for Jews. So when Jehovah promises to gather his outcasts again from captivity and bring them to his holy mountain, though I love Jehovah as a Gentile, there's no hope. I don't have the confidence that I will be received of God and mercy in Jerusalem. That's the fear of the stranger. And when the eunuch says, I am a dry tree, he's referring very well to the well-known fact that he cannot produce seed. He will never have a son to bear his name. The covenant of God that's continued in the line of generations will end with him and not be continued. And therefore, he wonders, will God regard him personally? Has Jehovah any favor for him? Is that strange to be so discouraged? Do you react by saying, well, now that silly thinking, just get that notion out of your head? But beloved, the son of the stranger who said this and the eunuch who said this have in mind a passage in the law of God to Moses. Deuteronomy 23, verses 1 and 3. He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, the eunuch, shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord. And verse 3 says, An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord. Even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the Lord forever. Their fear, their discouragement is founded on the Word of God itself. I love Him, but does not He say He doesn't love me? That's a reasonable fear. Do you have that fear yourself? Look at the position you have in the church of Jesus Christ and compare it to the position others have. And there, by the way, is the first problem. We compared it to the position others have. But we look at our position in relationship to others and become discouraged because we suppose that the scriptures say those who are truly godly and those whom God loves more than others are preeminent in the church. He doesn't say that, but sometimes we twist His Word or understand it in such a way as to think maybe that's how He looks at us. Because I can't have children, and yet I read Psalm 127 and Psalm 128 that speak of the joys of familyhood and family togetherness. Jehovah must not love me. There are no joys. Are those your fears? And do you come to their conclusion by taking the Scriptures and misusing them? That's what the eunuchs were doing, the sons of the stranger. In the process, they were forgetting something about Jehovah, and we too are prone to forget. In the first place, that membership in the church of Jesus Christ and our position, our specific position in that body is always a member of the grace of God. The minister isn't a minister because he deserves to be. The elders and the deacons, though they must be examples in their Christian life and walk, and we are to choose men for office accordingly, still aren't put in office because they are better than others. One who says, I'm not married and that's my burden, must not conclude Jehovah loves others more. I say we forget about His grace, because His grace is His merited favor. And what we have all in common, no matter what place we serve and have in the body of Jesus Christ, what we have in common is that we are sinners, guilty, corrupt and depraved, who cannot claim to have any reason in ourselves why we should hold any position, be it high, or seemingly low in the body of Christ. Another thing they do who speak with such discouragement of heart is forget the faithfulness of Jehovah. Very evidently these have been brought into the covenant in a genuine sense in their heart and in their soul. They love Jehovah. He will not forget those who fear Him. To such comes, therefore, in our text a word of encouragement from Jehovah Himself. He states that encouragement first of all to the son of the stranger, rather first of all to the eunuch in 4 and 5, and then to the son of the stranger And then in verse 8, after having made the two specific applications, he sets forth the broad principle. Let's notice first that broad principle that is and consists of the encouraging word to all such in the church of Christ. The Lord God, which gathereth the outcasts of Israel, saith, yet will I gather others to Him beside those that are gathered unto Him. That is, in addition to the Jews which will be brought back from captivity and established in Jerusalem again and who will worship once more in the temple, I will gather others also, Jews and Gentiles. That's the broad principle. The Church of Jesus Christ in the latter part of the Old Testament, and especially now in the New Testament, is not only for the family and descendants of Abraham, but is for the elect of every nation, tribe, and tongue. Now that broad principle is applied specifically then in verses 6 and 7 to the son of the stranger. God says in verse 7, even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon my altar, for mine house shall be called a house of prayer for all people." Jerusalem when it is rebuilt and the temple and its courts when rebuilt will not be only for the Jews, but those Gentiles who bring their sacrifices will be received also. As they go up in the New Testament to the house of God on a Lord's Day to worship and worship Him with a sincere heart, their prayers and their offerings of thanksgiving will be received. My house shall be called a house of prayer For all people, Jews, but also Gentiles. And then the promise to the eunuch in verse 5. Even unto them will I give in my house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. You see how in both to eunuchs and to the strangers, There's covenantal terminology. The idea of the temple and the sacrifices and His house being a house of prayer means you have a place in my covenant. And then to the eunuchs, in my house and within my walls. There where the covenant of God with His children is especially manifest, and where there are walls, that is where God preserves His covenant people and does not allow any in whom He has worked the life of Christ to fall from grace and to lose the grace of God in Christ. Will I give a name and a place better than of sons and daughters? You can't have sons and daughters, you eunuch. Fear not. The place you will have will be of more value and give you greater joy than sons and daughters did. That's how I understand that part of verse 5. I don't believe that God is saying to them, you will mean more to Me than My own sons and daughters, because the eunuch was a son of God. But God is saying to the eunuch, the joys that you have in my covenant will be greater than any that a son and a daughter can give. And whereas you feared that your name would be cut off, I will give an everlasting name that shall not be cut off." It boils down to this. A place in God's church and covenant. This is Jehovah's promise. The promise was fulfilled successively throughout the history of the church after this prophecy. The return from captivity, a mixed multitude returned, mixed in one sense in that even the Jews who came back were not all true believers, even of them. Those who were true believers were but a remnant. But even more for our purposes mixed in that those who came back included Gentiles who had gotten to know the believing Jews, who by the witness and the confession and the worship of believing Jews had been convinced of the genuineness of their faith and had come to the same faith. But that leaves us yet with a question. is not this prophecy of Jehovah and its fulfillment that Ammonites and Moabites and other Gentiles and eunuchs would have a place in His temple, does that not flatly contradict the passage we read earlier from Deuteronomy 23? Is not Jehovah Himself contradicting his own law. To answer that, we have to remember the function of that law of Moses and the ceremonial law that is included and of which Deuteronomy 23 is a part. We have to remember that that ceremonial law was for a time only. that it served Israel in the Old Testament as long as she was a child, but that in Jesus Christ, the ceremonial part of the law of God would be removed. And what God is doing in our text is saying, in essence, not He forgets entirely about that law in Deuteronomy 23, not He's going to negate it and He changed His mind about it, but He is prophesying of the day when that law will be removed because Jesus Christ is a shepherd, not only of the Jews, but of a people that yet did not know Him, of Gentiles everywhere. The law, in other words, has almost completely served its purpose and is going to be removed. is a word to apply to us then who feel in this life and in the Church of Christ on earth that our place is just minimal. Our time here on earth will soon be over. Paul makes that point to the married as well as to singles in 1 Corinthians 7. And because it will soon be over and in heaven there is no marriage, whether you are married or whether you are single, you must focus on The important things, the covenant relationship you have with God and to serve Him. Then in the New Testament, the promise of God in the text continues to be fulfilled. In fact, it's fulfilled in the church of Christ that has in her midst the single and the strangers or newcomers and the disabled. And God is saying, to those perhaps who have never thought of it this way before, or to those who go on in their own life without giving a thought to those who are single, there is in the Church of Jesus Christ a group of people who are a blessing unto you. You might not know it, but now you must think of it and consider it and take it to heart and ask just how you are being blessed from them and seek to serve them. There are those who are without spouses, but long to be included in the family and congregational life of the church. There are those who sit in wheelchairs and must be brought to church by their relatives. Or maybe they can't even come to church at all, who are very much a part of your body. Do you understand that? And do you seek to serve them and be blessed by them? In heaven we'll see it. That's where the prophecy is fulfilled ultimately and finally. In heaven we'll see it. When each of us has our place in the perfected and glorified body, and knows why we had to be led through a time of widowhood, or singleness, or endure the afflictions of the body that we endure, in order to prepare us for this place in Christ's glorified church. What's the word of encouragement, though, again? The place in the church of Jesus Christ, in heaven and on earth, isn't a matter of outward gifts, outward status, ancestry, ability. It's a matter of faith in Christ. You know why the Reformed believer can say that and believe it and take comfort from it? Because he understands faith to be not something that proceeds out of my own willpower, not something I chose to do, but understands faith to be a sovereign gift of Jehovah God. He works irresistibly in the hearts of His people. Have you that faith, no matter what the circumstance of your life is, that can only mean one thing. Jehovah has already taken note of you. He loves you and He's preparing you for glory. Do you believe it? Do you experience it? And if you don't experience it, what do you do? The single person, young person now, who hears this and says, yes, I don't experience it, might be tempted to say, so I have to leave. I have to go look for a church in which singles are made to feel at home. I have to look for one that has an active singles ministry. Don't do that. Or the widow might say, I have to go to a church that has a lot of widows. Don't make that the first thing that crosses your mind. Do I love Jehovah? Do I keep His Sabbaths? Do I choose the things that please Him? And to the degree I do those things, By God's grace, and in different measure to each, I will begin to experience that His promise is true for me." The Word of God in our text is certain. There are several points in the text that underscore its certainty. In the first place, of course, it's the promise of God Himself who cannot lie. And that's enough, but there's more. It's a promise of God that regards His covenant. We've shown already how the promises God makes have His covenant in mind. And the covenant of God is His great work. Realizing that covenant is His great work in all of history. So that if there's one thing He will not disregard, one category of promises that He makes and will be sure to carry out, it is those That regard is covenant because that means the saving of His people in Jesus Christ. And the names used with reference to God in our text underscore this covenant faithfulness. The name Lord, first of all, which is Jehovah, the covenant name of God, speaking of Him being eternal, unchanging, and therefore faithful. And then in verse 8, the Lord God. Adonai Jehovah, powerful and mighty one, authoritative, one who rules according to his own pleasure. It is this God who gives this encouragement. There is more to the certainty than the text implies or explicitly says, though. Certainly, for you and for me, the promise is sure and we are convinced of it. because we see what happened 2,000 years ago and the effect of that great event for us as members of the Church of Jesus Christ. On what basis can this promise come to eunuchs and sons of strangers? On what basis such sinners and outcasts be received into God's tender favor and mercy? but on the basis of the shed blood of Jesus Christ our Lord on Calvary, of His atoning work, a work which is complete. And because it's complete, the promises that God makes on the basis of that work are sure for all His people. And not only is it so that Christ's atonement is complete, but yet He lies in the grave No, he is risen and sits at the right hand of God, and having poured out his Spirit, himself brings to fulfillment the promises recorded in our text. As we read in Lord's Day 21, Question and Answer 54, the Son of God gathers, defends, and preserves out of the whole human race a church chosen to everlasting life And that, on the basis of the work of Christ, I am and forever shall remain a living member thereof. There is one more aspect or hint in the text of the certainty of this word of God. As I pointed out earlier, Jehovah does not address sons of the strangers and eunuchs who are disregarding Him entirely and say to them, well, why don't you keep my law? But He speaks to those who have joined themselves to the Lord and who do keep His Sabbaths and choose the things that please Him. We love God. Because He first loved us. Do you love Him? That in itself makes the promises of God sure for you. And it makes the promises of God sure for you, not because our love for Him is meritorious or because He rewards those who help themselves and who take the first step, as it were, but because to love Jehovah and to say, nothing means more to me than to live in covenant fellowship with Him is evidence of His grace in us, bringing us into His covenant. On the basis of this encouraging word, then, and on the basis of its certainty, Jehovah says in verse 3, Do not speak this way. Neither let the son of the stranger speak, saying, The Lord hath utterly separated me from his people. Neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. Oh, we have. We've spoken this way. And we're tempted to do it again. One of the first things that comes to our mind when we see something in our life that's not pleasant, some discouragement, we say, woe is me, how bad I have it. Don't say that. God says. And don't let others say it either. Have such a relationship with those singles, disabled and others of the church of Jesus Christ, that you might be the one who hears them say such words and have an answer for them, not a rebuke. Isn't that something? Jehovah doesn't give up. strong rebuke here. It's a very tender admonition and encouragement. Let that be a pattern to us. Not a strong rebuke. What do you mean? How could you talk that way? But, oh brother, oh sister, do you see what Jehovah has done for you? Do you understand His promises in Isaiah 56? His word in 1 Corinthians 7, neither let them say that. Singles are to take the encouragement to heart, disabled and those on the fringes also. Take to heart the word of God here. Let it encourage you when you are down. You remember, after all, that even Those who are prominent in the church have a point in their life when they can't turn to anyone else but Jehovah. Take a lesson from the life of David when he was in the wilderness fleeing from Saul. And the band of men that were gathered about him became discouraged and said to themselves, we should stone David. He's anointed king, mind you, but he's running for his life and those who were his friends have turned against him. But, 1 Samuel 30, verse 6, David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. That's what we're called to do here. God does not promise that those who are single will marry. Some instances, for a time, he forbids such as in the case of the divorced whose spouses are yet alive. But he promises joy and happiness nonetheless. He does not promise those who are disabled that He will remove their disabilities so they can walk, live and act as freely as others. But He promises they will enjoy the blessings of salvation. He does not promise those on the fringes that one day they will become popular and others will notice them. but he promises that he notices and he loves. What more do we want? What more do we need? If Jehovah before us, who can be against us? Amen.