What Do You Trust?

Psalm of the day: Psalm 78:9-39

Scripture reading: Eph 6:10-13

GMC! I was glad when they said to me let us go and worship in the house of the Lord.

Today we are turning our attention to a precious portion of Isaiah, we will be looking at what is called the the second servant song In Isaiah. Actually we will be looking at the song and the response to the song.

In case you don’t know, or have forgotten, or just really so we are on the same page, Isaiah's most famous portions of scripture are located in what are commonly referred to as the “servant Songs” of which there are four. We have already looked at the first a while back in Isaiah 42. from here we will have the last three in fairly rapid succession.

They are called servant songs because they describe one who is explicitly called the “servant” of God. they speak of one to come and who he will be/what he will do. We could get into a lot of detail, but I want to start form the onset by saying that all of the songs are directly talking about the Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord.

He is the servant promised of Old, the messiah who came and fulfilled all that was written. Over and over again the Gospels speak of “this happened to fulfill what was written” and point us directly to Jesus.

this morning we won’t get into all the details of WHY this is the case, but if you are interested this will be the topic of grace groups this week (assuming my internet doesn't die on me again…)

I just want to start with that framework in place, I am assuming this and so with those thoughts in mind lets dive in. Our passage is Isaiah 49:1-50:3. lets read God’s Word

READ: Isaiah 49:1-50:3

These are the words of the Lord. Lets Pray

PRAY

I want to start by reminding us of a question that we have asked over and over (and it feels like over again) in the book of Isaiah. WHO WILL YOU TRUST. Today we see that thought highlighted again. We have been given so many good things, and yet there is a temptation and a thought to stop trusting in God and instead trusting in ourselves, our own wisdom and experience, our own thoughts and wisdom.

So I want to begin by asking you if you will trust in God’s COVENANT?

The COVENANT

verse 8 God speaks and says to the servant:

Isaiah 49:8 ESV

Thus says the Lord: “In a time of favor I have answered you; in a day of salvation I have helped you; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages,

God gives covenant to his people. What does this mean, well simply (a little over simply but it gets the thought across) he makes promises to his people. Here we are told that the servant will be given as a covenant. what is included in this covenant? a lot.

Just in verse 9 we see salvation as prisoners are called out of darkness. we see provision as they “feed along the ways” there is protection in verse 10 as the “scorching wind nor the sun will strike them”. he has promised a sure call to his people as he levels the the mountains and raises the valley to make a straight road and he has promised unity and a great call fro people from all over in verse 12.

But I want to focus on two words that occur in verse 13 that sum this up perfectly:

COMFORT AND COMPASSION

I first had written “god offers to his people comfort and compassion” but that is not a forceful enough take on what this verse says. it is direct and said distinctly. God HAS comforted his people. more than just an offer here we are talking about tangible and practical comfort that God has given. what is that comfort look liken, well it is all that was included (and much more) in what we JUST talked about in the Covenant. it is salvation and protection, provision and unity, peace and joy. and so much more. the comfort of God is an infinite and perfect comfort given to broken people.

and God WILL have compassion. again note the force of this verb. he WILL do it. because his comfort does not rest on our ability or us at all, as we seem to be saying over and over again in Isaiah, God is sovereign praise him for that, and in his sovereignty he will show compassion.

here’s the question, well two really: question one is will you trust in the covenant promise of God. He has promised comfort and compassion and so much more.

more to the point, WHY will you not trust in the covenant promises of God. or why do you don’t. I am asking that to the one who will not trust in God at all, but also to the christian here. Why do you live your live like God’s promises are not true? why are we seemingly so determined to forget and throw off the promises of God as we seek fulfillment and answers and comfort in our own devices?

and Isaiah will give us the answer to that.

it is because of a feeling that we have.

The FEELING

If we are completely honest the reasons that we do not trust God have nothing to do with God actually. We will not trust him because of how WE feel. we have a feeling like we shouldn’t or cant trust him. what is that feeling? Well because as a pastor we love alliteration and we had COVENANT COMFORT AND COMPASSION here we have the FEELING of FEAR AND FORGETTING

FEAR AND FORGETTING

verse 14 perfectly sums up the thought of why we will not and do not trust in God. It stems form a deep seated fear

Isaiah 49:14 ESV

But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.”

God has made these incredible promises, given covenanted with his people, offered them so much, given comfort, shown compassion, and the reaction of God’s people is to fear that none of this will actually happen.

We wont trust God because we are deeply afraid that maybe his promises aren’t true, maybe they just don’t apply to me. the fear that is shown here is a selfish fear, yes, but a fear that is all too real in many of our lives.

We fear that maybe God has turned his back on me. Maybe, like Zion in this passage we are willing to put words to it. “God has forsaken me.” Where does this fear come form, again I would argue too much looking at ME rather than God, but we can all fall prey to this type of thinking. Possibly the thought starts like this: I know my heart, I know the sins that I wrestle with, I have let myself down countless times, let alone God. Maybe God has had enough, maybe he has finally said, that David guy is too much of a mess-up, I’m done with him. And we fall into great fear, and we begin to try and find our own ways to better that situation, we try and work our way out of the problems that we find our self in, afraid that God has abandoned us.

Plus he’s God, he is so much greater, and stronger and so high above us that we have trouble seeing and understanding him. And so we fear placing our trust in the God that we cannot see. But it is worse.

We forget, and then we feel like God has forgotten.

First we forget that God is good, so fear sets in, and trust goes out the window. We forget that he cannot lie, so we stop trusting in his promises. the tragedy is that we forget who God is so then we assume that God has forgotten.

the last half of this verse shares this lament. “MY LORD HAS FORGOTTEN ME”.

we don’t trust God because we FEEL like he has forgotten about us. We forgot in the passage right after the FIRST servant song when God said:

Isaiah 43:2–3 ESV

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you.

so we see the fire, we see the waters, we see the trials, and think: the only logical answer is God has forgotten me, so I will work myself out of this. we don’t trust because we fear that God has forgotten us, and we begin to rely on me.

But what is Scripture's way to fight this fear? it gives us assurance.

The ASSURANCE

praise be to the God who does not abandon us, who has not forgotten us, who has not forsaken us, even when we think, and fear that he has. Instead God is gracious to us, he is kind, and he offers us assurance in the midst of the things we feel. God say,s trust me, then he tells us why we should trust him, then he gives us reminders of why we should trust him, then he gives us time and time again reasons to trust in him.

Here specifically God gives us two assurances, and specifically two things about him that offer us assurance. I had been doing so well with the alliteration in the answers, but I just couldn’t do it hear, so sorry, but the two things are:

GOD’S LOVE AND LORDSHIP

lets look at his love first. He begins by asking His people to reflect on a new mother.

Why should we trust God, because he loves us with a great and powerful love. Are you afraid God has forgotten you? here’s the response

Isaiah 49:15 ESV

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.

it sounds ridiculous to say that a nursing mother could forget her child. God loves you even more, he cares for you even more deeply. In fact, though it sounds ridiculous for a mother to forget her child, it COULD happen, but it is not the case that God could forget you. Verse 16

Isaiah 49:16 ESV

Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.

God cannot forget us, but even IF he is about to he needs only look down at his hands to see us engraved there. Our walls being before him denotes a care for not just us, but also our surroundings. those things that offer us protection that we “trusting” are upheld by God, CONTINUALLY. always, and at all times.

hear’s the thought:

1 John 4:18 ESV

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

and God’s great and perfect love is the assurance we need to fight against the fear that clouds our judgement and causes us to stop trusting in God.

he loves us so much he has offered promises and blessing, verse 17-21 speak of children given to those that feel unable and overwhelmed, who feel less than. but then in these children he begins to show his LORDSHIP

The assurance we have is to look at the God who is all powerful and rules over All of Heaven and earth.

and so the picture here is children born to those who are in exile are, because the Sovereign Lord of heaven declares it, lifted up.

Isaiah 49:22–23 ESV

Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and raise my signal to the peoples; and they shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders. Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.”

he will raise up whom he will he will do as he will, for he is God, but notice he does this to show us, END OF VERSE 23 AGAIN

and another picture of his lordship God asks two questions:

Isaiah 49:24 ESV

Can the prey be taken from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?

the assumed answer is at first “no”

if the mighty has the prey then the mighty will keep the prey, imagine every nature documentary you have ever watched (or just the lion king…) where the lion is sitting over the prey, the hyena will not be getting it. When the mighty one is the one who already has the prey what hope is there for the lessor, the weaker? and the tyrant who is absolutely powerful, the one who has already defeated and won over these captives, there is no one to fight against him. If we remember back to earlier in Isaiah we can ask this really powerfully. If we have already asked Assyria and the northern kingdom and Egypt all for help, and we are still defeated, what hope is there?

but the assumed answer is not the right one, and God immediately answers

Isaiah 49:25 ESV

For thus says the Lord: “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant be rescued, for I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children.

there can be no greater assurance than this: to hear the God of the universe Lord of heaven and earth to say: I WILL CONTEND WITH THOSE WHO CONTEND WITH YOU. I will fight your battles, I will defend you, care for you, protect you, guard you. I WILL SAVE YOUR CHILDREN, i will protect, not just you, but your legacy. so that ALL will know that God is God, he is Lord, and he is your redeemer, and savior.

I want to give us one more thought on our great assurance, and that comes in 50:1-3

two pictures here, divorce and being sold into slavery and The two pictures in 50 (divorce and Slavery) are critical. For “divorce accuses the unfailing love of failure; sale into slavery accuses the sovereign power of weakness” (Motyer) but God’s power breaks through both of these complaints!

not that there might even be these (great) complaints, but even here we have assurance. God is strong and able and mighty to save.

Isaiah 50:2b ESV

Why, when I came, was there no man; why, when I called, was there no one to answer? Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver? Behold, by my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a desert; their fish stink for lack of water and die of thirst.

here’s the assurance, in a nutshell. God has promised, he is the God who dearly and intimately loves us, and the God who is great and mighty. he will contend with those who contend against us and is the one strong enough to “Behold, by my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a desert; their fish stink for lack of water and die of thirst. I clothe the heavens with blackness and make sackcloth their covering.”

But now I want to ask: what is THE SOURCE of all this?

The SOURCE

THE SERVANT

he IS the COVENANT mentioned in verse 8

1 Corinthians 11:25 ESV

In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

he felt the same fears as us and yet did not doubt.

Isaiah 49:4 ESV

But I said, “I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the Lord, and my recompense with my God.”

and as Paul would write he is the ASSURANCE

Romans 8:32 ESV

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?