The Appeal

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Twenty. The appeal. December the 7th, 1954.

Good morning, friends.

Our Bible reading today is Isaiah 55.

The Prophet's great appeal to men to leave their frustration and dissatisfaction

and find rest and refreshment in God's everlasting grace and mercy.

Oh, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters,

and he that hath no money, come ye by and eat,

ye come by wine and milk without money and without price.

Wherefore do you spend money for that which is not bread,

and your labor for that which satisfyeth not?

Harkened diligently unto me, and each ye that which is good,

and let your soul delight itself in fatness,

incline your ear and come unto me,

hear and your soul shall live,

and I will make an everlasting covenant with you,

even the sure mercies of David.

Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people,

a leader and commander to the people.

Behold, I shall call a nation that thou knowest not,

and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee

because of the Lord thy God and for the Holy One of Israel,

for he hath glorified thee.

Seek ye the Lord while he may be found,

call ye upon him while he is near,

let the wicked for seek his way,

and the unrighteous man is thoughts,

and let him return unto the Lord,

and he will have mercy upon him,

and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my way, set the Lord,

for as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways,

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

For as the re-encometh down and the snow from heaven,

and returneth not there but watereth the earth,

and makeeth it bring forth and bud,

that it may give sea to the sewer and bread to the eater,

so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth,

it shall not return unto me void,

but it shall accomplish that which I please,

and it shall prosper in the thing where too I sent it,

for ye shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace,

the mountains and the hills shall break forth

before you into singing,

and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands,

instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree,

and instead of the briar shall come up the mortal tree,

and it shall be to the Lord for anew,

for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off,

Isaiah 55, 1 to 13.

What the prophet Isaiah offered to the peoples

in this great invitation is clearly stated in a fourth verse.

It is this offering servant,

the Messiah or Christ of God,

who through his death will bring abundant pardon to many.

These are the sure mercies of David,

Vertsree,

that is the blessing so surely promised to David,

whose fullness is seen only in Jesus Christ.

Man's forgiveness is always uncertain and imperfect.

Man can comfort us in our affliction and sorrow,

or speak to our souls guilt and frustration,

and it courage us movingly at times,

but what man gives is superficial,

and it does not change our lives.

It only enables us briefly to forget our predicaments,

only to have it later returned with renewed force,

our only true ground for hope is in God and his Christ,

for he alone will abundantly pardon and completely cleanse.

He will wipe out our guilt and frustration

as surely as a reinforce from heaven.

To have this piece of God,

we are summoned to forsake our way and our thoughts.

This is, of course, exactly what we hid to do,

once our way, plus God,

and he refuses to permit this situation.

Man is inclined to protest,

why should I give up my way and my thinking?

Why can't I be permitted to go my own way

and still have God's blessing and peace?

God's answer to this is clear cut.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my way, Sethylord,

for as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways,

and my thoughts than your thoughts,

verses 8 and 9.

Our thinking is completely incompatible

with God's thinking and our ways with His ways.

Our life is conditioned, as Jesus said,

by such matters as these.

What shall we eat?

What shall we drink?

Wherewith shall we be clothed?

See Matthew 6.25.

Our life moves in terms of ourselves.

God's thoughts and ways in terms of His eternal purpose.

We are called upon to forsake our life for His,

in order that we might really live.

As it is now, we are wasting our lives,

as I said, spending money for that,

which is not bread, verse 2.

That is, we work for that,

which does not satisfy,

and goes through life, hungering,

and thirsting for life,

but never really tasting it.

In the face of all this,

our only hope is in God, in Christ.

Living in Him, we shall go out with joy,

and be led forth with peace.

Nature itself will share in our happiness,

verse 12.

What was a thorn to us before

will become a lovely fir tree,

and a briar a mortal tree,

verse 13.

Because our life now is,

and a new world in Christ,

the fullness of which we shall inherit

at the end of time,

can this really happen to us?

We have God's word that it cannot be otherwise,

for He says,

so shall my word be that goeth forth

out of my mouth,

it shall not return unto be void,

but it shall accomplish that which I please,

and it shall prosper in the thing where too I sent it,

verse 11.