Series: Isaiah
Title: Sing, Enlarge, and Fear Not
Text: Isaiah 54: 1-5
Date: March 30, 2014
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
In
Isaiah 53, we saw Christ victoriously accomplish his cross work. Then, being satisfied by the work of his Son,
we heard God the Father declare that he would fulfill his covenant to
Christ. He said,
Isaiah 53: 12: Therefore will I divide him a portion with
the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath
poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and
he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
So with
Christ risen from the dead to his resurrection glory, he now speaks to his
church, promising us what shall be.
Divisions:
He gives us three commands which will make up our divisions. I will give them
to you as I read our text. 1) Isaiah 54:
1: Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into
singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more
are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife,
saith the LORD. 2) 2: Enlarge
the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine
habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; 3: For
thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall
inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited. 3) 4: Fear not; for thou shalt not be
ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for
thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach
of thy widowhood any more. 4) Then he tells us why we can do each of these
three things with confidence) 5: For thy
Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy
Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
Title: Sing,
Enlarge and Fear Not
I. FIRST, SING—Isaiah 54: 1: Sing, O barren,
thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that
didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate
than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.
Here we
have a married wife who appears fruitful and a desolate wife who is barren but
who God promises shall have many more children than the married wife.
Examples
Remember, Penniah and Hannah? Penniah had children
but Hannah had no children. Penniah was Hannah’s “adversary.” Penniah “provoked
[Hannah] sore, for to make [Hannah] fret, because the LORD had shut up her
womb…when she went up to the house of the LORD, so [Penniah] provoked [Hannah];
therefore [Hannah] wept, and did not eat.” (1 Sam 1: 6)
Remember,
Hagar and Sarah? Hagar had a child but Sarah was barren. Hagar conceived a
child by her own wisdom and works. And “When
[Hagar] saw that she had conceived, her mistress [Sarah] was despised in her
eyes.” (Gen 16: 4) God gave Sarah a
child by promise, by the miracle of God’s grace, by God’s power. Hagar’s son,
born of the flesh, persecuted Sarah’s son, born of the Spirit of God.
The
Holy Spirit tells us who Hagar and Sarah typified, who this married wife and
this barren wife in our text, typify:
Galatians 4: 24: Which things are an allegory: for these
are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to
bondage, which is Agar. 25: For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth
to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 26: But
Jerusalem which is above [the true church of God’s elect, those Christ redeemed
by his blood] is free, which is the mother of us all. [typified by Sarah,
represented by the barren wife in our text, see he says] 27: For it is written,
Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that
travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an
husband. 28: Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. 29:
But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after
the Spirit, even so it is now.
So in
our text, the married wife represents the great harlot, Babylon, false
religion. The married wife is the self-made, self-willed, self-righteous,
self-sanctifying false church. She appears
to be fruitful; her children walk on every side—for “The wicked walk on every
side, when the vilest men are exalted.” (Ps 12: 8) Yet, the children of the
married wife are the works of her own hands, the converts she made by her own
wisdom.
The
desolate wife is Christ’s true bride, the true church—God’s elect—for whom
Christ gave his life and redeemed by his own blood—and “we, brethren, as Isaac
was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh
persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.” But we shall
have more children by Christ our Husband.
Hannah
“in bitterness of soul, prayed unto the Lord and wept sore” (1 Sam 1: 10)—she
cast herself on the mercy of God. God
gave her a son by a miraculous birth, the gift of God—Samuel—a type of Christ. He was a Nazarite from birth, consecrated
to God from his youth, favored of God in an extraordinary manner—picturing
Christ. Samuel served God faithfully
wearing a linen ephod as the priests did; he was a faithful prophet of
God—picturing Christ. In the end he
was despised and rejected of the people, who chose an earthly king over
Samuel—picturing Christ—they said, “We have no king but Caesar.” But for the sake of Samuel, God gave
Hannah many more children making her fruitful. Our text says it shall be the same for us, brethren.
Sing, O Church
For the
sake of Christ Jesus, God tells his universal church over all time—and his true
church here among us today—to sing! Isaiah
54: 1: Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into
singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child:
In
ourselves we, as Sarah was, are barren. We have no power to conceive children. We
have no ability to bring children to the birth by our travailing. Yet, as God promised
Sarah, God promises us. And God’s promise is sure because Christ shed his blood
for each child that shall be born of him. Christ justified each one with his
own blood Christ reconciled each one to God by his death. Justice demands they
must and shall be
In
fact, the promise of God is so certain that God does not say, “We shall have
children.” He speaks in present tense,
saying, “more are the children of
the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.”
God our
Father and Christ our Husband see his seed already—Isaiah 53: 10:…”when thou
shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed.” He has already
prolonged their days. Isaiah 53: 10:…”when thou shalt make his soul an offering
for sin,…he shall prolong his days.” And
nothing shall hinder him from bringing them to life the first time, to re-birth
them by his grace, and to bring them to glory with him—Isaiah 53: 10:…”the
pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.’
When Sarai heard the promise of God, she
laughed in derision. But when God gave her faith, made her a new creation, Sarah, rejoiced in the joy of her
heart. She even named her son, “Laughter!” So God tells us now, “sing, o
barren, break forth into singing and cry aloud… for more are the
children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.”
Application: Believer, does it not appear so to your natural
eye? Here we are few in number. We know of a few scattered here and there
throughout the world. As with every word
of God, believe God and lean not to our own understanding or carnal sight.
Barren but Fruitful
The
true church of our Lord Jesus at any given time in history has appeared barren
in comparison with the great harlot, Babylon. At the end of Christ’s earthly
ministry, there were very few. Think of what it must have been like that night
when they saw Peter, then the other apostles, go back to fishing.
Illustration: Imagine if faithful preachers you know became so
discouraged that they threw up their hands, stopped preaching and went back to
their secular jobs.
Then
imagine how their hearts sank when they saw Christ rejected by the masses and
nailed to the cursed tree. But this promise is of God who cannot lie, of Christ
who shed his precious blood. It is of
his power, not of us!
Christ
arose from the dead as he promised. Like he is doing right now, he gathered his
true preachers then he sent them with his word to gather the others. At
Pentecost he sent forth the Holy Spirit as he promised, as he promises us in
our text that we shall be fruitful. Through the gospel he called out 3000 as he
promised, then he called out another great number as he promised. He added to
the church daily such as should be saved as he promised. Peter said let all
know assuredly,
Acts 2:33: Therefore being by the right hand of God
exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he
hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear….36: Therefore
let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus,
whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
In
every dark age since, Christ our Husband has continued to: raised up his
faithful preachers, to gather his faithful saints, he continues to give life
and faith and add to his church daily such as should be saved. HE IS
DOING THE SAME RIGHT NOW IN OUR DAY!
We
shall see more dark days before he returns again, but he has shown us in that
in the scriptures. Before our Savior returns the second time it will be much
like it was when he came the first time—a famine of gospel bread in the land
while Babylon flourishes. But as it has always been—the success of the
gospel—of quickening and saving his children—it not of us. It will be by his
faithfulness, by his power, not one shall be lost. So
sing, oh bride, sing!
II. HIS SECOND COMMAND TO US IS:
ENLARGE—Isaiah 54: 2: Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth
the curtains of thine habitations:
He does
not say enlarge your tent and stretch forth your curtains after they come—that
would not be faith—he says to you and I already here, “Enlarge—v3: For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the
left.”
He does
not say, “Look to your barrenness.” When Sarai did that, she derided God’s
promise. But when Sarah believed God, she bore a child by God. God says look to
your Savior.
Isaiah 53: 11: He shall see of the travail of his soul,
and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify
many;…12:…he shall divide the spoil from the strong; because he hath poured out
his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare
the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Therefore
he says, “Sing, o barren!” And while you are singing, Isaiah 53: 2: Enlarge the
place of your tent and let them stretch forth the curtains of your habitation…3:
For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall
inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.
How?
God even
tells us how we are to do this. He commands us, Isaiah 53: 2:…spare not,
lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;
Expect
God to make good on his promises—“Spare not!” Notice, our habitation in this
earth is only a tent! Don’t become attached to the tent or it will cause us to
deal sparingly!
Illustration: What would I spare if my child was withering away in a
hospital bed? I would spare not!
Neither
does God our Father. Everything God gives is for the salvation and calling out
of his lost, tossed, dead and dying children. He gave his only begotten Son—his
Only…Begotten…Son! His Son gave his soul—“he poured out his soul unto death.” God
gave spiritual life and faith in abundance to a people who God sent to our sick
our bed with the balm of Gilead! They
spared not for us! Now God promises us—Romans 8:32: He that spared not his own
Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely
give us all things? God gave his Son, Christ gave his life—will God not with
Christ also freely give us all things? So he makes the most reasonable demand
of us that can be made—“Spare not!” God has done far too much freely for us and
continues to do so for us to be miserly in any regard.
Illustration: In the early days, the church did not spread their curtains.
So God sent persecution forcing them go forth preaching the gospel. But as he
did, God spared not!
God
says, “Lengthen thy cords! Strengthen
thy stakes!”
God
does not command of us anything that Christ does not give us the strength to do
and lengthening cords and strengthening stakes takes effort. We will not
compromise: on our Message! our Music! our Methods! or our Master!
But we must not sit still and do
nothing. In God’s house, there is no excuse for laziness or self-serving
from anybody.
“Cords”
reach out far and wide on every side of the tent. Cords connect the stakes to
the tent. Christ Jesus—with his cords of love—holds all his people—his
church—his tabernacle—together in this earth. Christ does so through the gospel
of Christ. We can do nothing better to
express our feeble love for Christ and our brethren than spreading the good
news of the cord of his love by spreading forth the gospel that declares it.
Application: Let us always be looking for every opportunity God gives
us, to spread the preaching of the gospel in every direction from this
tabernacle. And so…
“Strengthen thy stakes"—the stakes strengthen the entire tent connected by the
cords—the stakes must be driven deep in the ground.
Christ
is our Nail in a sure place. (Is 22: 20-24; Rev 3: 7) Christ is typified in the
brass stakes that secured the tabernacle in the wilderness. Christ firmly
secures all the eternal counsels of love, mercy, grace and blessing of the
Triune God in the hearts of his people in this earth. By Christ dwelling in his
people, he is our strength, making us faithful, secure stakes in the earth to
strengthen his church.
Application: Our young people right here are the future stakes of the
church if Christ is pleased to make himself their strength. Make every effort
to teach them the gospel, strengthen your stakes with our only strength, Christ
Jesus. Fellow brethren, right here,
in whom Christ dwells are stakes. Make every effort to exhort one another in
Christ. Pastors and Missionaries are
stakes by which Christ strengthens the church. You will meet one April 22,
Tuesday night—Brother Cody Groover. I am
so thankful God has given you hearts to strengthen these stakes. Spare not to
continue to strengthen all of these stakes with the gospel and with the
substance Christ gives you to provide for them.
III. FEAR NOT—Isaiah 54: 4: Fear not;
The two
things that we fear, that makes us freeze in our tracks, that makes us inactive
in the cause of Christ is: 1) being
ashamed in ourselves by our own sin and unfaithfulness; 2) being put to shame
by the reproach of our enemies. So the Lord addresses these 2 fears—showing us
we have nothing to fear as we give ourselves to Christ by giving ourselves to
this work he commands.
Christ says, Isaiah 53: 4: thou shalt not be
ashamed—this is in our own hearts: because of our sin
and unfaithfulness. He is reminding us our hope, our faith and our confidence
is Christ—so fear not, thou shalt not be ashamed “for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth.”
Christ says Isaiah 53: 4: neither be thou
confounded—do not let the reproach from others make you
ashamed: don’t let them mock you, saying we appear barren and unfruitful, “for thou shalt not be put to shame:…and shalt
not remember the reproach of thy widowhood anymore.” Christ will make us fruitful in these good
works. Christ will bring forth his children. We will not remember the reproach
from our enemies while we appeared to be a widow.
IV. LASTLY, HERE IS OUR STRENGTH TO OBEY ALL
THREE OF THESE COMMANDS:
Sing, O
barren, thou that didst not bear; thou that didst not travail
with child—why?—Isaiah 54: 5: For thy
Maker is thine husband; Christ our Maker, made us; Christ our Maker made us the
righteousness of God; Christ who
Maker made us sanctified and holy. Thy
Maker is thine Husband. He shall make us fruitful and bring forth his children.
So sing!
He says
Isaiah 54: 2: Enlarge the place of thy tent, spare not, lengthen thy cords, and
strengthen thy stakes——why? Isaiah 54:
5: the LORD of hosts is his name; It means the LORD of many! He
bare the sin of many. He shall bring in many. Our children shall come from the north, south, east and west from Jew and Gentiles, a number no man
can number for “the LORD of hosts is
his name!”
Fear not;…thou
shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy
widowhood any more—how so? Isaiah 54: 5:
[your Husband is also] thy Redeemer the
Holy One of Israel; He redeemed us from all iniquity and made us holy
Hebrews 10: 15: Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness
to us:…16: This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days,
saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I
write them; 17: And their sins and
iniquities will I remember no more
And by
this work of the Lord Jesus Christ: by making his barren bride bare children, by
calling every last one into his church, by putting away every sin of every one
of his people and conquering all our enemies Isaiah 54: 5:…The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
So
believer: sing; enlarge, and fear not. Christ Jesus is able to do as God says
he will: “For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and
thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be
called.”
Amen!