We come to the end of the year and there are different things that get released online at this time of the year— Spotify wrapped summarises the songs and artists we’ve been listening to, the “Word of the Year” . The Merriam-Webster dictionary picked “authentic” as their word of the year. We live in a time when many are thinking of their authentic self and what it means to be human, especially when AI has been picking up steam. Perhaps as Christians too, we are left thinking about what really is authentic Christian joy, peace, comfort?
Isaiah 51 brings us words that help us differentiate and define what authentic Christian comfort is, especially in a world that peddles its version of comfort.
(A) God’s comfort miraculously multiplies blessing (Isa 51:1-3)
In Isaiah 51:1a, we see that the Lord speaks through the voice of Isaiah. Certainly, it is the LORD who speaks, and there is a case to be made that the servant’s voice begins to meld with the LORD’s in this event. Earlier, in Isaiah 50:4, 10a, we’ve read and heard that the person who last spoke was this servant. Here comes a word to this people who are struggling.
His listeners are those who pursue righteousness, which never stands apart from seeking the LORD. This righteousness is neither an abstract quality nor an independent virtue. Its chief end is known in relation to the LORD of all righteousness. The pursuit of righteousness means nothing if we do not know the Lord and neither are we aligned to Him. What a thought! This is the posture of the people who are seeking God and pursuing righteousness.
This is a call for us too, to heed these words here if we know God, pursue righteousness and seek Him.
The listeners are repeatedly exhorted to listen, and the act of listening is a call for remembrance and resolve in Isaiah 51:1-2. The metaphor attests to the skill and strength of the one who hews and digs.
The memory of Abraham and Sarah in Isaiah 51:2 attests to the LORD’s miraculous multiplication. Remember who Abraham was — a pagan worshipper who came from Ur! This was who he was when he was called. Remember who Sarah was — barren and old when she bore Isaac, not by any ability on her own, but solely by the grace of God.
This act of remembering and looking was to call them to pay attention with the goal of seeing that God has been faithful. They are the fulfilment of the promise to Abraham and Sarah. This is to help them see who God is and to be a people depend on this God. This is the great principle of the past, which is the seed of hope for the future.
How much have you thought about this as you think about yourself, your church and who you are these days? How will this change the way you enter your job, or handle your anxiety? Will you remember that the God who calls His people calls them in order that He will bless and multiply them? Will you not remember that God is dependable? Resolve to know this God! May this also provide a comfort for whatever you are struggling with.
As a result, we read in Isaiah 51:3 that God brings forth a comprehensive comfort. This is no mere emotional regulation, or a psychological first-aid balm. Most of the comforts we try to offer one another is superficial and limited. Do you struggle to comfort those who are struggling? We know that our comforts can only go so far. We try to be sincere about it, and even the comfort of our presence cannot fully mend the broken hearts of others.
But see how God’s comfort brings about true restoration, where what was once condemned desolate now finds its purpose restored, as the redeemed of the LORD return to the presence of the LORD. Remember how Israel’s own sin brought about the “waste places” and the desert. Yet God promises to comfort by transforming.
See how God promises to restore it to “Eden” and “the garden of the Lord”. When Adam and Eve were sent out, they could not enjoy the presence of the Lord because of their sin. Therefore, God is promising that He will restore this relationship with God! It’s an entirely new kingdom where the effects of sin is dealt with. The original purpose of humans and their relationship with God is fully restored.
It is this message of comfort that He holds out! He holds out a better world for us! This is comfort and multiplication of blessing that He promises.
(B) God’s salvation goes out (Isa 51:4-6)
We see a past promise being restated in Isaiah 51:4-5. This was in the earlier part of Isaiah, when Israel was in God’s land (c.f. Isa 2:2-4). But even then, this promise was given where people will flow up the mountain because God will teach His people His ways. In Isaiah 42:1-4, this promise is repeated by the Servant. This Servant is committed to God’s work and will not be weary in doing so. God’s people are to be clear that God will work among the peoples and the nations. It will involve the coastlands and His promise is a cosmic one!
But remember how God is a holy God. He cannot tolerate sins. Thus, His holiness should be bad news for sinners. How can it be good news for us?
Kevin DeYoung, in a sermon titled “Preach the Good News of Guilt and Justification” preached at T4G in 2022, said,
“Here’s the problem. We have a psychologised understanding of guilt, which leads to therapeutic notions of forgiveness. Guilt is a subjective state of consciousness. It’s what you feel, which is why we have notions of self-forgiveness, where you let go of some afflicting emotional state, so that you can learn to live with yourself. These secular notions of justification are either internal and subjective, or cosmic and impersonal, which means we either have to get right with ourselves or get right with the universe."
If this is true, there can be no real sense of salvation or dealing with our guilt. It is either severe without a solution or atonement without accountability. But in contrast, when God says that He alone is righteousness and He alone created us. We know that there can be an objective sense in which we are either righteous or unrighteous.
As we read Isaiah 51:5, we see that as God goes forth in righteousness, it accomplishes His salvation perfectly. This has been God’s continual plan. Remember how God saved His people from Egypt. In the first Exodus, the arm of the Lord smite Egypt to save His people. Isaiah calls us to look forward to a better deliverance. Alec Motyer, in his commentary on Isaiah 51:5, explains:
“On the human side, righteousness, conformity with the character and claims of God, is the mark of the true people. On the divine side, righteousness is the quality of all that the Lord does, whether for his people, or through His Servant. Here, righteousness and salvation are parallel; the latter being what the Lord does; the former, the quality of that which infills it. The saving work satisfies every standard of the Lord’s righteous nature, meets every legal claim and discharges every debt before the eternal law…In a way that fully satisfies absolute righteousness there will be salvation, an end of divine wrath, an entrance by faith upon divine comfort, strength and joy.”
This is the message of Christmas! He fulfilled all righteousness by taking on all our sins on that cross. God made Him who knew no sin to be our sin! We are fulfilment of this promise — that the nations are being drawn to God!
This season, what sort of conversations will you have with people as you meet in this Christmas period. Remember that we have words of true comfort here, and know true righteousness. How will this be your hope?
In Isaiah 51:6, the speaker calls for a “compare and contrast” and it is meant to shape the listeners’ response. The speaker contrasts the heavens and earth that vanish with the eternal nature of salvation and righteousness. Therefore, we are meant to see and contrast what is here presently with that which is secure and eternal. In doing so, we see something again of God’s nature and character. The heavens and the earth seem to be temporary and wear out and vanish like a garment. Yet, this God and the salvation He provides is secure! A similar idea is picked up in Hebrews 12:25-29 and we see how looking at the heavens above and the earth beneath is meant to help us to see that God’s kingdom is more secure.
What is shaking your heart and making you tremble? What do you think about that goal you have set for yourself, or what you’re pursuing? What grief do you have in your heart as you examine the brokenness and pain in this world? Friends, these things can be shaken and will be shaken. The world does not know what to do with brokenness — the movement and shaking of these things that are passing away. In fact, the world perpetuates brokenness and spurs it on. But the Christian has a comfort throughout every shake-up. We have the resources to deal with brokenness. We can admit that there are real thorns and thistles and there is real brokenness. We don’t need to hide and shy away from it. But also know that there is a forever kingdom that will not be shaken, for He has come to make His blessings known far as the curse is found.
As much as we know the reality of our guilt, so it is that there is a real comfort and hope that we have in Christ. How far has the effect of the curse has on your heart? Bring these to the Lord. We have in Him a kingdom that cannot be shaken.
(C) God’s righteousness vindicates forever (ISa 51:7-8)
The listeners undergo a change between Isaiah 51:1 and Isaiah 51:7. In Isaiah 51:1a, they are described as those who pursue righteousness. A few verses in Isaiah 51:4a, they are described by God as “My people…my nation”. By Isaiah 51:7b, they are those who “know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law”. What a wonderful picture that we have the law in our hearts!
This change is not their effort but God’s! How does God act to bring about this change? In Isaiah 51:4b-5a, we read of how He sends His law, His righteousness draws near, and His salvation goes out. We could never attain to His standards on our own. He condescended and He came down to us. There is no other system of merit like this in the world.
And He didn’t just come to show us the way. He came to take on our unrighteousness so that He can give us His righteousness!
Thus, these verses show us how the LORD’s salvation transforms His people’s hearts to know His righteousness. He first pursued them and transformed their hearts! This is the great news of the gospel! His salvation goes out to transform our hearts!
To a people of transformed hearts, the LORD gives a final exhortation in Isaiah 51:7b-8. He exhorts His people to “fear not the reproach of man, nor be dismayed at their revilings” (Isa 51:7b). This is speaking about serious opposition! Why? Isaiah 51:8 reiterates the point that His righteousness and salvation will be forever. In this world, you and I will face trouble for our faith. The nations continue to rage agains the Lord and His anointed. But we are to take heart for Jesus has overcome the world.
Now, we don’t always think about this at Christmas but it is fitting for us to do so as our text has shown us. In an article titled, “Christian Martyrdom as a Pervasive Phenomenon” published in 2014, the authors write:
“In 2001, Barrett and Todd Johnson published a list of more than 600 martyrdom situations over the course of history, estimating that more than 70 million Christians had been martyred over the last two millennia, more than half of whom were killed in the twentieth century under fascist and communist regimes. The average annual rate at the end of the twentieth century was estimated to be about 160,000 martyrs per year (or 1.6 million over the decade 1990–2000). This included large numbers of Christians killed in the Rwandan genocide and the Sudanese civil wars.”
It is a good and necessary thing for us to remember our brothers and sisters face in other lands. We may not also know what the future brings for us here in Singapore. It might cause us some fear and trembling, but we are to remember the words of 1 Peter 2:19-25. Is there fear in your heart today? Hear the words of the Lord! What sort of comfort are you looking for today? Is it aligned with the comfort that God alone has given and secured? Do you value the comfort of a righteousness secured? How might it shape your thoughts about Jesus this Christmas?