"Comfort, comfort my people, says your God; Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she has received at the Lord's hand double for all her sins. A voice cries: In the wilderness prepare the way of Jehovah! Make straight in the desert a highway for our God! Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places a smooth plain: And the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see together the salvation of our God: for the mouth of Jehovah has spoken it. A voice says, Cry! and I said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all its glory like the flower of the field: The grass withers, the flower fades, because the breath of Jehovah blows upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withers, the flower fades: but the Word of our God shall stand for ever. Get up upon a high mountain, O you that tell glad tidings to Sion. Exalt your voice with strength, O you that bring glad tidings to Jerusalem. Lift it up, be not afraid; say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, the Lord Jehovah shall come as a Mighty One, and His arm shall prevail for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. Like a shepherd shall He feed His flock: in His arm shall He gather up the lambs, and He shall bear them in His bosom; the nursing ewes shall He gently lead." (Isaiah 40:1-11)
In these first eleven verses of the 40th chapter of Isaiah we have not followed any one translation, but have combined several, in order to present the best and most vivid rendering; for the passage is a very vivid one. The student can compare the variations with his own Bible. Nothing is given that is not strictly literal.
Although we have printed eleven verses at this time, we shall not try to cover them in this lesson. All we propose to do in this lesson is to give an outline, so that we may be perfectly sure of the nature of the message, and the time to which it applies, and may know to whom it is addressed, and who is to give it. We therefore request all who may be using these lessons in Sabbath schools to confine themselves at this time to these things; for the details of the verses will be considered in subsequent lessons.
Preparing the Way of the Lord
Not a single reader of the Bible will have any difficulty in connecting this message with the work of John the Baptist, for the connection is plainly made in the Bible. John came "preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God." (Luke 3:3-6)
Our lesson therefore has direct reference to the work of John the Baptist. What was the work committed to him? To prepare the way of the Lord. "Many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." (Luke 1:16-17)
Thus spoke the angel Gabriel. John's father, filled with the Holy Ghost, spoke these words to him: "You, child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest: for you shall go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways; To give knowledge of salvation unto His people by the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high has visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." (Luke 1:76-79)
If anything were needed to convince any reader that we have the Gospel in Isaiah, we have it here. It is that Gospel which:
• Preaches the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, and makes known salvation through this remission;
• Brings men from the darkness of death to the light of life,
• Guides their feet in the way of peace and righteousness, and
• Prepares them for the coming of the Lord.
And that is just the Gospel for this time. Then it would seem as though the work of John the Baptist did not end with his death. Most certainly it did not; and the scripture before us teaches us that it did not. Indeed, it was only begun when he died.
Most people have obtained the idea that John's work was simply to prepare the way for, and announce, the coming of Jesus as a Preacher and Teacher in Galilee and Judea; but it was much more than this. The same portion of scriptures which tells us of his work, to prepare the way of the Lord, says, "Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him: behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him." (Isaiah 40:10)
Now compare this with Revelation 22, where Christ says, "Behold I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be," (Revelation 22:12) and we cannot fail to see that the work of John the Baptist reaches to the second coming of Christ in glory; "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then shall He reward every man according to his works." (Matthew 16:27)
Swelling to a Loud Cry
Notice that this message is to be given with a loud voice. The voice that cries is to be lifted up with strength, and the crier is to get up upon a high mountain, in order that the sound may reach to the furthest possible extent. Now read: "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." (Revelation 14:6-7)
This message, as might be expected from its nature, is followed by the coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven to reap the harvest of the earth, which is the end of the world. "And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in your sickle, and reap: for the time is come for You to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And He that sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped." (Revelation 14:14-16) "The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels." (0Matthew 13:39)
Every message of importance must be earnestly proclaimed. One cries with a loud voice in order to make many people hear; and this message preparing the way for the coming of the Lord is to be proclaimed so extensively that all the world shall hear. The Gospel of the kingdom is "to all people," (Luke 2:7) and is to be "preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." (Matthew 24:14)
But the nearer one comes to the end, the louder must the message be proclaimed. If you saw a man approaching a precipice, you would cry out, to warn him of his danger. If he did not pay any attention, you would cry louder; and the nearer he approached, unconscious of his danger, the louder you would cry.
Even so the nearer we come to the end of the world, which will be the destruction of those who are not looking for it, the louder and more clear must the Gospel message announcing it ring forth. So the scripture which we are studying has a more direct application to the people of this time than to any other people that ever lived. It is emphatically present truth.
Many Prophets--One Message Who shall give this message? "Let him that hears say, Come!" (Revelation 22:17)
Remember that John the Baptist was but a voice. "The Word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness." (Luke 3:2)
John was called "the prophet of the Highest." (Luke 1:7)
A prophet is one who speaks for another. Compare: "And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he comes forth to meet you: and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. And you shall speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with your mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what you shall do. And he shall be your spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to you instead of a mouth, and you shall be to him instead of God." (Exodus 4:14-16) "And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made you a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet." (Exodus 7:1)
A prophet of God is therefore the mouthpiece of God, proclaiming the Word of God. Everyone to whom the Word of the Lord comes is to sound it forth, that people may be saved from their sins, and be ready for the second coming of Christ.
From this it follows that the last message of the Gospel is preeminently a prophetic message. It is given by the power of the Spirit of God, which is the Spirit of prophecy. God's people are a kingdom of priests," (Exodus 19:6) and the holy wish for them is that "all the Lord's people might be prophets, and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them." (Numbers 11:29)
Those who proclaim the Gospel and the coming of the Lord, must do so with authority "as the oracles of God." (1 Peter 4:11)
But there must be the most perfect unity, and there will be when the true message is given; for it is nothing but the unchangeable Word of God that is to be given. The voice is God's; the people furnish only the mouth; so that although there be tens of thousands of mouths, only one voice is heard.
In the days of the coming of the Lord the admonition of the Apostle Paul will be perfectly heeded: "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." (1 Corinthians 1:10) "Your watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion." (Isaiah 52:8)
Summary
Let us now sum up what we have learned from this first part of the 40th chapter of Isaiah:
1. It is the message of John the Baptist.
2. It is the Gospel of the kingdom, the Gospel of salvation.
3. It prepares the way for the coming of the Lord, even for His coming in glory, that is, to the end of the world.
4. This part of the scripture has special reference to the last days, because then the imminence of the coming of the Lord makes a loud cry especially imperative.
5. It consists simply of the preaching of the Word of God.
6. It is to be proclaimed by everyone who hears it, if he will.
7. There are many mouths concerned in the proclamation, but only one voice.
8. The Spirit of prophecy is in it, and it goes with power.
Finally, let it be noted that the whole of the remaining portion of the book of Isaiah is but the continuation of this message. Therefore as we proceed in our study let us not forget the setting of any portion of the text.
There is no part of Scripture more important at this time than this book, and none that can more thoroughly furnish the student to good works, and fit him for the presence of "the King in His beauty." (Isaiah 33:17)--Present Truth, August 17, 1899--Isaiah 40:1-11.