"Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the peoples renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak; let us come near together to Judgment. Who has raised up one from the east, whom He calls in righteousness to His foot? He gives nations before Him, and makes Him rule over kings; He gives them as dust to His sword, and as the driven stubble to His bow. He pursues them, and passes on safely, even by a way that He had not gone with His feet. Who has wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord, the first, and with the last, I am He. The isles saw, and feared; the ends of the earth trembled; they drew near, and came. They helped everyone his neighbor; and everyone said to his brother, Be of good courage. So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smooths with the hammer him that smites the anvil, saying of the soldering, It is good; and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved. But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend, You whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and called you from the corners thereof, and said unto you, You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you away; Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed [margin: "look not around you"], for I am your God; I will strengthen you; yea, I will help you; yea, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all they that are incensed against you shall be ashamed and confounded: they that strive with you shall be as nothing, and shall perish. You shall seek them, and shall not find them, even them that contend with you: they that war against you shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. For I the Lord your God will hold your right hand, saying unto you, Fear not; I will help you." (Isaiah 41:1-13,RV)
Always Comfort
In studying this chapter and all the chapters that follow, do not forget that we are studying the message of comfort which God sends to His people. These last chapters of Isaiah form one connected whole.
Right here, in passing, we might notice a fact which may make it more clear to many that this message applies to us in these days. No one who reads these chapters can fail to notice the words of comfort that appear. Promises of God are strewn as thickly as blossoms in spring. These promises have been the support of many Christians, and have helped to bring many sinners to repentance. No believer hesitates to appropriate them to himself.
But it is very plain that if this prophecy was given to the Jewish people alone, and applies only to them, then we have no right to the promises that it contains. That is to say, whoever rejects the reproofs which God sends, and the requirements of His law, must also forego the blessings of the Gospel of forgiveness. Men unconsciously appropriate the promises and put aside the law, forgetting that the reproofs of God are comfort. "For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life." (Proverbs 6:23)
All God's precepts are promises of fulfillment. He gives all that He asks of us. Whenever the law makes sin to abound, it is only for the purpose of driving us to Christ, in whom "the law of the Spirit of Life" (Romans 8:2) super-abounds as grace.
The Whole World Summoned
At every step in our study we shall be reminded of the great trial now on, which was outlined last week. That lesson should be learned so thoroughly that it will be continually in mind without any effort. Those who are using these studies in their Sabbath study should keep the scriptures and the facts set forth in them before them as they study each succeeding lesson. We cannot become too familiar with the fact that a great trial is now taking place, for we have a part in it, and we need to know just what it is. "Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the peoples renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak; let us come near together to Judgment." (Isaiah 41:1,RV)
In this chapter we are called to court. The summons is issued to all the world, "the isles," including the utmost bounds of the earth. The heavens are also called upon in this case. Call to mind the opening words of this prophecy, (Isaiah 1:2; Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord has spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me) and read also: "Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about Him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that He may judge His people." (Psalm 50:3-4)
The whole universe is enlisted in this case. It must be so, because the case concerns God himself, and He upholds the universe.
Keep Silence!
"Silence in the Court!" The case is now being tried, and silence is fitting. What is the case? It is to find out who is God. Men have persuaded themselves that they are gods, and better able to manage the affairs of this world than is the God of the Bible. Now God says, "Be still!" What for? "Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth." (Psalm 46:10)
If men would only keep still, and not put forth so much of merely human speculation, they would have no difficulty in recognizing God. Being still before the Lord means more than merely refraining from talking. It means to keep silence in the heart,--to let our own thoughts be held in abeyance, that they may be brought "into captivity ... to the obedience of Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:5) "The Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before Him." (Habakkuk 2:20) "The Lord's throne is in heaven," (Psalm 11:4) and as long as He is able to maintain His place there, He has a right to command the silence of all mankind. "Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called Him to His foot, gave the nations before Him, and made Him rule over kings? He gave them as the dust to His sword, and as driven stubble to His bow. He pursued them, and passed safely; even by the way that He had not gone with His feet." (Isaiah 41:2-3)
In these verses we have undoubted reference to Christ, whom God has raised up, and to whom He has given all power and authority, setting Him over kings. "Also I will make Him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth." (Psalm 89:27) "Ask of me, and I will give You the heathen for your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." (Psalm 2:8-9)
He is the righteous One, whom God has called in righteousness to do His will. (Isaiah 42:6) Some versions of the Bible insert in the margin, as an explanation of verse 2, the word, "Cyrus," meaning that he is the righteous one whom God has called. It is true that later on Cyrus is called by name, and that in his case the foreknowledge of God is displayed, "calling the generations from the beginning." (Isaiah 41:4)
But the text here is sufficient to show that Christ is the One referred to. He is the One upon whom the responsibility of this case rests, for He is the One who declares God to man. (John 1:18) God's character is in His keeping. Cyrus was called by name before his birth, but Christ "was foreordained before the foundation of the world." (1 Peter 1:20) "Who has wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am He." (Isaiah 41:4)
Preparing Their Case
In response to the call, the peoples gather. "The isles saw it, and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came." (Isaiah 41:5)
Remember that this case was not called yesterday, but from the very beginning. Every nation under heaven has recognized the fact that a call has been issued to determine who is God, and all have set about the work of making the proof. How do they proceed? They make idols. "They helped everyone his neighbor; and everyone said to his brother, Be of good courage. So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smooths with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sobering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved." (Isaiah 41:6-7)
In the gods that are found in some form in every nation and every tribe on earth, or that has ever existed, there is found proof of the fact that men know that there must be a God, and these idols are their attempts to show who He is. How foolish is their work! The very thing that they depend upon for proof ought to convince them of their folly.
They seek to encourage one another, and the carpenter speaks hopefully to the goldsmith, and the founder assures the smith that their work is good and well fastened together. Then to make everything sure, the idol is fastened with nails, so that it may not fall down and be broken to pieces. Note the connection of verses 6 and 7 with verses 18-20 of the preceding chapter: "To whom then will you liken God? or what likeness will you compare unto Him? The workman melts a graven image, and the goldsmith spreads it over with gold, and casts silver chains. He that is so impoverished that he has no oblation chooses a tree that will not rot; he seeks unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved." (Isaiah 40:18-20)
Self-Justification is Heathenism
The counterpart of this picture is found in the case of every man who seeks to justify himself. The man who will not confess that he is a sinner is putting himself against God. God has said that all men have sinned; (Romans 3:23, 5:12) and it is certain that there is not a man who is not out of harmony with God. The characters of men are by nature unlike that of God. If therefore men be right, if any man on earth be not a sinner, then it must follow that God is in the wrong.
Everybody, therefore, who claims that he has not done wrong in any particular wherein God says that he is a sinner, affirms that God is not the true God, but that he himself is. He is making a god of the works of his own hands. The one who maintains that his course is right, and who is therefore willing to rest his hope on what he himself has done, is in reality just as surely a heathen as is the one who makes images of wood and stone or gold and silver, and worships them.
In this picture of the gathering of nations, and their mutual encouragement in their efforts to maintain their cause against the Lord, see a parallel to: "Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against His anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us." (Psalm 2:1-3)
But now God presents His side of the case. He addresses himself to Israel. "But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend." (Isaiah 41:8)
Who is Israel? For an answer turn to: "And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, He touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was strained, as he wrestled with Him. And He said, Let me go, for the day breaks. And he said, I will not let You go, except You bless me. And He said unto him, What is your name? And he said, Jacob. And He said, Your name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed." (Genesis 32:24-28)
Jacob wrestled with the Lord, and prevailed when in his helplessness he cast himself on the Lord and asked His blessing. Israel is one who overcomes by faith. Israel represents all who trust the Lord. Israel is the seed of Abraham, who is "the father of all them that believe," (Romans 4:11) and therefore Israel means all who believe.
God's Case
To Israel, that is, to all who will listen to Him, God says, "I have taken you from the ends of the earth, and called you from the corners thereof; I have chosen you, and have not rejected you." (Isaiah 41:9,RV)
The Lord tells us that He is looking about, seeking to save. "The devil as a roaring lion walks about seeking whom he may devour," (1 Peter 5:8) while God is searching the world over to find men who will let Him save them. "The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." (Luke 19:10)
Instead of being indifferent to the wants of mankind, God is doing nothing else every moment but watching for chances to save men from the results of their own folly. Go back to the last verses of chapter 40: "Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God? Have you not known? have you not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, faints not, neither is weary? there is no searching of His understanding." (Isaiah 40:27-28)
There is no reason for any to say that God has forgotten them, or that He does not care for their affliction and sorrow. Their way is not hid from the Lord, and their judgment has not passed away from Him. Instead of casting anybody off, God has chosen them, and has gone hunting for them. The Lord says, "You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you." (John 15:16)
The Apostle Paul addressed the Galatians, who had been rescued from heathenism, as those who had known God, and then he corrected himself by saying that they had rather been known of God. "But now, after that you have known God, or rather are known of God." (Galatians 4:9)
They did not find God by searching, but He revealed himself to them. "For the Lord will not cast off for ever." (Lamentations 3:31)
Friendship with God
"Abraham my friend." (Isaiah 41:8)
Abraham is called by God himself His friend. Just as surely as Abraham was God's friend, God was Abraham's friend. How proud men are to be able to say, "My friend the Duke of X," or, "My friend Lord So-and-So."
They feel that a distinction is conferred on them in being acquainted with men of high degree, although those men may be in reality a lie; yet how few esteem it an honor to have God for a friend. Ask a man if he knows Lord This, or Colonel That, and he will be grateful for the compliment, even if he knows nothing of them except their names. He feels honored to know that you think it possible that he moves in such society. Ask the same man if he knows the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, and nine chances to one he will be offended. Is it not strange?
Just think what a high honor it is to have God say to any man, "My friend." That is what He said of Abraham, and it is what He says of everybody who has the faith of Abraham. Abraham showed his implicit trust in God when he proceeded to offer Isaac on the altar. In that act of faith. "The scripture was fulfilled which says, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed to him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God." (James 2:23)
Value of God's Friendship
The Hebrew word rendered "friend" in this scripture before us, is from the verb meaning, to love. It is stronger than the ordinary word for friend or companion. It is used of those who are very intimate, as lovers. When God contracts friendship with men, it is of no ordinary kind. Perfect friendship means the perfection of mutual confidence. Such a thing is really unknown among men, for in the closest intimacies there is always some bar to the complete disclosure of one's self to the other.
A feeling that our friend could not understand some things in our own lives, because he has never had any similar experience, and his friendship for us might lessen if he knew of some things in our lives, wherein he himself may never have been tried, causes us to withhold a part of our life from him. We instinctively shrink from making known the secrets of our hearts to anybody, no matter how intimate.
But with God the most perfect friendship is possible, for He has experienced everything. "He has been tempted in all things like as we are," (Hebrews 4:15) and so He never despises anybody who has been tempted, but is able to help. If we make Him our confidant, telling Him everything about ourselves, that is confessing our sins and weaknesses, He will in turn show us all of himself, revealing himself not merely to us, but in us, so that we may have righteousness and strength instead of sin and weakness.
More than this, He will prove himself a true friend, and will never betray our confidence. This is the value of confessing to Him. It is not that we tell Him anything about ourselves that He does not already know; but in confessing our sins, we accept His righteousness to cover them. If we do not confess them, then in the Judgment they will be set forth before the whole world; but when we confess them, He takes them away, so that they can never more be found, for they will no more exist, and He himself will forget them. He will hide the fact that we have sinned from all creation. He will do this by taking away from us every trace of sin. Is not such a friend worth having?
The Comfort of His Presence
"Fear not; for I am with you: be not dismayed; for I am your God: I will strengthen you; yea, I will help you; yea, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness." (Isaiah 41:10)
"Fear not," God says to the people whom He has chosen, that is, to all who believe and trust Him. Why not fear? "For I am with you." (Isaiah 41:10)
He is greater than all, so that none need fear. Read Psalm 27:1-3 and 46, and Isaiah 12:2. Read in Matthew 14:22-32 and John 6:1621 the account of the storm on the sea, when Jesus came to the disciples, walking on the water. When they were afraid, He called out, "I am; be not afraid." (John 6:20)
It was the same Jesus who said, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world." (Matthew 28:20)
Because He is, there is no cause for fear; for He is everywhere, and is all things that anyone needs. So as soon as the disciples received Him into the boat, immediately they were at the place where they were going. "Then they willingly received Him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went." (John 6:21)
In Him there is the fulfillment of all that we need. Because He is with us, we need not fear, "though war should rise up and an host encamp against us." (Psalm 27:3) "In His presence there is fullness of joy." (Psalm 16:11)
He says, "My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest." (Exodus 33:14) "His rod and His staff comfort us, And He prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies." (Psalm 23:4-5)
Do not forget that His rod comforts. We are studying the comfort of the Lord; but too many people think of the rod of the Lord only as an instrument of punishment, an emblem of displeasure. Well, it is true that the Lord does often "visit the transgression of His people with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes, Nevertheless He does not take His loving-kindness from them." (Psalm 89:32-33)
The rod of correction is the comfort of the Holy Ghost, who makes known the abounding sin in order to apply the superabounding grace. "Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." (Romans 5:20)
The song to be sung in these days is, "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation." (Isaiah 12:2)
He strengthens us by His strength. It is interesting to note that the word "taken" in verse 9, "You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth," is from the Hebrew word meaning, "to gird," "to make strong." From the ends of the earth God gathers His people, and girds them with strength. He is our strength against the enemy.
Be Not Anxious
Notice the margin in verse 10 in the Revised Version. There we have indicated what is placed in the body of the text in the Danish and Norwegian versions: "Do not look so anxiously around you."
This is very literal and true. The Swedish expresses the same thought, though not so vividly, "Do not seek help from others."
God would have His people look straight forward. Time is lost when they look around, and besides they cannot walk straight if they do not look straight ahead.
Did you ever notice children when they cross the road? Whoever has driven, or ridden a bicycle, through the streets of a town, cannot fail to have marked it. When a child decides to cross the road, it looks neither to the right nor the left, but goes straight for the opposite side. Surely God has a care for children, else hundreds of them would be killed. They have no thought for themselves.
Now whoever would enter the kingdom of heaven must become as a little child. (Matthew 18:2-3) We need not be critical, and say that God does not wish us to be careless. Of course He does not; but He wishes us to be trustful. He tells us to seek the one thing, His kingdom and His righteousness, and everything else will be added to us. "But seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33)
We spend too much time calculating probabilities, and discussing possible dangers. God's word to us is, "Go forward." "And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore do you cry unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward." (Exodus 14:15)
It was when Peter looked around and saw the billows dashing high, that he began to sink. "Looking unto Jesus," (Hebrews 12:2) is our motto. "Let your eyes look right on, and let your eyelids look straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established." (Proverbs 4:25-26)
God will hold our right hand, so that even if we stumble, we shall not utterly fall. "The Lord upholds all that fall, and raises up all those that be bowed down." (Psalm 145:14)
So we can say, "Rejoice not against me, O my enemy: when I fall, I shall arise." (Micah 7:8)--Present Truth, October 12, 1899--Isaiah 41:1-13.