"Hear, you deaf; and look, you blind, that you may see. Who is blind, but my Servant? or deaf, as my Messenger that I send? who is blind as he that is at peace with me, and blind as the Lord's Servant? You see many things, but you observe not; his ears are open, but he hears not. It pleased the Lord, for His righteousness' sake, to magnify the law, and make it honorable. But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses; they are for a prey, and none delivers; for a spoil, and none says, Restore. Who is there among you who will give ear to this? that will hearken and hear for the time to come? Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not the Lord? He against whom we have sinned, and in whose ways they would not walk, neither were they obedient unto His law. Therefore He poured upon him the fury of His anger, and the strength of battle; and it set him on fire round about, yet he knew it not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart." (Isaiah 42:18-25,RV)
Always More to Follow
In studying portions of Scripture which are "hard to be understood," (2 Peter 3:16) we shall save ourselves from falling into error if we adopt the rule, and rigidly adhere to it, never to guess at anything.
Another thing we must always bear in mind, and that is, that no one on earth can give any statement as to the teaching of any text, which will be final and authoritative. That is to say, nobody can exhaust any portion of God's Word. When we have stated what we see in any text, that does not hinder somebody else from seeing a great deal more.
The trouble with people who read what anyone has written, in whom they may have confidence, is in assuming that he has said all that may be said on that subject. Or, seeing the thing plainly, when it is set before them, they are satisfied, and do not think it worthwhile to keep on looking, so as to see more. That is wrong.
No matter how much we see in any word of the Lord, we may be assured that there is much more that we do not see. A belief in the Divine perfection and fullness of God's Word, would keep any people from ever publishing a "creed," summarizing the teachings of the Bible. Let these things be borne in mind as we study.
Christ's Divine Mission Proved
When Jesus was here on this earth, He proved the Divinity of His mission by causing the blind to see, and the deaf to hear. "Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto Him, Are you He that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and show John again those things which you do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them." (Matthew 11:2-5)
Many miracles did Jesus in the presence of the people, that they might believe that He is the Christ, and that, believing, they might have life through His name. "And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you might have life through His name." (John 20:30-31)
The prophecy of Isaiah shows that the great controversy as to who is God will be continued until the very last day of time,--until the Judgment settles the question for ever. Then since it was necessary that miracles should be performed eighteen hundred years ago, in order to demonstrate the genuineness of the mission of Christ,--God's Representative,--it cannot be otherwise than that the same things must be repeated as long as there is any doubt over the matter.
Miracles To Be Wrought
That miracles of healing will be performed by the servant of the Lord even in the very last days, is evident from the scripture before us. "Hear, you deaf; and look, you blind, that you may see." (Isaiah 42:18)
Someone will say (for there are always people ready to discount the Word of God, and to make out that God has not promised us very much) that this command to the deaf to hear, and to the blind to see, is to be taken in a spiritual sense; that those who do not understand the truth of God, and who are spiritually blind, are to see the Lord, and to understand the truth. Undoubtedly that is true. But the urging of that in order to break the apparent force of the text, shows that they do not appreciate the greatness of the work of conversion. "Which is greater, to say, Your sins be forgiven you, or to say to a palsied man, Rise, take up your bed, and walk?" (Mark 2:9)
Is it easier to make a man behold his God than to cause him to see his fellows? Why should anybody who believes in conversion think it a strange thing that God should heal any defect in the body?
Without doubt all these texts mean that people will understand the Gospel, but that does not show that they will not also receive bodily healing, but the contrary. It may well be, however, that the most of these mighty miracles will be wrought in what are called heathen lands, and that these boasted lands of enlightenment, where the Gospel has been preached so much, and so much slighted, have already had the most of the evidence that will be given them. It is the isles that are waiting for the law of God, (Isaiah 42:4) and God's servant is commissioned to the Gentiles, to open the blind eyes. (Isaiah 42:1-7)
Sight For the Blind
"Who is blind, but my Servant? or deaf, as my Messenger that I send?" (Isaiah 42:19,RV) "He saved others, himself He cannot save." (Matthew 27:42)
This was said of Christ. He himself suffered all the ills from which He delivered men, yet He did nothing for himself. And this shows that there is no condition that is hopeless. We are deaf and blind; very well, the Lord says that His Servant whom He upholds, His chosen, in whom His soul has delight, whom He has sent to open the blind eyes, is also blind. He has assumed all our blindness. No one is afflicted as He is, because He has the combined afflictions of all men.
No soul of man has so great a weight of sin on him as the Lord Jesus Christ had, for He had the sins of the whole world. But He is "the Holy One and the Just," (Acts 3:14) therefore there is not a soul on earth but may also be just and holy. In Him, all deafness and blindness, all infirmities of whatever kind, both physical and spiritual, are removed. "In Him is no darkness at all." (1 John 1:5)
Therefore though we be blind and deaf and dumb and lame and vile, all this is passed from us to Him. "With His stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5)
Even so, with the blindness that He has assumed, we see.
God's Intimate Friends
"Who is blind as He that is perfect?" (Isaiah 42:19)
The Revision has, "as he that is at peace with me." (Isaiah 42:19)
The Norwegian has it, "s my confidential friend," (Isaiah 42:19) and this is warranted by the Hebrew fully as much as either of the others. This fits with what has preceded, when we remember that the servant of the Lord is Israel, the seed of Abraham, God's friend. What care we what our condition is, so long as we are God's confidential friends? We may be in prison, but that makes no difference as long as the key is in the hands of our intimate friend. Remember this as you read the last verses of this chapter.
God's Righteousness
"The Lord is well pleased for His righteousness' sake; He will magnify the law, and make it honorable." (Isaiah 42:21)
The Danish translation is, "The Lord has pleasure, for the sake of His righteousness, to make the law great and glorious." (Isaiah 42:21)
This shows that the law of God is His righteousness. The more the law is honored, the more the righteousness of God is exalted. The greater the law, the greater the righteousness of God. Let us see if there is any comfort in this. The psalmist says, "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (Psalm 40:3)
The foundation of God's throne is righteousness: "Justice and judgment are the habitation of your throne: mercy and truth shall go before your face." (Psalm 89:14) "Clouds and darkness are round about Him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of His throne." (Psalm 97:2)
And God's throne upholds the universe. If the foundations were destroyed, therefore, there would be no existence for anybody. If righteousness should cease, of course the righteous would cease to be, as well, since the righteous are the salt of the earth. But there is no danger, for Jesus said, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." (Matthew 5:17-18)
The Lord will not destroy or alter the law, because that is His righteousness, and "He cannot deny himself." (2 Timothy 2:13)
Fulfilling the Law
A complete answer to anyone who is so perverse that in the face of the plain statement of Christ, that He did not come to destroy the law, (Matthew 5:17) he will say that Christ fulfills the law by abolishing it, is found in the words of the text: "He will magnify the law, and make it honorable." (Isaiah 42:21)
What honor can anyone give to Christ, and in what sort of esteem does he hold His work, who says that Christ destroys that which is honorable, and "holy, and just and good?" (Romans 7:12) "But He fulfilled the law," says one.
That is exactly what He did. What then? "Oh, then we do not need to do it; since He fulfilled it, we can have nothing to do with it."
Indeed, that sounds very strange from the lips of one who professes to love the Lord Jesus. It is very easy to understand how one who says, "We will not have this Man to reign over us," (Luke 19:14) can say, "We do not wish to have anything to do with anything that He is connected with."
But why should a Christian desire to be separated from that which finds its fullness in Christ?
Not Under the Law
"But we are not under the law." (Romans 6:14)
No indeed, thank the Lord for that. And why are we not under it? Because we walk in it. Have you forgotten that the message of comfort prepares the way of the Lord? and that the undefiled in the way are those who walk in the law of the Lord? "Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they that keep His testimonies, and that seek Him with the whole heart. They also do no iniquity: they walk in His ways." (Psalm 119:1-3)
We are delivered from the law, which condemned us to death for our transgression, that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. "Wherefore, my brethren, you also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that you should be married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter." (Romans 7:4-6)
And this is done by the body of Christ, in whom the law finds its perfect fulfillment. When we are joined to Christ in perfection, then the same fullness of the law will be found in us. The curse of the law is not to them that do it, but upon them that do not continue in all things that are written in it. "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that continues not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that does them shall live in them. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree." (Galatians 3:10-13)
Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law; that is, He has redeemed us from disobedience, unto perfect obedience.
Sin Abounding, Grace Superabounding
"He will magnify the law." (Isaiah 42:21) "By the law is the knowledge of sin." (Romans 3:20)
Therefore the greater the law is made to appear, the greater will sin appear. It was just for this reason that the law entered, "that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." (Romans 5:20)
So we see that in magnifying the law, God is making His grace to abound, in revealing His righteousness, which He puts in and upon us, for the remission of sins. The magnifying of the law, and making it honorable, is but the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Law of Life and the Law of Death
The law is righteousness, yet righteousness does not come by it. That is, righteousness does not come by any man's works of the law. It is only "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus," (Romans 8:2) that makes us free from sin and death. The righteousness which is by the faith of Christ, (Philippians 3:9) is the only righteousness that will enable anybody to stand in the day of Christ's coming; for the law is in His heart in perfection. The law in the heart of Christ is the law of which a copy was placed on tables of stone by the finger of God. In Christ we have it upon the Living Stone, and not upon the dead stone. So while on the tables of stone given to Moses, it is only death, on the Living Stone, Christ Jesus, it is life. The magnifying of the law shows us how great is the gift of life which God bestows in Christ.
Precepts and Promises
For it must be known that all the precepts of God are promises. Nobody has ever "first given something to the Lord, that it should be recompensed unto him again; For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things." (Romans 11:35-36)
God does not give us life as a reward for something that we have done for Him, but He gives us life which contains the performance of the things which He wishes us to do. When God says, "You shall not," He does not mean that we must keep ourselves from some evil, but that He will provide the means whereby we shall be kept. By comparing two texts of Scripture we can readily see this. God said to all Israel, "I am the Lord your God, which have brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:2-3)
Again He says: "Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto you: O Israel, if you will hearken unto me; There shall no strange god be in you; neither shall you worship any strange god. I am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt." (Psalm 81:8-10)
From this we learn that when God spoke the ten commandments He meant that if the people would but hearken to Him, they should be kept from all evil. The greater the requirement of the law, the greater the gift of God. The magnifying of the law is the magnifying of the grace of God.
Terrible Manifestations of Mercy
The terrors of Sinai reveal the mercies of Calvary. Men are accustomed to think and speak of the terrors of the law as given on Sinai, but they forget that Calvary is equally terrible. Was it death to touch the mount where the law was proclaimed? even so Calvary meant death. There were thunders and darkness and earthquake at Sinai, and at Calvary there were the same.
Yea, even from the throne of grace, to which we are invited to come and obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need, proceed lightnings and thunderings, and voices which cause the earth to quake. "And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices." (Revelation 4:5) "And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail." (Revelation 11:19)
The awfulness of Calvary, which wrung from the lips of the Saviour the cry, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46) and which broke His heart, show the greatness of the law which had been broken. On the cross Jesus magnified the law of God. There it was shown that so unchangeable is the law, that it will take the life even of the only begotten Son of God, when He is "numbered among the transgressors." (Luke 22:37; Isaiah 53:12)
But the greater and more awful it appears, the more may we rejoice, because we know that God has pledged His own existence to the bestowal of all its righteousness upon us. What a blessed promise it is, that God will magnify the law. Let no one speak lightly of that which Christ by His death made honorable.
Time for God to Work
"It is time for You, Lord, to work; for they have made void your law." (Psalm 119:126)
Men have despised and rejected the law of God, and in this they have been aided by His professed followers; for there are many who bear the name Christian, who do not hesitate to speak most disparagingly of the law. So it is thought so small a matter, that men have no hesitation in putting their own laws in its stead. In this, they are despising and rejecting Christ, whose life it is.
Now as the great controversy is to decide who is God, it follows that in the last days, when the message goes forth, "Behold your God!" the law in Christ must be proclaimed as never before. God will show that He is "our Judge, ... our Lawgiver, ... [and] our King," (Isaiah 33:22) in that He alone can save. But bear in mind that when the Lord works to magnify His law, because men have made it void, He is not working merely to vindicate His own rightful place, but He is working for men. The law of God has been made void in men's hearts, in that they have driven it out, and have turned to their own way. It is time for Him to work, but where? in men's hearts, to lift up the standard of righteousness.
Men by making void the law of God have fallen by their iniquity and God works to restore them by restoring the law in their hearts. And, "Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2)--Present Truth, November 9, 1899--Isaiah 42:18-25.