"Ho! everyone that thirsts, come to the waters! And that has no silver, come, buy, and eat! Yea, come, buy without silver; And without price, wine and milk. Wherefore do you weigh out your silver for that which is no bread? And your riches, for that which will not satisfy? Attend, and hearken unto me; and eat that which is truly good; And your soul shall feast itself with the richest delicacies. Incline your ear, and come unto me; Attend, and your soul shall live: And I will make with you an everlasting covenant; I will give you the gracious promises made to David, which shall never fail. Behold, for a witness to the peoples I have given Him; A leader, and a lawgiver to the nations. Behold, the nation, whom you knew not, you shall call; And the nation, who knew you not, shall run unto you, For the sake of Jehovah your God; And for the Holy One of Israel, for He has glorified you. Seek Jehovah, while He may be found; Call upon Him, while He is near at hand: Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return unto Jehovah, for He will receive him with compassion; And unto our God, for He abounds in forgiveness. For my thoughts are not your thoughts; Neither are your ways my ways, says Jehovah. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are my ways higher than your ways, And my thoughts than your thoughts. Verily, like as the rain descends, And the snow, from the heavens; And thither it does not return, Except it moistens the earth, And makes it generate, and put forth its increase; That it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall be the word, which goes forth from my mouth; It shall not return unto me fruitless; But it shall effect what I have willed; And make the purpose succeed, for which I have sent it. Surely with joy shall you go forth, And with peace shall you be led onward: The mountains and the hills shall burst forth before you into song; And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorny bushes shall grow up the fir tree;And instead of the bramble shall grow up myrtle: And it shall be unto Jehovah for a memorial; For a perpetual sign, which shall not be abolished." (Isaiah 55:1-13,Lowth)
Real, Spiritual Water
In this chapter we have the very same call that is given in John 7:37, (John 7:37; In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink) and Revelation 22:17. (Revelation 22:17; And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that hears say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely) With God is the Fountain of Life: "For with You is the fountain of life: in your light shall we see light." (Psalm 36:9) "[He is] the Fountain of living waters." (Jeremiah 2:13)
Jesus Christ is the Rock whence flows the streams of water for the refreshing of the people. "And [they] did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ." (1 Corinthians 10:4)
This last reference, namely to the giving of the water to the Israelites in the desert, shows that the water which the Lord offers is real water. It is such water as will support life, even animal life; for the beasts as well as the people drank of the water in the wilderness. Nevertheless it was "spiritual drink." Thus we are taught that if we recognize the Lord in His gifts day by day,--in our daily food and drink,--we shall find them not only nourishment to our bodies, but to our souls as well.
We have nothing whatever, except what the Lord gives us. All things proceed from Him, from His very Being, His life. But God is Spirit, therefore everything that proceeds from Him must be spiritual. He gives nothing to mankind, except that which is spiritual. "[He] has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly things in Christ." (Ephesians 1:3,margin)
If the Israelites in the desert had recognized the Source of that water which they drank every day, and had given Him the glory due to His name, they would not only have experienced the power of an endless life, but they would have been able to impart the same to others wherever they went. "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believes on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this He spoke of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)" (John 7:37-39)
God calls us to realities. We have today the same opportunity of drinking from the Living Rock that Israel of old had. May we make better use of it than they did! Let us not fall after the same example of unbelief!
The Best Things to be Had for Nothing
"Ho, everyone that thirsts, come to the waters, and he that has no money; come, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." (Isaiah 55:1)
The best things are to be had for nothing, because money cannot be mentioned in connection with them; they are above all price. Men strive for money; they scheme, and plan, and even fight for it, as though it were the chief thing to be desired; yet it will not purchase the things that they most stand in need of: health, life, love. Someone will say, "Money is necessary in this world, under the present circumstances, since even the necessaries of life, as for instance, water, must be bought of corporations that have gained a monopoly of them."
True; but the promise is, "Your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:32-33)
The first thing is not to make a living; indeed, we do not have that to do at all, for God gives us our living, our life, for He is our life. Our first and only business is to glorify God with the life which He has given us so freely. If men would but believe this fact, and would always remember it, there would not be so many compromises and denials of the truth, on the ground that it is necessary in order to live. No; the Lord says, "Hear, and your soul shall live." (Isaiah 55:3)
Again the objection will be made, "But that means spiritual life!"
Well, suppose it does: which is greater and more enduring, physical life or spiritual life? Is not the "life everlasting" greater than the life for a few days? Does not the greater include the less? If God can give us life for eternity, does it not stand to reason that He can keep us in life the short time that we have to spend in this present world? "O you of little faith!" (Matthew 6:30)
How can a man persuade himself that he believes in and trusts the Lord for salvation to all eternity, when he is afraid to keep His commandments, lest he should lose his living? "Hear, and your soul shall live." (Isaiah 55:3)
The God who says this is the God who gives life to the dead. Men will repeat day after day, and year after year, "I believe in the resurrection of the dead," and yet when it comes to trusting the Lord for daily bread wherewith to sustain their life in this present time, they dare not risk it. Do you not see that belief in the power of God to raise the dead involves belief in His power to sustain our present life, and to give us all things necessary thereto? Why will men persist in separating the things of religion from their daily life? The proof that God is "abundantly able to save"--Elisha A. Hoffman, Hymn: Whoever Receiveth the Crucified One--is the fact that He saves us and gives us life now.
God's Gifts All Good
"Wherefore do you spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfies not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness." (Isaiah 55:2)
God wishes all people to enjoy life and all good things. The trouble with them is that they have a false idea of what good things are. Our taste has been perverted, so that we naturally call evil good, and good evil. We need to accept the exceeding great and precious promises of God, by which we are made partakers of the Divine nature, and then we shall have correct taste and judgment. We shall then like that which is really good, even though to our present, perverted taste it is insipid.
That was the lack with Israel of old. They were fed with spiritual food, bread from heaven; but they did not appreciate it, and did not recognize and thank the Giver, and so they were not transformed and made spiritual by it. It was the very best food that anybody on this earth ever had to eat, the food of the angels which excel in strength, "the bread of the mighty," (Psalm 78:25,RV) calculated to give inconceivable strength, yet they said, "Our soul is dried away," (Numbers 11:6) and, "our soul loaths this light bread." (Numbers 21:5)
Two things are to be taken into consideration in determining whether or not a thing is good:
1. The effect that it has; is it productive of good or ill results?
If it is to be followed by good results, then it is good; if evil results follow, then it must be bad, no matter how pleasant it may be to our sight and taste.
2. Then follows the matter of taste.
Everything that is really good tastes good, although our perverted senses may not think so at first. But when we know that a certain thing is good, and that it produces only good, then we can educate our taste so that it will recognize the good, and will find it exceedingly pleasant. In due time, if we allow our senses to be educated by the Lord, we shall find that everything that is harmful is disgusting. But it is so only to one who has the Divine nature.
The Sure Mercies of David
"I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David." (Isaiah 55:3)
Note that this follows the statement, "Hear, and your soul shall live." (Isaiah 55:3)
That is, the sure mercies of David embrace the resurrection of the dead. God made great promises to David, but none of them could be fulfilled except by the resurrection, and David so understood them. He confessed that he was a stranger and a sojourner as all his fathers--Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were. "Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry; hold not your peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with you, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were." (Psalm 39:12)
Now, "All that say such things declare that they seek ... a better country, that is a heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for He has prepared for them a city." (Hebrews 11:14,16)
Christ is the Son of David, and He is to sit upon the throne of His father David, and to "reign over the house of Jacob for ever." (Luke 1:33)
But the fact that the sure mercies of David are performed only through Christ and the resurrection, shows that everybody who believes and accepts Christ has a share in them; for Christ died and rose again for all. Indeed, this is seen from the text before us, for the call is unlimited. The call to drink, and to buy bread and wine and milk without money and without price, is issued to all who need. It is the gracious call of the Gospel to all needy, thirsty, sin-sick souls. Well, to the very same ones is it said, "I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David," (Isaiah 55:3) and this shows that whoever accepts the Gospel becomes a member of the house of David, a subject of the kingdom of Israel. So we find that Israel is not any nation known and recognized on this earth, but is "the righteous nation which keeps the truth." (Isaiah 26:2)
For such the gates of the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem, will open. "Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." (Revelation 22:14)
Israel the Banner
"Behold, you shall call a nation that you know not, and nations that knew you not shall run unto you because of the Lord your God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for He has glorified you." (Isaiah 55:5)
Christ is Israel. "You are my Servant; Israel, in whom I will be glorified." (Isaiah 49:3,RV)
Nobody can be saved, except in Christ, and all who are in Christ are Abraham's seed, "and heirs according to the promise." (Galatians 3:29)
Therefore all who are in Christ are Israel, and none others are. But since Christ is Israel, and Christ is the Banner that is lifted up to the people, (Isaiah 11:10-12) it follows that Israel is the ensign to the nations, the banner round which all people are called to rally. (Zechariah 9:16) From every "nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people" (Revelation 14:6) will men come, and form part of the nation of Israel, and that which will attract them will be the indwelling Christ glorifying His people. "Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." (Isaiah 55:6-7)
He is near to all who call upon Him. Yea, He is near to all, waiting to be called by them. He has not forsaken any man, but has come seeking them, and all who will but turn to Him, instead of running away from Him, will find abundance of pardon, and, being pardoned, they will be enrolled as members of the kingdom of Israel.
Not only so, but they will be reckoned as princes, even kings, and priests; for the kingdom of David, over which Christ rules, counts among its subjects none of lower rank than king.
The Thoughts of God
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9)
Who can think the thoughts of infinity? Manifestly none except Him who is infinite. Therefore God must dwell in us, thinking His own high thoughts. Otherwise all our thoughts will be wrong, and to no purpose.
In calling upon us to forsake our ways and our thoughts, God does not wish us to be non-entities; He wishes us to think and act, but the spring of all our acts and thoughts must be himself. He is the Fountain of real life; therefore unless He dwells in us, and His real presence is continually recognized, our life will be but a mirage.
What a wonderful truth, that we may have God to think in us, so that our brains will be but the organ of the mind of God! Then will be manifest the miracle of God dwelling and acting in the flesh. This wonderful privilege is offered to all. It is part of the everlasting covenant, the sure mercies of David.
The Word of God Bearing Fruit
We have ventured to change one word in the translation given by Lowth. He has translated the 10th verse the same as it is rendered in the ordinary version, namely, "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and returns not thither, but waters the earth." (Isaiah 55:10)
This is not an exact rendering of the Hebrew, and is misleading. The Hebrew expression is the same as in: "I will not let You go except You bless me." (Genesis 32:26)
Therefore the text should read that the rain and the snow return not to the heaven except they water the earth. In the Polychrome Bible the verse is so rendered, and also in the French of Segond, and therefore we have taken the liberty to put it into Lowth's translation, in order that the reader may not overlook it.
The scripture does not say that the rain and the snow do not return to heaven at all, but that they do not return thither without having watered the earth, and caused it to bring forth. Then they return laden with the fruit of the earth.
Even so shall it be with the Word of the Gospel. It shall not return to the Lord empty, but shall bring forth fruit. To our short sight it may seem as if the Word of God were spoken to no purpose; but God says that it shall accomplish that to which He has sent it.
He does not speak in vain. If therefore we will but speak the Word of the Lord, God will see that as in the case of Samuel, none of our words fall to the ground and perish. God's Word is the seed whence everything that grows from the ground comes; it is also the seed that regenerates men, and makes them bring forth fruit unto God.
The Earth Renewed
"Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off." (Isaiah 55:13)
The closing verses of this chapter present a picture of the earth made new, purified from the curse of thorns and thistles, and bringing forth in perfection, as in the beginning. All this is to be accomplished by the Word of God, the same word which He puts into the mouth of His servants. "And I have put my words in your mouth, and I have covered you in the shadow of my hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, You are my people." (Isaiah 51:16)
This is a still further indication that the sure mercies of David, assured, by the everlasting covenant, to all who heed the gracious call to come to the Lord and to eat and drink from Him, are fulfilled only in the world to come, in the new earth. That is, the new earth is the consummation of them; but they must be accepted and enjoyed here in this present time, or else they will never be realized. It is only as men receive the Word of the Lord, and are transformed by it,--tasting the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,--that the earth is made new for their habitation.
A Grand Concert
"For you shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands." (Isaiah 55:12)
What a blessed concert that will be, when the mountains and the hills break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field clap their hands in applause! Who would not like to be there to hear and see? But, says some wise objector, "That is all figurative; it is not meant to be taken literally, because the mountains and the hills cannot sing, and the trees cannot clap their hands; indeed, they have no hands to clap."
Oh, foolish wisdom, which knows so much that it shuts out all knowledge! Even so the disciples of Jesus wondered what He meant when He said that He should rise from the dead. They were sure that His words could not be taken literally, because they thought they knew that He could not die, and rise again. But they were mistaken. If instead of "reasoning" as they did, they had believed His words, they could have been saved much shame and confusion.
Suppose that instead of disputing with the Word of the Lord, we allow it to teach us. He says that the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing, and therefore we believe that they will do so, and that we shall hear them. We shall then learn something about music, which the greatest composers of earth cannot teach us.
There is light which human eyes cannot see, and there are many sounds which human ears are too dull to hear; but God both sees and hears. When we become so spiritual that we are worthy to have spiritual bodies, then we shall be able to see and hear things that have never yet come within man's comprehension. These things are made known to us by the Holy Spirit; let us therefore yield ourselves to Him, that we may be made wholly spiritual, and thus be able to attain true wisdom, the wisdom of God. "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love Him. But God has revealed them unto us by His Spirit." (1 Corinthians 2:9-10)--Present Truth, April 12, 1900--Isaiah 55:1-12.