Sermon #58 Series: Isaiah

Title: Praise Him! Praise Him!

Text: Isaiah 25:1-5 - Reading Isaiah 63:7-64:9

Subject: The Believer’s Reasons For Glorifying God With

Open Praise

Date: Sunday Morning - October 26, 1990

Tape #

Introduction:

Have you ever noticed how often we are admonished in the Scriptures to offer praise to God continually? Praise is the sacrifice and strength of faith. It is the sacrifice we offer to God purely for the glory of his name. It is something we offer to God through Christ and for Christ. And the exercise of continual praise to God strengthens our hearts in faith.

Proposition: The more fully we believe God, the more fully we will praise him, and the more fully we praise him, the more we will believe him.

We are therefore constantly admonished to praise the Lord our God continually, not only because he deserves our praise, but also because praise is the highest form of faith.

· Hebrews 13:15

· I Thessalonians 5:16-18

· Colossians 3:16-17

· Ephesians 5:18-20

Note: I am not talking about mere emotionalism, though praise involves our emotions. And I am not calling for a mere outward pretense and show of praise. I am talking about an attitude and act of the heart. I am calling for you and me to make a sacrifice to God that will, if done continually, revolutionize our thinking and our lives - I am calling for praise to God our Savior.

Religious people like to come to church once or twice a week to wave a palm branch and make a show of praise. Believers wear the garments of praise seven days a week and seek to magnify God in their hearts. I hope you know the difference.

I am preaching this message because I want you and me to give unlimited credit to God for all that he is and does. Isaiah 25 is a song of thanksgiving and praise to God. Here the prophet of God teaches us the “how” and “why” of praise. In the previous chapter Isaiah described God’s judgment of the world and the overthrow of all false religion. Here he is describing the coming of Christ and the salvation of God’s elect by him. Let’s look at verses 1-5.

I. Our text begins with A DECLARTION OF FAITH - “O Lord, thou art my God.

The Lord, Jehovah, in this text is God incarnate, the Son of God, Jesus Christ our Savior (See verses 8-9). Faith in Christ is the beginning and the essence of praise to God. Jehovah is God our Savior. And Jehovah in the Old Testament is Jesus in the New. So this declaration of faith might be read, “O Lord Jesus, thou art my God!”

This is what I want you to see - We give praise to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, when we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith in Christ is the beginning, the middle and the end of divine worship. No man praises God who does not believe Christ. And we praise God, in exact proportion, as we believe Christ.

A. Faith confesses that Jesus Christ is God.

Christ is the Revelation of God. But he is more than that. Christ is the Word of God. But he is more than that. Christ is the image of the invisible God. But he is more than that. The man, Jesus of Nazareth, is himself Almighty God (Isa. 9:6; Rom. 9:5; I Tim. 1:17; 6:14-17; Col. 2:9).

B. Faith confesses that Jesus is the Christ, God our Savior.

Christ is God. And Christ is God’s Salvation. How I wish the whole world would hear what I am saying. Salvation is not a doctrine. Salvation is not a religion. Salvation is not a theory. Salvation is a Person. And that Person is the Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 2:30).

I do not know what those early disciples knew about Christ, or about his work. But they knew that he is Christ, the Lamb of God, God’s Salvation (John 1:35-37, 40-45; Matt. 16:16). And no man can, from his heart, say that except by the Holy Spirit.

1. Christ alone is our only Savior (John 14:6).

2. Christ alone is our all-sufficient Savior (I Cor. 1:30; Eph. 1:3).

3. Christ alone is our effectual Savior (Matt. 1:21; John 10:16, 28-30).

4. Christ alone is the Savior whom God has accepted (Heb. 9:12; 10:10-14).

5. Christ alone is our successful Savior (Isa. 42:4; 53:10).

C. Faith confesses that Christ is my Lord and my God - (John 20:28; Rom. 10:9-10) - “O Lord, thou art my God.”

John Gill said, “This is the first and foundation blessing of grace, and secures all the rest…It is the highest attainment of grace to be assured of it…and will be the glory of the New Jerusalem state.”

1. Jesus Christ is my God because he is my Creator.

2. Jesus Christ is my God because he has made himself my God in the covenant of grace.

3. Jesus Christ is my God because I bow to him and receive him as my Lord and my God by faith - I have taken his yoke upon myself and I gladly do so continually, submitting my life to his dominion and committing my life to his rule.

Praise begins with this declaration of faith - “O Lord, thou art my God.” That is the first thing revealed in our text.

II. Secondly, the prophet Isaiah exemplifies THE DETERMINATION OF FAITH - (“I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name.”

Flesh exalts itself. Religion exalts the flesh, its will, its work, and its worth. And idolatry exalts religion, its symbols, ceremonies and rituals. But faith exalts, magnifies, honors and praises God alone as he is revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ (Jer. 9:23-24; I Cor. 1:29, 31; Phil. 3:3).

This is the desire and determination of every believing heart -

A. “I will exalt thee.”

We cannot add anything to God, or make him higher than he already is. But we can and must lift him up in our hearts, lift him up before one another and lift him up in the eyes of men. This is what it means to exalt him.

We exalt the Lord our God by…

1. Ascribing the whole of our Salvation to him alone - (Eph. 1:1-14.) “Salvation is of the Lord!”

· In its Planning - Election and Predestination.

· In its Purchase - Redemption.

· In its Performance - Regeneration and Calling.

· In its Preservation - Perseverance.

· In its Perfection - Heavenly Glory.

2. Trusting him with all our affairs and cares - “Casting all your care on him.”

3. Submitting to and acquiescing in his will in all things.

B. “I will praise thy name!”

To praise the name of God is to celebrate the perfections of his Being, rejoice in his works, trust his goodness, declare his greatness and give thanks to him always and for all things.

When Isaiah says, “I will praise thy name,” he is saying, “This is what I ought to do, this is what I want to do, and this is what I am determined to do.” “O Lord, thou art my God” - Give me grace to praise your name.

1. Inwardly - in my heart.

2. Publicly - in my words.

3. Practically - in my life.

4. Continually - in all my circumstances.

This is the determination of faith - “I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name!”

III. Thirdly, Isaiah declares THE REASON FOR OUR PRAISE TO GOD - “For thou hast done wonderful things.”

When the prophet here speaks of “the wonderful things” which the Lord Jesus Christ , our God and Savior has done, he specifically has four things in mind.

A. His everlasting counsels of grace - “Thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.”

All the wonderful things that God does in time are done according to his counsels of old. I do not know much about the everlasting counsels of the infinite, triune God, but I do know this.

1. From eternity God chose to save an innumerable multitude of undeserving sinners for the glory of his own great name - (Eph. 1:3-6).

2. Christ Jesus volunteered to be the Surety of that elect multitude and agreed to redeem them with his own precious blood; and God looked upon his elect as redeemed by the blood of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world - (Gen. 43:9; II Tim. 1:9).

3. God the Holy Spirit pledged himself to regenerate, call and preserve that elect, redeemed multitude by his infallible, irresistible grace - (II Thess. 2:13-14).

As these things “were fixed in the eternal purpose of God, they are punctually and exactly brought about in time. These are the true and faithful sayings of God” - (John Gill).

· God’s faithfulness to his people is but the fulfilling of his covenant.

· God’s truth is our assurance that he will do all that he planned, purposed and promised in the covenant.

B. His adorable, wise, and unerring providence - (vv. 2-3).

Providence is but the unfolding of God’s eternal purpose. It is God bringing to pass in time what he purposed to do in eternity. It is God ruling and disposing of all things in the world for the salvation of his elect, covenant people. We have an illustration of this in verses 2 and 3.

1 - Verse 2 is a prophetic declaration of the destruction of Babylon, the city of gods (Jer. 51:37) - But it encompasses all acts of providential judgment.

2 - When God destroys the nations of the world in his wrath, he is saving an elect remnant for the glory of his own name - (v. 3).

· The strong people are those made strong by his grace.

· The city of terrible nations made to fear him is the church of God.

These are the wonderful things God has done. He has established his everlasting counsels. He rules the world in adorable, wise, unerring providence. And thirdly, Isaiah mentions -

C. God’s gracious, all-sufficient provision for his people in this world (v. 4).

Here the prophet tells us what Christ is to those who trust him. Child of God whatever you need Christ is.

1. He is Strength to the Poor in Spirit - (Matt. 5:3).

2. He is Strength to the Needy in his Distress.

3. Christ is a Refuge from the Storm.

· The Storm of God’s Wrath.

· The Storms of Life.

4. Christ is a Shadow from the Heat.

· The fiery law of God, the flaming sword of justice.

· The fiery darts of satan.

· The fires of persecution.

5. Christ is a wall to protect us from the blustering winds of all who violently oppose us.

All the persecutions of godless men against the saints of God are no more harmful than winds blowing against a wall! A storm beating on a ship tosses it to and fro, but when it beats upon a wall it does not even affect it.

“Whatever dangers or troubles God’s people may (appear to) be in, effectual care is taken that they shall sustain no real hurt or damage” - (M. Henry).

D. Besides all this, among all the wonderful things God has done, we have been given the assurance of total deliverance from all our enemies (v. 5).

1. The oppressors of God’s church are strangers to the grace of God.

· Persecutors, oppressors, slanderers my be religious, but they are not righteous. Grace is peaceful, not persecuting.

2. Their opposition is hot and noisy, but impotent - “Pharoah, king of Egypt, is but a noise” (Jer. 46:17).

3. God will shelter his own from all their enemies.

4. Our God will bring down all who oppose his church and his people -

· He will bring them down in his time.

· He will bring them down in his way.

· He will bring them down in the day of judgment.

· He will bring them down to hell.

5. When the Lord our God has subdued all our enemies beneath his feet, then our salvation will be complete - (Rom. 16:20).

Application: I am calling for you who believe…

1. To Confess Christ.

2. Exalt Him.

3. Praise His Name.

4. For He Has Done, is Doing, and shall yet Do, Wonderful Things.

Our Savior is indeed a God worthy of praise.