Sermon
# 219 Series: Isaiah
Title: HEPHZIAH
Text: Isaiah 62:4-5
Subject: God’s Delight in His People
Date: Sunday Evening – August 20, 1995
Tape
# R-69
Introduction:
I
cannot think of anything that gives me more pleasure and satisfaction than
bringing delight to someone. Can
you? There is something about giving
delight that causes delight. But think
about this for a minute – What do you suppose gives God
delight? What would it take to delight
the infinite, holy Lord God Almighty?
What do you imagine, if anything, it would take to bring a beaming smile
across the face of the Lord God? I have
searched the Scriptures to discover the answer to that question. You will not be surprised, I am sure, when I
tell you that the Bible speaks of only a very few things that give delight to God. But you might be surprised at what they
are. In fact, I can only find three things in the Word of God in which we are told that the Lord God
delights:
1. The Lord God, being perfect and complete in
himself, delights in His Own Glorious Character.
For
any man to delight in himself, as most do, is utmost arrogance and pride. But for God to do so is right, because he is
God. Perfection has
every reason to delight in itself. And God plainly asserts that
he delights in his own character. God
delights in what he is. (Jer. 8:23-24).
A. God delights in Lovingkindness
– What words
can describe the infinite lovingkindness of our God? “God is love.” And God,
who is love, is full of lovingkindness toward his people.
Awake, my soul, to Joyful
lays,
And sing thy great Redeemer’s
praise.
He justly claims a song from
me-
His lovingkindness, O how
free!
He saw me ruined by the fall,
Yet loved me notwithstanding
all.
He saved me from my lost
estate-
His lovingkindness, O how
great!
Though num’rous hast of mighty
foes,
Though earth and hell my way
oppose,
He safely leads my soul along-
His lovingkindness, O how
strong!
When trouble, like a gloomy
cloud,
Has gathered thick and
thundered loud,
He near my soul has always
stood-
His lovingkindness, O how
good!
B. God delights in Judgment. “Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy
throne” (Ps. 89:14). Judgment is the exercise of justice. And God delights in that as fully as he does
his lovingkindness. The text, of course, is
talking about the judgment of the sins of his people in Christ, our Substitute.
NOTE: The judgment of sin in the wicked is God’s strange
work (Isa. 28:11). He never delights in
that. He will punish sin, because “The
righteous Lord loveth righteousness.”
But he will never delight in the execution of justice on the wicked.
But
God does delight in the judgment of his peoples’ sins – (Rom. 8:1-4).
Illus:
C. God delights in
Righteousness. He does not delight in the
self-righteous works of men. He does
not even delight in the righteous deeds of his saints, in themselves. Our righteousnesses are filthy rags in the
sight of the holy Lord God, a stench in his nostrils! God delights in his own righteousness…
Turn
now to Micah 7:18. Here is another aspect of
God’s character in which he is said to delight.
D. “He delighteth in Mercy!” How I love those words. God almighty, against whom we have sinned, whose law we have
broken, who alone can save us, is a God who “delighteth in mercy!”
Depth of mercy! Can there be
Mercy still reserved for me?
Can my God His wrath forbear –
Me, the chief of sinners
spare?
Yes, He can, for Jesus died!
By his blood God’s satisfied!
See the Savior on His throne –
Thus I know, the work’s all
done!
There for me my Savior stands,
Holding forth His wounded
hands!
God is love, I know, I feel,
He delights in mercy still!
1. The Lord our God delights in his own
glorious character – In His Lovingkindness – In His Judgment – In His
Righteousness – And in His Mercy! Hos.
2:19 Not turn to Isaiah 42:1.
2. Here we read that the Lord God delights in His Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus
Christ – (Matt. 3:17; 17:5).
This is not an assertion that God delights in his Son as his Son in the holy trinity. That is obvious. These texts assert that the Lord God delights in his Son as his Servant, as the God-man, our Mediator.
God
delights in his own glorious character.
That is not surprising. And God
delights in his Son. Certainly that is not surprising. But, if you will read Isaiah 62:4-5. I am sure this will be an
astonishing thing for you to think about.
3. The Lord our God delights in
His People!
Imagine that, my brother. God delights in you. Think of this my sister. The Almighty delights in you. Be astonished, O my soul, The holy Lord God delights in me!
NOTE: God does not and cannot delight in us personally, in
ourselves, or because of anything we do.
But he does accept, delight in, and rejoice over us in Christ (Eph.
1:6).
Proposition: Though we were all by nature, through the sin and
fall of our father Adam, cast off, forsaken, and desolate, in Christ, every
saved sinner is married to and the delight of the living God.
The One speaking in our text is the Lord Jesus
Christ himself, our God and Savior. He
gives this name to his church and to every believer in his church – Hephzibah. This name which our Savior
gives us mean – “My Delight is In Her!”
Christ delighted in us from
everlasting as
the objects of his love (Pro. 8:31). He delighted in us at Calvary, when he endured the cross for
us (Heb. 12:2). He delights in us now, as the objects of his love, washed in his blood and robed
in his righteousness, and adorned with the beauty of his Spirit (Ezek. 16:8-14). He
delights in our company (Song 7:6), to hear our voices – to see
our faces! And he will delight in us hereafter, when he presents us to himself a glorious church, without
spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing (Rev. 21:2-3; Eph. 5:27).
NOTE: Verse 5 reads.
“For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons many
thee.” That is a good translation of
the text. If that
translation is retained, it simply means that many shall be born into the church
and kingdom of God; and, being born of her, they marry themselves to her. But some suggest, and I tend to agree with
them, that the text would be better translated, “So shall thy
Restorer marry thee.” Certainly, that fits the
context better. Christ, our Restorer, our Redeemer, and our Savior is married to us. He rejoices over her!
Illus: Picture a Bridegroom Receiving His Bride.
Let
me show you five things about saved sinners in which
Christ our God delights, and I will send you home to rejoice in him who
rejoices in you.
I. Our God delights in His
Election of Us (Deut. 10:15).
A. Election is a blessed, Bible doctrine.
B. God delights in the objects of his choice as fully now as
when he first chose us – Immutable Election!
C. Election ought always to delight our souls.
D. Election is one of the most inspiring doctrines in all the Bible (vv. 16-17).
‘Tis not that I did choose,
Thee,
For, Lord, that could not be.
This heart would still refuse
Thee,
Hadst thou not chosen me,
And to this and ordained me,
That I should live to Thee!
II. The Lord God delights the
godly fear and hope we have in him. (Ps. 147:10-11).
A. He delights in those who fear him.
· Reverence Him.
· Trust Him.
· Obey Him.
· Seek to Honor Him.
B. And God
delights in those who hope in his name – (Lam. 3:22-26). We
hope in…
1. His Mercies!
2. His Compassions!
3. His Faithfulness!
4. His Possession – (My Portion).
5. His Goodness!
6. His Salvation!
III. Our Savior delights in the Way of His Saints
(Ps. 37:23).
He delights in our way because our way is the way he has ordained and he orders our steps in it. He delights in our way because he sees the whole thing. If only we could see our way as he sees it, we would delight in it as he delights in it – Our Way, the way he has ordained for us in which he leads us, will at last bring us to him!
· A Predestined Way
· A Prevenient Way
· A Providential Way
· Preserving Way
· A Pleasant Way
IV. Our great God our Savior delights in the
character of His People.
Grace changes the character of a man. It changes the character of a woman. All who are in Christ are new creatures in Christ, and part of that new creation is a holy character that is born in the person who is born again. And in that character God delights.
A. God delights in Honesty; and God makes
Men Honest (Pro. 11:1).
B. God delights in Uprightness; and grace makes sinners upright (Pro.
11:20).
Uprightness is described in the context as…
1. Protecting a Person’s Character (v. 13).
2. Faithfulness to One’s Own Heart (v. 15).
3. Grace, Virtue, and Honor (v. 16).
4. Mercy (v. 17).
C. God is truth; He delights in Truthfulness; and
He makes people truthful (Pro. 12:11).
· Deal Truly in Spiritual Things. (Preachers)
· Deal Truly in Earthly Things.
V. God delights in the Prayers of His People.
(Pro. 15:8).
All True Prayer…
· Comes from God.
· Goes to God.
· Bows to the Will of God.
· Glorifies God.
· Delights God.
· Hebrews 4:16.
Application: Has God called you and me Hephzibah?
Does he delight in us? Is he
married to us? Then, let us be for him
alone (Hosea 3:3).
1. As he delights in us, let us delight in him.
2. As he loves us, let us love him.
3. As he is faithful to us, let us be faithful to him.