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<h2><a onclick="return mV('Isa',51,'1-');">Isa 51</a> - Listen and Awake</h2>
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<p>A. "Listen to Me."</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',51,'1-3');">1-3</a>) Listen: the <span class="c6">Lord</span>'s past faithfulness is a promise of future blessing.</p>
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<p class="c2">Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness, you who seek the <span class="c6">Lord</span>: Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the hole of the pit from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who bore you; for I called him alone, and blessed him and increased him. For the <span class="c6">Lord</span> will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>; joy and gladness will be found in it, thanksgiving and the voice of melody.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness</span></b>: The <span class="c6">Lord</span> here speaks to His people; but His people have had trouble listening to Him. So three times in this chapter, the exhortation is given: <b><span class="c3">Listen to Me</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Look to the rock from which you were hewn...Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who bore you</span></b>: God counsels His people to look at His work in His people in days past. This is one of the great glories of God's Word to us; it tells us how God has dealt with His people, and gives us faith and guidance for His work in our lives - if we will <b><span class="c3">listen</span></b> to Him.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. As Isaiah speaks to them here, God's people were in a discouraged place. They felt defeated, and the prophet tells them to look to God's work in and through His people in days past.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. "Once a Christian gets eaten up with discouragement and unbelief it takes a great deal to shake him out of it. Those two emotions are the masterstrokes of Satan. So long as the child of God maintains an attitude of praise and trust in the Lord, then he is invincible. Once the devil gets him discouraged, that poor man in really going to take a knocking!" (Redpath)</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">For I called him alone, and blessed him and increased him</span></b>: Abraham was one man, from one simple family. Yet God <b><span class="c3">called him alone</span></b>, and <b><span class="c3">increased him</span></b>. This should remind His people today that God does not need many people to do a great work. He can bless and increase one man <b><span class="c3">alone</span></b>. Isaiah wanted God's people - in view here are the returning exiles from Babylon, and those of Israel's ultimate regathering - to not be discouraged of their small numbers, but realize that just as He did great things with Abraham and Sarah, He can do great things through them.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. Remembering Abraham and Sarah should give them hope for this promise: <b><span class="c3">For the <span class="c6">Lord</span> will comfort Zion...He will make her wilderness like Eden...Joy and gladness will be found in it</span></b>. The promise seems too good to be true, but by faithfully remembering God's work in people like Abraham and Sarah, they would have the faith to believe God's promise to them today.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. This shows how <i>we</i> can benefit through God's work in the lives of <i>others</i>. When we hear of what God has done and is doing in the lives of others, it can build our faith for God's work in our own lives.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. <b><span class="c3">He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the <span class="c6">Lord</span></span></b> reminds us that though these promises had a near fulfillment in the return from Babylon's captivity, their ultimate fulfillment is in a regathered, blessed, and saved Israel in the millennium.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',51,'4-6');">4-6</a>) Listen: The <span class="c6">Lord</span>'s salvation and righteousness are forever.</p>
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<p class="c2">Listen to Me, My people; and give ear to Me, O My nation: For law will proceed from Me, and I will make My justice rest as a light of the peoples. My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth, and My arms will judge the peoples; the coastlands will wait upon Me, and on My arm they will trust. Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look on the earth beneath. For the heavens will vanish away like smoke, the earth will grow old like a garment, and those who dwell in it will die in like manner; but My salvation will be forever, and My righteousness will not be abolished.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">I will make My justice rest as a light of the peoples</span></b>: When the <span class="c6">Lord</span> ultimately regathers, blesses, and saves Israel, He will also shine forth His <b><span class="c3">justice</span></b> to all the world - to Israel (<b><span class="c3">My nation</span></b>) and to all the nations (<b><span class="c3">the peoples</span></b>).</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">For the heavens will vanish away like smoke, the earth will grow old like a garment</span></b>: These are references to phenomenon surrounding the Second Coming of Jesus (<a onclick="return mV('Mat',24,35);">Mat 24:35</a>, <a onclick="return mV('2Pe',3,'7-10');">2Pe 3:7-10</a>, <a onclick="return mV('Rev',6,'12-17');">Rev 6:12-17</a>). This is ultimately when the justice of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> will be displayed to Israel and all nations.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. The judgment of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> isn't only evident in creation, but in the man also: <b><span class="c3">Those who dwell in it will die in like manner</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">But My salvation will be forever, and My righteousness will not be abolished</span></b>: Those tied to the earth, not heaven will be cast away, and even the earth will <b><span class="c3">vanish away</span></b>. But never the <b><span class="c3">righteousness</span></b> or <b><span class="c3">salvation</span></b> of God. They remain, and are more permanent than even the heavens and the earth. We don't have to be afraid that God will change His character (<b><span class="c3">My righteousness</span></b>) or His mind about us (<b><span class="c3">My salvation</span></b>). This is something to <b><span class="c3">listen</span></b> to!</p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',51,'7-8');">7-8</a>) Listen: Fear God, not man.</p>
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<p class="c2">Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, you people in whose heart is My law: Do not fear the reproach of men, nor be afraid of their insults. For the moth will eat them up like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool; but My righteousness will be forever, and My salvation from generation to generation.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Listen to Me...Do not fear the reproach of men</span></b>: Knowing the permanence of the righteousness and salvation of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, and the passing nature of the wicked (<b><span class="c3">For the moth will eat them up like a garment</span></b>), we should <b><span class="c3">listen</span></b> to God, and not be afraid of <b><span class="c3">men</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. I cannot imagine a true man saying, 'I love Christ, but I do not want others to know that I love him, lest they should laugh at me.' That is a reason to be laughed at, or rather, to be wept over. Afraid of being laughed at? Oh sir, this is indeed a cowardly fear!" (Charles Spurgeon, <i>The Secret of Love to God</i>)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. "Yet you are a coward. Yes, put it down in English: you are a coward. If anybody called you so you would turn red in the face; and perhaps you are not a coward in reference to any other subject. What a shameful thing it is that while you are bold about everything else you are cowardly about Jesus Christ. Brave for the world and cowardly towards Christ!" (Charles Spurgeon, <i>Cheer for the Worker, and Hope for London</i>)</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">But My righteousness will be forever, and My salvation from generation to generation</span></b>: Knowing that the <b><span class="c3">righteousness</span></b> and <b><span class="c3">salvation</span></b> of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> are permanent and the opposition and mocking of the wicked is temporary, we should stand strong in faith. This is something to <b><span class="c3">listen</span></b> to!</p>
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<p>B. "Awake, awake!"</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',51,'9-16');">9-16</a>) Wake up to the power and greatness of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>.</p>
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<p class="c2">Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>! Awake as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Are You not the arm that cut Rahab apart, and wounded the serpent? Are You not the One who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep; that made the depths of the sea a road for the redeemed to cross over? So the ransomed of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness; sorrow and sighing shall flee away. "I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you should be afraid of a man who will die, and of the son of a man who will be made like grass? And you forget the <span class="c6">Lord</span> your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth; you have feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, when he has prepared to destroy. And where is the fury of the oppressor? The captive exile hastens, that he may be loosed, that he should not die in the pit, and that his bread should not fail. But I am the <span class="c6">Lord</span> your God, who divided the sea whose waves roared; the <span class="c6">Lord</span> of hosts is His name. And I have put My words in your mouth; I have covered you with the shadow of My hand, that I may plant the heavens, lay the foundations of the earth, and say to Zion, 'You are My people.'"</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>!</span></b> Here, the faithful believer calls out to the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, looking to Him for salvation. They know of God's great works in the past (<b><span class="c3">Awake as in ancient days</span></b>), but ask God to act on their behalf <i>now</i>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Curiously, though it is - rightfully - phrased this way, it is really more of a wake up call to faith for the believer than an attempt to wake up God. <a onclick="return mV('Psa',121,4);">Psa 121:4</a> reminds us, <i>Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.</i> Yet it is still wonderful for the believer to call upon the <span class="c6">Lord</span> this way, because it awakens <i>our</i> faith!</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Are You not the arm that cut Rahab apart, and wounded the serpent?</span></b> Among God's great works remembered is His defeat of <b><span class="c3">Rahab</span></b>. But when did God <b><span class="c3">cut Rahab apart</span></b>, and wound a <b><span class="c3">serpent</span></b>? The name <b><span class="c3">Rahab</span></b> means <i>pride</i>, and ever since the Garden of Eden, the <b><span class="c3">serpent</span></b> has been associated with Satan (<a onclick="return mV('Gen',3,'1-6');">Gen 3:1-6</a>). This speaks in poetic terms of God's victory over Satan, as it does also in <a onclick="return mV('Psa',89,10);">Psa 89:10</a>.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. With every enemy defeated, and every obstacle taken care of, <b><span class="c3">So the ransomed of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> shall return, and come to Zion with singing</span></b>. This is another promise with both a near and an ultimate fulfillment.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">Who are you that you should be afraid of a man who will die</span></b>: With promises this glorious, and a God this mighty, we have no reason to fear man. Man can never undo God's plan for our lives. Compared to the great power of God, they are <b><span class="c3">like grass</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">e. <b><span class="c3">You forget the <span class="c6">Lord</span> your Maker...You have feared continually every day</span></b>: The two go together. We will only live in fear <b><span class="c3">continually every day</span></b> if we <b><span class="c3">forget the <span class="c6">Lord</span></span></b>. When we <b><span class="c3">forget the <span class="c6">Lord</span></span></b>, we forget His tender love and care for us: <b><span class="c3">I have covered you with the shadow of My hand...and say to Zion, "You are My people."</span></b> This is something to be <i>awake</i> to!</p>
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<p class="c5">i. The phrase <b><span class="c3">I have covered you with the shadow of My hand</span></b> reminds us of how God covered Moses with His hand, as Moses hid in the rock and the <span class="c6">Lord</span> made His glory to pass before Moses (<a onclick="return mV('Exd',33,'17-23');">Exd 33:17-23</a>).</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. The <span class="c6">Lord</span> would shelter and protect His people the same way. Nothing comes to us unless it has first passed through His counsel. "Ask the question again, 'Where is the fury of the oppressor?' And the answer comes, it is under the control of God. Even Satan, your fiercest foe, - God created him, God governs him, God can do with him just as he pleases. Then as to that poverty of which you are afraid, it will not come unless God permits it; and if it does come, the Lord can alleviate it." (Spurgeon)</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',51,'17-23');">17-23</a>) Wake up to the reality of God's wrath.</p>
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<p class="c2">Awake, awake! Stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk at the hand of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> the cup of His fury; you have drunk the dregs of the cup of trembling, and drained it out. There is no one to guide her among all the sons she has brought forth; nor is there any who takes her by the hand among all the sons she has brought up. These two things have come to you; who will be sorry for you?; Desolation and destruction, famine and sword; by whom will I comfort you? Your sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, like an antelope in a net; they are full of the fury of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, the rebuke of your God. Therefore please hear this, you afflicted, and drunk but not with wine. Thus says your Lord, the <span class="c6">Lord</span> and your God, who pleads the cause of His people: "See, I have taken out of your hand the cup of trembling, the dregs of the cup of My fury; you shall no longer drink it. But I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you, who have said to you, 'Lie down, that we may walk over you.' And you have laid your body like the ground, and as the street, for those who walk over."</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Awake, awake! Stand up, O Jerusalem</span></b>: This wake up call is directed right at <b><span class="c3">Jerusalem</span></b>. God's people sometimes spiritually "fall asleep" and need to be awakened. <a onclick="return mV('Rom',13,'11-12');">Rom 13:11-12</a> says, <i>And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.</i></p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">You who have drunk at the hand of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, the cup of His fury</span></b>: A common picture of judgment in the Old Testament is the <b><span class="c3">cup</span></b> of God's wrath or <b><span class="c3">fury</span></b>. The idea is that God gives a cup "full" of His wrath to those who are under judgment, and they must drink it. Here, God calls Jerusalem to remember that they have <b><span class="c3">drunk at the hand of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, the cup of His fury</span></b> when they experienced God's judgment through the Babylonians.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. If possible, the image is even strengthened: <b><span class="c3">You have drunk the dregs of the cup of trembling, and drained it out</span></b>. Not only did Jerusalem drink the cup, they <b><span class="c3">drained it</span></b> - drinking down to the <b><span class="c3">dregs</span></b> at the bottom of the cup. They had experienced <b><span class="c3">desolation and destruction, famine and sword</span></b>, and this was God's cup for them.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. This powerful image was in the mind of Jesus when He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before His crucifixion. When He prayed, <i>Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Luk',22,42);">Luk 22:42</a>), He had in mind the cup of God's wrath He was about to drink - to the dregs - at the cross.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">See, I have taken out of your hand the cup of trembling, the dregs of the cup of My fury; you shall no longer drink it</span></b>: The <span class="c6">Lord</span> knows when to give the cup, and when to take it from His people. Now is time for their redemption and for the shame of their enemies, so the <span class="c6">Lord</span> promises, <b><span class="c3">I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you</span></b>. We should always be <i>awake</i> to God's timing and loving promises.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "When faith is weak men are in a dreadful hurry, but strong faith does not judge the Lord to be slack concerning his promise. As God achieves his purpose with infinite leisure, he loves a faith that is patient and looks not for its reward this day or the next. 'He that believeth shall not make haste': that is to say, he shall not be ashamed or confounded by present trials so as to rush upon unbelieving actions. Faith leaves times and seasons with God to whom they belong." (Spurgeon)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. <b><span class="c3">Who have said to you, "Lie down, that we may walk over you."</span></b> This "barbaric practice...is well documented in the ancient Near East, featured especially, but not exclusively, in Assyrian inscriptions." (Grogan) But God will give this humiliation to those who humiliated His people.</p>
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