Watchman Radio Hour

David Schultze: Welcome to the Watchman Radio Hour, coming to you from Portland, Oregon, here in the beautiful Northwest. This is David Schultze, announcer. The Watchman Radio Hour is a production of Watchman Radio Ministries International, an evangelistic ministry reaching out to the peoples of the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. And now here's our speaker, Alex Dodson, to bring you this week's message from God's word.

Alex Dodson: For our scripture reading today, let us turn to Isaiah chapter 45 and verse 19, as we continue our series on Isaiah 45. Let us hear the word of God.

I have not spoken in secret from somewhere in a land of darkness. I have not said that Jacob's descendants seek me in vain. I, the Lord, speak the truth. I declare what is right.

Our Father in heaven, we thank you for the Bible that you have given to us. We thank you that it's your infallible word and that we can put our full confidence in everything that it says.

Now, O Father, as we come to study your word today, we pray that you will send forth your Holy Spirit in great power. In Christ's name we pray, amen.

In this chapter of Isaiah, God promises great things for Israel and the world. He promised to bring his people back from Babylon to their homeland and rebuild the temple. Through Cyrus, the great Persian king, God brought this redemption about. He also promises in this chapter a great worldwide spreading of the gospel.

Should we expect more fulfillment of God's promises in the future? Are there greater revivals yet to come? Isaiah 11:9 says, "They will neither harm nor destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea."

Here God promises a time of great revival in the future when the whole earth becomes like a holy mountain, and the earth is full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. God's word spreads everywhere and people live holy lives everywhere.

Reverend Francis Wayland, president of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, lived during the time of the Second Great Awakening in America. He witnessed great revivals in his time. He wrote in 1832:

"Christians during periods of revival are characterized by an unusual spirit of penitence, of confession of sin, and of prayer, by desire for more holiness, and specially by tender concern for the salvation of souls."

"Unconverted persons are more desirous to hear the gospel, and particularly the plainest and simplest exhibitions of it. They readily listen to conversation on the subject and seem to expect it. Truths which they have frequently heard with total unconcern, they now hear with solemn and fixed attention. And in many cases for days together, scarcely a sermon will be preached or an exhortation offered which is not made effectual to the conviction or conversion of one or more souls."

"Seasons of this sort commence in various ways. Sometimes a whole congregation is simultaneously impressed with the importance of religion. At other times a single striking conversion spreads its effects gradually. More frequently Christians become convinced of their lukewarmness and return to God by repentance, and through them the Holy Spirit is shed abroad upon the unconverted."

"That such seasons as these have been and still are witnessed in almost every part of our country can more be doubted than the shining of the sun at noonday."

Isaiah 65:25, the Lord speaks saying, "The wolf and the lamb will feed together. And the lion will eat straw like the ox. But dust will be the serpent's food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain." Again, as in Isaiah 11, the whole earth becomes a holy mountain.

Well, when will this take place? Is this to be seen in this age, in the future, or in some other age? God's promises are true. Isaiah 45:19 says, "I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness. I have not said that Jacob's descendants seek me in vain. I, the Lord, speak the truth. I declare what is right."

God's promises will be fulfilled in due time. We must believe that. If greater revivals are yet to come, they will sweep the whole earth and bring multitudes into God's kingdom. We must have faith that such can happen. If God's promises point to such a time, then we must believe them.

God promised that his people would be delivered and brought back to their homeland, and that the temple would be rebuilt. We know that this happened for sure. This chapter includes even greater promises for the whole world, and that too will happen, for God's promises are true.

God's promises are true to you also. He offers you eternal life if you will accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. He calls on you right now to repent of your sins and sorrow, and accept Jesus Christ as Lord of your life and as your Savior. Come to Christ right now.

Let us see in the first place that God is unlike the idols. "I have not spoken in secret from somewhere in a land of darkness," he says. He has not spoken in secret. The idols speak from secret places. God reveals his promises through his prophets.

Edward J. Young writes, "As in the creation of the world, the Lord has shown himself to be the one true and living God, so he continually shows himself in his clear revelations to Israel, his people. The first clause, 'Not in secret have I spoken,' is usually interpreted to mean that the act of God speaking has not been in secret, but openly through his prophets. This is, of course, true. But it may be that the adverbial clause, 'Not in secret,' is better understood with the subject rather than with the act of speaking. Thus, 'I in secret have not spoken.'"

"On this construction, the emphasis falls upon the fact that God has not been in secret when he has spoken. Rather, he has been open and has spoken revealingly."

The distinction is a fine one, and whichever of the two options we adopt, we must note that the stress falls upon the fact that God's revelation is a spoken one. God has spoken clearly and openly in his word, and his word is true.

And then let us see that he has not spoken from dark places. The idols speak from dark places. God speaks openly and in the light for all to hear. Young writes, "In the place of darkness, the basic thought is that the revelations of God are open and accessible to those who would receive them. God does not render himself obscure so that those who seek must resort to the devious practices of magic and superstition that characterize seekers after false gods. The point appears to be to contrast God's method of revelation with the dark practices of the heathen soothsayers."

Matthew Henry, the great Puritan commentator wrote, "All that God has said is plain, satisfactory, and just. I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth. The pagan deities delivered their oracles out of dens and caverns with a low and hollow voice and in ambiguous expressions. Those that had familiar spirits whispered and muttered. But God delivered his law from the top of Mount Sinai before all the thousands of Israel in distinct, audible, and intelligent sounds."

Keil and Delitzsch write, "By a dark place of the earth, we are to understand, according to Psalm 139:15, the interior of the earth, and according to Job 10:21, Hades. The intention being to point out the contrast between the prophecies of Jehovah and the heathen cave oracles and spirit voices of the necromancists which seem to rise up from the interior of the earth."

Poole writes, "I have not spoken in secret. That is, in a dark place of the earth. The heathen idols deliver their oracles darkly and doubtfully in obscure cells and caverns of the earth, or out of the bellies of their priests. But I have delivered my oracles to Israel publicly and plainly, as one that was neither afraid nor ashamed to utter my mind lest I should be convinced of folly and falsehood, which was the case of idols."

You see, God speaks plainly through his word, which has been delivered to us by the prophets of the Old Testament and the apostles of the New. We do not have to guess what God has revealed. It is plain to see in the Bible that he has given us.

And then let us see in the second place that we do not seek and trust God in vain. It says, "I have not said that Jacob's descendants seek me in vain." God can be trusted. He will do what he says he will do. God is trustworthy. If we seek him, he will bless us. God keeps his word.

Young writes, "In the preceding verse, the word 'Tohu' had the sense of desolation, as in Genesis 1:2. In this verse, however, it seems to have the sense of in vain. Yet, despite this slight modification of connotation, it is correct to say that as God's creation was not for the purpose of being a Tohu, so also his revelation is not a Tohu, but fulfills his purpose."

Matthew Henry writes, "They are assured that those who trust in God shall never be made ashamed of their confidence in him." J. Alexander of Old Princeton wrote, "God had not required the people to consult him in relation to futurity without obtaining satisfactory responses."

Calvin writes, "So long as the earth shall be inhabited, it is impossible that God shall not support his worshipers who call upon him." And then he says, "Now he solemnly declares that he, that he does not invite us in vain, though he delays his assistance. For what he has promised is most certain. And as he plainly showed to him, we ought to betake ourselves, and on whom we ought to rely, so he will give practical demonstration that the hope of those who relied on his word was not in vain or without foundation."

And then Calvin writes again, "By this expression, 'Seek me,' Isaiah points out the principal end and use of the law to invite men to God. And indeed their true happiness lies in being united to God, and the sacred bond of union is faith and sincere piety."

And then Calvin says, "As if he had said that he does not promise largely with an intention to deceive or amuse hungry men by words, but actually performs what he has promised."

John Gill writes, "To pray unto and worship him to no purpose or without fruit to themselves, for all such who seek him early and earnestly, heartily and diligently, and where he may be found always find him. He receives them and not rejects them, and they receive that from him which is worth seeking after and amply rewards all their trouble."

Matthew Poole writes, "As I appointed them work, so I promised and from time to time have given and shall give them abundant recompense for their service. Whereas the Gentiles seek to their idols in vain, for they can do them no good, as is observed in the next verse."

Seeking God will bring salvation. Jeremiah 29:13 says, "You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart." We need not fear to seek God. He will not turn us away. In John 6, verse 37 and following it says, "All Jesus said, 'All that the Father gives me will come to me. And whoever comes to me, I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my will, but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.'"

Anyone who comes to Christ with all of his heart will not be turned away. Do not be afraid to come to Christ. He will accept you. No matter what you have done, if you repent of your sins and believe on Christ, you will be saved. You will not be coming to Christ in vain. Salvation will be yours. Come now, come to Christ and be saved.

And let us see in the third place today that God speaks openly and speaks the truth. Our text says, "I, the Lord, speak the truth. I declare what is right." God has revealed himself clearly through his natural revelation, first of all. Psalm 19:1-4 says, "The heavens declare the glory of God. The skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech. Night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the end of the world."

And then he's proclaimed himself through his special revelation. In Psalm 19:7 it says, "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple." The natural revelation shows us clearly that there is a creator. The special revelation shows us clearly the way of salvation. And the Bible is God's special revelation to us. God has not left us ignorant of the gospel.

Young writes, "The things God declares are right things, for they are true. God proclaimed his word far and wide in tones that all might hear and understand. The culmination of this method of revelation is found in the revelation of a son, who in the days of his flesh declared, 'I spoke openly to the world. I ever taught in the synagogue and in the temple, where the Jews always resort. And in secret have I said nothing.'"

John Gill writes, "When he, when here on earth, he said nothing in secret, but openly to the world, in the synagogues and temple of the Jews, where they resorted in great numbers, and ordered his disciples also to publish on the housetops what they heard with their ears." John 18:20 it says, "I have spoken openly to the world." Jesus replied, "I always taught in the synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret." And in Matthew 10:27, Jesus says to his disciples, "What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight. What is whispered in your ears, proclaim from the roofs."

Young goes on to say, "The things God declares are right things, for they are true. God proclaimed his word far and wide in tones that all might hear and understand. The culmination of this method of revelation is found in the revelation of a son, who in the days of his flesh declared, 'I spoke openly to the world. I ever taught in the synagogue and in the temple, where the Jews always resort. And in secret have I said nothing.'"

John Calvin writes, "As if he had said that the word by which he draws his elect to himself is not soiled by any stain of fraud, but contains the most perfect holiness. The words of the Lord, as David says, are clean, like silver purified in an earthen furnace, seven times refined."

"Thus, in the word of God, we have bright righteousness which instantly shines into our hearts when the darkness has been removed." Keil and Delitzsch write, "When he promises, he follows out the rule of his purpose and of his plan of salvation in the impulse of sincere desire for their good and love which is ever true to itself. The present word of prophecy points to the fulfillment of these promises."

And then they write, "The salvation of Israel foretold and realized by Jehovah becomes at the same time the salvation of the heathen world." John Calvin writes, "Thy word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our paths. We reply with Isaiah and the rest of the prophets that the Lord has taught nothing that is obscure or ambiguous or false. We reply also with Peter that the prophetic word is more sure, and you do well if you take heed to it, as to a lamp burning in a dark place, till the day dawn and the morning star rise in our hearts."

"If these things were said concerning the law and the prophets, what shall we say of the gospel by which the clearest light has been revealed to us? Shall we not say with Paul, 'If the gospel is dark, it is dark to those who are lost, whom Satan, the prince of the world, hath blinded'?"

When God's word comes in power to the lost, their blindness will be lifted and they will believe God's word. Today, God's word needs to be proclaimed throughout the land. May God send it in power and bring this nation to its knees. We must pray for this. This is the only remedy for our present situation. This nation is steeped in sin from the highest to the lowest. Idolatry pervades the nation. Sexual immorality and perversion rules the land. Bible ignorance is rampant. Many Christians are weak in their faith and easily led astray. We need a great revival to come.

Before the great evangelical awakening in Great Britain in the 18th century, sin prevailed everywhere and the church was ineffective. In his book on revivals, Iain Murray wrote, "James Robe of Kilsyth, writing in 1742 of the state of the Church of Scotland, he says while the government, worship, and doctrine established in this church were retained in profession, there hath been universal corruption of life, reaching even unto the sons and daughters of God."

"Former strictness as to holiness and tenderness of life was much relaxed among both ministers and people of the better sort. A formal round of professional duties was the religion of the professors, and in this they rested. As to the multitude, they were highly profane without any sense of religion at all. Things were become so bad with us that there were few whom we, the minister of the word, could comfort as believers in Christ and exhort to rejoice in hope of the glory of God when we found them dying."

Iain Murray writes, "Everywhere in the English-speaking world, including Wales and the American colonies, a similar situation prevailed, formalism, coldness of heart, indifference to religion, and worldliness holding a general sway over the populations. 'Stult extent, but stomach well alive' was Carlyle's apt description of the scene."

But prayers for revival were going up in the English-speaking world in the early 1700s. Murray writes, "Samuel Danforth, minister of Taunton, New England, wrote in 1705, 'I think sometimes that the time'"