Know God's Word Sustains The Weary

GOD’S WORD SUSTAINS THE WEARY

ISAIAH 50:4-10 September 15, 2002

ISAIAH 50:4-10

4The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.

5The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back.

6I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;

I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.

7Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced.

Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.

8He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other!

Who is my accuser? Let him confront me!

9It is the Sovereign LORD who helps me. Who is he that will condemn me?

They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up.

10Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.

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Dearest Fellow-Redeemed and Saints in the Lord:

Once again, you and I come to God’s house of worship at the invitation of our Lord, to en-joy the blessings of His Word. Today as Isaiah points out, it is God’s holy Word that sustains the weary. Maybe we have days like that from time to time, when at the end of the day we’re just all worn out. We are, in essence, bone-weary and tired. We sit back, thinking of all the things we have done that day, and realizing we have another day yet ahead filled with the labor that the Lord gives us to do. It is at those times that the Lord would have us reflect on His blessings, the blessings that He provides for us day after day, the ability that He says, ‘Go out and work.’ The ability to produce wealth comes from the Lord. As we reflect on those blessings, we’re reminded of the greatest of all blessings that Word which He gives to us to ‘revive our soul.’ That’s what Isaiah says in the beginning of our text when he says ‘to know the word that sustains the weary.’ Certainly he recalled what the psalm-writers were writing.

Psalm 19 tells us: "The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple"(PSALM 19:7). We turn to God’s Word once again to revive our soul, that it would refresh us and renew us. We use as our theme what Isaiah says:

GOD’S WORD SUSTAINS THE WEARY

I. Good enough for God’s only Son

II. Good enough for God’s followers

I. Good enough for God’s only Son

In this fifteenth chapter of Isaiah, the first few verses, under inspiration, Isaiah writes his own thoughts, his own words that God has given him to write. In the verses of our text, he be-gins in verse four with letting the Savior speak. God is speaking through Isaiah the prophet, the words that the sovereign Lord (Jesus) would speak to His Father. 4The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. As we hear these words, we connect them with the life of the Savior. The Savior, who certainly had God-fearing parents, morning by morning (day by day), was taught in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. He says that Word would sustain Him. Jesus, as the son of man with human flesh and body, we know that that body became tired, at times that it became hungry and thirsty, times that he needed that Word of God which would sustain the weary. The Savior appreciated the opportunity to hear the Word of God even though He was the Word of God in the flesh.

5The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back. We think of the scribes and the Pharisees who drew back from the word of God. We think of the children of Israel, who from time to time gave up God’s Word. They didn’t want to hear it. The Savior said for Himself, His ears were open. He was anxious to hear and ready to lis-ten, because again, God’s Word would sustain the weary.

We know that Jesus in His life, had a ministry faced with opposition until finally He faced death itself. He describes that in the verses of our text: 6I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. We think of the accusers that came. We think of Judas who betrayed Him, the army that came to the Garden of Gethsemane to take Him off as prisoner. All that night they made fun of Him, mocked Him, spit upon Him. Jesus says He knew the Word of the Lord that sustains the weary. He also knew the fact that He wasn’t alone. Listen to this in verse seven: 7Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Even though Pontius Pilate, even though the crowd, even though the soldiers thought they were disgracing the Savior, the Savior realized the Sovereign Lord helped Him. He would not be disgraced. The Sovereign Lord would be with Him; He would not be alone.