The holy spirit unfathomable

THE HOLY SPIRIT UNFATHOMABLE
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Isaiah40:13 13Who can fathom the Spiritof the
LORD, or instruct the LORD as his counselor?
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
JehovahIncomparable
Isaiah40:12-18
E. Johnson
I. HIS POWER OVER NATURE. The boldest imagery to express this
thought: the "hollow of his hand;" his "span;" his "tierce," a small measure;
his scales, withwhich he weighs the volumes of sea and laud, and measures
the vastextent of heaven without an effort, - as we use the hand to weighor to
span! Far from taking offence atsuch figures, we feel them to be truthful,
appropriate, sublime. The Creatoris infinitely superior to his world. Vastness
of space may overwhelm our imagination, but not his. His thought holds with
ease the universe as a whole and in all its parts. "Thouhast ordered all things
by measure and number and weight" (Wisd. 11:20). Vain the "materialistic"
dreams of students occupiedtoo much with the physical and the phenomenal.
The physical is the expressionofthe intellectual; the phenomenal but the

"appearance'ofthe real; the creation, the "garb we see Godby." How much
truer to what a spiritual religionteaches us is this view than that which would
direct our wonder and our worship to the mere splendours of the material
world, rather than to the greatcreative and informing spirit of the world!
Isaiah, contemptuously speaking of the sea as held in God's hand, as one
might hold a drop of water, is a better poet than Byron, who apostrophizes the
sea as a living being.
II. THE ORIGINALITY OF HIS MIND. A theologicaldifficulty is supposed
to be alluded to. "Who hath regulatedthe mind of Jehovah? Was he himself
absolutely free? May not Omnipotence itself be subject to conditions? May
there not be an equal or superior power to whose counsels he must defer?"
(Cheyne). Distinctly the prophet, without arguing the question, denies the
truth of such an hypothesis. By the Spirit of God we mean the mind of God,
which is
"The life and light of all this wondrous world we see." The world is not "dead
matter," but the creationof that intelligence, the vast poem, inspired by
Divine thoughts that breathe and burn. Love is the lastground of all things,
and conscienceandintelligence are its ministers. God's Being is simple,
unique, absolutely original. In a like sense to that which we saythe works of a
greatpoet are his unassistedproductions, does the prophet say the world is
the work of God. "Contrastthe Babylonian myth of a joint action of Beland
the gods in the creationof man; and the Iranian of co-creatorshipof Ormuzd
and the Amshaspands;" or the crude cosmogonic notions of the Greeks. All
parts of the world, all habitable lands and nations, are dependent on him,
derived from his will, subject to his power. How, then, canearth's noblest
products add anything to his riches, or further illustrate the glory of One to
whom they already belong? The poverty of Judah in woodmay be contrasted
with the rich forests of Lebanon; but even Lebanon could not yield enough for
his honour, if that honour is to be measured by the extent of the offerings. The
nations, and all that is greatand imposing in their life, are nought in his eyes;
chaos may designate them in this contemptuous view. In short, he is
incomparable. No illustration, analogy, similitude, ever thrown forth from the
poet-souland imagination in mankind, as no picture of painter, image of
sculptor, will here avail. Nay, there must be moments when the very forms of

thought into which everything must be thrown that we may see it at all, and
even last of all, the richest and purest musical harmonies, must be set aside as
inadequate.
"All are too mean to speak his worth,
Too mean to set our Makerforth." Nothing can surpass the simplicity and the
sublimity of this view of God. Nothing less lofty will satisfyour intelligence or
meet the yearnings of our heart. The idolatry we are so ready to lavish upon
the finite objectis the poor caricature of that immense delight which God
demands we should enjoy in the thought of him, and which we cannotbe
satisfieduntil we have attained. - J.
Biblical Illustrator
Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand?
Isaiah40:12-28
The grandeur of God

J. Saurin.
The prophet's notions of God are diffused through all the verses ofthe text.
The prophet's design in describing the Deity with so much magnificence is to
discountenance idolatry, of which there are two sorts.
1. Religious idolatry, which consists in rendering that religious worship to a
creature which is due to none but God.
2. Moralidolatry, which consists in distrusting the promises of God in
dangerous crises, andin expecting that assistance frommen which cannotbut
be expected from God. The portrait drawn by the prophet is infinitely inferior
to his original. Ye will be fully convincedof this if ye attend to the following
considerations ofthe grandeur of God.
I. THE SUBLIMITY OF HIS ESSENCE. The prophet's mind was filled with
this object. It is owing to this that he repeats the grand title of Jehovah, "the
Lord," which signifies "I am" by excellence, andwhich distinguisheth by four
grand characters the essence ofGod from the essenceofcreatures.
1. The essence ofGodis independent in its cause. Godis a self-existentbeing.
We exist, but ours is only a borrowedexistence, for existence is foreign from
us.
2. The essence ofGodis universal in its extent. Godpossesseththe reality of
every thing that exists. He is, as an ancient writer expresseth it, a boundless
oceanof existence. Fromthis oceanof existence all createdbeings, like so
many rivulets, flow.
3. The essence ofGodis unchangeable in its exercise. Creaturesonly pass
from nothing to existence, and from existence to nothing. We love to-day what
we hated yesterday, and to-morrow we shall hate What to-day we love.
4. The Divine essenceis eternal in its duration. "Hastthou not known," saith
our prophet, "that He is the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creatorof the
ends of the earth?"
II. THE IMMENSITYOF HIS WORKS (vers. 22, 26). A novice is frightened
at hearing what astronomers assert. Overall this universe God reigns.

III. THE EFFICIENCYOF HIS WILL. The idea of the real world conducts
us to that of the possible world. The idea of a creative Being includes the idea
of a Being whose will is efficient. But a Being whose will is self-efficient, is a
Being who, by a single actof His will, can create all possible beings: that is, all,
the existence ofwhich implies no contradiction;there being no reasonfor
limiting the power of a will that hath been once efficient of itself.
IV. THE MAGNIFICENCE OF SOME OF HIS MIGHTY ACTS, AT
CERTAIN PERIODS,IN FAVOUR OF HIS CHURCH. The prophet had two
of these periods in view. The first was the return of the Jews from that
captivity in Babylon which he had denounced; and the second, the coming of
the Messiah, ofwhich their return from captivity was only a shadow. Such,
then, are the grandeurs of God! Application — We observedthat the
prophet's design was to render two sorts of idolatry odious: idolatry in
religion, and idolatry in morals. Idolatry in religion consists in rendering
those religious homages to creatures whichare due to the Creatoronly. To
discredit this kind of idolatry, the prophet contents himself with describing it.
He shames the idolater by reminding him of the origin of idols, and of the
pains taken to preserve them. A man is guilty of moral idolatry when, in
dangerous crises, he says, 'My way is hid from the Lord; my judgment is
passedover from my God.' God is the sole arbiter of events. Whenever ye
think that any more powerful being directs them to comfort you, ye put the
creature in the Creators place;whether ye do it in a manner more or less
absurd; whether formidable armies, impregnable fortresses, andwell-stored
magazines;or whether a small circle of friends, an easyincome, or a country
house. The Jews were oftenguilty of the first sort of idolatry. The captivity in
Babylon was the last curb to that fatal propensity. Thanks be to God that the
light of the Gospelhath opened the eyes of a greatnumber of Christians in
regard to idolatry in religion. Ye who, in order to avert public calamities,
satisfy yourselves with a few precautions of worldly prudence, and take no
pains to extirpate those horrible crimes which provoke the vengeance of
heaven to inflict punishments on public bodies;ye are guilty of this second
kind of idolatry. Were your confidence placedin God, ye would endeavour to
avert national judgments by purging the state of those wickedpractices which
are the surest forerunners and the principal causes offamine, and pestilence,

and war. And thou, feeble mortal, lying on a sick-bed, already struggling with
the king of terrors; thou, who tremblingly complainest, I am undone! — thou
art guilty of this secondkind of idolatry, that thou hast trusted in man and
made flesh thine arm. Were God the objectof thy trust, thou wouldestbelieve
that though death is about to separate thee from man, it is about to unite thee
to God.
(J. Saurin.)
The incomparableness ofthe great God
Homilist.
"To whom then will ye liken God?"
I. THAT THE GREATEST THINGS IN THE MATERIAL WORLD ARE
NOTHING TO HIM. The oceanis great, greatin its depths, breadths,
contents, occupying by far the largestportion of this globe of ours. But He
"hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand." The heaven is great;
its expanse is immeasurable, its worlds and systems baffle all arithmetic, but
He "meted out heaven with the span." The earth is great, greatto us, though
mere speck in the universe, and, it may be, an atom to other intelligences;but
"He comprehendeth the dust in a measure," etc. Whatis the universe to God?
You may compare an atom to the Andes, a raindrop to the Atlantic, a spark to
the centralfires of the creation;but you cannotcompare the universe, greatas
it is, to the Creator.
II. THAT THE GREATESTMINDS IN THE SPIRITUAL UNIVERSE ARE
NOTHING TO HIM. "Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being His
counsellorhath taught Him?" etc. (vers. 13, 14). The Bible gives us to
understand that there is a spiritual universe far greaterthan the material, of
which the material is but the dim mirror and feeble instrument — a universe
containing intelligences innumerable in multitude and incalculable in their
gradations of strength and intelligence. But what spirit or spirits at the head
or hierarchy of these intelligences has ever given Him counsel, instructed or
influenced Him in any matter? He is uninstructible: the only Being in the

universe who is so. He knows all. Soonerspeak ofa spark enlightening the
sun, than speak of a universe of intelligences adding aught to the knowledge of
.God. He is absolutelyoriginal: the only Being in the universe who is so. We
talk of original thinkers. Such creatures are mere fictions. He being so
independent of all minds —
1. His universe must be regardedas the expressionof Himself. No other being
had a hand in it.
2. His laws are the revelation of Himself. No one counselledHim in His
legislation.
3. His conduct is absolutely irresponsible, and He alone canbe trusted with
irresponsibility.
III. THAT THE GREATEST INSTITUTIONSIN HUMAN SOCIETYARE
NOTHING TO HIM. Nations are the greatestthings "in" human institutions.
"But nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of
the balance." Whatwere the greatestnations of the old world, or the most
powerful of modern times? What are the greatestnations that have ever been,
or are, comparedto Him? Nothing, emptiness. Oh, ye magnates of the world,
ye kings of the earth, what are ye in the presence ofGod? Less than
animalcula dancing in the sun.
IV. THAT THE GREATEST PRODUCTIONSOF HUMAN LABOUR ARE
NOTHING TO HIM. "There is," said an eloquent Frenchpreacher, "nothing
greatbut God."
(Homilist.)
The transcendentOne
Homilist.
The grand object of this sublime chapterseems to be to inspirit and to
comfort the Jews in their Babylonian captivity. Their God in His transcendent
greatness is brought under their notice for this purpose —

I. IN THE EXACTITUDE OF HIS OPERATIONS. He is here representedas
"measuring" the waters, as "spanning" the heavens, as "comprehending" the
very dust of the earth in a measure, as "weighing" the mountains in scales. As
the physician adjusts in nicestproportions the elements in the medical dose,
with which he hopes to cure his patient; the engineerevery crank and wheel
and pin in the machine which he has constructedfor a certain purpose, so
God — only in an Infinite degree — arranges allthe parts of the complicated
universe. It is seenin the atmosphere that surrounds this globe;were one of its
constituent elements more or less than it is the whole would be disturbed. This
is seenin the punctuality with which all the heavenly orbs perform their
movements; they are never out of time. It is seen, in fact, in the unbroken
uniformity with which all nature proceeds on its march.
1. This Divine exactitude should inspire us with unbounded confidence in His
procedure. Because Godworks with such infinite precision, His works admit
of no improvement.
2. This Divine exactitude should inspire us to imitate Him in this respect.
When we actfrom blind impulse, or from imperfect reflection, we risk our
wellbeing.
II. IN THE ALMIGHTINESS OF HIS POWER. He is here representedas
holding the waters in the "hollow of His hand." In thinking of this power we
should remember —
1. That all this poweris under the direction of intelligence. It is not a blind
force, like the force of the storm or the tornado, but it is a force directed by
the highestwisdom. Wisdom uses the whole as the smith uses his hammer on
the anvil, as the mariner the rudder in the tempest.
2. That all this poweris inspired by benevolence. The infinite is here
portrayed.
III. IN THE INDEPENDENCYOF HIS MIND. "With whom took He
counsel, and who instructed Him?" From this absolute mental independency
of God the following things may be deduced —

1. That all His operations must originate in pure sovereignty. All that exists
must be traced to the counsels ofHis own will, for He had no counsellor.
2. That all His laws must be a transcript of His mind. What they are He is;
they are the history of Himself. Conclusion — What an argument is" here for
an entire surrender to, and a thorough acquiescencein, the Divine will.
(Homilist.)
The greatnessofIsrael's God
F. Delitzsch, D. D.
How little the palm of a man takes, how little the space which the span of a
man can cover, how scanty the third of an ephah. and for what insignificant
measures a balance suffices, whether a steelyard(statera), or a retail balance
(libra) consisting of two scales (lances). But what Jehovahmeasures with His
palm and regulates with His span is nothing less than the waters below and
the heavens above. He uses a shalish, in which the dust composing the earth
finds place, and a balance in which He weighs the colossusofthe mountains.
(F. Delitzsch, D. D.)
God in relation to earth and ocean
T. De Witt Talmage, D. D.
Put two tablespoonfuls of water in the palm of your hand and it will overflow;
but Isaiahindicates that God puts the Atlantic and the Pacific and the Arctic
and the Antarctic and the Mediteranean and the Black Sea and all the waters
of the earth in the hollow of His hand. The fingers the beachon one side, the
wrist the beachon the other. "He holdeth the waterin the hollow of His
hand." As you take a pinch of saltor powder betweenyour thumb and two
fingers, so Isaiahindicates God takes up the earth. He measures the dust of
the earth. The original there indicates that God takes all the dust of all the
continents betweenthe thumb and two fingers.

(T. De Witt Talmage, D. D.)
The greatGod in His relation to heaven and earth
There was an engineerby the name of Strasicrateswho was in the employ of
Alexander the Great, and he offered to hew a mountain in the shape of his
master, the Emperor, the enormous figure to hold in the left hand a city of
10,000inhabitants, while with the right hand it was to hold a basin large
enough to collectall the mountain torrents. Alexander applauded his
ingenuity, out forbade the enterprise because ofits costliness. YetI have to tell
you that our King holds in His one hand all the cities of the earth, and with
the other all the oceans,while He has the stars of heaven for a tiara.
God weighing the mountains
What are all the balances ofearthly manipulation compared with the balances
that Isaiahsaw suspended when he saw God putting into the scales the Alps
and the Apennines and Mount Washington and the Sierra Nevadas? You see
the earth had to be ballasted. It would not do to have too much weightin
Europe, or too much weightin Asia, or too much weight in Africa or in
America; so when God made the mountains He weighedthem. God knows the
weight of the great ranges that cross the continents, the tons, the pounds
avoirdupois, the ounces, the grains, the milligrammes.
"Why sayestthou
F. B. Meyer, B. A.

The devout thought of these paragraphs passes insurvey, first the earth (vers.
12-20);then the heavens (21-26);finally, the experience of the children of God
in all ages (27-31).
I. THE TESTIMONYOF THE EARTH. It seems as though we are conducted
to the shores of the Mediterranean, and stationedsomewhere nearthe site of
ancient Tyre. Before us spreads the GreatSea, as the Hebrews were wont to
call it. Far across the waters, calmand tranquil, or heaving in memory of
recentstorms, sea and sky blend in the circle of the horizon. Now remember,
says the prophet, God's hands are so strong and greatthat all that oceanand
all other oceanslie in them as a drop on a man's palm And this God is our
God for ever and ever. All men may be in arms againstthee:encircling thee
with threats, and plotting to swallow thee up. But the nations are to Him as
the drop of a bucket, and are countedas the small dust of the balance. Thou
hast no reason, therefore, to be afraid.
II. THE TESTIMONYOF THY HEAVENS. The scene shifts to the heavens,
and all that is therein. This is the antidote of fear. Sit in the heavenlies. Do not
look from earth towards heaven, but from heaven towards earth. Let God, not
man, be the standpoint of vision. But this is not all. To this inspired thinker, it
seemedas though the blue skies were curtains that God had stretchedout as a
housewife gauze (see RevisedVersion, marg.), or the fabric of a tent within
which the pilgrim rests. If creationbe His tent, which He fills in all its parts,
how puny are the greatestpotentates ofearth! The child of Godneed not be
abashedbefore the greatestofearthly rulers. And even this is not all — day
changes to night, and as the twilight deepens, the stars come out in their hosts;
and suddenly, to the imagination of this lofty soul, the vault of heaven seems a
pasture-land over which a vast flock is following its Shepherd, who calls each
by name. What a sublime conception!Jehovah, the Shepherd of the stars,
leading them through space;conducting them with such care and might that
none falls out of rank, or is lacking. And will Jehovahdo so much for stars,
and nought for sons?
III. THE TESTIMONYOF THE SAINTS. "Hastthou not heard?" It has
been a commonplace with every generationof God's people, that "the Lord
fainteth not, neither is weary." He never takes up a case to drop it. He never

begins to build a characterto leave it when it is half complete. He may seemto
forsake and to plunge the soul into needless trial; this, however, is no
indication that He has tired of His charge, but only that He could not fulfil the
highest blessednessofsome soul He loved save by the sternestdiscipline.
"There is no searching of His understanding." There is another point on
which all the saints are agreed, that neither weariness norfainting are
barriers to the forth-putting of God's might. On the contrary, they possessan
infinite attractiveness to His nature.
(F. B. Meyer, B. A.)
Nature ministers to the suffering
F. B. Meyer, B. A.
Nature has always been the resortof the suffering. Elijah to Horeb; Christ to
Olivet. And in these glowing paragraphs, which touch the high-water mark of
sacredeloquence, we are led forth to stand in the curtained tent of Jehovah, to
listen to the beat of the surf, and watchthe march of the stars.
(F. B. Meyer, B. A.)
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Kretzmann's Popular Commentary of the Bible
Henry's Complete
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Albert Barnes'Notes onthe Whole Bible
Who hath directed - This passageis quoted by Paul in Romans 11:34, and
referred to by him in 1 Corinthians 2:16. The word rendered ‹directed‘ here
(‫ןכת‬ tikēn ) is the same which is used in the previous verse, ‹and meted out
heaven.‘ The idea here is, ‹Who has fitted, or disposedthe mind or spirit of
Yahweh? What superior being has ordered, instructed, or disposedhis

understanding? Who has qualified him for the exercise ofhis wisdom, or for
the formation and executionof his plans?‘ The sense is, Godis supreme. No
one has instructed or guided him, but his plans are his own, and have all been
formed by himself alone. And as those plans are infinitely wise, and as he is
not dependent on anyone for their formation or execution, his people may
have confidence in him, and believe that he will be able to execute his
purposes.
The Spirit - The word ‹spirit‘ is used in the Bible in a greatervariety of senses
than almost any other word (see the note at Isaiah 40:7). It seems here to be
used in the sense ofmind, and to refer to God himself. There is no evidence
that it refers to the Holy Spirit particularly. ‹The word spirit, he uses,‘says
Calvin, ‹for reason, judgment. He borrows the similitude from the nature of
mankind, in order that he may more accommodate himselfto them; nor, as it
seems to me, does he here speak of the essentialSpirit of God‘ (Commentary
in loc ). The design of the prophet is not to refer to the distinction in the divine
nature, or to illustrate the specialcharacteristicsofthe different persons of
the Godhead;but it is to set forth the wisdom of Yahweh himself, the one
infinite God, as contradistinguishedfrom idols, and as qualified to guide,
govern, and deliver his people. The passageshould not be used, therefore, as a
proof-text in regardto the existence and wisdom of the Holy Spirit, but is
suited to demonstrate only that God is untaught; and that he is independent
and infinite in his wisdom.
Or being his counselor - Margin, as in Hebrew, ‹Man of his counsel.‘He is not
dependent for counselon men or angels. He is supreme, independent, and
infinite. None is qualified to instruct him; and all, therefore, should confide in
his wisdomand knowledge.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Bibliography

Barnes, Albert. "Commentaryon Isaiah40:13". "Barnes'Notesonthe New
Testament". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bnb/isaiah-
40.html. 1870.
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John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord,.... In the creationof all things, in
garnishing the heavens, and moving upon the face of the waters? notanyone,
angelor man; there were none with him, nor did he need any to guide and
direct him what to doF19:
or being his counsellor, hath taught him? or, "the man of his counselF20";
there was no other than the Wonderful Counsellor, the Angel of the great
council, the essentialWordof God, whose spirit is here spokenof.
F19 The Targum is, "who hath directed the Holy Spirit in the mouth of all the
prophets? is it not the Lord?" which agrees with the accents;for so according
to them the words should be rendered "who hath directed the Spirit? the
Lord"; so Reinbeck, de Accent. Heb. p. 418. and who renders the next clause,
and he hath made the man of his counsel(Moses)to know that.
Copyright Statement
The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible Modernisedand adapted
for the computer by Larry Pierce of Online Bible. All Rightes Reserved,
Larry Pierce, Winterbourne, Ontario.
A printed copy of this work can be ordered from: The Baptist Standard
Bearer, 1 Iron Oaks Dr, Paris, AR, 72855
Bibliography
Gill, John. "Commentary on Isaiah 40:13". "The New JohnGill Exposition of
the Entire Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/isaiah-
40.html. 1999.

Geneva Study Bible
Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or [being] s his counsellorhath
taught him?
(s) He shows God's infinite wisdom for the same.
Copyright Statement
Text Courtesyof BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliography
Beza, Theodore. "Commentaryon Isaiah 40:13". "The 1599Geneva Study
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/gsb/isaiah-40.html.
1599-1645.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Quoted in Romans 11:34; 1 Corinthians 2:16. The Hebrew here for “directed”
is the same as in Isaiah 40:12 for “metedout”; thus the sense is, “Jehovah
measures out heaven with His span”; but who can measure Him? that is, Who
can searchout His Spirit (mind) wherewith He searchesoutand accurately
adjusts all things? Maurer rightly takes the Hebrew in the same sense as in
Isaiah40:12 (so Proverbs 16:2; Proverbs 21:2), “weigh,” “ponder.” “Direct,”
as in EnglishVersion, answers, however, betterto “taught” in the parallel
clause.

Copyright Statement
These files are a derivative of an electronic edition prepared from text
scannedby Woodside Bible Fellowship.
This expanded edition of the Jameison-Faussett-BrownCommentary is in the
public domain and may be freely used and distributed.
Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on
Isaiah40:13". "Commentary Criticaland Explanatory on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfb/isaiah-40.html. 1871-8.
Wesley's ExplanatoryNotes
Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellorhath
taught him?
Who — Who did God either need or take to advise him in any of his works,
either of creationor the government of the world.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website.
Bibliography
Wesley, John. "Commentary on Isaiah 40:13". "JohnWesley's Explanatory
Notes on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wen/isaiah-40.html. 1765.
Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

13.Who instructed the Spirit of Jehovah? What the Prophet had formerly
taught concerning the Lord’s goodnessand powerhe now adds concerning his
wisdom. And we ought to observe the connection;for, us carnal sense
wickedlylimits the power of God to human means, so it improperly subjects
his inscrutable counselto human reasonings. TillGod be exaltedabove all
creatures, many difficulties present themselves to interrupt the course ofhis
works;and, therefore, if we form a judgment according to our ownopinion,
various scruples will immediately arise. Thus, whenever we do not see how
God will do this or that, we doubt if it will take place; because whatsurpasses
our reasonappears to be impossible. Consequently, as we ought to contrast,
the powerof God with our weakness,so our insolence oughtto be repressed
by his incomparable, wisdom.
By inquiring, who guided or directed the Spirit of God, he means that God
had no need of a teacher, to go before and inform him about things unknown.
Spirit here denotes reason, judgment, or understanding; for he borrows a
comparisonfrom the nature of men, that he may more fully accommodate
himself to them; and I do not think that this ought to be understood as
denoting the essentialSpirit of God.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Calvin, John. "Commentary on Isaiah 40:13". "Calvin's Commentary on the
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cal/isaiah-40.html.
1840-57.
John Trapp Complete Commentary

Isaiah40:13 Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or [being] his
counsellorhath taught him?
Ver. 13. Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord?] Who was then of his
council when he made the universe? None but his own essentialwisdom.
[Proverbs 8:30] See Romans 11:34-35.{See Trapp on "Romans 11:34"}{See
Trapp on "Romans 11:34"}
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Trapp, John. "Commentary on Isaiah 40:13". JohnTrapp Complete
Commentary. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jtc/isaiah-
40.html. 1865-1868.
Matthew Poole's EnglishAnnotations on the Holy Bible
Who did God either need or take to advise him in any of his works, either of
creationor the government of the world? were they not all the effects of his
own sole wisdom? Therefore though all the nations of the world contrive and
conspire againsthim, and againstthis work of his, as indeed they will do, yet
his owncounselshall confound all their devices, and carry on his work in spite
of them.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography

Poole, Matthew, "Commentaryon Isaiah40:13". Matthew Poole's English
Annotations on the Holy Bible.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mpc/isaiah-40.html. 1685.
E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes
(Isaiah 40:12-14)Who. . . . Who. . . With whom. . . ?, Isaiah40:12-14 are
introductory: while the Figure of speechErotesis emphasizes the importance
of Him Who speaks.
His counseller= the man (Hebrew. "ish. App-14.) of His counsel. Note the
Figure of speechEllipsis = "[who being] His counsellerhath", &c?
taught Him = made Him know. Hebrew. ydda".
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Bullinger, Ethelbert William. "Commentary on Isaiah 40:13". "E.W.
Bullinger's Companion bible Notes".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bul/isaiah-40.html. 1909-1922.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged
Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellorhath
taught him?
Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or (being) his counselor, hath taught
him? The Hebrew here for "directed" ( tikeen(Hebrew #8505))is the same as
in Isaiah 40:12 for "meted out;" thus the sense is, 'Yahweh measures out
heaven with His span,' but who canmeasure Him? - i:e., Who can searchout

His Spirit (mind) wherewithHe searchesoutand accuratelyadjusts all
things? The Hebrew is in the same sense as in Isaiah 40:12 (so Proverbs 16:2,
"the Lord weigheth( tokeen(Hebrew #8505))the spirits;" Proverbs 21:2),
'weigh,''ponder.' So Paul quotes the verse, "Who hath known the mind of the
Lord?" So the Septuagint and Arabic. But the Syriac and Chaldaic as the
English version, "directed." Knowing, or being able to measure the Spirit of
the Lord is the necessarypreliminary to directing or teaching Him as His
counselor.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on
Isaiah40:13". "Commentary Criticaland Explanatory on the Whole Bible -
Unabridged". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfu/isaiah-
40.html. 1871-8.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(13) Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord?—The term, which had been
used in a lower sense in Isaiah40:7, is here clothed as with a Divine
personality, answering, as it were, to the wisdom of Proverbs 8:22-30, with
which the whole passage has a striking resemblance. Easterncosmogonies
might represent Belor Ormuzd, as calling inferior deities into counsel
(Cheyne). The prophet finds no other counsellorthan One who is essentially
one with the Eternal.
END OF STUDYLIGHT RESOURCES

"The Soft Hands of Our GreatGod"
Isaiah40:12-31......Rev. Bruce Goettsche (6/18/2000)
You can tell allot about a person by their hands. You can get a clue to a
person's self image by their handshake. The confident person has a solid grip.
The arrogantperson has a handshake that seems to say, "You know, I can
whip you if I want." And the person who is lacks confidence barelygrips your
hand at all. They are limp and uncomfortable. There is almost a sense in
which they are saying, "You won't like me . . .I know you won't."
The nervous or hyper person often reveals it by their shaking hands, gnawed
fingernails or constantly moving hands. You can see tell a calm and confident
person by the absence ofthese things. Their hands are steady.
You can gaininsight into the kind of work a person does by their hands. A
person who does physical and strenuous labor has hands that have callouses.
They are rough and have become so to defend them againstthe constantstress
their hands are put through. Others do delicate work and so their hands are
extremely sensitive to touch. Some people are rough in their touch, others are
tender.
You will hear it said of athletes that they are big and strong but have "soft
hands". This is the opposite of someone who has stone hands. You throw the
ball to the one with stone hands and they will drop the ball. You throw the
ball to one with softhands and they seem to welcome the ball like you would
an egg during the egg toss at a family picnic.
I suspectI have you wondering where in the world I am going with this. I
know, and I hope you know, that God does not really have hands. But I need
to give you an image you can relate to this morning. In order to understand
God we must sometimes think in terms of opposites. That's the case this
morning. We need to see that God is beyond us and independent of us . . . but
at the same time He has made Himself near. He is strong yet tender. He is
powerful but yet has soft hands.

GOD IS TRANSCENDENT. . . He is unique
In order to describe God's unique characterI need to give you two new
theologicalwords this morning. The first word is "transcendence".
R.C. Sproul tells us
transcendence means literally, "to climb across." Itis defined as "exceeding
the usual limits." When we speak of the transcendence ofGod we are talking
about that sense in which God is above and beyond us. He is higher than the
world. He has absolute power over the world. The world has no power over
Him. TranscendencedescribesGodin His consuming majesty, His exalted
loftiness. He is an infinite cut above everything else. [The Holiness of God p.
55]
Isaiahwas pointing to God's transcendence whenhe wrote,
To whom, then, will you compare God? What image will you compare him to?
Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the
beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? He sits
enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to
live in. He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to
nothing. “To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy
One. Lift your eyes and look to the heavens:Who createdall these? He who
brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them eachby name. Becauseof
his greatpowerand mighty strength, not one of them is missing. Do you not
know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creatorof
the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding
no one can fathom. He gives strength to the wearyand increasesthe powerof
the weak. [Isaiah40:18-29]
And scripture records God's own testimony . . .
“Formy thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my
ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. [Isaiah
55:8,9]

All throughout the Bible we read words like this. They are designedto remind
us that God is apart from us. He is over and above what we know and
experience. Godis transcendent for many reasons.
First, Jesus tells us that God is Spirit (John 4:24). God is not limited by time
and space. He is not bound by a body. We are createdin God's image . . . We
are fashionedaccording to His plan . . . and we have characteristicsthat
reflectsome of God's own (intelligence, compassion, a spiritual essence), but
God does not have hands, feet, a body, and is not confined to a time and space
continuum. God is not like us. He is Spirit.
God is Self-Existent. Everything we hear, taste, smell or touch comes from
something. Anything we observe must have a cause adequate to explain it.
This idea of cause and effectis even the basis some non-believers use for their
belief in a "Supreme Being". They infer him from the idea of cause and effect.
They see order in a universe and conclude there must be one who established
the order. Sometimes you will hear people ask, "Well, who made God?" The
answeris "No one". In fact, if something or someone made Godthen that
something or someone would be more God than God!!
James Boice says, "God's self-existence means that he is not answerable to us
or to anybody. Although He sometimes explains things to us, he does not have
to and often he does not. God does not have to explain himself to anybody."
[Foundations of the Christian Faith p. 103]
Third, we see God's transcendence in the fact that He is self-sufficient. God
has no needs and therefore He depends on no one. He does not need
worshippers, he does not need helpers, he does not need defenders. God is
sufficient in and of Himself.
Fourth we see God's transcendence in the factthat God is eternal. Godhas
always been here. No one made God. He does not have a birthday. He is not
limited by time. He has no beginning and no end. He does not change. He
always has been . . . and always will be.

Of course there are many other illustrations of God's transcendence. Butyou
may be thinking, "Why should I care about this?" "Whatdifference does it
makee" Let me give you two reasons that this matters to us.
First, since God is transcendentit reminds us that we must describe God
carefully. We make a mistake when we seek to "draw a picture of God."
Inevitably we will diminish Him even though we have the bestof intentions.
Perhaps an illustration would help. If you askedme to tell you about my dad I
might tell you that he is retired. It is simple and true . . . but is it an accurate
picture of my father? No. I also need to tell you that he workedas a
draftsman, he's always been active in his church, he belongedonce to
Toastmasters, he workedfor two years in Korea, he used to play softball, he
grew up Lutheran, was raisedon the farm . . . and I could go on and on. And
even in those descriptions I still haven't really told you who my dad is.
Now, if my father is that difficult to accuratelydescribe, we should not be
surprised when words fail us when we try to describe God. Yes, we should
talk about Him. Of course, we need to tell others about Him. But we must
always do so with a quiet reverence that admits that God is so much bigger
than our descriptions of Him. Listen to St. Augustine's declaration about God,
You are ever active, yet always at rest. You gather all things to yourself,
though you suffer no need. . . . You grieve for wrong, but suffer no pain. You
can be angry and yet serene. Your works are varied, but your purpose is one
and the same. . .You welcome those who come to you, though you never lost
them. You are never in need yet are glad to gain, never covetous yet you exact
a return for your gifts . . . You release us from our debts, but you lose nothing
thereby. You are my God, my Life, my holy Delight, but is this enoughto say
of you? Can any man sayenough when he speaks ofyou? Yet woe betide those
who are silent about you. [Confessions p. 21]
Second, since Godis transcendentit means we should worship Him
passionately. Godis unique, spectacular, the One before whom we should
bow. Every time we come to worship. Every time we bow in prayer, every
time we open His Word we should do so with a reverence that comes from the

fact that He is above and beyond us. But we have lost some of this sense of
wonder and awe.
Let's be painfully honest, we give more intensity to our play than we do our
worship. We are more passionate towards ourfamily than we are to the
Creator. We give greaterpriority to our jobs, our hobbies, and a carloadof
other things than we do developing our relationship with the Lord. We have
lost our sense of awe.
We are constantly being told that something is new, or better, or noteworthy.
Everything is sensationalized. So much effort is exerted to excite us, attract us,
and persuade us in the common things of life, that we have become numb to
what is truly awesome. We needto regain our sense of God's greatness.
Knowing God is the joy of life. Knowing Him and being with Him should be
our finest and chief pursuit. But how do we begin?
I've told you many times that even though I would disagree with much that is
in Catholic theology, I do appreciate the sense ofreverence I have seenin
many Catholic churches. I am soberedby the worshipper who kneels before
entering their pew in an acknowledgmentthat they are in the presence of the
Lord. I appreciate the ones who kneelduring prayer. I appreciate the solemn
reverence that is a part of their worship. It is something we have lost.
I encourage youto find ways to remind yourself of God's transcendence.
Make it a point to pray when you getinto your seatin worship
Stop and ask Godto help you every time you open His Word
Adopt a posture of prayer when you pray at home
Make times to intentionally sit in silent wonder before Him
Consciouslygive the words of the hymn you are singing as an offering to the
Lord
When you place your check in the offering plate remind yourself that you are
giving not to pay the bills, you are giving a gift in honor of the God who has
changedyour life in Christ.

Be careful about how you talk about God . . . speak about Him with respect
and honor.
Our God is not a "run of the mill" Deity. He is the greatGod of the universe.
Keeping a sense ofHis transcendence is essentialfor us to truly honor Him
and know Him.
GOD IS IMMANENT . . . . He is Close to Us
The secondword I want to give you today is the word "immanent". The
dictionary defines immanence as: "existing in, and extending into, all parts of
the createdworld." When we saythat God is immanent we are affirming that
God is close to us. Though God is greatand far superior and different from us
. . . He is also personal. He condescends (orlowers Himself) to be close to us
and to be known by us.
This is the astounding thing about the Christian faith. We affirm that God is
Creator, He is supreme, He is above us . . . and yet, "He walks with me and
talks with me, and tells me that I am His own." Listen to some of the Biblical
affirmations of God's immanence.
See, I have taught you decrees andlaws as the LORD my God commanded
me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take
possessionofit. Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and
understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees andsay,
“Surely this greatnation is a wise and understanding people.” What other
nation is so greatas to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God
is near us whenever we pray to him? (Deut. 4:5-7]
From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the
whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exactplaces
where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps
reachout for him and find him, though he is not far from eachone of us. ‘For
in him we live and move and have our being.’ [Acts 17:26-28]

The immanence of God is important to us for severalreasons.First, because
God is Immanent We can Know Him. C.S. Lewis before He was believer
commented,
that he did not think that a person could know God any more than Hamlet
could know Shakespeare. LaterLewis came to realize that Hamlet could have
known Shakespeare, but it would depend not on Hamlet but on Shakespeare.
As the author, he could write himself into the play and make his presence
known. Through this analogy, Lewis describes what actually took place when
God became man. [C.S. Lewis: Christian History, Issue 7]
The Bible tells us that God has revealedHimself to us. God has written
Himself into our lives. God has left His fingerprints in creation. As we look the
world God createdwe can know that God is wise, powerful, creative, good,
and orderly. We learn from the factthat we have a conscience andan inbuilt
sense ofright and wrong that there must be a standard of truth. Our sense of
fairness and decencycame from somewhere. Godreveals Himself in subtle
ways.
But God also reveals Himsef boldly in the Bible. God used the prophets to
communicate His message.He revealedHis characterin His dealings with the
Jews. Adn He reveals Himself more boldly in Jesus. Godbecame a man and
lived on earth for a while to teachus in words and concepts we could
understand. We can know God because Godhas chosento make Himself
known.
Second, Because Godis Immanent we canhave a relationship with Him. God
is not only concernedto tell us what He is like . . . He invites us to talk with
Him, to know Him, to enjoy Him and to dwell with Him. How in the world
does a finite creature like man have a relationship with the transcendentGod?
How does a rebellious human being find acceptancefrom a Holy God? The
answeris Jesus. The apostle Paulwrote,
For there is one God, and one mediator also betweenGod and men, the man
Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the
proper time. [1 Timothy 2:5,6 NASB]

Notice what these verses tell us. First, we are told that Jesus is the only way to
a relationship with God. There is ONE God and ONE mediator, and that
mediator is Jesus. This is not popular in our day of religious tolerance. But
understand that we are not saying that Jesus is the only mediator because He
is our favorite. We are proclaiming that Jesus is the only mediator because He
is the only one qualified to be a mediator.
Paul tells us why Jesus is the true mediator . . .it's because He gave His life as
a ransom for all. When the perfect Son of God gave His life as a substitute for
us He erecteda bridge that made it possible for us to know, and enjoy a
relationship with God.
Mohammed was sincere but He did not give His life as payment for sin and
did not rise from the grave. The same is true of Buddha, Confucius, Joseph
Smith, Mary BakerEddy, L Ron Hubbard and a host of others. Only one has
given Himself as a ransom and risen to prove that His payment was
acceptable. . . .Jesus.
But as we have said over and over again. This is a relationship that is
available only to those who welcome Christ's sacrifice ontheir behalf. In other
words, Christ's sacrifice is applied to our rebellion and failures (yes, all of
them) ONLY when we consciouslyreceive whatHe has given.
Let me illustrate. Suppose you are caught in flood waters. You were warnedto
evacuate but you ignoredthe warnings. As people were evacuating they
stopped by offering to take you to high ground but you scoffedatthem. The
waterkeeps rising. You go to the roofof your house but the waters continue to
rise. A helicoptercomes by and offers to take you to safety. A rope ladder is
dropped from the helicopter. At this moment you have severaloptions. You
could try to swim to safety (but you will die trying). You could (out of
embarrassment, shame, or arrogance)refuse the rope and take your chances
(and be swept away). Or you could climb the ladder and trust that doing so
will lead you to safety.
This is a picture of salvation. God has warnedus about sin all our lives . . . but
we have ignored the warnings. We have justified and rationalized our sin and
we have tried to redefine what is good. But the waters keeprising. So God, if

you will, provides a ladder. He provides a way of escape that we do not
deserve. He gives us Jesus who gave His life for our stupidity and rebellion.
The ladder is there and we are faced with three choices.
We cantry to work harder and try to earn God's favor on our own
We cantry to ignore the problem and hope that there is no day of judgment
We canplace our trust in the means Godhas provided. We cangrab hold of
Jesus.
I suggestthat It's time to stop talking, debating, and hiding. It's time to start
over with the Savior. Why not do that today? Why not decide in the quiet of
this place to dare to trust Jesus to forgive you and to remake you? He has
done everything . . . all you must do is grab hold. You do this by an act of
faith. In sincerity and in prayer, tell God that you will cling to Christ alone for
your hope of eternal life.
And when you have done so, tell someone else. The very actof making your
professionpublic will strengthen that commitment. Many of you have been
putting this off. You've been hoping that if you just ignore the issue it will go
away. It won't. Decide now before the floodwaters washyou away.
BecauseGodis immanent we can depend on Him. Godwill always be
available. He is always there when we need Him. We can't say that for our
friends and family. Sometimes we are not home, sometimes we are involved in
something we can't get awayfrom, sometimes we are on the Internet and you
can't get hold of us!! That will never happen with the Lord. When we need
Him (which is always)He will be there. The Lord NEVER fails. Nations will
crumble, financial reserves candisappear, health can be snatched in a
moment, friends may disappoint, but the Lord will never fail.
Is it possible that you have forgottenthis? Are you filled with anxious
thoughts about the future? Are you overwhelmed by what you are facing?
Maybe it is an illness in you or in someone you love. Maybe a financial need
that threatens to take everything. Maybe it is a conflictwith someone that
makes you fear for your life. Maybe it is a job that seems to demand more
than you have to give. Maybe it is moving awayfrom home for the first time.

Perhaps it is the prospectof retirement, or the children leaving the nest, or the
rebuilding process thatcomes after a spouse has died. Whateverthe mountain
. . . you are not alone. God is near. Isaiahsaid it well,
The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creatorof the ends of the earth. He will
not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives
strength to the wearyand increases the powerof the weak. Evenyouths grow
tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the
LORD will renew their strength. They will soaron wings like eagles;they will
run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. [Isaiah 40:28-31]
Yes, God is a big God. He is awesome andbeyond comprehension. But if you
have receivedHis offer of salvation, He is also YOUR God. He is strong. He is
above us. He is great. . . but His hands are soft, His arms are strong, and His
heart is filled with love. Thanks be to God!
BRUCE
The Comfort of Israel’s Incomparable God
Isaiah40:1-31
Dr. S. Lewis Johnsongives exposition on what he calls "Isaiah's gospel."
Transcript
[Prayer] A word of prayer. Father, we againturn to Thee and ask Thy
blessing upon us as we study the Scripture s in this hour.
For Jesus’sake. Amen.
[Message]Oursubject tonight is “The Comfort of Israel’s Incomparable
God,” and we are turning to Isaiahchapter 40, and studying verses 1 through
31.
Now, we have completed 39 chapters in the Gospelof Isaiah. It is the Gospel
and the prophecy of Isaiahand we have 27 left. You probably have noticed

that the 39 chapters are like the 39 books of the Old Testamentand the 27
that are left are like the 27 Books ofthe New Testament, for Isaiah, which has
66 chapters, as a chapter for eachBook ofthe Bible. There are 27 chapters
then that are left in the study of the prophecy of Isaiah.
These 27 chapters contain the highest mountain peaks of prophecy that are
found in all of the Old Testament. The prophet soars, to use his own figure
with wings, like eagles. The theme of these 27 chapters is the good news of
divine deliverance as it centers in the clarion cry, which we find in our chapter
here, “Behold!Your God!” And so we are going to be looking throughout the
27 chapters at this great theme of divine deliverance which centers in the
ministry of the suffering servant of Jehovahand which concludes with Israel
and the nations, blessedin the Kingdom of God and finally even reaches the
high peak of the new heavens and the new earth.
The appealwhich is found more than once throughout the 27 chapters is the
appeal of repent. This is the response ofman to the goodnews of the divine
deliverance that is to come. Furthermore, these 27 chapters of the last part of
Isaiahmay be divided equally into nine chapters apiece. Many commentators
have noted this for the last hundreds of years, actually. For example, chapters
40 to 48 form the first sectionin which the theme is the termination of the
Babylonian affliction, the Babylonian captivity that is to come in the future.
Will you notice how the 22nd verse of the 48thchapter concludes? “There is
no peace, saiththe Lord, unto the wicked.” So, the nine chapters which begin
form the first division of the last 27 and the theme is the termination of the
Babylonian affliction.
Beginning at chapter 49 verse 1 and going through chapter 57 and verse 21,
the next nine chapters, we have the seconddivision of the 27 and if you look at
verse of chapter 57, you will find this said: “There is no peace, saithmy God,
to the wicked.” And so, Isaiah has concluded the first nine chapters with the
Text that is just like the Text that concludes the next nine chapters.
And then finally, the whole Book concludes in chapter 66 and verse 24, at this
time, there is not the repetition of the same words, but the same sentiment, for
while before, he has said “There is no peace, saithmy God to the wicked.”

Notice he says essentiallythe same thing in different words as he writes the
conclusionto the entire Book in 66:24, “And they shall go forth, and look
upon the carcassesofthe men that have transgressedagainstme:for their
worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an
abhorring unto all flesh. There is no peace, saithmy God, to the wicked.”
Now it is rather startling that the secondverse of the 40th chapter after Isaiah
has said, “Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God,” he said,
“Speak ye tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is
accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: that she hath receivedof the
Lord’s hand, double for all her sins.” Now notice in that secondverse that
Isaiahis told that he is to speak tenderly to Jerusalembecauseofthree things,
“her warfare is accomplished.” Now thatword really means something like
“her affliction is accomplished.” Her struggle is accomplished, and so that
clause corresponds with the first nine chapters, the termination of the
Babylonian affliction. The next clause is that “her iniquity is pardoned.” That
corresponds with the next nine chapters.
Chapter 49 through chapter 57, “her iniquity is pardoned,” where the theme
is the expiation of the guilt of Israelby the servant of Jehovahand the third
statementof verse 2, “For she hath receivedof the Lord’s hand double for her
all her sins,” I think is a reference to the exaltation of Israeland the
inauguration of the Kingdom of God, which is the greattheme of the last nine
chapters of the 27th. So the secondverse is really something of a keyto the
next 27 chapters, three nines, eachof them being summed up in the clauses of
verse 2. The historicalbackgroundof these 27 chapters is the Babylonian
captivity.
Now, remember Isaiah wrote during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz,
Hezekiah, some think Manasseh. Now Uzziah died in 740 B.C. [Johnsonwrites
on board] and Hezekiahconcluded his reign perhaps in 686 B.C. The captivity
beganin 605 B.C. These dates are sometimes givendifferently depending
upon the place from which you count the seventy years. This was seventy
years of Babylonian captivity, so the prophet is writing during the reign of
Hezekiahat least100 years or about 100 years before the captivity begins and
he is writing againstthe backgroundof that captivity and describing the

deliverance of the children of Israel, a deliverance which centers primarily in
the ministry of the great servantof Jehovah. So, you have been studying, some
of you, under Bill McRae in the Sunday Morning Bible class forthe adults –
“the restorationperiod.” It is the study of this period of time that concluded
the Babylonian captivity. Now, Isaiah writes with that backgroundin mind.
He looks down into the future and he sees the children of Israelreturning
from the Babylonian captivity, but he writes with only that in the background.
This movement of the children of Israelback from captivity into the land is
like the greatdeliverance of the future, when Israelshall be gatheredfrom the
four corners of the earth and brought back into the land finally to experience
the kingdom of God. So he writes as a prophet looking at leasta 170 years on
into the future, sees Israelreturning from the Babylonian captivity, but he
sees that only as an illustration or type of their return from the four corners of
the earth to which they will be scatteredafter the rejection of Jesus of
Nazareth, many hundreds of years in the future.
Now, many who have studied the Book of Isaiahof course saythat a prophet
who is simply a human being could never really by his own prophetic insight
be able to see the captivity which was a hundred years ahead of him, could not
see of course the return from captivity a 170 years before him and
consequentlyIsaiah must be writing from the time of the captivity itself. But if
we just remember this, if we remember that a prophet by the very nature of
the case is a man who is given the supernatural ability to see into the future by
the Spirit of God, then we shall have no difficulty in believing that Isaiah who
lived in the reign of Hezekiah is the one who wrote these last 27 chapters of
the Book ofIsaiah. And, this is why, in some of your Sunday schoolmaterials
perhaps, you have read that Isaiah was written by two men.
Deutero-Isaiahis usually calledthe author of the last 27 of the chapters of
Isaiah, and sometimes because the language, some scholarsfeelis not the
same. There is even a third Isaiah, and a fourth Isaiah. And, some have seen
more than four Isaiah’s as the author of the Book of Isaiah, largelybecause
men today find it very difficult to believe that there is such a thing as the
supernatural and that God is able to take hold of a man and give him insight
into the future, but I believe, with most conservative scholars, thatIsaiah
wrote in the reign of Hezekiah, that by prophetic foresight, he was given an

indication of the captivity, the return from the captivity, and in fact, saw the
future deliverance of Israelin the future from us and againstthe background
of this, wrote of the events that shall conclude the present age.
Now then, let us take a look at the chapter. These things are going to emerge
as we go through the chapter. The first two verses, I have calledit the
prologue of the prologue, because the first eleven verses are really a prologue
to the last27 chapters of the Book ofIsaiah. But the first two are a prologue of
the prologue. Now, letme read the eleventh, and I want you as I read it to
notice how the word ‘voice’ or how ‘voices’emerge. Now, in the first two
verses, there is no reference to voice, but we do have a voice,
“Comfortye, comfort ye My people, saith your God. Speak ye tenderly to
Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her
iniquity is pardoned: for she hath receivedof the Lord’s hand, double for all
her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of
the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley
shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the
crookedshallbe made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of
the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together:for the mouth of
the Lord hath spokenit. The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry?”
This is what he is to cry. “All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower
of the field: The grass withereth, and the flower fadeth: because the breath of
the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people are grass. The grass withereth, the
flowerfadeth: but the Word of our God shall stand forever. O Zion, that
bringest goodtidings, get Thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that
bringest goodtidings, lift up Thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid;
say unto the cities of Judah, Beholdyour God!”
Those of you who turn the pages just then, have let me know you do not have
the revisededition. So, I want you to be sure and try to get the revisededition.
Verse 10,
“Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and His arm shall rule for
Him: behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. He shall feed

His flock like a shepherd: He shall gatherthe lambs with his arm, and carry
them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.”
Now, you have probably noticedthat throughout this prologue of eleven
verses, only voices are heard. They break the night of God’s discipline of his
people, the prophets are addressedin verses 1 and 2 and they are exhorted to
comfort the people and then the people are addressedin verse 9, “O Zion, O
Jerusalem,” andyet while we hear nothing but voices, the prophecy is not
anonymous, it is a prophecy that comes from God, for we read in the first
verse, “Comfortye, comfort ye My people, saith your God.” It is My people.
Israelis God’s people even in their discipline and it is, “God’s people, saith
your God.”
Now, there are four voices here. That is the first voice. The secondvoice is in
verse 3, “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of
the Lord.” The third voice is in verse 6, “The voice said, Cry. What shall I
cry?” All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field: but the
word of our God shall stand forever. And the fourth voice is found in the
ninth verse, “Lift up Thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto
the cities of Judah, Behold your God!” Now, the first voice is the voice of
redemption. Let us look at it. Verses 1 and 2: “Comfort ye, comfortye My
people.” That “ye” is plural of course and God is addressing his prophets and
saying, “Comfort My people,” and he stressesit: “Comfort ye, comfortye My
people, for I have a goodmessageforthem. Speak ye tenderly to Jerusalem.”
Now, let us stop for a moment and try to analyze that expressionbecause it is
really a very beautiful expressionin the Hebrew text and I want to be sure
and talk about the Hebrew text now because next year, I would not be able to
do that. You will all be sitting with your Hebrew testaments, unable to see it
for yourself, no doubt. But really, the Hebrew expressionhere is an expression
that means to speak up againstthe heart off. It is like the German to speak on
Thy spirits, or as someone has said, like the Scottish, it came up round my
hear; that is, around my heart. The English, we might say, would be
something like “speak home to the heart off.” “Speak ye tenderly to
Jerusalem, speak home to the heart of Jerusalem.” And for those who are
lovers, now I see that most of you in this audience are too old to be lovers any

more, but for those of you who are still lovers, and who can remembers your
days of loving, this is an expressionin Hebrew which was used of young
people who are in love. They were spokenof as speaking to the heart of
someone.
Now, back in my day, when young men were going out on a date, someone
might say to some friend of his, “What you are going to do?” He said, “Well, I
have got a date.” “You are going to pitch a little woo.” Thatwas an expression
they used over in South Carolina. Is that understandable over here in the
west? “Pitcha little woo.” Now, this is the Hebrew expressionfor making love.
“Speak ye tenderly to Jerusalem.” If you were to describe a young man and
words that he might say to some young lady of whom he thought on often lot,
he would be speaking tenderly to her heart. He would be speaking home to
her heart. He would be speaking up around her heart. So, this is an expression
of love on God’s part. Israel’s discipline has now reachedits conclusion.
He of course, I say, is speaking in the near of you of the conclusionof the
Babylonian captivity. The seventyyears are drawing to an end and Israel has
been abiding on their God’s discipline and the time has come now for the
Father to give his children, freedom. And so, he is going to return them to the
land, but we know now as we look at it from the standpoint of the 20th
Century that Isaiahwas also speaking in language that were far beyond that
time that goes ondown past our present day.
The time is coming when God is going to really speak tenderly to the heart of
Nation Israel, scatteredtodayin the dispersion to the four corners of the
earth, and he is going to bring them back into the land through the saving
work of the suffering servant of Jehovahand give them their land and their
kingdom promised in the Old Testament. So here, “Speak ye tenderly unto
her.” And this is what you are to say, three things, her warfare is
accomplished, the exile is over, her hard or forced service has been completed.
Secondly, that her iniquity is pardoned, her guilt has been absolved.
Now, of course, in the Old Testament, this was before the time of the cross,
and what was saidof course was saidin the light of what our Lord would do,
but the full fulfillment of this is the work of Jesus Christupon the cross, it is

there that the guilt was really absolvedand finally, for she hath receivedof the
Lord’s hand, double for all her sins.
Now, we may understand that clause in two ways. We may understand that
clause to mean that God has given Israel, double punishment for her sins. And
we may understand that to mean that God has felt it so personally that it has
seemedas if it were double to him, he would not of course, give double for her
sins, and the sins of beyond just. But that may also be understood as she is
going to receive double for all of her sins; that is, her blessings will be doubled
in the future. And I am inclined to think that that is what the prophet means,
and I must say, for your guidance, that I am in the minority — I am not
without some support — but most feel that what this means is that she has
now receivedenough and to God, it has seemed, He has felt it so much
personally that it says, “If she has receiveddouble for her sins.” But I think
since this verse has to do with promises, primarily, that this is a promise, too,
and it means that she is going to receive tremendous blessings which are like a
doubling of her sins, because ofwhat the word of God states.
At any rate, let us move on now to the prologue, and here we have the next
voice in verse 3 through verse 5. Someone might ask at this point, “What is
this positive salvationreferred to? What are these blessings?” Well, here are
some of them. The secondvoice is not the voice of redemption, but is the voice
of preparation. “The voice of Him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the
way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”
Now, I am going to ask you, if you will, to turn over to Matthew chapter 3 and
verse 3, for we have here, the fulfillment of this prophecy in Isaiah chapter 40,
in the ministry of John, the Baptist. Matthew chapter 3 and verse 3. Now,
while you are finding, let me read verses 1 and 2. “In those days came John
the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent ye: for
the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spokenof by the
prophet Isaiah, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye
the wayof the Lord, make his paths straight.” In the Old Testament, in Isaiah
chapter 40, verses 3 through 5 then, we have an anticipation of the ministry of
John, the Baptist. A voice calls out, Isaiah hears the voice, he does not know of
whom the voice speaks in the Old Testament, the progress of divine revelation

will point us ultimately to John, the Baptist, who became the ambassadorof
the King, Jesus Christ. And the message ofJohn, the Baptist is, “Prepare ye
the wayof the Lord, make straight in the deserta highway for our God.”
The allusion there is to the ancient customof cutting a new road for a king
who came to visit a community. In order to celebrate the arrival of the king
and to honor him, frequently, the community would make a new road, and the
king would be first one to ride in on the road, just as if, for example, we were
to have a visit from President Nixon and Dallas wishedto honor President
Nixon, and so we would decide to have a new freeway, and we would cut a
new freewayout, and PresidentNixon would come into Dallas as the first one
to ride upon that freeway. O, this was what they did in ancient times, and so
the prophet hears these words, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make
straight in the desert, a highway for our God.” And, we know when finally the
history of the fulfillment of this came, it was John, the Baptist, who began in
the wilderness to preach concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus. So, John,
then is the fulfillment of this secondvoice of preparation.
Now, the third voice is the voice which I have calledthe voice of perpetuation,
or if you wish the voice of the permanence of the word of God. Verses 6
through 8, notice here, “The voice said.” This is another voice the prophet
hears. “The voice said, Cry.” And the prophet said, “What shall I cry?” And
this is what he is to cry. “All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower
of the field: The grass withereth, the flowerfadeth: because the breath of the
Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people are grass.”Whatwe are is just grass.
We are fading flowers. Now my camellias, I have referred to that more than
once, but my camellias are now beginning to fade. I still have some blooms,
but I am mainly sweeping up petals of flowers now, because the time has come
for the flowers to fall off. They are fading awayand the new growth has
begun.
And, Isaiahlikens human beings to grass. All flesh is like the grass. It is like
the flowerthe fades away. The grass withers, the flowerfades, but the word of
our God shall stand forever. As I said in the last hour, Adam’s sin has turned
the world into a vast cemetery. But there is hope in the word of God. That is
what the prophet is calledupon to say to Israel. Israel has entered into great

discipline, 70 years of captivity. They shall enter into an even greater
discipline. They are in it today, now. The dispersion to the four corners of the
earth, because oftheir rejectionof their Messiah. Theyare now in that
dispersion and as the years pass, and as Israeldies, we have evidence of the
judgment of God. Their hope, however, is in the undying word of God. The
word of God shall stand foreverand forever.
Some years ago, when I was in Scotlandstudying, I was in the Scottish
NationalLibrary in Edinburgh, in reading an accountof a man who visited
one of the churches in Britain, and he was not a man who was accustomedto
visit low churches. He was a high church Anglican, but he had visited a
church in which the word of God was proclaimed and he said one of the things
that impressedhim was the preaching of the preacher, who was an
outstanding preacher. If I said his name, you would remember it. But he said,
he went in and he satin the back and he said during the course of the message
which has to do with the word of God, the preachertook up a book of current
theologywhich was sitting on the side of the pulpit and he held it up like this
above the pulpit and he said, “This is a work of contemporary theology. It
shall fade away.” And with that, he let it drop.
Then he reachedoveron the other side and he pulled up a book like this and
he said, “This book is a work of contemporary literature. It shall fade away.”
And, when he said that, then he reacheddown and he picked up the giant
pulpit Bible which was there and he held it up before the whole of the
audience and he said in a great booming voice, “But the word of the Lord
shall stand forever.” And that is true. It is amazing when you study the
writings of men to discoverhow soonthey fade away. I can remember when I
went to theologicalseminarythat men were speaking about contemporary
theologyand they were talking about Chicago liberalism.
Now, the old Chicago liberalismis studied as if you would study the science of
archaeology. I saw a book the other day which was a reflection upon that age,
the age ofthe old Chicago liberalism. It is ancient history now. And then,
when I began to teachin theologicalseminary, men were talking about Karl
Barth in the United States and Brunner, and others. Now today, men are
through the next decade. Men beganto speak of Rudolph Bultmann, of

Marburg, and others, and today, their thinking and speaking in terms of
newertheologians, Pannenberg, Voltmann etc. One thing you can be sure, if
you want to be behind times, stick with some contemporary theologian,
because it would not be long before the fad is past and he is gone, and you
have gone with him too.
But in one way, you can be contemporary and that is to stand with the word of
God. You may have to undergo some criticism, you may have to be calleda
fanatic, you may have to be calleda fundamentalist, even. But if you stick with
the word of God, you may be sure that you are always contemporary. Do not
follow the crowd. If you follow the crowd, you will discoverthat the crowdis
ultimately, usually wrong. There are two expressions in the Book ofActs
which I came across recentlywhich have meant quite a bit to me over the past
few days.
In Acts chapter 19, when Paul was at Ephesus, the crowdroared for several
hours, remember, in the riot there, “Greatis Diana of the Ephesians,” andthe
town clerk, referring to the religion which surrounded that pagan goddess,
said, “these things cannot be spokenagainst.” In other words, these men can
do nothing about the religion that honors Diana. “These things cannotbe
spokenagainst.” Butthen in the 28th chapter of the Book ofActs, the apostle
Paul was informed with reference to those who had acceptedthe truth of God,
as concerning this sect, we know that everywhere it is spokenagainst.
Now, in one hand, we read these things cannot be spokenagainst, the religion
of Diana, the contemporary theologyof Paul’s day. But then we read when
Paul came to Rome, it was said that everywhere these people, like Paul, are
spokenagainst. Now then, we are living in 1969 and where is the religion of
Diana? Where is it? “These things cannot be spokenagainst,” the town clerk
said, “These are the abiding truths of men.” And then when Paul came to
Rome, they said, “Everywhere, he is spokenagainst,” andthe systemof truth
which was everywhere spokenagainstin the 1st Century is the truth that
millions today embrace as the truth of God and sad to say but true,
everywhere, still it is spokenagainst. Butit is relevant, it is vital, it is
contemporary, it is the truth by which we have been saved. And so when we
read here that “All flesh is as grass and all its beauty is like the flowerof the

field,” you canadd to it, “not only is all flesh, grass, but all of the fault of the
flesh of men is feeding, but the word of the Lord shall stand forever. And he
who stands upon the word shall also stand forever.”
Now, that is the third voice. That is a greatvoice. It is something that we need
to listen to. But here is something even greater. In the ninth verse we read,
“O Zion that bringest good tidings, getThee up into the high mountain; O
Jerusalem, that bringest goodtidings, lift up Thy voice with strength; lift it
up, be not afraid; sayunto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!”
This is a wonderful message. Zion, I want you to climb the highest mountain
and I want you to shout out to the cities of Judah, “Beholdyour God!” And
when you read the New Testament, the Book of Mark for example, you will
discoverthat the message thatwas given John the Baptist and our Lord about
the factthat the Kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the Good
News, that messageis takenfrom Isaiah chapter 40 verses 9 through 11 and
Mark says, in effect, here is the fulfillment of the preaching of the Good News
of Isaiah chapter 40, verses 9 through 11 and the GoodNews is, “Behold, your
God!” That is what Mark says was being proclaimed when Jesus came on the
scene. “Behold, your God!”
Now, it is a striking thing because you see whatis really statedhere is that the
messagethat the New Testamentcontains is the message, “Behold, your God!”
and that God who is to be seenby men is Jesus of Nazareth. Well, now, with
the greatmessagelike this, your eyes turn and you want to take a look at this
God, do not you? Notice the 10th verse, “Behold, the Lord God will come with
strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him: behold, His reward is with Him,
and His work before Him.” “Beholdyour God who shall come.” My, I really
want to see what this God looks like, and the 11thverse tells us, Lo, when your
eyes turn what you see? A shepherd? Did you notice it? Look at the 11th
verse. “He shall feed His flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with
His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are
with young.” This is our God, the one who comes as a shepherd.
And, you remember some of the teachings that Jesus gave whenhe was here?
What did He say? Well, he said this. “I am the GoodShepherd. The Good

Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep. I am the door. By Me if any man enters
in, he shall be savedand shall go in and out and find pasture.” He is the
shepherd. We would read in Hebrews chapter13, “Now the God of peace who
brought againfrom the dead, that Great Shepherd of the sheep, through the
blood of the everlasting covenant.” Our Lord is the GreatShepherd. This is
our God. Our God is pictured like a shepherd. And the Godis pictured as a
shepherd with little lambs in his arms.
You want to know what Godis like? That is what He is like. I think you know
as I read this, I might have expectedif I have not lookedat the 11th verse, you
know what I would have thought, I would have thought Isaiahwas going to, in
the 11th verse, he has told us, “Behold, your God. Get on the high mountains
and shout it out. Behold your God! Behold, the Lord God will come with
strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him: His reward is with Him, and His
work before Him.” And the next thing I expect to see is something like a ball
of fire flashing with glory and wonder and the types of things that you might
find from something magnificent, I would expectthat they come from heaven
and everyone’s eyes to be blinded by the sight, and what I am shownis a
shepherd with lambs in his bosom. That is the Lord God.
That is the God we have and you know it certainly is a wonderful thing to
know we have a God like that, is it not? When I come to that, even though this
is a Presbyteriankind of gathering, I want to shout, Hallelujah! This is my
God. The God who comes like a shepherd with the lamb in His arm, for I feel
weak like a lamb and I need some support like a lamb and my God is a
Shepherd.
We all this point, we want to know some more about this God and so Isaiah,
now in the remainder of our section, in roman III, the Preeminence of Israel’s
God, gives us a picture of this one which againat first glance seems to be a
paradox, for he now is going to talk about an incomparable Creatorand
Governorof the universe. In one breath, he describes him as a Shepherd. In
the next, he describes him as the Creatorand as the Governorof all things. I
would call, if I were likening the prophecy of Isaiahto a sunrise and then a
day, and then a mid day, and then an evening, if I would think of these 27
chapters, as an unfolding of the glorious day of God, I would callthis the

sunrise, of the prophecies of the lasthalf of the Book ofIsaiah. So here is the
sunrise of Isaiah’s gospel, his goodnews.
And the first message is the messageto idolatrous Jews, verses12 through 25.
The tenor of this is the tenor of challenge and sarcasm. The sections in then
questions, notice verse 18, “To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness
will ye compare unto him?” Verse 21, “Have ye not known? Have ye not
heard? Hath it not been told you from the beginning? Have ye not understood
from the foundations of the earth?” And then verse 25, “To whom then will ye
liken me, or shall I be equal? Saith the Holy One.” So this first section, which
we have call to the idolatrous Jews is a messagein which the prophet Isaiah
reviews the past and remains of the greatness ofthe God, who brought them
or who has come into relationship with them, and who has brought them to
the presentplace.
Then the next chapter, Isaiah chapter 41 will be a messageto the gentiles in
which he previews the future for them. But I say, the tenor of this challenge
and sarcasm. It is God’s glory and nature and in history and lets read it
beginning at verse 12, “Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his
hand, and measuredout heavenwith the span, and measured the dust of the
earth in a measure, and weighedthe mountains in scales, andthe hills in a
balance?” Whatmagnificent figures of speechthese are.
You know, when I had been studying the prophecy of Isaiah, I studied up in
my study and then occasionallywhen I getso full, I have to say this, say what I
am studying and learning to someone, I come down to Mary, and she is
usually sitting around in the den then doing nothing as most women are.
[Laughter] Seriously, she is usually very busy, but I interrupt her and I
expressedto her some of the things that are really filling me, and one of the
things that I keepsaying over and over again to her is, I feel like I am just
getting to the place where I can make a study of the Prophecyof Isaiah, now,
and I feellike I want to give not 45 messages,as I did on Hebrews here
Sunday morning, I want to give 1400 messagesonthe prophecy of Isaiahto
try to bring out some of the tremendous things that are found in this great
work.

Just look at this 12th verse and the magnificent picture that is given at the
Greatness ofGod, “Who hath measuredthe waters in the hollow of his hand.”
Have you ever tried to hold waterin your hand, like this? You can only hold
about a swallow. Thatis all you can do. What is Isaiah saying? Like God’s
hand is so greatthat he can hold the oceans, allof the waterthat we know that
is in our universe can be put in the hollow of his hand. He is that great. “And
measuredout heaven with the span.” Do you know what the span is? The span
is the difference betweenyour little finger and your thumb, stressedup, that is
6 inches, I guess. Thatis the span. “And measuredout heaven with the span.”
While God’s span is so great, that he can measure the whole heavens by the
little distance betweenhis finger and his thumb.
Now, Isaiahdoes not mean that God has hand, he is using anthropomorphic
language, he is speaking as a man. He says, if he did have a hand, this is the
kind of hand he would have, a hand in which you can put all of the oceans, a
hand that you could use to measure out all of the heavens and measure the
dust of the earth in a measure. Have you ever seenlittle scales? How much
can you put on scales?Notvery much. God saidthrough the prophet, on
God’s scales youcan just pile up all of the dirt that exists in the universe and
it will stand on His scales.“And weighedthe mountains in scales,and the hills
in a balance.” O, the greatnessofour God.
And this is the God who holds us in his arm as a shepherd holds a lamb. I
would imagine that if I am in the arms of the Lord Jesus, andI am not trying
to get out of them, that whatever He wants to do for me, He can do for me.
Would not you think? If He is this greatGod who has all of this powerand
authority, then I am his little lamb. That is where I want to get, right next to
Him, in his bosom and let him care for me. “Who hath directed the Spirit of
the Lord, or being His counselorhath taught Him? With whom took He
counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of justice, and
taught Him knowledge, and showedto Him the way of understanding?
When the Lord decided that He was going to create the Universe, what
consulting firm did He callin to give Him a little bit of advice? He did not
need any. He is the greatCreator. He is the great Governorof the universe.
He does not call in any one. Behold, the nations are like a drop in a bucket.

You know what that means? That is, you know, you pick up an empty bucket
and you poured out the water and there is still a few drops hanging around in
the edge of it that is what it means. He carries the nations around just like an
empty bucket, as a drop of water on it, that is all. “Behold, the nations are like
a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance.” When
you have moved everything off the balance scale, andthere is still a little dust
there left, like that; that is the nations of the earth in the sight of our great
God who is our Shepherd. “Behold, he takethup the isles as a very little
thing,” like you reachdown and pick up Spain, and say, “I think I will take a
look at Spain.” It is like that. “Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the
beasts thereofsufficient for a burnt offering.” What He means is there is not
enough woodin all of Mount Lebanon and there are not enough wild beasts to
offer up a sacrifice that is suitable to Him. Get all of the woodthat you can
offer from Mount Lebanon, and it was noted for its great Cedarforests. Pile
up all of the woodupon a fire, get all of the animals that exist, and you do not
have a sacrifice that is worthy of our God. All nations before Him are His
nothing. That includes Russia, that includes Arab, China, that include the
United States. Theyare counted to Him less than nothing in vanity. That is all.
Now, as we lookedat our greatGod, Isaiahsaid, “Let’s take a little look at
some of the gods of men.” Now, do not laugh. Do not laugh, if you canhelp it.
But let us talk about the idols. So, he moves our eyes from the heights and
swoops downto the images of the earth, those idols that men make and
worship which dissolve before the divine scorn. “The workmanmelteth and
castethan image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth
silver chains. He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation choosetha
tree that will not rot; he seeketha skillful workman to prepare a carved
image, that shall not be moved.” You know what that means. Here are stupid
men. They are not able to go to someone to make a metal idol. So, they get
some woodthat will not rot and they take a piece of it to a carpenter and they
say, “We want you to make a little godfor us.
But be sure to make one that won’t fall over.” And, so he makes it in such a
way that it would not fall over. That is his god. And, I cansee the Prophet
Isaiah. He must have had a greatlaugh over this that will not be moved.
“Have ye not known? Have ye not heard? Hath it not been told you from the

beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? So,
God laughs at men’s idols. You know, sometimes, it is amazing how Christians
are misled by idols. Have you ever been told, while you know an idol is
something that spurs up my affectionfor God. It causes me to think of God
and actually my idol is not bad, my idol is good;it makes me think of God,
and so when I look at my idol, I am stirred up to worship the true Godand I
do it through the idol.
God is at eternal war with idols. You know why? Becausethat is a lie. That is
not true. You know what happens when you look at little woodnow? I do not
have one. I am going to have on in Believers Chapelever and you to see to that
ever. But let us just suppose that we did have a little idol sitting here. The very
first thing that I do when I look at an idol, I think little thoughts of God.
Instead of thinking big thoughts of the eternalGod who fills the universe with
his immensity, I look at a little thing, and my thoughts begin to narrow down
immediately and I notice too that this idol is a corruptible thing. It is made out
of woodor silver or gold which corrupt, but our God is an incorruptible God
and I have a lot about God. The very first thing I do when I make an idol is to
lie about his nature. He is incorruptible.
This is why the reformers in Scotland, for example, went throughout that land
into the cathedrals and smashedthe images. Now, some men saidthat they
were men without culture. They have no appreciationfor art. But it was just
the opposite. Those who make them thought little things of Godand narrowed
their imagination down to the material things. The Reformers smashedthem
because they realized that Godwas too big for idols and images and as a result
of that, there came out some of the greatliterature of men like Carlyle and
Milton and others who were freed from the narrow thinking of idolatry. God
is moved to laughter and scornwith the idols.
Now, verse 22, God’s glory and nature and history again, so few minutes after
now, I am going to go on just a few minutes if you do not mind. “It is he that
sitteth upon the circle of the earth.” I wonder if that is an indication that God
knows that the earth is round and has put it in Scripture. Well, all we cansay
of course, is that God knows that. Whether this is really an indication of it or

not, I have to let someone else decide. Perhaps if men had read of this text,
they would not have been disturbed about sailing out and falling off,
“It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof
are as grasshoppers;that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and
spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: That bringeth the princes to nothing;
he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. Yea, they shall not be planted;
yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shallnot take rootin the earth:
and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind
shall take them awayas stubble. To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be
equal? saith the Holy One.”
God’s glory and nature and history is greaterthan anything that we can
imagine. He is greaterthan the idols. John Knox, when he was in prison in
France, was givena little image of the Virgin Mary and he was told to kiss it.
And Knox was not a man to pay any attention to anyone, but the Lord. And so
he took a look at it, he walkedover, and tossedit out into a river that was
streaming by. He said, “If that is a God, let the Virgin learn how to swim.”
[Laughter] God’s glory and nature. Why does God speak to the children of
Israeland remind them of his creation. Well, that was the monument of God’s
work which they appreciated.
We today, who live after the cross, we sitdown around the Lord’s table, and
we look at the elements and we remind ourselves of what he has done for us
upon the cross atCalvary. They are monuments of his saving work. Israel
lookedinto the past and saw the greatcreationthat was about her as a
monument of her God and they remembered how he had brought them up out
of Egypt and his greatredemptive power, and so Isaiah is calling them to look
at the greatnessofGod and to reflect upon it and to use this as an ordinance
for spiritual provident benefit.
Now in the lastpart, we must hastenthrough. He speaks to the despondent
Jews. And here he lifts their eyes from the earthy idols to the stars, and to one
who shepherds the stars. Notice verse 26. Lift up your eyes on high, and
behold who hath createdthese things, that bringeth out their host by number:

he calleth them all by names by the greatness ofhis might.” Listen, God calls
all the stars of the heavenly host by name. Not one faileth.
Why does he speak in this way? Why does he in this imperative ask them to
lift up their eyes and look at the stars? Where were they? Well, they were in
Babylonia. What kind of country is Babylonia? Well, it is like Texas, it is flat,
WestTexas. It is flat. There is not a tree around, and here they are with
Nebuchadnezzar’s greatmultitudes of slaves and servants, now crushed
togetherin the Babylonian plain. And what were the Jews thinking? Is there a
God? Is there providence? Is this all within the plan of God or has God
forgottenus? On the earth are the idols that men are worshipping, the gods of
the Babylonians and the others. Everybody had his god and all the different
nations were crowdedand the Babylonian gods were all over that city, all
different kinds, new models, old models, all were there.
And through the ProphetIsaiah, God says, take a look up, look at the stars,
look at the heavens, see those stars. I am the Shepherd of the stars. They come
out at night. Every one of them, I callthem by name, not a single one of them
fails. I bring them out. And as you look at the stars, you have an
understanding of what I am to you. I, who am the Shepherd of the stars, I am
the Shepherd of the lambs in captivity. That is what he means.
“Why sayestthou, O Jacob, andspeakest, O Israel, my way is hidden from the
Lord, and the justice due to me has passedoverfrom my God? Hast thou not
known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator
of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching
of His understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to those that have no
might, He increasethstrength,”
Just as there is order and unfailing guidance in the heavens, so he preserves
and keeps us. He does not go to sleep. And finally,
“He giveth power to the faint and to those who have no might, he increases
strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall
utterly fall: but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they
shall mount up with wings like eagles;they shall run, and not be weary;and
they shall walk, and not faint.”

The idea of a God who does not faint, neither is weary. That idea we could call
the sixth point of Calvinism. The perseverance ofour God. If we think of total
depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, the
perseverance ofthe saints add another perseverance ofour God. That is a
God who never faints. I wonder what the 31stverse means. “Theythat wait
upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like
eagles;they shall run, and not be weary;they shall walk, and not faint.” How
would you have written that? Once you have written it the other wayaround,
“Theyshall walk and not faint; they shall run and not be weary;they shall
mount up with wings like eagles,” whichto me like you start out with a burst
and then wind up just walking along backwards.
He probably was thinking of the factthat Israelwas going to come out of the
captivity and they were going to mount up with wings like eagles. There were
going to run and not be weary, but in the final analysis to getinto the land
again, there was not going to be an awful lot of walking and there was a burst
of energy, but there is the necessityfor continuance. I think also that there
probably is some applicationto life of the believer in Jesus Christ. You know
when you are young, you mount up with wings like eagles, do not you? And
when you reachmiddle age, that’s 35, you run, and are not weary, but when
you getto old age, you are sloweddown. You walk, but eventhen, you shall
not faint. He is not thinking about hot rod here in which you drag or burn off,
he is thinking perhaps of a bicycle.
You know the testof handling a bicycle is to be able to sit on it and stand still.
Have you learned how to do that? It’s to take a bicycle and run off down the
streetin a hurry. It is harder to go real slow. It is hardest of all to stop still
and just sit. Well, when you get the old age, remember this. Your Shepherd in
the days that you mounted up with wings like eagles is going to be your
Shepherd when you walk and you shall not faint. This is Israel’s incomparable
God, a Shepherd, a Creator, a Governor, but He is also our God. My God, if
we believed in Jesus Christ. Let’s close with a word of prayer.
[Prayer] Father we thank Thee for Thy word. What a wonderful thing it is to
realize that our God is so great that He may comprehend the dust of the earth
in a balance, that He may measure out the heavens with a span and hold all of

The holy spirit unfathomable

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