A Gospel Address
Isaiah 55:1-3; 6-9.
Authorised Version
v.1. Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters;
and he that hath no money;
come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price.
v. 2. Wherefore do you spend money for that which is not bread?
and your labour for that which satisfieth not? …..
v. 3. Incline your ear, and come unto Me:
hear, and your soul shall live; .….
v.6. Seek ye the Lord while He may be found,
call ye upon Him while He is near. …..
v.7. ….. And He will have mercy …..
…. for He will abundantly pardon.
v.8. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord.
v.9. For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:1-3; 6-9.
New Version J.N.D.
v.1. Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters;
And he that hath no money, come ye, buy, and eat:
Yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price!
v.2. Wherefore do ye spend money for [that which is] not bread?
and your labour for that which satisfieth not?
v.3. Incline your ear, and come unto Me;
Hear, and your soul shall live; ….
v.6. Seek ye Jehovah while He may be found,
call ye upon Him while He is near…..
v.7. ….and He will have mercy….
…. for He will abundantly pardon.
v.8. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith Jehovah.
v.9. For [as] the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.
Address
v.1. Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters;
And he that hath no money, come ye, buy, and eat:
Yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price!
“Ho,”is a drawn out, a prolonged shout, a cry of urgency.
Its intent is to catch the attention of any, and all, who are near enough to hear this message of vital importance.
A message addressed to “everyone that thirsteth,” a reference to the spiritual thirst of the every never-dying soul of men.
It is a thirst that may be known or unknown, that may be acknowledged or refused.
But in truth God has “set the infinite, the eternal in their heart.”
Ecclesiastes 3:11.
“Come ye to the waters;” is the divine invitation from the Lord to “everyone” without distinction.
And it is simply “come,” come just as you are, there are no qualifications needed, just obedience to the request.
“to the waters;” although plural, it refers prophetically and figuratively to the “living water” that only Christ can give.
A little over 7 centuries after Isaiah had penned these lovely words, Jesus sitting beside a “fountain” spoke in wondrous tones of this “living water.” John 4:4-30.
He unfolded the beautiful meaning of this miracle to an immoral and despised Samaritan woman;
He had come to this very place from heaven itself, to encounter this one needy soul, in fulfilment of that determined in eternal counsels.
Just as He is here to meet with any, or many, needy ones, who acknowledge their need.
“He must needs pass through Samaria,” then; through xxxxxxx this afternoon!
“Water” in the Bible is frequently a symbol of the written Word of God, and of the Spirit of God, the divine Author of that same Word.
The Lord Jesus subsists as the personal Word of God, and is the Giver of the Spirit to every one who believes.
Revelation 19:13; John 7:39; 15:26.
The Spirit and the Word are inseparably linked; and it is the Spirit whose ministry it is to take up the Word and apply to hearts:
In the first instance, it is the Glad Tidings, the Gospel of the grace of God; the Word which speaks of the Cross, the Cross of Christ.
And the Spirit and the Son are also linked together with the Father in the Triune-Godhead;
Thus Jesus could “cry, saying, If any one thirst let him come unto Me and drink.” John 7:37.
For He dispenses “living water” from the “wells of salvation;”
As He said to the thirsty Samaritan woman, “Whosoever drinks of the water which I shall give him shall never thirst for ever, but the water which I shall give him shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up into eternal life.” Isaiah 12:3; John 4:14.
Now the next phrases that complete this first verse cannot be understood without the help of the Spirit of God.
So, whenever anyone acknowledges soul-thirst the Spirit begins to enlighten the blinded mind of that sinner.”
“Come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price.”
To the unenlightened heart of man these words are completely illogical; because faith is infinitely above all reasoning.
The divine promise to any who would avail themselves of the “waters,” and of the “wine and milk,” is that it is all absolutely free.
For the purchase of these blessings are received by faith, by believing that the word of the Gospel is true.
By taking God at His word, simply because it is God who said it;
And precisely in connection with the all-atoning sacrifice of Christ upon the shameful cross:
Whereby He fully met the cost, and paid the price to the ultimate as demanded by a holy God, in the believing sinner’s stead.
As his perfect and divinely -approved Substitute; In short, Calvary!
Free, gratuitous gifts for time and eternity:
“Waters” speaking of the sanctifying and cleansing of the Word, and the Holy Spirit taking up His abode in the saved sinner’s heart.
While the “wine” symbolises the joy, the “gladness” the “merriment” of “the heart of man.”
Psalm 104:15; Ecclesiastes 10:19.
“Milk” can be an expression of the simplicity of some scriptures; but nevertheless if our capacity is insufficient to “feed” upon the “meat” of God’s word, simplicity may well be conjoined to sincerity.
1 Peter 2:2.
v. 2. Wherefore do you spend money for that which is not bread?
and your labour for that which satisfieth not? …..
Here we have the stark contrast between those who enjoy the “every good bestowal and every perfect giving coming down from the Father of lights with Whom there is no variableness or shadow caused by turning.”
James 1:17.
Both gifts and bestowals are completely free, from One Who remains faithful, and never changes His mind, as to our preservation, provision and protection.
While those who refuse to take of the waters of life, spend vast fortunes for that which can never sustain them;
And expend countless hours of laborious effort which can never satisfy them.
v. 3. Incline your ear, and come unto Me:
hear, and your soul shall live; .….
This message that has its source in the heart of God, echoes from the heart of Jesus as the seeking Saviour.
Listen to His accents of grace, love and compassion; for “faith cometh by hearing a report,” the Gospel message from heaven.
Do not just ”incline your ear,” but hear, and trust, for that is what “faith” is:
As we repeat it is taking God at His word, believing the witness He has borne to His Son, essentially in His atoning death for you;
It is taking God at His word, because He said it!
And exercising that faith, in hearing Him, “come to Him” Who alone is “the fountain of living waters.” Jeremiah 17:13.
v.6. Seek ye the Lord while He may be found,
call ye upon Him while He is near…..
Our earliest thought was that of urgency, and here that thought is repeated emphatically.
I have no doubt that the Lord is here in the gathering so He is “near” at hand; and I am equally assured that He is here seeking the lost.
He is to be “found” by you, for immediately you seek for Him, He will find you!
At the first inkling of faith He will hasten to meet you in your need.
Did Jesus not say twice over, “Seek and ye shall find.”
Matthew 7:7.; Luke 11:9.
Yes, we must seek, but we will not need to search!
v.7. ….and He will have mercy….…. for He will abundantly pardon.
If we have any appreciation at all of our wickedness, our sinnership, then we must know we are in desperate need of mercy;
Divine mercy.
And the deeper our realisation of our iniquities, transgressions, sins and offences, the greater we will long for mercy.
But at the cross “mercy and truth are met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” Psalm 85:10.
So that casting oneself upon the finished work of Christ there at Golgotha, God is able to righteously forgive.
Indeed He is able to move out toward us with “abundant pardon.”
No sin, or sins, are too great for “abundant pardon” from a holy God;
For the perfect sacrifice that the Saviour accomplished in His death on the cross, and His exhaustion of the judgement of God there, is sufficient, efficient, and efficacious, for all eternity.
And “if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Notice that God is “just” towards Christ, in forgiving our sins.
v.8. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord.
v.9. For [as] the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.
Here we have man’s ignorance of God’s thoughts and ways.
It is precious to understand that He does not think or act as we do; When we observe the callousness, cruelty, and brutality of man;
We are surrounded by his depravity, his mercilessness, his thanklessness, and the absence of any natural affection.
Thus in all His “thoughts” and “ways” God’s mind and heart is infinitely above the wisest and kindest of men.
And this is why we cannot comprehend the gratuitous, and free character of all His gifts and bestowals; and how it is we can “buy and eat, without money or price.” v.1.
But it is simply because God gave to us, and for us, the “unspeakable gift of His Son.” Have you thanked Him for Jesus?
2 Corinthians 9:15.
A Meditation (1)
"Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth?' Romans 8.33.
Mountain Scenes
There are many incidents
recorded in the word of God which took place on the tops of mountains. Often,
we speak of ‘mountain-top experiences’ as characteristic of something that
thrilled us or gave us joy. But a number of decidedly sombre happenings took
place upon summits and elevated places. Aaron died upon Mount Hor; later, Moses
having viewed Canaan’s promised land from the heights of Pisgah, was to expire
on Mount Nebo, which together with Pisgah formed the mountain range of Abarim.
Neither Aaron nor Moses was
permitted to enter Canaan because of their unbelief at the waters of Meribah;
there Moses struck the Rock with the rod of priesthood, instead of
speaking to it as Jehovah had commanded, Num.20.13. He had used the rod
of judgment in striking ‘the Rock’ in Horeb, Exod. 17.5,6. As a type of
Christ ‘the Rock’ must be smitten only once,‘ knowing that Christ being raised
from among the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him’, Rom. 6.9.
Gethsemane’s garden was
situated on the slopes of Mount Olivet, ever calling to mind the awful anguish
and exceeding sorrow of the Lord Jesus, as Golgotha’s tree cast its dread
shadow over His holy soul; Gabbatha’s judgment seat in Jerusalem was literally
an ‘elevated place’ where sinful man condemned to death the sinless Son of
God. Golgotha is not said to be a hill, but it too was certainly elevated,
affording a clear view for all who ‘passed by’. While the scene of the
unparalleled hatred of man, and the unmitigated sufferings of Christ, it is
where the unconditional love of God for man was manifested in absolute
perfection. There, Christ died for our sins, 1 Cor. 15.3. His was obedience ‘even
unto death, and that the death of the cross’. Phil. 2.8.
In conclusion, we retrace
our steps to the top of Mount Pisgah. From here the Midianite false prophet,
Balaam, attempted to curse the people of God at the inducement of Balak, the
king of Moab. Looking down they saw "only the extremity of them," But the Lord ‘put
a word in his mouth’, turning the intended curse into blessing, ‘He hath not
beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath He seen wrong in Israel’, Num. 23.21.
How can God affirm what is
so obviously contrary to the facts? Verse 23 states ‘according to this
time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought ?’All
the while the people were heaping up sins in the wilderness, God was accomplishing
the work necessary to make them fit to enter the land, providing the
sacrifices, the priesthood. and the serpent of brass, all types of the work of
Christ. Thus, in contemplating His people, He sees His work! He has
constantly before His eyes the finished work of His Son, and He would not be ‘faithful
and just’ towards this perfect Saviour if He still imputed the least fault to
those whom He has cleansed by His blood, 1 John 1.19.
T.W.
Two Different Responses
But Deborah said to me, "dad you still have that tract distribution ministry, why not continue with that work? I felt that she was right, and not accepting that my "other" ministry was at a close yet, I could "occupy until He come" in this way.
And so yesterday (Monday) I managed to deliver a good number of Via magazines with the message of the Glad Tidings clearly presented within its pages. What was quite exciting I distributed them to a place I had never reached before.
Today, still feeling an exercise to continue my efforts to reach others with the Gospel my wife drove me to a cluster of buildings comprised of high-rise flats. There were four such buildings I hoped to gain access to, but it can be tricky. Sometimes there is a "trade button" that will grant access as long as it is before midday. Some buildings however do not have this facility. As is my wont I always ask the Lord to open the doors.
A the first building as I arrived at the entrance a resident was leaving and held the door for me to enter. Lovely start! I completed that block and moved on to the next. The trade button was accommodating, and I was able to get inside immediately. Finishing that block, on to the next.
Here I stood outside perplexed; no trade button and no one in sight. I tried a number of buttons that belonged to tenants, but to no avail. I waited prayerfully for a while and then decided to see if there were any further entrances. It transpired there was a further two, but no joy. The Lord did not open the door! I was crestfallen but I had another building to access so as to distribute some more magazines, rather than just give up.
I was able to use the trade button there and began my delivery. I generally like to start on the top floor and work my way down. As I started my delivery on the second floor from the top, I believe that was the case, I had to pass an open door where a young man was standing on its threshold. My thought was he will likely refuse the Via, trusting that it would not be more like a rebuttal. We smiled at each other, and I asked him if he would care to take the magazine, handing it to him as I spoke. He looked at briefly, and thanked me for it. I was elated.
On the same floor as I approached another flat, I could see even from a little way away, that a huge bunch of keys had been inadvertently left in the keyhole, a very dangerous situation in this day and age. So instead of pushing the magazine through the letterbox I rang the bell. A rather attractive young lady answered the door. She looked at me quizzically and I pointed to the keys. She was overjoyed that I had drawn her attention to them and quickly retrieved them. I then asked her if she would like a magazine, but on learning it was "religious" she declined politely and graciously, wishing me a nice day.
I thought she was bound to accept the Via magazine; how easily we make presumptions and are apt to be swayed by first impressions. perhaps I will learn from this experience.
I remain confused by the "closed door," but I don't believe it was a coincidence for one moment; and furthermore I don't believe it will remain permanently closed. Many possibilities may suggest themselves including perhaps it was dangerous for me to enter at that time. but leaving it with the Lord, if it please Him I will try again.
T.W.
If you wish to contact me, in the will of the Lord, please note that I have a new email address: tomwyatt887@gmail.com
Speak evil of Dignities
Jude 8
I believe there is the necessity for a gentle, but very pertinent rebuke. I hear many saints "speak railingly against dignities;" and I find myself to be guilty of the same, even though the above Word is often brought to my remembrance. I am left inexcusable.
It is easy to speak unwisely or ill of many of the "powers appointed by God," when the fullest exposure of many of their faults, and failings, many so grievous, are in the "public domain." And so often our discernment is correct and it is galling to see the awful consequences of much that is deceitful, corrupt and violent. But dear believing friends it is not our prerogative to speak aloud of these things. We must look to the Lord for His governmental dealings with those who hold such responsible positions. It may be well if we were to be more separated from the media of this world; ignorance of much of this worlds discourses, opinions and exposures would prove a blessing; why defile ourselves with the detritus of a world sin-benighted?
To engage in "speaking evil of dignities," we identify ourselves with "these dreamers who defile [the] flesh, and despise lordship, and speak railingly against dignities. Jude 8 (New Translation J.N.D).
"I exhort therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings be made for all men; for Kings and all that are in dignity, that we (believers) may lead a quite and tranquil life in all godliness and gravity; for this is good and acceptable before our Saviour God." 1Timothy 2:1-3.
"What Manner of Man is This?"
The crossing of the Lake, the "sea of Galilee," Tiberius or Chinnereth, or Lake of Gennesaret, as it is variously referred to, is a familiar incident to the readers of the Word; preserved for us within the pages of the Holy Scriptures, the "Scriptures of truth." Matthew 8:23-27.
The quotation above is of singular moment, and this is the A.V. translation, while Darby has: "What sort of Man is this?" Almost word for word the same. But I often use the expression, "Who then is This?" unfortunately at the time I failed to recall where I first read this particular rendering, nevertheless I believing it to be a fine translation. Later I discovered it is in Darby's translation of the account recorded in Mark. Mark 4:41.
It is not my design to compare the translations, I am poorly equipped for such a task, neither do I not feel the necessity; I included the different renderings merely because brethren and sisters may be more familiar with one than another due to their own habitual musings upon the Word.
My purpose in writing this simple "post" stems from a pursuit of the expression written upon my heart. Thus I turned to W.K.'s commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. But I did not find it there, but something else grabbed my attention, and exposed once more my deficiency in grasping even the simplest things in the Word. It is not that I read too hurriedly, or without due concentration, but perhaps because something seems unimportant, and I overlook it sadly.
I hope I have caused you enough curiosity to be awaiting my explanation, but equally hope to not disappoint you with it.
Now whenever I have meditated on this lovely scene with its precious typical teaching, I have adjudged that the phrase "What manner of Man is This," to be spoken by the disciples. And, next I wondered why they would ask such a question having companied with the Son of Man daily for a number of years; hearing His voice of wisdom. authority, love, and from time to time, rebuke. They had witnessed His miracles, and individually benefitted from some of those acts of divine loving-kindness. They had even seen glimpses of His deity through the veil of His flesh. And if the expression I have made my own is correct, it is even more incongruous that the disciples would ask such a question: "Who then is This?"
W.K. it seems almost without thought pens in his exposition these words after the Master had stilled the storm: "And there was a great calm," so that even the very shipmen marvelled saying, "What manner of Man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?" Indeed in verse 27 of Matthew's eighth chapter we read, "But the men were astonished, saying, "What sort of man is this?"
I conclude that the "ship" was not the possession of one of His disciples, but a ship that perhaps constantly ferried folk across the lake, and may be for hire with its crew. This seems to me to be the answer to my little dilemma. I trust you will excuse the simplicity.
T.W.
