Forgiven by saints below and saints above, the Church in earth and heaven. Amen. We turn now to our confessional reading for this evening, coming to the conclusion of the Canons of Dort. We'll read the last article, page 281 in the Forms and Prayers, Article 15, Head 5, Article 15. And then I will also read some of the concluding paragraphs, the concluding remarks of the Canons. Article 15, once again, just long enough, just unfamiliar enough, probably easier if we don't try to read it all together. And so I'll read Article 15 on page 281. Contrasting reactions to the teaching of the perseverance of the saints. This teaching about the perseverance of true believers and saints and about their assurance of it, a teaching which God has very richly revealed in His Word for the glory of His name and for the comfort of the godly and which He impresses on the hearts of believers, is something which the flesh does not understand. Satan Satan hates, the world ridicules, the ignorant and the hypocrites abuse, and the spirits of error attack. The Bride of Christ, on the other hand, has always loved this teaching very tenderly and defended it steadfastly as a priceless treasure. And God, against whom no plan can avail and no strength can prevail, will ensure that she will continue to do this To this God alone, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be honor and glory forever. Amen. Then, brothers and sisters, I'll turn over to page 285, and I'll pick up the second to last full paragraph, which begins with the word, moreover, a little more than halfway down the page. And then I'll read these last three paragraphs of the conclusion of the Canons of Dort. Moreover, the Synod earnestly warns the false accusers themselves to consider how heavy a judgment of God awaits those who give false testimony against so many churches and their confessions. Trouble the consciences of the weak and seek to prejudice the minds of many against the fellowship of true believers. Finally, the Synod urges all fellow ministers in the Gospel of Christ to deal with this teaching in a godly and reverent manner in the academic institutions as well as in the churches, to do so both in their speaking and writing with a view to the glory of God's name, holiness of life, and the comfort of anxious souls. To think and also speak with scripture according to the analogy of faith and finally to refrain from all those ways of speaking which go beyond the bounds set for us by the genuine sense of the Holy Scriptures and which would give impertinent sophists a just occasion to scoff at the teaching of the Reformed churches or even to bring false accusations against it. May God's Son, Jesus Christ, who sits at the right hand of God and gives gifts to men, sanctify us in the truth, lead to the truth those who err, silence the mouths of those who lay false accusations against sound teaching, and equip faithful ministers of His Word with a spirit of wisdom and discretion, that all they say may be to the glory of God and the building up of their hearers. Amen. With this, brothers and sisters, we go now to our text. Isaiah chapter 35. Page 757 in the Bibles under the seats. Isaiah, Jeremiah. And we jump into the middle of Isaiah here. Isaiah 35 and the prophecy given here. Let us hear the Word of God. The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad. The desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus. It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God. strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees, say to those who have an anxious heart, Be strong, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance. With the recompense of God, He will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water. In the haunt of jackals where they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes, and a highway shall be there. And it shall be called the way of holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way. Even if they are fools, they shall not go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it. They shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. and the ransom of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing. Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads. They shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." So far the reading. The grass withers, the flower fades, the word of our Lord endures forever. Dear congregation, of our Lord Jesus Christ. Have you ever seen the desert? I have not. I don't think that looking at some brown through an airplane window seat really counts. So I have not seen a desert. I have not felt the sand. I have not felt the heat, the deadness of the desert. I know of various heroes and heroines who have survived the desert. This seems to be a fairly common theme from one story to another and so Shasta and Erebus survived the desert and their escape from Calorman and many other stories are along those same lines. Certainly I know and we all know that that wonderful stream of water is something that the hero and heroine only find after they get through the desert. We open Isaiah 35. We have language of the desert. We have language, not of a stream at the end of a desert, but of the desert itself becoming. a stream. The desert itself giving bloom. There are now blossoms in the desert. There is now a stream in the desert. This is the work of God. This is the picture of the displayed glory of God. The end of verse 2, they shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God. So brothers and sisters, we come to this sweet prophecy of the pictures of God's restoring work and we come with this theme tonight. God displaying his own glory exercises his marvelous restoring power. God restores the strength of his people. That's one of the themes in this prophecy And then point two, God restores the joy of his people. And then point three, God restores the peace of the earth. Does this prophecy, brothers and sisters, say something about the coming return from exile for the nation of Judah? Yes, it does. Does this prophecy say something about the new heavens and the new earth, which are future yet to us still and come at the second coming of Jesus Christ? Yes, it does. Does it speak to us as something about the life of every believer in every time and every place? Yes, it does. You have probably heard the illustration, I know I've used it before, that when we come to the prophecies in the Old Testament they're often like an onion and they're layered. One weakness of that illustration is that for many prophecies The layers are not all the same. They're not all the same width. Sometimes you go to Isaiah 65, and it's mostly about, and it tells us, we have a clue in the middle of that chapter, it's about the new Jerusalem. It's about the new heavens and the new earth. Behold, I create a new heavens and a new earth. And so there's layers to that prophecy, but it's really mostly about what happens at the second coming. It's mostly about what is yet future to us all. Well, here is one prophecy. where it has many layers and the onion, you cut the onion apart and every layer is basically the same and that's kind of what we have here. It's a word, yes, about the future, but it says much about the words which Isaiah is to speak to his hearers in the now of his day and it speaks much to us in the now of this night. And so, see the instruction that the prophet has. Say, verse 4, to those who have an anxious heart, be strong, fear not, behold your God. This prophecy is about how Isaiah is to encourage God's people now. How he is to encourage those who are anxious of heart now. Say to those who are anxious of heart, behold your God. And after behold your God and what He does, He will come with a vengeance, with a recompense of God and what He does to you, the end of verse 4, He will come and save you. Then we have language of these pictures of restoration and salvation. Then is the first word of verse 5. Then is the first word of verse 6. Isaiah speaks all of this again to those who are anxious, to those who are struggling. It may even show, now we're going back to verse 3, it may even show in their body language. Isaiah 35 verse 3. Strengthen the weak hands and make firm the drooping knees. Brothers and sisters, body language sometimes speaks louder than words. Do you remember a time when you ever came home from school or from work and your parents or your family, they look at you and before you ever say a word they ask, what's wrong? Body language sometimes speaks loud and clear by itself. Weak hands, drooping knees, There is much in this world which can be discouraging. If we just look at the situation of Isaiah's own day, even beyond the whole issue of the coming exile, which Isaiah has prophesied, and the coming return from exile, which he's also prophesied, just in Isaiah's immediate situation, The prophet sometimes bounces back and forth between prophecy and history. What's the very next chapters about? It's the invasion of Sennacherib. Talk about a time when people might be anxious. The most powerful conquering general of the day is knocking on your walls. People of God, there is much that can make us anxious. It does not require an enemy general knocking on our walls. Sometimes for parents we can just be anxious from another knock on the door. What do you need now? I don't want to be trivial about that. There are things that we are anxious about day by day. There is anxiety in this world. Say to those who have an anxious heart. Verse four. You know, Hebrew is sometimes a picturesque language. The word for anxious or anxiety in the Hebrew, it's related to that which is fast moving. To that which is moving along. When we're anxious, our very thoughts can race. You know that expression? My thoughts are racing. Our hearts can race. Everything seems to be moving fast. Say to those who have an anxious heart, be strong. Do not fear. Behold your God. Now what does that word behold mean? Children, especially, you might need this reminder because we don't use the word behold very often anymore. What does it mean? It basically means look. Look closely. Behold. Behold your God. Look. Look closely to God. You are anxious? Look to God. Now keep that connection between behold and looking. It's just another way of saying look. Look closely. And turn with me to Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. And we're going to come back to Hebrews 12 as well. Within this chapter we have what is likely a Might not call it a direct quotation, but Isaiah 35 verse 3 is pretty close to a quotation. Isaiah 35 verse 3 says, strengthen the weak hands, make firm the drooping knees. Hebrews chapter 12 verse 12 says, therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees. Because people who were the first hearers of the letters of Hebrews could struggle with anxiety as well. Again, it does not require an enemy general knocking on the walls of your city. We can be anxious. We are anxious in all different times and places. There is much which can bring anxiety in this world. But what is part of the answer? Where are we to go? The prophet Isaiah says, Behold your God. Behold is a word about looking. Look at Hebrews chapter 12 verse 2. Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Therefore, do not grow weary." And all that comes in that following text, including that allusion in Hebrews 12, verse 12, almost quotation from the prophet Isaiah. The pattern, brothers and sisters, in every time and every place is this. Cast your anxieties upon the Lord. When we have the anxious heart, the answer is to behold your God. to look to Christ, to see what He has done. In seeing His work, in seeing His salvation, may even our racing hearts come to calm. He truly has accomplished all. He is the founder and perfecter of our faith. It is the language of Behold Your God It is simply the language made more specific with reference to the living God who came and died and rose again for us. And so, God restores the strength of his people. God also restores the joy of his people. This is our second point. This is another theme within the text. Sin and brokenness are are tied together in brokenness. It saps joy. It brings all kinds of destruction. It's the only reason why there's blindness and lameness. There is no blindness or lameness before the fall into sin, neither physically nor spiritually. And so when we have a picture of restoration as we do in Isaiah, in the prophecy of Isaiah 35, the language of the blind being made to see, the language of the lame man being made to leap. This is all language which speaks to us of the pictures of salvation, God's restoration, the restoration of joy. If you were totally blind and your sight was completely restored I mean, imagine the joy that goes with that. We really, we do not, there is so much which medicine can do, but we cannot, there is no picture of this in modern medical record. The only pictures we have of this are in the miracles of Jesus Christ and his disciples on this earth. That's the only place we actually see somebody reacting to the complete restoration from blindness. And it's a reaction that, if we tried to imagine it, I mean, it's hard to even, how do we even think about that? Try to imagine that I'm totally blind. Now my sight is restored completely. And the joy of those who are healed out of their brokenness, well that, brothers and sisters, is part of what Jesus did on this earth. He worked restoration. He is the one who healed the blind. And this was both true physically, He healed those, even those who were blind from birth, and it was true spiritually. He spoke to the reality of those who were unbelieving as being spiritually blind and He addressed them as such. Matthew chapter 23, Jesus uses the word blind Repeatedly, five times in reference to the Pharisees. You are blind, you are blind, you are blind, you are blind, you are blind. The last one is Matthew 23, verse 26. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate and then the outside may also be clean. Brothers and sisters, it is our need, yes, we long to see physical brokenness, restored and what joy it brings when there is healing and what joy we see in the Gospels with the miraculous healings of Jesus and those who responded to it. And we need the spiritual restoration. At this point we look and we won't go all the way through Isaiah 34, although I'd say it is in some ways a twin prophecy with Isaiah 35. It would be beneficial to read it in full later this week. And it's the opposite side where Isaiah 35 is the picture of restoration for God's people. Isaiah 34 is all of the language of judgment for those who remain in rebellion against God. And so instead of the stream in the desert We have in verse 9, that's just one verse of Isaiah 34 that we'll look at, we have the stream being turned into pitch, the streams of Edom. What is Edom? That's the descendants of Abraham who denied God. Those are the descendants of Esau who from generation to generation denied God and refused to believe in the God of Abraham their father. And the streams of Edom shall be turned into pitch and her soil into sulfur and her land shall become burning pitch." So on the one hand we have the desert becoming a stream of life, on the other hand we have the stream, the place of life becoming the soil of sulfur and the death of burning pitch. The spiritually blind are in a much worse place than the physically blind. But God works restoration. As John Newton said it, one of the most sung and beloved hymn lines of Christchurch, I once was blind, but now I see. It is, brothers and sisters, hard to imagine how joyful we would be if we were totally blind, think of all the things you use your eyes for, and our sight was instantly and totally restored. But we have all experienced something greater than that. May we never take it for granted, just because perhaps we've heard the gospel again and again, But may we rejoice that God restores. He makes the blind to see. This is God's restoring work. And so then, though we are sinners, God saved us. He will come, the end of verse 4, and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears of the deaf unstopped." And all of these other blessings and God then puts us, here's the next picture, it's really verses 8 to 10 all together describe the highway of holiness. And then he'll put you on the highway of holiness. Where does this highway go? It is first described there at the start of verse 8 and we see where it is going. in the middle of verse 10, and come to Zion. It's the highway of holiness which brings us to Zion, the place of worship, brings us to Jerusalem, to the temple to worship God. And so as God restores us, he puts us on that highway, and it shall be called the way of holiness. Again, if there is spiritual blindness, if there is unbelief, then you will not be on the road. The unclean shall not pass over it. A highway shall be there and it shall be called the way of holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it. Here is one more connection to Hebrews 12. Our third and final connection here to Hebrews chapter 12. After that language from Isaiah 35 verse 8, hear how the author of Hebrews says it in Hebrews 12. Verse 14, strive for peace with everyone and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. So back to the highway image in Isaiah here. It's the highway of holiness. If you are not repentant, if you're not seeking to put away sins, You are one of the unclean. You shall not pass over it. But if you are of God's people, if you are one whom He has saved, whose spiritual blindness He has opened, then there is nothing which can take you off of this road. You will come to Zion with singing. Verse 9 gives one possible obstacle that will not stop you. There is no predator that can stop you. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come upon it. Now here, brothers and sisters, it's one of those times when it's good to remember that a highway was way different in the days of Isaiah than it is in our days. We think of highway, we think of road, we think of vehicles, we think of traveling along at 70 miles an hour or so. Have you ever been scared of a lion on a highway? say well no pastor I've never seen a lion and if I did I would wonder how it escaped from the zoo and I'm in a car so even if I did I still wouldn't be scared I can go faster than the lion and a powered vehicle is a pretty powerful thing okay this is one of those times where we're reading the image from the prophet we have to remember that is not how people traveled on the highway in Isaiah's day You walked. Maybe if you were very wealthy, you rode a donkey. Even if you're on a donkey, you can't outrun a lion. And if you're walking, you cannot outrun a lion. It's comical to us to think about a lion on a highway. We need to remember highways were not the same. It was not comical for an Israelite to think about meeting a lion or a ravenous beast on the highway. It was a real threat, real loss of life, real danger, something you never want to see. And what does God say? On my highway, verse 8, you shall, verse 10, come to Zion. And there is no lion or anything else that will hinder you on the way. One pastor once said in verse 9, I smell the devil in this text. Apostle Peter calls the devil the prowling lion. Brothers and sisters, it is a picture And we need to take ourselves back into what a highway was then, and what lions, who were not in zoos, were then. And we need to see the beauty of this picture of protection. There is nothing that will keep God's people on the way, the highway of holiness, from reaching Zion. Not even the devil himself. And what happens when we come to Zion? Joy. Joy. Joy is a theme that runs through the psalm. Again, if you're healed, you will sing for joy. The middle of verse 6, the tongue of the mute sing for joy. And it's a theme that takes us to the close of the prophecy. Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads. They shall obtain gladness and joy." And again, brothers and sisters, we're going to come to our third point here in a minute, which for our third point we're going to talk about how, yes, this prophecy does take us to the new heavens and the new earth in various ways. But remember, these were the words which Isaiah was to speak to the people now, in his day. When you are anxious because the general is knocking on your walls, when you're anxious because of any reason, remember these pictures. Remember how God protects His people on the way. Remember what salvation is. what it means that you can see Christ because you were blind, but now you see. Joy is already restored. We already have a stream in the desert, even as, yes, it's not a perfect restoration yet. We are still waiting for the whole earth to be restored. And that takes us into our third point. There is language of salvation. Look at the words of salvation at the end of verse 9 and the beginning of verse 10. But the redeemed shall walk there, verse 10, and the ransomed of the Lord shall return. redemption, the ransom accomplished by Jesus Christ our Savior. It starts with the salvation of His people, the spiritually blind made to see, our eyes open to see the glory of who He is and what He has done. But it does not stop there. Just as the sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve, threw the whole earth into chaos and ruin and storm, and disease, and brokenness, and suffering, and all of these things, so also the restoration of Jesus Christ. Well, it begins with saving us from our sins, but it restores everything. And Isaiah 35 is many-layered, and part of what it's giving us is pictures of the final restoration of all things. glory shall be restored. Jesus reverses the curse which came from the first man, Adam. Everything will be gone. Sorrow and sighing is the final words of the prophecy, shall flee away. This is the great restoration. Everything we lost in Adam. Our health, our beautiful garden, our ability to do any Good for God, all of it is restored. And so, yes, we have pictures that relate directly to the salvation of our soul. And we also have pictures of the beautiful restoration of everything. This is actually, now we're going to go back to verse 2. Now we're going to go back to verse 2. Look at these places. Lebanon, Carmel, and Sharon. What was Lebanon? In those days, it was the place of the beautiful and majestic forests of cedar trees. It is the most beautiful forest anyone knows. What is Carmel? Well, it's a mountain. It's a mountain where God once brought people together to see him defeat the prophets of Baal. But it's not just one mountain. It's actually a mountain range. And it's a mountain range that's known for being especially beautiful and lush. It was a place that received much light rain. It was a place where it wasn't a rugged and rocky mountain. It was something that people could gather on to watch the prophets of Baal defeated. It was a mountain where shepherds would lead their flocks and pasture them and feed them. It was a place of lush. It was a beautiful mountain region. And what was Sharon? Well, Sharon was a place known for its special beauty and it was a coast land. And so, brothers and sisters, what's your favorite place to rejoice in the beauty of God's creation? Do you like to do that in a forest of majestic trees or beautiful fall-leaved, fall-colored leaves? Do you like to do that from the mountaintop? Do you like to do it along the coastline? That's what these three place names are doing. It's taking the people of Israel to those three places and the most beautiful forest region, the most beautiful mountain region, the most beautiful coastal region. This is what God does. all of it, brothers and sisters, coming back to the glory of the Lord. The end of verse 2, they shall see the glory of the Lord. God's restoration of all things, including us, His people, is something which is done by His glory and for His glory. all of the ugliness and blindness and anxiety is gone. It's the glory of the Lord which is seen. It's the glory of the Lord which does this. And yes, this is done in measures now. but we don't see it perfectly yet. Finally, finally we will come to Zion with singing, verse 10. And we focused on the word joy before, but what's the word before the word joy? Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads. Finally, brothers and sisters, It will not be a matter of one anxiety after another bringing it to the Lord. Finally, it will be this. There is no more anxiety. Finally, it is the perfect restoration of all things. And so, brothers and sisters, the prophet Isaiah speaks to us about more than the salvation of our souls. But it is, again, says much to us about that and our protection on the highway. We will not be lost. We will come to Zion, to the place of everlasting joy. And so it is part of this prophecy, the beautiful pictures of streams in the desert and all else here, is part of what Article 15 calls the teaching which God has very richly revealed in His Word for the glory of His name and for the comfort of the godly in which He impresses on the hearts of believers. Brothers and sisters, as part of Christ's Church, as part of the Bride of Christ, may we love this chapter and all the other ways in which God richly reveals His salvation and His majestic power of restoration. And may we see that it is all by His glory and for His glory alone. Amen. Let us pray. Lord God Almighty, we give thanks for the rich revelation of Your Word.