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Isa 42:1-9 Mine Elect in Whom My Soul Delights

Isa 42:1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. 
Isa 42:2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. 
Isa 42:3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. 
Isa 42:4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.
Isa 42:5 Thus saith God the LORD , he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: 
Isa 42:6 I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; 
Isa 42:7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. 
Isa 42:8 I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. 
Isa 42:9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them. 

This is a most revealing chapter because it is the words of “the Lord” Himself which concern and inform us of ourselves as “His Servant… His Christ”. As we will see “His Christ”, His “elect”, are not described in words which we might have thought they would be.

Act 4:26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. 

Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. 

Rev 12:10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

These words in Isaiah are the words of our Lord, and in this chapter, He is speaking of “[His] servant… [His] elect… His Christ”, and He is telling us what we should be looking for in “[His] servant”.

Ten years ago, Steve Crook did a study on this very subject. It is entitled ‘The King’s Prisoners – Part 1’ which I encourage everyone to review at this link: The King's Prisoners - Part 1

Christ comes to let His elect out of prison, so we are first His prisoners to sin before we are released from that ‘prison’ by “the brightness of His coming” (2Th 2:8).

Let’s get started learning what our Lord wants us to know about “[His] servant… His Christ”:

Isa 42:1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.

Taken by itself this verse makes it sound as if the Lord’s servant, “Mine elect… His Christ” is a very special person indeed, possessing His spirit and having the power of a judge… “He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles”. Indeed, this is a prophecy of Christ Himself and His coming to judge the Gentiles in this age. 

However, this is also a prophecy about the Lord’s “elect” whom He sends to save this world just as His Father sent Him. These two verses confirm this fact:

Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Joh 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

Christ’s Father sent Him into this world “that the world through Him might be saved”. That is what the Father and His Son, His Christ desire, and what the Lord desires is what He does:

Job 23:13 But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.

The Lord “will have all men to be saved” (1Ti 2:4), and to that end He has determined to use multiple “saviors”, not just the Lord Himself. He has determined that all men will be saved by “the Lord and His Christ” as we just read in Acts 4:26, Revelation 11:15 and 12:10.

Obadiah confirms this:

Oba 1:21 And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD'S.

The definition of the noun ‘Christian’ is ‘a follower of Christ’, but the flesh wants to separate itself from Christ and convince us that we simply cannot really be like Christ. After all, Christ was a spotless Lamb who never sinned, while we are all obvious sinners. But what say the scriptures? This is the mind of Christ Himself on this subject:

Mat 25:40 And the King [Christ] shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Act 22:8 And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.

If the extent to which Christ identifies with us has not yet been understood, He goes so far as to say, through the pen of the apostle John:

1Jn 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

Christ will always be our head, and we will never be His head, but we are ‘His body, of His flesh and of His bones’, and with Him we are also the “saviors” of mankind:

Eph 5:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

1Co 11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

What more should we know about the Lord’s servant… His Christ?

Isa 42:2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. 
Isa 42:3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.

That this is speaking of Christ Himself and of His Christ there can be no doubt, because Matthew tells us that Christ withdrawing Himself from the rulers of His day is the fulfilling of this prophecy and “as He is so are we in this world”:

Mat 12:9 And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue: 
Mat 12:10 And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him. 
Mat 12:11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? 
Mat 12:12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. 
Mat 12:13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other. 
Mat 12:14 Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. 
Mat 12:15 But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all; 
Mat 12:16 And charged them that they should not make him known: 
Mat 12:17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, 
Mat 12:18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. 
Mat 12:19 He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. 
Mat 12:20 A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. 
Mat 12:21 And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.

What are we being told about the Lord and His Christ? We are told the Lord’s servant “shall not strive, nor cry” in this age. “Neither shall any man hear His voice in the streets” in this age. We are told that He will not break a bruised reed nor quench a smoking flax UNTIL “He sends forth judgment unto victory”. 

That is what we are told to look for in the Lord’s servant. A “bruised reed” would normally be broken off and pruned from among the reeds so the healthy reeds could flourish. A smoking flax, as a wick in an oil lamp would normally be quenched before the house was full of smoke, but the servant of the Lord does not lift his voice or attempt to change the unjust or do anything to try to save this dying world at “this present time”:

Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 
Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

Rev 22:11  He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

As the Lord’s servants, we are not working against Him and trying to make straight what He has made crooked, neither are we attempting to save a world He is intent upon destroying with the brightness of His coming. But notice the last part of this verse:

Mat 12:20 A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. 

The Lord’s servant is not involved in the affairs of this age “till He send forth judgment unto victory”, but then things change. When the Lord sends forth judgment, then He and His servant become very involved in the affairs of this world. 

Look at the contrast between these two statements about the Lord’s elect:

Isa 41:15 Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.

Isa 42:1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. 
Isa 42:2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. 
Isa 42:3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.

Inwardly the Lord’s “servant… [His] elect” have lived all of these verses. We know that He did not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. He did not break a bruised reed, and the smoking flax He did not quench until He brought forth judgment unto truth within His elect, within His ‘kingdom’:

Luk 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 
Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

“Until He bring forth judgment” is the way it is quoted in the New Testament:

Mat 12:18  Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. 
Mat 12:19 He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. 
Mat 12:20 A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. 

The Greek word translated as ‘till’ is:

G2193
ἕως
heōs
heh'-oce

Of uncertain affinity; a conjugation, preposition and adverb of continuance, until (of time and place): - even (until, unto), (as) far (as), how long, (un-) til (-l), (hither-, un-, up) to, while (-s).

The point being made is that the Lord’s judgments upon us, and our judgment of this world, is only within us at this present time, and we do not engage in the affairs of this world “until” the appointed time. As all who are now being judged know, when the appointed time comes… when it is time for ‘judgment to begin at the house of God’, then when that time finally does come the Lord uses “a threshing machine with teeth” to begin judging our lives and destroying every mountain and hill within our heavens and every thought which exalts itself against the knowledge of God within us:

2Co 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 
2Co 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 
2Co 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

This is all a part of the judgment which “is now on the house of God”:

1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
1Pe 4:18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
1Pe 4:19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

Being judged at this time does not make us judges of this world at this time. There is a time for us to “judge this world”, and when that day comes, we will be endowed with the power to do so:

1Co 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God. 

When the Lord comes to us, He judges us, but His kingdom is not of this age. If it were, then we would fight against those who would hurt Him and His Christ. Here are His Words:

Joh 18:33 Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews? 
Joh 18:34 Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? 
Joh 18:35 Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done? 
Joh 18:36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world [Greek: aion - eon, age]: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. 
Joh 18:37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

Jesus tells us His kingdom is not of this age, but He also tells us “To this end came I into this world…”, and the truth is that at the appointed time He will be the king of this entire planet:

Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. [Greek: ‘the ages of the ages’]

Let’s continue our study and see what more we can look for in “the Lord and His Christ”:

Isa 42:4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.

The Lord and His Christ, “His elect” as Isaiah puts it, will “not fail nor be discouraged” even as they are being “counted as sheep for the slaughter… dying daily” and being “crucified with Christ” in this age because He and His elect know:

Mat 10:21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. 
Mat 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

Rom 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Rom 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
Rom 8:20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
Rom 8:21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Rom 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

“The whole creation”, from Adam until “God [is] all in all”, is groaning and travailing "in pain together until now”. It is all part of a plan the Lord is working to bring all things, “all in Adam”, to Himself, and it is being, and will all be, accomplished through “The Lord and His Christ”.

Isa 42:4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till [Hebrew: until] he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.

The holy spirit, through the apostle Paul, elaborates on what Isaiah is telling us about why we must never be discouraged in “the sufferings of this present time”:

Rom 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. 
Rom 8:24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 
Rom 8:25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

There is an order in which the Lord is working His plan for all of mankind, and we must “wait upon the Lord” to carry out His plan in His own order:

1Co 14:40 Let all things be done decently and in order.

1Ti 2:6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. 

During this period of waiting for our promised salvation we are told that we are “sealed with the holy spirit of promise”:

Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 
Eph 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

“The redemption of the purchased possession” is the delivery of the promised salvation to the Lord’s elect whom He knows and upon whom He is to bestow great honor. It is all in very good hands, and our salvation and glorification is as certain as the rising of the sun because:

Isa 42:5 Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:

This is a proclamation of the sovereignty of our Creator over all His creation. The Old Testament is not at all bashful about declaring the sovereignty of God, even over all the evil in the world. Consider just a few Old Testament statements which outline the extent of the Lord’s sovereignty over all His creation.

Gen 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 
Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Gen 45:8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

Pro 16:1 The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD

Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Isa 45:6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Isa 63:17 O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

The holy spirit in the New Testament confirms these words and makes them more personally applicable by informing us that this sovereignty extends even into the thoughts and actions of all of mankind:

Rom 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 
Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 
Rom 7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 
Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23< But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

Rom 9:16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. 
Rom 9:17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. 
Rom 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

Pharaoh had nothing to do with the role he played in the Lord’s plan other than to play out that role. He was created for the purpose of being destroyed by the Lord. The same is true for our old man. Pharaoh is a Biblical type of our flesh, our rebellious old man. Our old man was created to be destroyed so the Lord could show His power within each of those who are His elect. But Pharaoh was cast away from the Lord in this age while the Lord’s elect are not cast away in this present time. We can no more escape our election than we can escape the destruction of our old man. Neither could Pharaoh avoid his destruction. We are even told that our election was determined “before the world began”:

2Ti 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

Tit 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

“The Lord’s servant… His elect” were chosen to be “in Christ before the world began”, and He will not fail to see them through every trial to the end:

Isa 42:6 I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
Isa 42:7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

Remember who the subject is of this chapter of Isaiah:

Isa 42:1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.

It is the Lord’s elect who are the first to have their eyes opened and to come out of the “darkness out of the prison house”. Then He uses them to “open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison”. This fact is repeated in the 49^th chapter of Isaiah:

Isa 49:8  Thus saith the LORD , In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; 
Isa 49:9 That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places. 
Isa 49:10 They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.

All of this is repeated in the New Testament, and in the King James, these words are mistranslated as “the day of salvation”:

2Co 6:1 We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. 
2Co 6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

Replacing the article ‘a’ with the article ‘the’ has given many a Babylonian minister an excuse to teach and preach that today is “the [only]” day of salvation “the [only] accepted time” to receive salvation. Such a doctrine denies the message of this entire chapter. That message is the message of all the rest of scripture. That message teaches that all the Lord’s creatures are “moaning and travailing together until now waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God.”

Rom 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 
Rom 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
Rom 8:20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
Rom 8:21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Rom 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
Rom 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

The kingdom and rulership in that kingdom is the reward the Lord has promised only to His “elect” who are the first to be judged and are then given the honor of judging the rest of mankind and reconciling all things in heaven and in the earth to the Lord. In due time, life will be given to all as the parable of the workers in the vineyard demonstrates. However, the “crown of life” is given only to those who in the parable are hired at the 11^th hour and are given their wages first. They are declared to be “blessed and holy” above and before all the rest of mankind and above all the other workers in the Lord’s vineyard, and the parable itself demonstrates that truth does not sit well with those who are not given that calling.

Mat 20:1 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. 
Mat 20:2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day [A day’s wages], he sent them into his vineyard. 
Mat 20:3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 
Mat 20:4 And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. 
Mat 20:5 Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. 
Mat 20:6 And about the eleventh hour [“The ends of the ages” 1Co 10:11] he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
Mat 20:7 They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. [“Thy will be done” - Mat 6:10 and Luk 11:2]
Mat 20:8 So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. 
Mat 20:9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. 
Mat 20:10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. 
Mat 20:11 And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, 
Mat 20:12 Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. 
Mat 20:13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? 
Mat 20:14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. 
Mat 20:15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
Mat 20:16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

Those who were hired first, worked the longest and got paid last did not like the order in which the Lord rewards those who work for Him. They hated His ways and “Murmured against the goodman of the house”. The Lord’s conclusion at the end of this parable is “…For many are called, but few are chosen [Greek: eklektos, elect]”.

Here are the wages given to “the Lord’s servant… His elect” Isa 42:1] those who were hired last and got paid first:

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead [Including the “many called” who get paid last] lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. [Those who were hired last and were paid first, at “the first resurrection”]

The honor of being in the “blessed and holy… first resurrection” is “the mark of the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus. This glory and honor are not given to those who are raised up in “the resurrection of judgment, the great white throne… judgment/ lake of fire/ second death”.

That is what is meant by these words:

Isa 42:8 I am the LORD : that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
Isa 42:9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.

Mat 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 
Mat 25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
Mat 25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 
Mat 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

Mat 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

Those who teach that there is “one resurrection in two parts”, and that “if you see anything ordinally you can and you will be missing the spiritual meaning of the Word” are flatly denying that “the first shall be last and the last shall be first, for many are called but few are chosen… in this present time”. Anyone who tells you there is no “blessed and holy” honor bestowed by Christ upon His elect whom He will resurrect a thousand years before the rest of mankind are not saying “thy will be done”. What they are doing is setting the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their faces and placing an idol in their heart and telling you that Christ’s words “Man shall… live… by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” nullify the message of the parable of the workers in the vineyard, and that the first resurrection which is our “crown of life” (Rev 2:10-11) is common to all men. They are in effect teaching “the resurrection is past already [it took place inwardly]”:

2Ti 2:17 And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;
2Ti 2:18 Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.

Such an unscriptural doctrine is a spiritual “graven image”, which phrase is Biblical symbolism for the false doctrines of men, also called “idols of the heart and the stumbling block of their iniquity”:

Eze 7:19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold [Their false doctrines] shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.

Eze 14:3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?

An “idol in the heart” is a false doctrine, a stumblingblock of iniquity, which the Lord will not tolerate.

Isa 42:8 I am the LORD : that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images [false doctrines].

If we are faithful to the words of Christ, we “shall be hated of all men” in this present time.

Mat 10:21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. 
Mat 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

The Lord alone of all the gods is capable of telling us what has been and what will be:

Isa 42:9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.

It is few men indeed who are even aware that we are never to so much as “think above what is written”:

1Co 4:6 Now these things, brothers, I applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us ye might learn not to think above that which is written, so that ye may not be puffed up, one over the one against the other. (ACV)

Inevitably men demonstrate that they are false prophets by speaking above that which is written and speaking forth idols of their own hearts from their own dreams and their own fertile imaginations.

In our next study, we will glorify the Lord for all He is doing in the lives of His elect for the purpose of bringing about the salvation of all men through His “servant, His elect”:

Isa 42:10 Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof. 
Isa 42:11 Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. 
Isa 42:12 Let them give glory unto the LORD , and declare his praise in the islands. 
Isa 42:13 The LORD shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies. 
Isa 42:14 I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once. 
Isa 42:15 I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools. 
Isa 42:16 And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.
Isa 42:17  They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.