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Isa 61:1-11 Double Shame, Double Possession

[Study Aired June 28, 2020]

Isa 61:1  The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
Isa 61:2  To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
Isa 61:3  To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
Isa 61:4  And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.
Isa 61:5  And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.
Isa 61:6  But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.
Isa 61:7  For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them.
Isa 61:8  For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
Isa 61:9  And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed.
Isa 61:10  I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
Isa 61:11  For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

This is the chapter from which Christ read in His first recorded sermon.

Isa 61:1  The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

Christ was rejected by His own people in His hometown of Nazareth because He told them in advance that they would reject Him and that He would take His gospel to the Gentiles:

Luk 4:16  And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
Luk 4:17  And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
Luk 4:18  The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
Luk 4:19  To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
Luk 4:20  And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
Luk 4:21  And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
Luk 4:22  And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son?
Luk 4:23  And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.
Luk 4:24  And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.
Luk 4:25  But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;
Luk 4:26  But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.
Luk 4:27  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.
Luk 4:28  And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
Luk 4:29  And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.
Luk 4:30  But he passing through the midst of them went his way,

It is instructive for us to notice where Christ stops reading here in Isaiah 61. He stops with the words, “to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord” in the middle of verse two. Stopping there emphasizes and makes it clear that He considers the words of scripture to have a ‘here and now’ application… “Today is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” That inward present understanding is the primary application of all scripture.

Isa 61:2  To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

“The acceptable year of the Lord” is “the day of vengeance of our God”, and that day is also a “comfort to all that mourn” and who “sigh and cry for all the abominations that are done in the midst of the” Lord’s people.

Ezekiel 9 gives us much insight into ”the acceptable year of the Lord… the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn”:

Eze 9:1  He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand.
Eze 9:2  And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer’s inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar.
Eze 9:3  And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer’s inkhorn by his side;
Eze 9:4  And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.
Eze 9:5  And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity:
Eze 9:6  Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.
Eze 9:7  And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city.

That is what the holy spirit calls “good tidings unto the meek”. These words are addressed to every ‘joint’ of those who makes up the body of Christ and who “are the light of this world” (Mat 5:14-16, Eph 4:15-16, Col 1:24):

Isa 61:1  The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

“Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women” is a command to totally destroy the kingdom of our old man. It is the same as saying:

Deu 20:16  But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:
Deu 20:17  But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee:

This is not just some far-off past or future event. “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” means ‘this very day’ if indeed we are given the faith to believe the Lord’s words. Brother Dennis’ studies on the meanings of the names of all those Canaanite nations demonstrates all the work before us which the Lord will work within us as He works His good works within us and purges us of all the ‘giants in our land’:

Eph 2:8  For by [chastening]  grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of [our] works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

“Grace… through faith” is a “strait and narrow” doctrine with no room for either of the two false doctrines of ‘salvation by our own good works’ or the false doctrine of ‘greasy grace’. This is the Truth of the Word of God concerning the narrow Biblical doctrine of ‘grace through faith’, and how we obtain our salvation. It is to be found in:

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12  Teaching [G3811: paideuo, chastening] us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Are good works required for salvation? Oh, yes, good works are indeed required! We simply cannot “continue in sin that grace may abound”:

Rom 6:1  What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Rom 6:2  God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

But who is it that produces these ‘good works’? Let’s read it again very carefully:

Eph 2:8  For by [chastening]  grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of [our] works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Impossible as it seems to our natural mind, the truth is that every act of every day in the life of every man who has ever lived was written in God’s book of each of our lives “before there were any of [those days]”:

Psa 139:16  Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them.

Our days and our years are both written in the Lord’s ‘book’ before there were any of them:

Isa 61:3  To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

It is only “them that mourn in Zion” in “this present time” (Rom 8:18), who are “appoint[ed]” to be “given beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, in this age:

As the Lord provides the faith to believe that He really is working all things together for the good of those who love Him and who are the called according to His purpose, we will not let outward circumstances keep us from knowing the truth of those words. Even as we watch this entire world fall apart around us, the Lord will give us His peace, and we will rejoice in the beauty of knowing where it is all headed and what it is all designed to accomplish.

Isa 61:4  And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.

If we are granted such faith, the Lord Himself is at this moment building His church within us. Our old man will be dying daily, and our new man will be being ‘renewed in the spirit of [his] mind… day by day’. The kingdom of our old man who worshipped the great red dragon and who worshipped the beast, will be “the old wastes [and]… the former desolations” with Christ as the foundation of a new man with the name “New Jerusalem” for the capital of the kingdom of Christ within that new man:

2Co 4:15  For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
2Co 4:16  For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

Eph 4:22  That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
Eph 4:23  And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
Eph 4:24  And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Isa 4:5  And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence.

This “cloud and smoke by day” is Jesus Christ:

Rev 10:1  And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:

“The shining of a flaming fire by night” is the very same “Christ in you the hope of glory” (Col 1:27). That is the “glory [for] a defence” which is “upon every dwelling place of Mount Zion” which is who we are in Christ.

It was “every dwelling place of Mount Zion” to which Christ referred when he made this statement:

Joh 14:2  In my Father’s house are many mansions [G3438: mone, abodes, ”dwelling places”]: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
Joh 14:3  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Joh 14:4  And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

This Greek word ‘mone’ appears only one other time in the New Testament, and it is right here is this same 14^th chapter of the gospel of John where it is translated more properly as “abode”:

Joh 14:23  Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode [G3438: mone, dwelling place, residence] with him.

The root of this word is G3306, and it is similar to ‘meno’:

G3306
μένω
menō
men’-o

A primary verb; to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy): – abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry (for), X thine own.

This word appears 118 times and is always translated in some form of ‘abide’.  If Christ and His Father ‘abide within us’ then this is what will be given us, within and without:

Isa 61:5  And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.

We are given the example of Saul of Tarsus to help us to internalize these words. Saul was exceedingly zealous to keep the traditions of His fathers:

Gal 1:13  For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it:
Gal 1:14  And profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.

When all that carnal zeal was redirected into the Lord’s service, it all became the strangers standing and feeding the Lord’s flocks and the sons of the alien serving within us as our plowmen and our vinedressers in the Lord’s vineyard.

Only those who are given to subdue and redirect the zeal of their own flesh will be given to take part in the outward fulfillment of these words during the thousand-year reign of Christ and His Christ, and then carry that service to the Lord over into the lake of fire where we will be granted to show to others the same mercy shown by Christ, which He is showing to us in 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.

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

It is to “the manifested sons of God” that these next words are first and primarily addressed:

Isa 61:6  But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.

We are at this very moment in “the earnest of the spirit” “kings and priests” who are even now ministering to the Lord by filling up in our bodies what is behind of the afflictions of Christ in our flesh, for His body’s sake, which is the church:

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:
Col 1:25  Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
Col 1:26  Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Exactly how do we “fill up in our flesh… that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ”? It is not a pleasant experience for our flesh. It is nothing short of death itself as we come to see that everything we ever believed was a lie. When the Lord gives us eyes that see and ears that hear, after a lifetime of thinking we were already seeing and hearing His Truth, we are forced to choose between believing Him or believing all the far more popular doctrines of the great whore and all of her harlot daughters. We must stand on His Word, and in so doing we will be “hated of all men” (Mat 10:22). We will be separated from all our old friends and even our own families. Our own families and friends will be ashamed of who we now are, and they will separate themselves from us lest they appear to be approving of our unacceptable and shameful ways.

The Lord prepares us for this shame filled dying experience in His own very clear words:

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.

Mat 10:34  Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Mat 10:35  For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
Mat 10:36  And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.
Mat 10:37  He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:38  And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

It is few indeed who are not ashamed of Christ. The truth is that we all prefer acceptance by men, and we are all first ashamed of our Lord:

Psa 4:2  Sons of men! till when is my glory for shame? Ye love a vain thing, ye seek a lie. Selah. (YLT)

It is the Lord Himself who “makes us to err from His ways” and brings shame upon us:

Psa 44:9  But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame; and goest not forth with our armies.
Psa 44:10  Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy: and they which hate us spoil for themselves.
Psa 44:11  Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat; and hast scattered us among the heathen.
Psa 44:12  Thou sellest thy people for nought, and dost not increase thy wealth by their price.
Psa 44:13  Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us.
Psa 44:14  Thou makest us a byword among the heathen, a shaking of the head among the people.
Psa 44:15  My confusion is continually before me, and the shame of my face hath covered me,

Psa 44:22  Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.

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.

It is a simple biblical truth that all our weaknesses and all our sins are the work of the Lord’s hands to humble us.

Ecc 1:13 I applied my heart to inquiring and exploring by wisdom concerning all that is done under the heavens: it is an experience of evil Elohim has given to the sons of humanity to humble them by it. (CLV)

To be humbled is to be made ashamed of our own evil ways. The Lord wants us to know that it is the Lord Himself who has created all the darkness out of which He is calling His elect:

Psa 139:12  Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

The Lord wants us to know that our special calling has nothing to do with what we are of ourselves. He will make us to know that we are no better of ourselves than those who will be cast into the lake of fire. Our special calling is just one part of “all things” which He wants us to clearly understand are the work of His hand. All our good and our evil “works… are His workmanship”. Our sins and evil works are no more of ourselves than the act of selling Joseph into Egypt was the work of his brothers:

Gen 45:4  And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
Gen 45:5  Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
Gen 45:6  For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
Gen 45:7  And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
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.

Do we really believe these words apply only to this one event? No, not in the least is this the only time God worked evil deeds “after the counsel of His own will”. The fact is that even the most heinous crime ever committed was done by His will.

Act 4:26  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
Act 4:27  For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
Act 4:28  For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

Knowing the all-encompassing Truth of those verses should make it abundantly clear that we have nothing at all to do with being called to be the Lord’s elect in this age, if indeed that is what we are. If we are His elect, this is the only reason for our election:

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

What the Lord is telling us is that He is the One who is giving us “double… shame… and… confusion [in] this present time” for this one reason:

Isa 61:7  For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them.

The physical law of a double portion to be given to the firstborn sons is merely a type and shadow of the spiritual inheritance of the Lord’s firstborn:

Deu 21:17  But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

The Lord tells us that physical Israel, as a type of “the Israel of God” (Gal 6:15-16), was counted as His firstborn, in spite of the fact that Ishmael, the son of the bondwoman, was born first:

Exo 4:21  And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.
Exo 4:22  And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:

Just what did the Lord require for Israel, meaning you and me, to bring us to this double portion status? Remember Israel was in bondage in Egypt for four hundred years before she heard the voice of the Lord:

Gen 15:13  And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

Then they heard the voice of their Lord:

Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Rev 18:5  For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
Rev 18:6  Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
Rev 18:7  How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
Rev 18:8  Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.

We must be in Egypt before we can “come out of her”, and we must be judged before we will learn righteousness:

Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

1Co 11:31  For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
1Co 11:32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

It all happened to Israel “and it was written as a type of us”:

1Co 10:6 Now these things became types of us, for us not to be lusters after evil things, (CLV)

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. (CLV)

The Lord knew from “before the world began” (2Ti 1:9, Tit 1:2) that “Israel” was always intended to be the name given to His elect called out of every nation on earth:

Rev 5:8  And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
Rev 5:9  And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
Rev 5:10  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

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;

Therefore we, and anything having to do with us of ourselves, have nothing at all to do with the Lord calling us to be His first born… His firstfruits unto God and the Lamb” (Rev 14:4). It is all a matter of the sovereign hand of our Lord working all things after the counsel of His own hands.

By that same sovereign will it has before been ordained that we must be the first to be judged “in this present time”, and for that reason alone we are called “the firstfruits unto God and the Lamb”:

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.
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?

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

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.

The judgment of our Lord is the greatest blessing He can place upon anyone for this reason:

Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

The Lord came into this world for the purpose of judging it, but it is very few He is judging in “this present time”.

Joh 9:39  And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
Joh 9:40  And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
Joh 9:41  Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

Instead, Christ is calling out a few elect and sending us to do exactly what His Father sent Him to accomplish – to die with Him for the sins of this world:

Mat 22:14  For many are called, but few are chosen.

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

So Christ has also sent us… “for judgment… into the world”, and when our judgment is in the world, men will learn righteousness. We are the judges of Revelation 20:1-6.

Isa 61:8  For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
Isa 61:9  And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed.

“I hate robbery for a burnt offering” means the Lord will not accept an idol of the heart for His Truth, nor will He accept our works as His works.

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

The fact that things are getting “worse and worse” is a sign to the Lord’s elect that “our salvation is nearer than when we believed”:

Rom 13:11  And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.

These words are just a different way of saying what Peter said:

2Pe 3:3  Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
2Pe 3:4  And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
2Pe 3:5  For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
2Pe 3:6  Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
2Pe 3:7  But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
2Pe 3:8  But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
2Pe 3:9  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
2Pe 3:10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
2Pe 3:11  Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
2Pe 3:12  Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
2Pe 3:13  Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

If this day has already come within us, then a day is coming without in which:

[Our] seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and [our] offspring among the people: all that see [us] shall acknowledge [us], that [we] are the seed which the LORD hath blessed.

According to His promise, we look for a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwells righteousness both within and without. “We are of God: he that knows God hears us…”

Isa 61:10  I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
Isa 61:11  For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

It is we “who first trusted in Christ” who will be “to the praise of His glory… springing forth to all the nations [Dennis Crabtree did a series of studies which were very revealing as to the meaning of the names of the various nations, one example being the Hivites:

Eph 1:9  Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10  That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

That is our study for today. Lord willing, we will continue in chapter 62 next Sunday:

Isa 62:1  For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.
Isa 62:2  And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.
Isa 62:3  Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.
Isa 62:4  Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.
Isa 62:5  For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.
Isa 62:6  I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence,