Well, I made it back there this week. Turn with me to Isaiah 55. Isaiah 55. At this rate, there's 13 verses, and I'm up to message number 5. This will be the fifth verse, and we're going to cover just verse 5. And this is God's irresistible invitation, part 5. You know, I took a long time to write this message. I'll tell you what, sometimes it's hard to sit down and write a gospel message. It really is. I wish I could say it was easy. Some of these guys talk about how easy it is to write. I can't tell you how many times I sit in front of a computer screen now. I used to be in front of an IBM Selectric typewriter. But I sit there and I look at that blinking cursor, and it's that cursed blinking cursor. It just sits there and blinks, and it's like it taunts me. And I thought long and hard about this thing. This is such a wonderful passage of scripture. So filled with truth, such a wonderful expression of the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's what the entirety of the scriptures are about. They're about our Lord Jesus Christ, Moses wrote of Christ. Everything in this book's about Christ, be it Old Testament or New Testament. But as I thought about the words that we're going to look at this morning, I thought about the prophet Jonah. You know, God had purposed to send Jonah down to Nineveh to preach the gospel, and he went the other way. Because he was convinced in his mind, at least that's what I think, he was convinced in his mind God was going to be merciful, and that's why God was sending him there to those people. So he went the other way, and you know the story. God prepared a fish for him. They cast him from the boat, and he was swallowed by the whale. And I know a lot of people seem to debate those issues. There's not a whale big enough to swallow a man. I'm telling you, a whale swallowed this man, because if a whale didn't swallow Jonah, our Lord was a liar. As our Lord said, as Jonah was in the whale's belly three days and three nights, so shall the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. But while Jonah was in that whale's belly, the Lord God taught Jonah a lesson. And Jonah learned a lesson that every one of God's children will be taught and learned in this matter of salvation. And it's simply this, salvation is of the Lord, period, in its entirety. You think about it, from the purposing of it in eternity passed by God the Father, to the accomplishment of it in time by God the Son through His life and death is a substitute and surety to His people. to the application of it graciously by God the Holy Spirit in every successive generation to the object of His love. That's why I read Ephesians chapter 1 in a call to worship. We see all three persons, the triunity of our God, working together to accomplish the salvation of His people. God the Father has a work. Christ the Son has a work. God the Holy Spirit has a work. Each co-equal, co-eternal, co-necessary. I'd have you to recall, I don't want to go back and preach the whole message, but I'd have you to recall from the previous messages the nature of God's irresistible call and invitation to sinners. He started this book off, listen to these words. Ho, everyone that thirsts, come to the waters. And he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat. Yea, come buy wine and milk without money, without price. Then he asks a question, wherefore do you spend money for that which is not wine and milk, which is not bread, and your labor for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me and eat, eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear and come unto me, here in your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David." This is an invitation by our God to everybody that's thirsty. All who are thirsty. And all of us know, if we've been taught of God by God the Holy Spirit, we know that there is no spiritual thirst that's in man by nature, and there's no spiritual thirst that can come from man in any way, shape, form, or fashion. And one of the things that these verses I just read to you points out to us is natural man, unregenerate sinners, always approach God. They approach him how? The wrong way. And they always come by the wrong means. Wherefore do you spend money for that which is not bread, and labor for that which does not satisfy? Everything involved in that is man doing something. You know, Solomon said it twice, there's a way that seemeth right unto man, but the end thereof, the way of death. What's that way of death? What's that way? It's the way of seeking to establish a righteousness by the works of the law in opposition to God's only way of salvation based exclusively on the accomplished death and the imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now let's pick up with verse 5 this morning. Notice what he says here. Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest none. and nations that knew thee not shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel, for he hath glorified thee." Now think about this. The verse that we left off with last week, or a couple weeks, a month ago, He had said this of our Lord Jesus Christ. Behold, I have given him for a witness. Given who? Christ is a witness. He's a testimony. He's a declaration to the people. But not only is that, what is this person? This person is given as a testimony to the people. He's a leader and he's a commander to the people. That's our Lord Jesus Christ. And after moving the apostle, the prophet Isaiah, to address those who were thirsty to come to Messiah, and after having exalted and honored and magnified and spoken of the one to whom those who are thirsty must come, in the verse, Jehovah speaks not about the Lord Jesus Christ anymore. He speaks directly to his servant, the Lord Jesus Christ. And I tell you, hold your place there. Look over to John chapter 17. The words spoken directly to the sent Messiah, they're reflected. These words that we just read in verse 5, they're reflected in our Lord's accomplishment of the work that He spoke of in His high priestly prayer here in John chapter 17. Notice what He says, I have glorified thee on the earth. I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory," verse four says, what's it, verse five? Glorify thou me with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me, verse six, out of the world, thine they were, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy word. What we see in these words directed toward Christ as the sent Savior in our text is that the true and living God, he's glorified only one way. What's he glorified by? He's glorified in the salvation of his people. Now I know, David said, the heavens declare the glory of God. But not in the way that Christ accomplished work of redemption glorifies God in every attribute of his characters, both the just God and the Savior. When you think about it, when you think about what glorifies God, you have to keep it in the context of that glory declared and revealed to Moses. Listen to this. It said, and Moses said, I beseech you, show me your glory. It's a request of Moses to show me your glory. And he said, this is God, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee, and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. That was God's promise. And God fulfilled this promise to this man Moses in Exodus chapter 34 when he actually appeared and the Lord descended in a cloud and stood with Moses there. And what did he do? He proclaimed the name of the Lord. What's the name? The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious. long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth father, or to the fourth generations, And Moses, when he heard this, heard the name of the Lord, Moses made haste, and he bowed his head toward the earth, and what did he do? He worshipped. He worshipped. So what's God's glory? God's glory is a proclamation of the name of the Lord. You know, over in Romans chapter 10, a passage that a lot of people get all hung up on, and that's all they want to talk about, and it's true. Romans chapter 10 verse 13 tells us this, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. So truly, there's something about the name. And I know everybody, we all have friends, we all have family that all called on a name, have they not? They call him Jesus Christ, just like we call him Jesus Christ. But here's the thing. Somebody has to proclaim the name of the Lord to people. Because he didn't stop with verse 13, he went on with verse 14. How shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him, listen to this, of whom they've not heard? You can't believe on a God you haven't heard of. And how shall they hear except one be preached? And how shall they preach except one be Go there on their own? No, they're sent. As it's written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good day. Think how Paul described the glory of God. He says, for we preach not ourselves but Jesus Christ the Lord and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God. What is the evidence of salvation? We have seen the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, but where do we see it? In a church, in a profession, in a reformation, in some change in our life? In the face of Jesus Christ, just like Moses. And knowing that to be the case, in our text, the prophet Isaiah declares of his witness, God's witness, his people's commander and leader, he says, thou, this person, he says, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not. And you know me and words, words always hang me up, but they're so important. This phrase here, behold thou shalt call, is one word in the original, and you know what it means? It means to summons. It means to call out. It means to choose. Or the best translation of it is this, to name. To name. The word of God is so intricate in the attention it places to detail. Here's the same word used to name Christ and used to name His church. Here's the same exact word. Now let's see it. In his days, Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely. And this is the name, and here's the word, whereby he shall be called. What's his name? The Lord our righteousness. In chapter 33, verse 16 of Jeremiah, it says basically the same thing. It says, In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely. Here's the word. And this is the name wherewith she shall be called. One long phrase, same exact word. What's she named? What's the church named? The Lord our righteousness. All those Christ's names. Now think about it. He says, Thou shalt name a nation that doesn't know you. Going to name them what? The Lord our righteousness. What does that tell us? It tells us that all those Christ's names are His. Given to Him by God the Father in everlasting covenant of grace. Redeemed and justified by Him in time by His accomplished work at Calvary. regenerated and converted in each successive generation by His Holy Spirit. We read it this morning in the Sunday Bible class hour, but now I'm gonna read it to you again. And we know that all things work together for the good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he called. And whom he called, them he also justified. And whom he justified, them he also glorified. Now this is so important. The word translated called in verse 28 when he says, to them who are the called according to his purpose, that word means invited, and this is exactly the way it's written in the explanation of the term called. It means invited by God in the proclamation of the gospel to obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of Christ. That's what that word called means. But in verse 29, the words translated called, and he called, it means to give a name to. It might change somewhat, and it has changed somewhat in time. When Pam married me 41 years ago, she changed her name. Took my last name. Right? She's Pamela Wormack. And that's what our Lord does. He names us. What name does He give us? The Lord our righteousness. And the thing you need to understand there in Romans chapter 8 verse 28 through 30, every one of those words there, all used in the past tense, for new, called, justified, glorified. They're spoken of as things that absolutely, positively must come to pass. But I'd point out to you also that the prophet refers to these that he names, what does he call them? He says, he calls them, thou shalt name a nation. A nation, which means somebody other than national Israel. Something different than just those Jews. In other words, who is he talking about here? This commander of the people, he's gonna name Gentiles. going to name His people from every generation. God Almighty has purposed and determined to save His people, both Jew and Gentile, out of every kindred, nation, tongue, and people. But if you notice this, what the prophet says of the nations that Christ names, he says of them what? That thou knewest not. Thou knewest not. Now, we know that Christ is God. And as God, He knows everything. Right? He knows every thought, every idea, everything. Of both all men and women without exception, as well as even his own people. So in what sense is it when he says, thou shalt name a nation that thou knewest not? In what sense does he not know these nations? What does this mean to you and me? Well, this phrase, that thou knewest not, it means to know in the most intimate of relationships. It's the same exact word that's used over in, and really we could talk about the law of first mention because this is the first time it's used in Genesis chapter 4 verse 1. It says this, and Adam knew Eve, his wife, and she conceived and bore him a son. While Christ's people were among the nations, dead in trespasses and sin, Enemies in their minds by wicked works? In a sense, Christ didn't know them intimately, did he? Listen to this, wherefore remember that you being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that which is called circumcision in the flesh made by hand, that at that time, what were you? At that time, you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in this world. I'd say that's a nation that knew him not, isn't it? But look at the next phrase, what he says next. And nations that knew not thee, shall run unto thee, because of the Lord thy God." This word, new, is the same word that was used concerning our Lord Jesus Christ, and it's talking about an intimate relationship with His people. And while His people were among the nations, while they were not known to God, and when they didn't love God, they're not aware of, and they weren't intimately acquainted with Him either. Listen to this, and you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sin, wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our behavior in times past, in the lust of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and this phrase is so important, and were by nature by nature, children of wrath, just like everybody else. But thank God, you think about this. When he names them, when he names his people, that is to say when he calls them irresistibly by his sovereign call of his spirit through the declaration of the gospel, they respond. Because it says, in nations that knew thee not shall run unto you. They shall run unto you. That phrase, they shall run, means to depart, to run swiftly, or here's the best definition, to be brought, or to bring. Brings to my mind our Lord Jesus Christ's word in John chapter 10. He says, other sheep I have which are not of this foe, them also I must bring. And they'll hear my voice, And there shall be one foe, and there be one shepherd. Why? He brought them. The other foe, that are not of that foe. And that's exactly what our text today bears out. They'll run unto thee. In other words, they'll be brought unto him. Not because of their free will, or not because of their faith, or not because of their repentance. But here's why they're brought, but because of the Lord thy God. Didn't Christ say, no man can come to me except the Father which has sent me draw? And that word draw, what does it mean? It literally means to drag off. It means physical exertion. No man can come to me except the Father which has sent me drag him. He doesn't drag us into the kingdom of God kicking and screaming. But I tell you, if he didn't drag us in, we wouldn't come. We couldn't. Look at the last part of this verse and we'll quit. And for the holy one of Israel, for he hath glorified thee. This holy one of Israel, who's he talking about here? He's talking about the Lord Jesus Christ, who's holy in his natures and in his offices, as well as the sanctifier of his people. All His people, what do they do? They run to Him. What do they run to Him for? For the cleansing of their sins. Where? In that fountain opened of His precious blood. They run to Him for what? They run to Him for their expiation of their sins and the guilt that they have through His atoning sacrifice. They run to Him alone. What do we run for? For righteousness and strength, for grace. and all the supplies of it. We run to him for what? For peace, for pardon, and for eternal life. And the prophet tells us here why we can run with confidence to this glorious person. How can we run to this person with such confidence? He, that's God the Father, what's he done? He's glorified him. He's glorified him. Think about this in closing. God the Father has glorified his son, has he not, through the miracles that he performed while he was on this earth in his state of humiliation. By supporting him as a man in his work and under all his suffering, God glorified him by raising him from the dead and by his ascension into heaven. And by bestowing on Him the gifts of the Spirit without measure, which Christ in turn, what does He give those gifts to? To all of His people. Listen to this. This is John 17 again. These words spake Jesus and lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Do what? Glorify Thy Son. Because here's the thing, when the God glorifies the Son, what happens? Glorify the Son that the Son may also glorify thee. As thou hast given him power, authority over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him, and this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast seen. Listen to this, and we'll quit. I have glorified thee on the earth, I have finished the work that thou gavest me to do, and now, because I've done exactly what I was sent to do, now, Father, do what? Glorify me with thy own self, with the glory, listen, which I had with you before the world began." And we'll quit right there, and we'll come back, and we'll pick up in verse 6 next time. Let's stand together.