This is God's holy word. Oh, that you would rend the heavens, that you would come down, that the mountains might shake at your presence. As fire burns brushwood, as fire causes water to boil, to make your name known to your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at your presence. When you did awesome things for which we did not look, you came down. The mountains shook at your presence. For since the beginning of the world, men have not heard nor perceived by the ear nor has the eye seen any god besides you, who acts for the one who waits for him. You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness, who remembers you and your ways. You are indeed angry, for we have sinned, and these ways we continue, and we need to be saved. But we are all like an unclean thing. And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags. We all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. And there is no one who calls on your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of you, for you have hidden your face from us and have consumed us because of our iniquities. But now, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you our potter, and all we are the work of your hand. Do not be furious, O Lord, nor remember iniquity forever. Indeed, please look. We all are your people. Your holy cities are a wilderness. Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. Our holy and beautiful temple where our fathers praised you is burned up with fire. and all our pleasant things are laid waste. Will you restrain yourself because of these things, O Lord? Will you hold your peace and afflict us very severely?" Thus far, God's holy, inspired, and infallible Word. Thanks be to God. Alright, in the previous chapter, chapter 63, here's that brief outline. You have, first of all, They're the year of vengeance that will come against the pagan world, against those who have lifted themselves up against the world. But you also have there stated Jehovah's remembrance of his ancient promises to the fathers. He will not let those promises slide. And then after a short era of punishment, salvation and glory will ensue and read that chapter and just to consider those points as you have the opportunity to do that. But we move into chapter 64 and we have a prayer lifted up by the prophet on behalf of the people, a prayer that calls for the Lord to do what he's promised, for the Lord to finish his work. So begin with verses one through three. In this prayer, there is an appeal to God to use His power on behalf of His people. Now, it's clear, it's been clear for some time that Israel, which mainly now is the southern part of the nation, what we call Judah, but we'll call it Israel for our study here. Israel is estranged from God. In other words, The Lord and His people have broken apart. They're not walking together. And the fault lies not with God, but with the people who are sinful, rebellious, idolatrous, immoral. And so God has distanced Himself from this people. Again, they are estranged. But notice that this estrangement has begun long before this particular time of Isaiah. Long ago, the people began to be rebellious, and God raised up prophets and called them to repentance. Sometimes they listened, but most of the time they did not. And therefore, gradually, over many, many years, God and His people have grown further and further and further apart until now God is ready to send judgment upon this land. Now, some things of disaster, of war, invasion and so forth have happened. But at this point, there's been no terrible destruction. And yet, as you read this chapter, such is referred to here. It is talked about the temple being destroyed, the cities being destroyed, Jerusalem being a desolation. So the prophet is looking upon the situation as though these judgments have already happened. And he's appealing to God who is able to do anything, for whom nothing is impossible. The Almighty God. He's appealing for God to use His power, not without context, but because God has made promise after promise, has promised a Savior, a Messiah, has promised glory, has promised redemption, has promised return and renewal. Because of that, the prayer is, O Lord, then use Your power because we know You are able. Use your power to restore, to bring about the glory that you have promised. So he begins then the chapter by saying, O Lord, rend the heavens and come down. It's one of the most powerful statements really in the Bible. Lord, rend the heavens and come down. And you get a feeling for that estrangement. As Israel started out, God was there with His people, close to His people. And now He seems to be far off, far out beyond the skies, beyond the stars even, so very far from His people. O Lord, rend the heavens. Break down the wall that seems to be there as we look up at the sky. Rend the heavens and come down. And when you do, O Lord, startle these pagan nations that are enjoying our demise, that feel good about God being at a distance from this people, who have had in mind for a long time to remove them from the midst of the world. O God, startle these pagan nations by rescuing Israel. Now, you see, he has in mind here very clearly going all the way back to the beginning of this nation, to the exodus from Egypt, going back to the mountains where Moses was tending the flocks of his father-in-law. And as he was out in the mountainous wilderness, he looked upon a certain mountain and he saw a burning bush. And as he watched it, he was amazed because the bush was not consumed. It was the most remarkable thing. And he said, I must go take a look at this. And when he got to that point, then it was made clear to him that it was not just a burning bush, but it was an indication of the presence of the Lord there on that mountain. And he was told to remove his shoes from his feet in an acknowledgement that this was holy ground, that the Lord was really there. And then you see the Lord proceeded on from that point to do amazing things, things that were never asked for as such by the people. And you pick that up in the chapter there. You're doing things, Lord, that we never really expected, but they were incredible things. And there in the land of Egypt, He sent the various plagues to humble Pharaoh and to cause the Egyptians to let the people go. And He brought them out with His mighty power, with His mighty hand. And He carried them across the Red Sea on dry ground, had the waters come back and destroy the armies of Egypt. And then He took them through the wilderness and provided for their needs in miraculous ways and wonderful ways until He brought them at last to Mount Sinai. And there, the mountains literally shook. And the people were fearful. They were afraid. They were in the midst of those shaking mountains, with this one mountain in particular. So that there had been a circle, in a sense, made. Moses had started there at the mountain. He'd gone forth to lead his people out of Egypt under the powerful hand of God. He'd come back to this area again, and now they were at that same mountain. And the mountains shook. And now the prophet, speaking these hundreds of years later, is crying out, Oh Lord, come shake the mountains again. Come shake the mountains to know that the people may know that you're about to do a great thing, a marvelous thing, a glorious thing. Lord, shake the mountains. A bit later, another prophet, Haggai, will make this statement. It will be quoted in the book of Hebrews much later. But Haggai, chapter 2, verses 6 and 7, For thus says the Lord of hosts, Once more, it is a little while, I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land, and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the desire of all nations. and I will fill this temple with glory." Isaiah can see what's coming in the destruction. The armies of the nations will come in and burn and pillage and rape and bring great devastation to the land. God will restore when He comes again to shake the mountains, the world. And this is the prayer that Isaiah is making here. Oh, God, you are the God of all power, of all means, of all strength. Come and free your people. Free them, yes, from the expected captivity, but free them from their sins. Free them from their inability to return to you. His cry goes up, Lord, I know Your power, that it is able to subdue all Your enemies and all our enemies. Lord, use Your power. Lord, use Your power to change hearts from being rebellious. Use Your power to make those hearts love You. Use that power to save Your people for all eternity. God's power is able. to subdue enemies to free sinners, and God's power is able to revive the church. When a church becomes weak and indifferent, when it becomes corrupted and unbelieving, when it's desperately in need of revival, it's God's power that can make the difference, that can turn us back. Revive thy work, O God, in the midst of years. But we must ask God for that power, which is exactly what the prophet is doing here. Oh God, we ask you to work in this powerful way. Now, God did act. He did answer this prayer in a number of ways. He did bring the people back. He did shake the nations. But the greatest expression of His power came in the person of one who was characterized as being meek and lowly in heart, and yet by His mighty Word, He literally changed lives to the point that people were ready to follow Him and to go to the ends of the earth with His message that the power might be known everywhere. He came in the person of Jesus Christ, and on the cross of Calvary, He slew sin and death. When Jesus came, He established a kingdom that has no end, and it is still unfolding, and the power is still going forth. And here is a prayer that ought not now to be thought of as having ceased, but an ongoing prayer that God's power may be seen and known through Jesus Christ and through His Holy Spirit so that people would be able to live with God and not be estranged from Him. But by that power held and restored and made permanent, that peace and life and happiness and joy and purpose might go on forever and ever. So we're called upon here, you and I, to join in such a prayer as this, O God, rend the heavens and come down Oh, Lord, let your power break out in this world. You know, today there are statesmen who are meeting together. They're having their conferences. They're saying, what will we do if this nation gets an atomic bomb or this terrorist group gets an atomic bomb? Or are we really ready for such power to be unleashed? Suppose they would smuggle a bomb into this country and let it explode. What would happen? And rightly, we should be concerned about such things and we should be praying about such things. But I want you to know today that what we want is an explosion. What we want is a release of power. What we want is for this people, this land, this world to be engulfed in the power of God that people might not perish, but have everlasting life. Isaiah's prayer. is an appeal for God's power. Secondly, verses 4 through 7, his prayer is an appeal to God's compassion. Israel is now under condemnation. You say, how do you know that? Because God is angry. Verse 5, you are indeed angry, for we have sinned. or even verse 9, do not be furious, O Lord, because they are under condemnation. The wrath, the anger, the fury of God is upon them. And how can they be saved if God is that God of power? And if that power is turned against us instead of being employed for us, how can this nation or any people be saved? Well, it must begin with God's changing His direction toward us who are sinners. It will take God looking with pity upon helpless people. Israel knows, because Israel has the Word of God, has prophets. Israel knows that God is a God full of compassion. that God is long-suffering. Many of its Scriptures stress the compassion of God and His willingness to forgive. Israel knows that this God of compassion may be approached and that they ought to call upon Him. That such a prayer as this which Isaiah is making is the kind of prayer that ought to go up from every home and every individual, every community, every society. Oh Lord, have mercy upon us. Yet the people seem incapable of approaching God. They know that God is able to make them joyful in righteousness, as the passage says, But they have no righteousness, nor any inclination toward righteousness. How can this be changed? Well, this God, who is a God of compassion, will not just be sentimental toward sinners. Oh, how we need to understand that today. God is not just sentimental toward sinners. Oh, it's sad to see their state. And I feel for them. God will do something that will make them pleasing to Him. That's what His compassion is all about. Now, Israel is described here as a person who is so diseased or is plagued with such a disease that the legalities of the day would declare that person unclean. A leper, for example. A leper would have to go through the streets if he needed to go from one place to another, or she needed to go from one place to another, and cry before, as the person would meet those, unclean, unclean, unclean. And that's Israel's situation. Now, if she's unclean, and must cry unclean, what is the solution? She needs to be made clean. And that did happen sometimes. There are regulations in the books of the law that say you may prove yourself to be now clean instead of unclean by going to this place and showing the priest and being declared such. And it did happen sometimes. But leprosy or any disease that made a person unclean was only representative of the sin that sinned people. And God, in looking with compassion, wants to bring healing, wants to bring cleansing. Not just to say, oh, I feel for you because you're unclean. But I'm going to make you clean. And you need only look at the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ to see that that is what He did for many who were literally diseased, but also to make it clear that He came to make the sinful, to make the unclean clean. The ten lepers came to Jesus and He said, what? Go show yourselves to the priests. And you'll be clean, and that's what happened. Now, one only came back to say thanks, but that's another story. The point is, Jesus came to make the unclean clean. He uses another bit of imagery, does Isaiah here. He talks about such righteousness as can be found in this people is only to be compared to filthy rags. And my friends, if I were to give you exactly what that phrase means, it would be embarrassing to me and it would be embarrassing to you. It's much worse than just a filthy rag that you might find in your garage. That is our state before God. But God is able to give us a righteousness not our own, a righteousness that we can never produce ourselves. He is able to give us a righteousness that's perfect. And that righteousness is found in Jesus Christ. whose righteousness is imputed or credited to those who believe in Him. And He further gives His Holy Spirit to sanctify those who are His own people. In His compassion, God gives us something we don't have and could never have. And God gives us His Spirit. God gives us life that is pure and acceptable to Him. Another image that's used here is this nation is like a withered leaf. We don't live back east where they have a lot of leaves on the ground always, but we have our share. And you know what a withered leaf is like? How it becomes crackly and crumbly. This is the state of this nation. It's about to be blown away by the wind. God is able to restore life, greenness, Hell, because He can take that which is dead and make it alive again. And then He says that virtually no one in this nation is interested in God. No one seeks God. The Lord says, I will change that. I will change that by changing the heart. I will make a difference by renewing the person to love Me, to put a love within them. Now, the upshot of all this is that Israel cannot save itself, but God can if He will show compassion, and He is a God of compassion. The urgent question is, will God do it? The answer is, God will do it. I'm reading from Romans 5, verse 6, for when we were still without strength, we were the diseased, we were the filthy rag, we were the withered leaf, we were the disinterested, but we were still without strength. In due time, Christ died for the ungodly. There is the compassion of God. Oh God, we can't save ourselves. What will we do? Will you show some pity? Will you show some compassion? And God says, here is my compassion. Here is my only begotten Son. And whoever believes in Him will not perish. but have everlasting life. Are you the beneficiary this morning of that compassion? Have you looked to that God of salvation, pleading for His pity, and have you found it in the person of Jesus who died on the cross for our sins and was raised again for our justification? Now, one last point. Because this prayer has not only an appeal to power, an appeal to compassion, but it has an appeal to the purpose of God. The purpose of God has been revealed, and that purpose is that He wants a people for His name. He wants a great host that no one can number, who love Him. That's His purpose. And so Isaiah says, Lord, don't you have a purpose? You can't seriously be angry with us forever, You have told us you have a plan, you have a purpose. First of all, God has proclaimed Himself to be a Father for this people. We're in verses 8-12 now. God has proclaimed Himself to be a Father to this people. What does that mean? That means at some point He begot them in love. He loved them before the foundation of the world. It was always His plan to have a people that He loved. And as we have said, that loved Him in return. That's His plan. And He has worked out the details that they should be made great and glorious and happy and pleasing to Him. That's His plan. And God is working now as a potter works with clay. He's working to make something. I want to tell you that's good news. If we had gone to the potter's shop, as it were, and found it empty, and the wheel covered with cobwebs, and the potter gone, we would have no hope. But God is working. The wheel is turning. God has put His fingers to the work. He is like an artesian who will not be satisfied with the ordinary, who will not look at something that he has made on that potter's wheel and say, oh, that's good enough. He wants to make a perfect vessel, a perfect pot, perfect creation. He is an artesian in that way, an artist. But he's also a craftsman. And he is determined to end up with a product of great value, not just value in an artistic sense, but value in a useful sense. What a great potter he is and what a great plan he has. But now there's something that stands between his idea and his prize, what he envisions and what he ultimately will end up with. And that thing that stands between is his anger. You could say, well, it's our sin, and that's true too. But as it's presented here, it's God's anger that's preventing him from finishing that which he started. And if his purpose is to be fulfilled, somehow that anger has to be satisfied, has to be assuaged. What will assuage his anger? He wants a people who will worship him, who want to be in that temple, who want to be a part of those who lift praises to God and serve Him with every fiber of their being. But his anger has been raised up. Now, I want to introduce you to a word that I'm sure you've heard before. So maybe it's not really an introduction, but certainly it's a reminder of this word propitiation. We read in Scripture, and this is love, not that we love God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins. 1 John 4.10. The word is used in Hebrews. It's used in Romans. What is a propitiation? It's something that stops anger. When anger is propitiated, poof, it goes away. It's not there anymore. Isaiah says, oh God, don't abandon your purpose. We want to hear that wheel turning. We want the potter making and finishing his work. Don't abandon your purpose. And God says, I'm angry. I'm angry with the wicked every day. But I do have available a propitiation. Something to stop my anger so that my purpose can be carried out. He sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. There's a gospel song that says, he made something beautiful of my life. That's what the potter is trying to do today and will do according to his great purpose. His anger won't prevent it. Our sin won't prevent it. Because God has found a way to have what he wants. It's a beautiful prayer that Isaiah lifts up to God. Lord, you are able, you're powerful, you can do it. Lord, I know that you have compassion. Look upon us in your mercy. Lord, you have a plan. See it through, God. See it through. And if you do, then we shall be saved. Let's pray. Lord, our God, we come to you as the clay. And we can't see how very much can be made of us. But then again, with you, nothing is impossible. You're God of power. Lord, we know your anger is great, but your compassion is greater. Lord, we know that you will never give up on your plan. And we present ourselves to you, Lord, not as those who instruct you in how to make pots and things of beauty and usefulness. but as those who just want to be, Lord, what You want us to be. And we pray that that might be so as You give grace through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.