This morning, we're turning in the word of God to Isaiah's prophecy, chapter 40. Isaiah chapter 40, and we'll read a few verses from this chapter as we prepare our hearts to come to the Lord's table. Isaiah chapter 40, and we'll begin our reading at verse one. Comfort ye. Comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned. For she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for your God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken." The voice said, cry. And he said, what shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it, Surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, but the word of our God shall stand forever. O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain. O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength. Lift it up. Be not afraid. Say unto the cities of Judah, behold your God. Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand and his arms shall rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom and shall gently lead those that are with you. We'll end our reading there. We trust the Lord will bless his word to our hearts for Jesus sake. This morning I want us to think particularly on the words of verse one. We have the call of God. that his people would be comforted. And I want us to think this morning, particularly as we come to the Lord's table, that that which we have before us speaks of the comforting of our God. And so I would entitle our time, Comfort's Table. And before we go any further though, let's still seek the face of our God. that he would meet with us and speak to us from the word. Father, now we would pray that you will allow us to know the help, the presence, indeed, the ministry of our God to our hearts. Lord, we're here to meet with you. We're here to remember you. We're here to praise and to worship and to give of our hearts. Lord, we would pray that you will help us that you will be gracious to us, for this is a spiritual work, and it is that which needs the attention and the attending of the Holy Spirit. So we would pray that you will allow him to do that work that leads us, that speaks to us, that opens mind and heart, helps us to see and to behold and to heed the things that are held for us in the word of God that does endure forever. So we put ourselves before the helpless, we would pray, for we ask it in Jesus' name for his sake. Amen. I'm going to begin the time this morning by asking a question. And that question is this, what should the state of heart be in those who have received the benefit of the atoning work of Christ? What should the state of heart be in those who have received the benefit of the atoning work of Christ? Well, we have the Lord's answer, though we must say it is not ours oftentimes. The Lord's answer is that there is to be comfort of heart, and not just some comfort, or what we might call ordinary comfort, if you can say there is such a thing. The fact that the Lord repeats the call, comfort ye. Comfort ye my people. Shows two things. First, that call proves that the Lord means for his people to know a kind of comfort that is superlative. A kind of comfort that is superlative. Such comfort is a full and abiding comfort. A comfort that enables a walk of confidence and a walk of faith. And second, the Lord's repeated call for comfort shows the degree to which the Lord himself desires this comfort for his people. Understand this, the Lord both desires and therefore has purpose. that his people enjoy and rejoice in the finished work of Christ. Christ's work is to us the source and the reason for our heart's rest, or we might say our heart's comfort. But someone might say, but the message. This message that we read of here in Isaiah chapter 40 was for a people facing captivity. It was for another day, not today. Calvin answers that argument by pointing to the word Seth. Comfort ye, comfort ye Seth, your God. The word there that we have, Seth, is actually better translated, will say. And so Calvin argues, this statement is in a future tense. The comfort of God's people is tied to the coming of the removal of sin. That work had yet to be seen. And so we might say it like this, the comfort of which God speaks, that comfort was Christ's to win and is Christ's to give. So we might also ask, well, how does that comfort come to our hearts? If God means for us to know this, if God is presenting this as a wondrous gift given from the hand of Christ, how is it that this comfort comes to our hearts? Well, very plainly, it is the Spirit's work. This comfort comes to us through the Holy Spirit. Let me just emphasize with you, the Spirit does not come to you, child of God, to testify about you. He comes to point you to him who is your comfort. In fact, the Lord Jesus says, Matthew chapter 15, excuse me, John chapter 15, verse 26, But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me." Of me, of Christ. That is the subject of the Spirit's testifying. One might also say, but the Holy Spirit convicts of sin. that his focus is on me, right? Well, let me just say this. Conviction of sin in the greatest measure is a result of the Holy Spirit presenting the need of perfect righteousness to be acceptable to God. You do not have that knowledge. You do not have that ability to see that need, and so when you are shown the need of the Spirit of God, you come under conviction. But He is always faithful to point to the way in which righteousness comes, and so is rightly called by the Lord Jesus, the Comforter. How is it that you are made right with God? How is it that you are free from sin? The Comforter comes and preaches to you the comfort that is in Christ Jesus. So, as we remember the work of Christ that makes us righteous with God, we may very aptly call this table to which we come the Comfort Table. The Comfort Table. Here at this table, we have everything that speaks to the putting of all things right with God. Here is for us, in emblem form, the place of rest for your soul. Indeed, it is on this table that is spread the emblem of the Lord's blood. Is there anything that afflicts the soul that the power of the blood cannot cure? I'll let you think about that for a second. Is there anything that you're facing? Is there anything that you're going through? Is there anything that you have yet within you that is perhaps needing to be addressed before God? Is there anything that afflicts your soul that steals from you the comfort of God that the power of the blood does not cure? Is it not the power of the blood of the Lord Jesus that allows for you to let go of sin and even more to see sin let go of you? Well, see too that on this table is the bread emblematic of the body of the Lord Jesus. It is the emblem of his perfect life that is imputed to you a righteousness that you wear that shall never be taken from you. So I would ask you very plainly, very simply, what about this table is not of comfort? Not one thing. Even more, what one thing about the work of the Lord Jesus is not a comfort? Not one thing. Well, may you come to this table and find that the Holy Spirit turns it all to your peace and rejoicing. May we know today as we come around this table, the ministry of the Holy Ghost, the comforter that comforts us, not with anything that has to do with ourselves. Oh, may he never let us be comfortable about ourselves. but may he never fail, though he will not fail, to let us see the comfort that is in Christ Jesus. May he give us wit, may he give us understanding, may he give us faith, may he allow the grace of God to so touch our hearts that we find that we are comforted as we come to the comforts table We might ask a little bit more specifically, but how and in what does the Holy Spirit accomplish such a work of comfort? What is that work? What is that comfort? I want us to think on this and answer this. Again, within our minds, you know these things, but we're here to remember. So I want us to remember what it is that is the subject, the source, and the power of our comfort. May the Lord bless us. You see here in Isaiah chapter 40, verse two, the answer, how we are comforted as suggested by our God in verse one. First, we are told that there is an accomplished warfare. an accomplished warfare. In verse two, if your Bible has such a thing, you may see in the margin that the word warfare could perhaps be translated and may even better be translated appointed time. An appointed time. Speak that the appointed time is accomplished. Now that's greatly significant. You say, well, how is that? Simply put, this is the message. That the Father, this one who would say to the hearts of his people, be comforted, is telling us that he appointed a time in which the Lord Jesus would atone for sin. The appointed time. has been purposed of God, it has been decreed of God, it has been planned of God, and it will be outworked by the hand of God. There was and is a determined day for that battle, the battle against sin and the rescue of the people of God, so that it might be said, as it was said of David, and David recovered all. There is a determined day, an appointed time. But this also means that God appointed a time that your sin and its penalty would be dealt with. Or can I say it like this? The Lord Jesus so often talked about this appointed time as His hour. May I say to you that Christ's hour and our hour were the same? We entered together with Christ into that day of battle against the enemy of our souls. Oh, see this. We seem to think that we are the ones who are to battle progressively for the comfort that comes from God. If I'm going to know God's comfort, God's healing God's helping of my soul, that I progressively have to win battle after battle after battle, and so build myself into the place of blessing by the battling of my own hands. That's not the truth at all. That is absolutely not so. This scripture is telling you, child of God, that there was an appointed time in which your comfort was won. Your comfort was accomplished. There was something that was done by the hand of the Savior that brings this to you, that you are comforted not by something that you continue to do. In fact, I will say it this way, Calvary was that moment in which the whole matter of your comfort was settled. And so I think I can confidently say to you, every power, which fights to keep the peace of God from the hearts of the Lord's own people, has been roundly beaten. No exceptions. There is to be no more rising of that which afflicts the soul. Child of God, the Father of lights, stands as it were and proclaims, comfort ye my people, because the appointed time has been accomplished. Yes, there was a day, a former day, we would have to admit there was a day when we were whipped by a force that was against our soul. Yes, sin is the lash. Sin is wounding. Sin can rightly go by the name all pain. Sin is the opposite of comfort. Yet the moment came when the great enemy was beaten, and now you were able to sit down in comfort of heart and rejoice in the full salvation of God. Again, not because of yourself, not because you believe, but because Jesus did not fail. The warfare was won by one whose body and blood we see in emblem form before us. And I say emphatically, these emblems that we have on this table are not emblems of a defeated and a slain substitute. They are the emblems of a victorious savior. And so when you come to this time, child of God, remember Christ, but also remember that your comfort has been won. The comfort of your soul, that you might know that there is peace now with God. that you are just in the sight of a holy God, that forevermore you shall be considered righteous by the Lord your God. It has been won by Jesus Christ by his fulfilling what was his work to do on that appointed time. So there's the first element that we find that we are to remember that would comfort us. An accomplished warfare. And second, now, I would have you consider with me the second part of this, which is a pardoned offense. Her warfare is accomplished, her iniquity is pardoned. A pardoned offense. And here we must change the imagery. No longer is the whip to be seen, now we see the gavel. Here is not the tempter to be feared, but the law of God. It is possible to sit in comfort of heart. But the question would be, is it possible to sit in comfort of heart when there hangs over the head a sentence of unending death? Never. We have sinned against God. There must be an answering. We must come to God's judgment bar. We must stand and face the verdict of God against our soul. We must hear the sentence being read, guilty. Is it not true that as condemned, we are but a breath from the pit that burns with fire? But here's the point. the scene at the bar has already taken place. All the judging and the sentencing and the execution is over. The sentence has been passed, the execution scene, again, all that the law of God demands of us is over. But you might say, but I have not known such a moment of pardon. Yes, you have. If you're in the Lord Jesus, you have. Here at this table, you see the tokens of your freedom from sin and power of sin. You, child of God, are to come to rejoice in your pardon and remember who it is that brought it to you. You have been freed in that appointed time from all the handwriting of ordinances which was against you. And third, we are told of a reconciled heart. For she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. The Lord is giving as it were from his heart. He is now reconciled. So we see a reconciled heart. A reconciled to whom? Well, again, reconciled to God. Romans 5 and 10. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. Here's the point. God with his own hand, when he smote Christ, when he allowed Christ to be broken, on the cross he at the same time shredded the writ of offense against you. Here is comfort. Here is comfort. There is comfort in knowing that the matters by which we offended God are no longer seen. But that is not the greatest thrust of the words. The key thought here is that the one who was offended by our sin is not only has been seen but is reconciled. His heart is completely satisfied that his justice is met. And for the people of God, there is that message of comfort. For God is at peace with us. If I were a hymn writer, we could probably stretch that into saying something like, well, I'd be stealing somebody's when I would say there's a wideness in the river of God's love. Yes, you see it flowing here. He is completely reconciled now to you, child of God, and there is for you the comfort of God that is yours through Christ Jesus. And so I say very plainly, this table that we come to today ought to be for us, ought to be for believers, the place of highest comfort. Why? Well, two things. You're bidden to come to this place. You're not just coming on your own, by your own initiative. You are being called of God to come to this place and enjoy the comfort that's in Christ Jesus. You can then know that because he wants you here. He bids for you to come here. And second, not only am I bidden to come to this place, I am promised comfort for my heart as I remember Christ. As I remember Christ, there will be a work done of this comforter, the Spirit of God within that allows me to know not only that I am at peace with God, but I will know also the peace of God. Comfort's table is that to which we come. May the Lord allow us now to enjoy that as we but seek him around the table of the Lord.