The Savior of the World – part 3
Isaiah 42:1-25 (10-13)
March 3, 2024
This morning I want to begin by asking you:
WHAT IS A FITTING RESPONSE TO SALVATION?
• If you were at one point trapped in destructive peril with no way of escape and then someone came and delivered you…
• If that someone who delivered you wasn’t indebted to you at all, in fact they weren’t a personal friend, or immediate family member…
• But this person put themselves at great risk and in grave danger to come and rescue you from your peril…
• If this person had great compassion on you and treated you mercifully and respectfully and didn’t get angry at you even though it was your own foolishness that put you in your predicament…
If that person fully rescued and delivered you from that peril,
WHAT WOULD BE A FITTING RESPONSE TO THAT PERSON?
Well of course we are talking about a specific person
And we are certain that we have in fact been rescued by Him.
We are talking about God who chose to save even Gentiles
By sending His Son into the world to save them.
This is the message of Isaiah 42.
• God is offering salvation to the nations.
• He is offering salvation to the peoples.
• He is offering salvation to the coastlands.
It is the same coastlands who, in chapter 41,
Decided to trust in their graven images instead of in Israel’s God.
• God warned them of the foolishness of such a decision,
• Then in great grace and mercy
• Turns around in chapter 42 and offers them salvation anyway.
We’ve already looked at the first two points of this chapter
But because it has been a week let me bring it back to our minds.
#1 THE SAVIOR ANNOUNCED
Isaiah 42:1-4
Very simply we saw that God determined to offer salvation to the nations.
• Salvation is the plan of God.
• Salvation begins with the motivation of God.
• Salvation is instigated and initiated by God.
This is why in Scripture God is often referred to as our Savior.
God determined to send a Savior
And in these first 4 verses we see who God selected.
“My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My spirit upon Him;”
We are talking about God’s chosen Savior.
We know Him as Jesus Christ.
Matthew’s gospel concurs for Matthew actually quoted Isaiah 42:2-4 in Matthew 12:18-20 and said that Isaiah was talking about Jesus.
He is the One whom God chose.
• He wouldn’t be a bully
• He wouldn’t be manipulative or brutal
• He wouldn’t be fainthearted or quit when it is hard
• But He would come and offer hope to the coastlands (Gentiles)
God was sending a Savior, even One who would save Gentiles.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
That was the Savior Announced
#2 THE SAVIOR APPOINTED
Isaiah 42:5-9
Here we saw the actual commissioning of that Savior to the world.
• Often times we read in the New Testament that it was the Father who “sent” the Son into the world.
We see that Here.
And we see that God would “appoint You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations,”
It is a marvelous reality!
• Jesus Christ would be God’s New Covenant.
• Not only for Jews, but here we read even for the nations.
• He would be the One who would shed His blood
• Then take that blood into the very real presence of God, the actual holy of holies,
• He would offer that blood as a payment to God for the forgiveness of the sins of His people.
That payment would be the foundation of this new covenant.
• It would be His death that would enable the transfer of the inheritance.
• It would be His death that would inaugurate this new covenant.
• It would be His death that would bring forgiveness to those who would receive this new covenant.
God sent Him to save.
AND HE SAVED.
God sent Him to (7) “open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon and those who dwell in darkness from the prison.”
AND HE DID!
He came to save and He saved.
Not potentially, but actually.
And then we saw why God was so adamant
About bringing this salvation even to the Gentiles
Who had thus far preferred their idols over God.
(8) “I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.”
God will not abide idolatry!
God will not sit idly by while some hunk of metal or stone or wood
Gets honored as the savior of the world.
No idol ever saved anyone, only God is the Savior.
AND GOD WILL BE GLORIFIED AS SUCH!
So God sends His Son into the world to save!
• He chose the Savior.
• He sent the Savior.
• He equipped the Savior.
• He laid our sins upon the Savior.
• And through the Savior HE SAVED US…even Gentiles.
ALL FOR THE GLORY OF HIS NAME.
But that brings me now back to the question we opened with.
WHAT IS A FITTING RESPONSE TO THIS SALVATION?
• If you were one of those Gentiles who was saved…
• If you were one of the blind who received sight…
• If you were one of those prisoners who were set free…
• If you were one of those idolators who were forgiven…
What is the fitting response to the One who saved you?
We see that sinful woman in the Pharisees house…
Luke 7:37-38 “And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume.”
We see that man who was freed of the legion of demons…
Luke 8:39 “Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.”
The woman at the well…
John 4:28-29 “So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men, “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?”
When the blind man received sight…
Luke 18:43 “Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, glorifying God; and when all the people saw it, they gave praise to God.”
Isaac Watts wrote:
“Where the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small. Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.”
THIS MORNING, THIS IS WHAT WE FOCUS UPON.
We saw The Savior Announced We saw The Savior Appointed
#3 THE SAVIOR ADORED
Isaiah 42:10-13
God already spelled it out for us up in verse 8.
• God expects glory for His salvation.
• God expects praise for His salvation.
And in verse 10, in case we missed His insinuation,
God spells it out in UNMISTAKABLE form.
“Sing to the LORD a new song, sing His praise from the end of the earth!”
What does God demand?
SING HIS PRAISE!
Specifically here He calls for the singing of “a new song”.
What does this mean?
• People who are saved are to instantly write a new song that has never before been sung?
No, the phrase “new song” shows up 9 times in Scripture.
Every time it refers to the song which is sung after salvation.
Psalms 40:1-3 “I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear And will trust in the LORD.”
Psalms 96:1-6 “Sing to the LORD a new song; Sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, bless His name; Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. For great is the LORD and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the LORD made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before Him, Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.”
Even in the book of the Revelation after the 144,000 are saved and sealed during the tribulation.
Revelation 14:1-3 “Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth.”
THIS IS THE SONG OF REDEMPTION.
It is not new in its existence, but it is certainly new to the singer.
(Not new chronologically, but experientially)
(It is new to them)
A lost man can sin Amazing Grace as a beloved and famous tune,
But he cannot sing it like the redeemed.
• Only a man who now sees after his blindness can truly sing that song.
• Only a man who has been raised from the dead can truly sing that song.
But once he has received sight and once he has been raised,
He is commanded to sing it!
He is called upon to lift his voice in praise to God.
Psalms 118 is that great Psalm of the champion.
• It chronicles the suffering and trial and crucifixion and victory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And those who are redeemed as a result of His battle are called upon to sing in response.
Psalms 118:22-29 “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone. This is the LORD’S doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day which the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it. O LORD, do save, we beseech You; O LORD, we beseech You, do send prosperity! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD; We have blessed you from the house of the LORD. The LORD is God, and He has given us light; Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I give thanks to You; You are my God, I extol You. Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
The hypocrisy of the Jews was seen in the fact that they sang this song to Jesus at His triumphal entry and then just a few days later determined to crucify Him.
They sang the song as formality from memory,
But only the redeemed sing it a new.
DO WE UNDERSTAND THIS CHURCH?
GOD SENT A SAVIOR WHO ACTUALLY SAVED US
AND WE ARE EXPECTED TO PRAISE HIM FOR THIS!
When God announced to Mary that He would send the Christ through her, how did she respond?
Luke 1:46-55 “And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. “For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed. “For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name. “AND HIS MERCY IS UPON GENERATION AFTER GENERATION TOWARD THOSE WHO FEAR HIM. “He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. “He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble. “HE HAS FILLED THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS; And sent away the rich empty-handed. “He has given help to Israel His servant, In remembrance of His mercy, As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and his descendants forever.”
When God revealed to Zaccariah that his son would be the forerunner, how did he respond?
Luke 1:67-75 “And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people, And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of David His servant— As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old— Salvation FROM OUR ENEMIES, And FROM THE HAND OF ALL WHO HATE US; To show mercy toward our fathers, And to remember His holy covenant, The oath which He swore to Abraham our father, To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.”
When the angels saw the birth of Jesus on the earth, how did they respond?
Luke 2:8-14 “In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. “This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”
When Jesus was taken into the temple and Simeon saw God’s Savior, how did he respond?
Luke 2:27-32 “And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation, Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, And the glory of Your people Israel.”
Do you see it church?
• This is fitting!
• This is expected!
God has done that which He did not have to do.
HE HAS CHOSEN TO SAVE SINNERS.
And sinners are expected to respond in praise!
AND THAT INCLUDES US!
1 Peter 2:9-10 “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.”
What Peter says there is exactly the point of Isaiah 42.
For who is here called upon to sing this new song?
Isaiah says, “Sing His praise from the end of the earth!”
It is a call to the Gentiles
• Who were formerly not the people of God,
• But who have been redeemed by God’s own son
• And adopted into the very family of God.
They are called to sing!
They are called to give thanks to God!
And then Isaiah gets specific.
(10b-12) “You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it. You islands, and those who dwell on them. Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voices, The settlements where Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing aloud, Let them shout for joy from the tops of the mountains. Let them give glory to the LORD And declare His praise in the coastlands.”
God deserves glory for saving sinners.
And eternity will be filled with Him receiving that glory.
Revelation 7:9-12 “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”
We’ve said it before, but we’ll say it again.
• If you can’t get excited about singing the praises of God here on earth…
• If meditating in the glories of God’s wonderful salvation is boring to you…
• If long periods of worship and endless focus upon God wearies you…
Then I can assure you that heaven holds no attraction for you.
You can join with the rest of our blasphemous society
And pretend heaven is all about you and you and talk about it
Being a place of fishing and golfing and hanging out with buddies…
Most people today speak of heaven like it’s a Caribbean cruise.
NOT EVEN CLOSE.
It will be the holiest place you have ever set foot.
When Isaiah saw the glory of the LORD he fell to his feet and expected to die.
It wasn’t until after redemption and atonement that Isaiah could stand in that place.
No unredeemed sinner will ever enjoy heaven.
It will be a place where all focus and glory and honor
Will be forever focused on the God of the universe.
Revelation 4:8-11 “And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME.” And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”
This is the activity of heaven!
This is the attraction of heaven!
If it holds no interest to you here,
I can assure you, you won’t be participating there either.
Praise and glory is what God deserves and it is what He will receive.
And church, as those whom God has redeemed
We are commanded to bring it to Him with every fabric of our being.
“Sing to the LORD a new song, Sing His praise from the end of the earth!”
AND JUST IN CASE YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN WHY HE DESERVES IT,
GOD REMINDS US HERE YET AGAIN.
(13) “The LORD will go forth like a warrior, He will arouse His zeal like a man of war. He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry. He will prevail against His enemies.”
Well, let’s just state the obvious real quick.
That seems quite the contrast to what we just read about Him up in verses 2 and 3.
(2-3) “He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street. “A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.”
It was just 10 verses ago that we read how meek and mild He was.
• We saw Him as gentle and compassionate.
• He wasn’t raising His voice.
• He wasn’t treating broken people harshly.
• He was careful and gentle with the weak and hopeless.
We saw Him compassionately saving sinners
As a gentle Shepherd carrying His sheep.
And now, just 10 verses later
It appears that the script has completely flipped.
NOW HE IS A WARRIOR!
Earlier “He will not cry out or raise His voice”,
But now “He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry.”
Earlier “A bruised reed He will not break”,
But now “He will arouse His zeal like a man of war.”
WHAT IN THE WORLD DO WE DO WITH THIS?
What you are seeing is the difference
In the way our Savior approaches those He is saving
Verses those He is saving them from.
Up in verses 2 and 3
We see the broken and hopeless sinners He came to save.
• They are blind, they are bound, they are imprisoned, they are hopeless, they are broken, they are lost.
• He comes to them in compassion and gentleness. He understands their wounds, He understands their weariness, and He comes to gently bring them back home.
But in verse 13
We find how He must deal with the one who bound them.
• In verse 13 He deals with their oppressor.
• He deals with their jailor.
• He deals with the one who has enslaved them and now holds them captive.
A Savior must be gentle for we are broken people.
But at the same time a Savior must be a warrior
For ours is no timid enemy.
He is that Satan-devil, the usurper and adversary.
• He is the liar and the father of lies.
• He is the deceiver of the garden
• He is the deceiver behind every false prophet
He has been a murderer from the beginning.
• He was behind the murder of Abel
• He was behind the murder of the Hebrew babies in Egypt
• He is behind every murder today
In Luke 18 he had bound a woman for 18 long years so that she was bent double.
In Matthew 8 he had placed an entire legion of demons into a man driving him insane.
Throughout the gospels he had continually deceived the nation through his children the Pharisees to try and earn what God would give them by grace.
He is cruel and deceptive and utterly destructive.
John 10:10a “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…”
• He incited God against Job…
• He incited Pharaoh to oppress the Jews…
• He incited Nebuchadnezzar to burn the temple…
• He incited Haman to try and annihilate all the Jewish captives…
• He incited Judas to betray Christ and then hang himself…
• He incited every act of oppression the world sees…
He is cunning and powerful and we are no match for him.
Paul tells Timothy about all of his captives:
2 Timothy 2:24-26 “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”
Paul literally speaks of sinners as those who are
“held captive by him to do his will.”
Even in spiritual warfare we are reminded:
Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
And certainly Paul would understand.
How many times have we read His pitiful cry in Romans 7?
• Written as a man who desperately wants to leave his covetous life of sin but
who has no power to break free.
• He is bound, he is captive, and no matter how much he might want to leave, he
cannot do so.
Romans 7:24 “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?”
The apostle John said:
1 John 5:14 “…the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”
He is a foe for whom we are no match.
The Psalmist spoke of him:
Psalms 10:5-11 “His ways prosper at all times; Your judgments are on high, out of his sight; As for all his adversaries, he snorts at them. He says to himself, “I will not be moved; Throughout all generations I will not be in adversity.” His mouth is full of curses and deceit and oppression; Under his tongue is mischief and wickedness. He sits in the lurking places of the villages; In the hiding places he kills the innocent; His eyes stealthily watch for the unfortunate. He lurks in a hiding place as a lion in his lair; He lurks to catch the afflicted; He catches the afflicted when he draws him into his net. He crouches, he bows down, And the unfortunate fall by his mighty ones. He says to himself, “God has forgotten; He has hidden His face; He will never see it.”
Martin Luther wrote:
“For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe; his craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate, on earth is not his equal.”
And this is our adversary.
We are no match for him.
BUT…
We have a Savior!
We have a Warrior who came to crush the serpent’s head.
We have one according to Hebrews 2:14-15
Hebrews 2:14b-15 “[Who came], that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”
He is the One for whom we have waited.
Psalms 10 goes on to talk about Him
Psalms 10:12-18 “Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up Your hand. Do not forget the afflicted. Why has the wicked spurned God? He has said to himself, “You will not require it.” You have seen it, for You have beheld mischief and vexation to take it into Your hand. The unfortunate commits himself to You; You have been the helper of the orphan. Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer, Seek out his wickedness until You find none. The LORD is King forever and ever; Nations have perished from His land. O LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear To vindicate the orphan and the oppressed, So that man who is of the earth will no longer cause terror.”
Our Savior comes as a Warrior
That He might attack our enemy and release his captives.
He is meek and mild to us,
But He is mighty and swift when dealing with our enemy.
He came to crush Satan and all those he uses.
Luke 10:17-20 “The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”
Did Jesus not crush the legalistic arm of the Pharisees?
• Have you not read Matthew 23 and all the “Woes” which Jesus pronounced upon them?
Did He not set His people free from their yoke and give rest to all He came to save?
He is a mighty warrior who came to crush our oppressor.
We absolutely love 1 Peter 3 which gives us insight into His Satan-crushing crusade.
1 Peter 3:18-22 “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.”
That verse speaks of where Christ went during those 3 days of His death.
• Peter says “He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison”
• Peter identifies those spirits as those “who once were disobedient…in the
days of Noah.”
• Peter is talking about that place known as Hades, where those fallen angels
who tried to corrupt humanity back in Genesis 6 were sent.
In Luke 16 when we read that story about the rich man in Hades and Lazarus in paradise or Abraham’s bosom, that is this place.
• It is Sheol in the Old Testament, the place of the dead.
• Jesus called it “Paradise” to the thief on the cross.
On this day, Jesus entered that place.
He carried away the saints to be with Him with His Father and according to Peter “He made proclamation to the spirits now in prison”
That word “proclamation” is not the word for evangelism
It is KERUSSO which means “to herald”.
Jesus entered that place and put Hades on its knees!
He rescued those whom He had purchased
And He declared victory over all of Satan’s forces.
Revelation 1 says he stole the keys of death and of hades and He came walking out of that tomb with them.
• He crushed Satan.
• He crushed his forces.
• He crushed his rebellion.
• And He walked out the other side.
Jesus came as a warrior to set the captives free!
Isaiah 59:15b-20 “And it was displeasing in His sight that there was no justice. And He saw that there was no man, And was astonished that there was no one to intercede; Then His own arm brought salvation to Him, And His righteousness upheld Him. He put on righteousness like a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle. According to their deeds, so He will repay, Wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies; To the coastlands He will make recompense. So they will fear the name of the LORD from the west And His glory from the rising of the sun, For He will come like a rushing stream Which the wind of the LORD drives. “A Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” declares the LORD.”
THIS IS OUR SAVIOR!
He came to rescue His own!
He came to save His own!
• He saved us from the wrath of God by fulfilling in His body the righteousness which the Law required.
• He saved us from the coming judgment by paying the debt for the sins we committed by dying on the cross.
• He saved us from our bondage to Satan by crushing his head and conquering death.
• He saved us from our sin by releasing us from the enemy and giving us a new nature to be filled with His Spirit.
Yes He came in gentleness and meekness to us
And led us like a compassionate Shepherd.
But He also came in fury and vengeance
He stomped on the head of our enemy and made Him give us up.
• We didn’t need a negotiator…
• We didn’t need a diplomat…
• We needed a sword wielding, head crushing, arm breaking Savior!
AND WE GOT ONE!
He came according to verse 7, “To bring out prisoners from the dungeon and those who dwell in darkness from the prison.”
AND HE DID!
Can you praise Him for that?
• Can you “Sing to the LORD a new song..?”
• Can you “Sing His praise from the end of the earth?”
• Can you “give glory to the LORD”?
• Can you “declare His praise in the coastlands”?
That is the expectation of God!
“Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus our blessed Redeemer! Sing, O earth, His wonderful love proclaim! Hail Him! Hail Him! Highest arch-angels in glory, Strength and honor give to His holy name.”
If He has set you free! Then praise Him!
If He has given sight to your blind eyes, praise Him!
If He has breathed life into your dead bones, praise Him!
And this morning this is what we are going to do.
I told the congregation last Sunday night,
We are going to start doing this more and more.
We are going to end our services with songs of praise and worship as we sing back to the Lord songs that are fitting in regard to what we have just heard from His word.
That DOES NOT MEAN that this is not an invitation.
You are still invited to come!
• Are you in sin and long for this Savior to save you, then come!
• Do you need to come and spend time at the altar while we sing, then do it.
• Do you want me to pray with you, I still will. I’ll be right here at this front pew.
You are still invited to come,
But we also want the redeemed to have the opportunity
To respond to God as God requires, with songs of glorious praise!
Church, let us praise the Lord as He deserves.
