Sermon # 148 Series: Isaiah

Title: The Covenant Promises of The Father To The Son

Text: Isaiah 49: 7-12

Subject: The Promises Made To Christ In The Covenant of Grace

Date: Sunday Evening – April 25, 1993

Introduction:

Before the world began, when God dwelt alone in his solitary greatness, before ever he had made the heavenly hosts, before he created the earth or made man to dwell upon it, when nothing and no one existed but God himself, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit entered into a solemn covenant, a covenant of grace and peace. The object of that covenant was and is the salvation of an elect multitude for the glory of the triune God. In that covenant of grace…

1. A great multitude, which no man can number, was chosen unto salvation as the objects of God’s grace and predestinated unto the adoption of sons by Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will- (Eph. 1: 3-6; II Thess 2: 13-14).

2. The Lord God devised a means of redemption and grace that would honor all his attributes, secure the eternal blessedness of his people, and glorify his own great name- Substitution.

He said, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And the Son of God volunteered to become Jehovah’s Servant, our Substitute, the Mediator and Surety of the covenant. He said, “Here am I, send Me!”

3. The Lord Jesus, the Son of God promised that he would do everything necessary to save his people and bring them to glory.

· Establish Righteousness.

· Suffer and Die for the Satisfaction of Justice.

· Send His Spirit to Regenerate, Call, Sanctify and Preserve.

· Resurrect and Glorify His People.

4. The Father and the Son struck hands together, and the Matter of our Salvation was Settled Forever!

· The Son said, “Lo, I come…!”

· The Father said, “Ask of me, and I will give thee…!”

· The Spirit said, “I will fetch them from afar!”

· The salvation of God’s elect was a “done deal,” settled before the world began in the covenant of grace (II Tim. 1:9; Eph. 1:3).

Tonight, I want to talk to you about The Covenant Promises of The Father to The Son, the promises that God the Father made to the Lord Jesus Christ as his Servant in the covenant of grace. Read the text with me – Isaiah 49:7-12.

Proposition: When the Son of God agreed to become Jehovah’s Servant for the saving of his people, Certain Promises were Made To Christ As Our Covenant Surety Which Must And Shall Be Fulfiled.

If you will keep your Bible open at Isaiah 49: 7-12, you will see that there are seven of these promises declared in these verses.

I. In verse 7, The Father Promised To Exalt His Son And Make Him The Object Of Worship.

Actually, it is not only God the Father who makes this promise to his Servant. Rather, all Three of the Divine Persons speak in unison, “The Lord, The Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One.” The great God is so honored and pleased by the obedience of Christ as his Servant that, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have put all glory upon and given all pre-eminence to the Son, the God-man, Jehovah’s Servant (John 3:35; Col. 1:18-19- “The Father” is in italics. “It pleased God!”)

A. This verse speaks first of Christ’s Great Humiliation.

Our Savior is here described as “him whom man despiseth…whom the nation abhorreth…a servant of rulers. Great indeed was his humiliation (II Cor. 8: 9).

1. The Son of God became one “whom man despiseth.” “He was “despised and rejected of men.” Man, who is nothing but a worm, despised the incarnate God! Man, whom he came to save, despised him.

· They despised Him!

· They despised His Doctrine!

· They despised His Disciples!

2. The Lord of Glory became “him whom the nation abhorreth. The nation of Israel cried, “Crucify him, Crucify him!” And the nation of Rome gladly obliged!

3. The King of Kings became “a servant to rulers”

· Obeying the law under Jewish rulers.

· Paying tribute to Caesar, a Gentile Ruler.

· Being scourged by Pilate and crucified by his order. All of this our Savior voluntarily submitted to so that he might save us. He was abased that he might exalt us.

B. But He Who Humbled Himself was and is Exalted By The Lord God- (Phil. 2: 8-11).

1. The Father promised that the rulers of the earth would bow before and worship him- “Kings” –“Princes.”

2. “Because of the Lord that is faithful”- The Father’s Faithfulness.

3. “Because of the Holy One of Israel” – The Spirit’s Call.

4. “And he shall choose thee.”

The Lord God promises here to make it evident that he had chosen Christ to be the Savior and Redeemer of his people. He makes this evident by…

· His Resurrection, Ascension, and Exaltation.

· The Preaching of The Gospel.

· The Call of The Spirit.

II. The Father promised He would Hear His Son- “Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee.”

What a sweet promise this is! At the time appointed from old eternity, the Father promised he would hear his Son, our Intercessor. He hear him for us!

A. He heard him in the Garden (Heb. 5: 7).

B. He heard him in John 17 (v. 24).

The Intercessory Prayers of Christ Secure.

1. The Salvation of His People.

2. The Preservation of His People.

3. The Consolation of the Spirit.

4. The Forgiveness of Our Sins.

5. The Inheritance of His Spirit in Glory.

C. He heard him on the Cross- “Father, forgive them!”

D. He hears him Now (I John 2: 1-2).

All our happiness in this world and in the world to come is the result of Chirst’s intercession for us!

III. The Father also promised To Help His Son In All That He Undertook To Save Us- “In a day of salvation have I helped thee.”

You realize, of course, that this promise is made to Christ as a man. He who is the mighty God needed no help. His own arm brought salvation to him! But as a man our Savior was sustained in all his work by the Father’s promise of help- (Isa. 42: 1; 50: 7, 9).

IV. The Lord God promised To Preserve Christ In All His Work and Through All His Sufferings- “I will preserve thee.”

A. From His Enemies.

· In His Infancy.

· In His Garden.

· On The Cross.

B. From The Power of Death by His Resurrection (Ps. 16: 9-11).

C. He Preserves Him Upon His Throne Until All His Foes Become His Footstool- “He must Reign!”

D. He Preserves His Seed unto Everlasting!

· Until Their Calling.

· After Their Calling.

· In The Grave.

· In The Judgment.

V. Notice next that The Lord God Promised To Give His Son “For A Covenant of The People.”

A. Christ is Given to The People”

He is not given to all people. Neither is he given to “a people” who might receive him. But he is given to “The people!”

1. The People Given to Him.

2. The People Redeemed by Him.

3. The People Called by His Spirit.

4. The People Who Trust Him.

B. He is given to us As The Covenant of Grace, As The Sun And Substance of the Covenant!

· The Representative and Surety of the Covenant.

· The Mediator and Messenger of the Covenant.

· The Ratifier and Confirmer of the Covenant.

Christ is all that, but much more. Christ himself is the Covenant. He is the great blessing of the covenant. When the Lord God gives you his Son, he gives you everything with his Son (Eph. 1:3; Rom. 8: 32).

VI. Then, The Lord God Promised His Son, His Servant, Our Great Savior Complete Success In His Work.

It is written, “He shall not fail.” And here we are told specific areas in which he shall not fail.

A. As Our Savior – (v. 8).

He shall “establish the earth (and) cause to inherit the desolate heritages.”

1. Establish Righteousness In The Earth.

2. Establish His People In The Earth (Ps. 89: 36-37).

3. Cause The Desolate Gentile Nations To Inherit The Blessedness of His Grace.

B. As Our Liberator – (v. 9).

1. We are all prisoners by nature- “Go Forth!”

2. We all sin in darkness- “Show yourself!”

C. As Our Provider and Protector (v. 10).

· Daily Bread (Himself).

· Daily Protection.

· Reviving Grace.

D. As Our Deliverer – (v. 11).

· No Obstacles to Grace!

He who made a path in the sea will easily make a way in the mountains – They are His mountains!

VII. In verse 12 The Lord God Promised His Son Complete Success In Gathering His Elect from The Four Corners Of The Earth. (See Isa. 43: 5-7).

Note: The land of Sinim is unknown. Apparently it was either the southern region of Babylon or a country to the south of Babylon.

A. God’s Elect are Scattered in the Four Corners of The Earth.

B. At the Appointed time He Gathers Them. (Ezek. 16: 6-8).

C. All Whom He Calls Gladly Come to Christ – He Has A Willing People- (Ps. 110: 3).

Application:

1. The Lord God has put everything in the hands of Christ for the saving of his people (John 17: 2).

2. With regard to the purpose of God, the salvation of God’s elect, and the grace of God – “Christ is All!”