The Way of Restoration: Isaiah 58 (5)

Pray Psalm 77.13-15.
Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary;
Who is so great a God as our God?
You are the God who does wonders;
You have declared Your strength among the peoples.
You have with Your arm redeemed Your people,
The sons of Jacob and Joseph.

Read Isaiah 58.1, 2.

Reflect.
1. To whom is God speaking in verse 1? In verse 2?

2. What is the problem God is beginning to point out here?

Meditate.
You might want to take a moment to review Isaiah 1.10-17, because in this part of our study of Isaiah is a commentary on the state of religion among the people of Judah and Jerusalem.

God instructs Isaiah to sound like the blast of a trumpet against the sins of His people (v. 1). As the minister of God’s Word, Isaiah was duty-bound to point out the transgressions of the people. How could they repent of sins unless their sins were brought to their attention? And without repentance, how would they ever know the healing and peace of the Lord?

I imagine the people got a little tired of hearing Isaiah preach against their idolatry, their lack of love for their neighbors, and their covetousness, among their other transgressions. In chapter 58, he gets at the very root of their problem, the root God exposed in Isaiah 1.10-17: The people of Judah and Jerusalem were playing at religion, going through the motions of faith without any heart commitment or application to life. In this chapter, Isaiah will focus on two particular aspects of their religious life, to expose their shallowness and hypocrisy.

But wait: God Himself says the people were seeking Him daily (v. 2). We don’t even do that in our day. Further, they were keeping the “ordinance of their God” – by which we may assume they were making their offerings and sacrifices in a timely manner – and the “ordinances of justice” as well. They delighted in the preaching. Why, they even seemed to enjoy coming to the Lord every day with their worship and their offerings. These people seem very religious, do they not? Certainly we don’t maintain such a frequency and tenor of worship in our day.

So what’s the problem? Why is God emphatic that their sins should be exposed? And what sins is He specifically concerned to expose and condemn?

Reflect.
1. Why was it important that Isaiah expose the sins of the people? Should preachers do this in our day?

2. How do you think the people of Jerusalem felt about the worship they were offering God? 

3. How can a person know when his religion is merely outward rather than inward and true?

We know that a trumpet is usually not so much heard as dreaded; it is not so much accustomed to bring pleasure as to inspire fear. A trumpet is necessary for sinners; it not only penetrates their ears but should strike their heart as well; it should not delight with its melody but chastise when it has been heard; it should encourage the bravehearted to righteousness, while it should turn the cowardly from their crimes. Maximus of Turin (d. 423 AD), Sermon 93.1

Search me, Lord! Is my faith truly inward and sincere, or am I…

Pray Psalm 77.
Asaph served during the days of Solomon, at the height of Israel’s glory. But this psalm suggests a different scenario. Consider the state of the churches and of Christianity in our day as you pray through this psalm, and call on the Lord to revive and restore us.

Sing to the Lord.
Psalm 77 (Leoni: The God of Abraham Praise)
My voice to God shall rise; I seek Him on His throne. 
In days and nights of trouble I seek God alone! 
When I remember Him, then am I sore distressed! 
My spirit faints and longs to find in Him its rest.

I scarce a word can speak, so troubled is my soul; 
Yet I recall Your grace to Israel long ago. 
I sing Your praise by night; my heart will meditate; 
My spirit ponders all Your grace and wonders great.

O Lord, will You reject Your people without end? 
Has favor ceased, are You no more our heav’nly Friend?
Your promise and Your love in anger are obscured; 
My sin has turned Your hand away, Your beauty blurred. 

Now let us call to mind Your deeds and wonders, Lord, 
And meditate on all Your works and praise Your Word. 
Full holy is Your way, great God of earth and heav’n, 
To You, O God of strength and pow’r all praise be giv’n! 

The waters and the deeps all tremble ‘neath Your hand. 
The clouds give forth, the sky resounds across the land. 
Your lightning flashes forth and lights the earth around; 
We feel beneath our feet the trembling of the ground. 

Your way leads through the sea; Your path the waters parts. 
Your footprints are to us deep mysteries in our hearts. 
As then by Moses’ hand and Aaron’s law-filled voice, 
You led Your sheep, lead us that we may all rejoice!

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006). All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).