To Worship and Glorify God: Isaiah 66(6)

Pray Psalm 92.1-4.
It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning,
And Your faithfulness every night,
On an instrument of ten strings,
On the lute,
And on the harp,
With harmonious sound.
For You, LORD, have made me glad through Your work;
I will triumph in the works of Your hands.

Read Isaiah 66.22-24.

Reflect.
1. The peoples of the world are defined in terms of their relationship with God. How can you see that in these verses? 

2. How would you describe the mood or tone of these verses?

Meditate.
Isaiah’s book ends on the same note that it sang throughout – promise and warning. God is making a new heavens and new earth (v. 22), and those who dwell there with Him shall endure forever. Their primary occupation will be to worship God; however, as we have seen, this is not restricted to gatherings for worship, but describes lives devoted as living sacrifices to the Lord, worshiping Him in everything we do (cf. Rom. 12.1, 2).

This is the hope of all who hear and heed the Word of God, and who look to His promises and long for His salvation, even as they endure hardships or discipline from the Lord.

On the other hand, those who will not tremble at the Lord and His Word, but who continue to insist on their own way, transgress against the Lord (v. 24). They will be condemned to eternal misery. Dead in their trespasses and sins in this life, they will continue in death forever – the consequence of choosing to reject God’s Word and promises, and to pursue their own means of salvation, rather than His.

Thus, God speaking through Isaiah leaves us with a choice: Choose life eternal with God, by trusting in His Word and worshiping Him, even in the hard times of life; or choose self and transgression against the Lord, and the consequences of eternal banishment from His Presence.

Everyone must know that only two paths are before us – that of obedience to God’s Word, and blessing in His salvation; and that of rejecting God’s grace and choosing to go our own way. The one leads to eternal life, and the other to eternal misery. Our duty, like Isaiah, is to walk the path of blessing, and to call others to join us on it.

Prepare.
1. The Good News of salvation includes hope and promises of life, but warnings of judgment and death as well. Explain.

2. Who are the descendants, and what is the name that God promises will remain before Him (v. 22)?

3. Why is transgression against the Lord such a terrible matter? Why should those who refuse to repent of their transgressions be consigned to eternal misery?

If heaven and earth are renewed, how can we doubt the possibility of our renewal, for whom heaven and earth were made? If the transgressor is kept for punishment, why should not the just person be preserved for glory? If the worm of sinners does not die, how shall the flesh of the just perish? For the resurrection, as the very form of the word indicates, is this: What has fallen shall rise again, what has died shall live again. Ambrose of Milan (333-397 AD), On His Brother Satyrus 2.87

Make me an agent of Your Good News, Lord, and help me to…

Pray Psalm 92.
As you pray this psalm, rejoice in the goodness of the Lord, both now and for eternity to come, which is ours through Jesus Christ.

Sing to the Lord.
Psalm 92 (Sweet Hour: Sweet Hour of Prayer)
How good it is to thank the Lord and praise to God Most High accord; 
By day to let His kindness ring, His faithfulness by night to sing. 
With ten-stringed lute, resounding lyre, and sweetest harp we’ll lift You higher. 
For You have made our souls rejoice; we sing Your praise with blended voice! 

How sweet Your works, Your thoughts how deep: The fool cannot such knowledge keep. 
Like grass the wicked rise each day; in judgment they are swept away. 
But You, O Lord, abide on high; Your enemies shall fall and die. 
All those who sin shall scattered be, but, Lord, You have exalted me! 

My eye my vanquished foe shall see; my ears hear those who threaten me. 
Yet in God’s house, where he belongs, the righteous like a tree grows strong. 
Then let us green and fruitful be and flourish like a mighty tree, 
To tell God’s righteousness abroad: He is our Rock, our sovereign God!

T. M. Moore

Where do the prophets fit with the rest of Scripture? How can I be a better student of God’s Word? Our course, Introduction to Biblical Theology, can help you gain a better approach to and understanding of the Scriptures. Watch this brief preview video, then register at The Ailbe Seminary and enroll in this free online course.

Forward today’s lesson to some friends, and challenge them to study with you through this series on Isaiah. Each week’s lessons will be available as a free PDF download at the end of the week. Get a copy for yourself and send the link for the download to your friends. Plan to meet weekly to study Isaiah’s important message.

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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).