In contrast to the nations, the people of Israel do not and cannot believe that the One Who is the Servant is, indeed, the Messiah of God. Even though He had been promised in all His Mediatorial offices, even though the time had been announced in Daniel 9:24, the people would not believe God's Word. The truth is that the

God here is saying, 'Behold my servant'. For a long time, God had been showing His Saviour. He told Adam and Eve that He would give someone who would crush the Serpent in Genesis 3:15. Then He made a covering for them. An animal had to die, that their sins would be covered. That is a picture of Jesus Christ.

Here in verses eleven and twelve, it's time for the people of God to depart, to leave. One thing this looks toward is 200 years from when Isaiah writes, when the people are being told, your time of exile in Babylon for your sins is over and done with. It's time to be leaving Babylon. Leave that country, leave that

Now we look at the reaction of those who are excited to see the messenger. There have been many watchers on the wall, looking for the King, the Lord Jesus Christ - Abraham, Moses, David, and many others. There were others who, when Jesus actually came, saw Him not from afar, but they had been looking for Him - Mary,

The feet spoken of here are beautiful, not because of the way they look, but because of the function that they do. They get the messenger to those desperate for good news. Here we are seeing words to the people of Judah and Jerusalem, of good news coming after terrible, terrible discipline. It is the messenger of the covenant, the

Israel, here in this portion of Isaiah, is pictured like a woman sprawled out on the ground, all muddy and torn and just rather lying there. God is saying, 'Wake up because I have hope for you, and I will make a big change here.' Now, the state in which God's people are when He calls them to awake is

In verse 17 we have a call to the people to wake up. It is Jehovah who calls them to do so. They must rouse from sin and rise up from the slop of filth and pollution that sin always brings. They must rouse from the fainting of hopelessness and despondency. They knew that Jehovah had quite rightly been angered

We see here in verse twelve that it is Jehovah Himself Who comforts, and He does it emphatically. He's wanting to make it very, very evident that this is His gracious and kind work, through the Redeemer Who is to come, of comforting His people. It is not somebody trying just to make the best of a bad situation. It

God says first: 'Listen to me. This is important. I want you to grasp hold of it.' To whom is He speaking? He's speaking to true believers. What does he say about them? First, they know righteousness. Righteousness is being innocent toward God's law. The only way we can have true righteousness -- and we need righteousness to make ourselves

The great salvation to come is the subject here. Those who have the light of the world, though they be in personal darkness, have here a word of great encouragement. By His grace, they seek the Lord, and this word is for them. It's for you, people of God, you who have been enabled to see Jesus, the light of