"Declare God's Praise"

In chapter 40 through chapter 66 of the Book of Isaiah, also known as the second part of Isaiah, the prophecies and warnings against the people and kings of Judah come to an end, and Isaiah goes right into words of promise and comfort for God’s people who will soon be going into captivity in Babylon. Isaiah stresses God’s ongoing and loving care of His chosen people, despite all they had gone through and all they were going through at the time, and what they were about to go through.

In the words of our text, Isaiah points to God’s redemption in times past, specifically the Exodus event, and the parting of the Red Sea. You know the story – God opened a path for the Israelites to pass through – a way to get to safety from the pursuing Egyptian army. And then the army of the great Pharaoh of Egypt perished when the Sea washed over them and their chariots. They were extinguished – quenched like the wick of a candle or a lamp when the waters washed over them.

God had done many marvelous things for His people since the time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God had changed Jacobs name to Israel, and his descendants became known as the Israelites. God had done miracle after miracle to preserve a people for Himself, a people from whom the Messiah would come.

But in verse 18, God doesn’t want them to dwell on the past. The deliverance from Babylon will be an even more important event than the Exodus. In verse 19, God used the Hebrew term for "behold" to call attention to what He was about to do as part of His plan for His covenant people. He says, "I am doing a new thing." As God described this new thing, it may have reminded God’s Old Testament people of their journey through the wilderness with Moses.

Back then, God fed His people and provided water for them. Both food and water were sometimes provided through miracles. The jackals and the other wild animals that were in the desert also benefited from the water God provided for His chosen people. The land of death became a land of life. Desert and wilderness became habitable and were filled with rivers.

But these chosen people of God had forgotten the promises of God. They had forgotten their destiny as a people from whom the Savior of the world would come. We read about them, study their history, and look with amazement at their short-sightedness, shortness of memory, and the hardness of their hearts.

We read about the miracles God performed for them, the things they saw that should have convinced them beyond a doubt that God existed and that He had big plans for them. And we watch them quickly and repeatedly turn their backs on God and worship idols and fall into sin.

And we pat ourselves on the back because we get the notion that we are better and different than they were. We wouldn’t do that kind of stuff. Or would we? What about when we sleep in instead of worshipping God for 45 minutes a week? We come up with lists of things we’d rather do, things that seem more important than personal devotions or coming to Bible class. God is foremost in our thoughts for about ten seconds, if and when we remember to at least give thanks for our meals.

The average American now watches some 4 hours of television a day. I wonder how much time the average person who calls themselves a Christian spends in the Word each day. All the TV shows on earth mean absolutely nothing; they are of no benefit in light of eternity. But to most, they’re more important than feeding our faith.

But Once again, when the people of Israel leave Babylon, there will be benefits that extend to all of humanity. This exodus from captivity in Babylon is a key

Leaving Babylon behind, they would go back and rebuild the temple, resettle in Jerusalem, and resettle the villages and towns of Palestine, Galilee, and inhabit towns like Bethlehem and Capernaum. A great Redeemer would come from Bethlehem, begin his work in Galilee, and enter Jerusalem, the center of their worship, riding on a donkey.

The people would remain in the land until the coming of Jesus. One deliverance paved the way for a greater deliverance. No wonder they were told not to dwell on the deliverance from Egypt.

Isaiah’s words were written and spoken some 700 years before Christ. Of course, God’s promise of long ago was already in action, even before the time of Isaiah. It would be completed through the coming and redemptive work of Jesus, when He would die on the cross for our sins, be buried, on the third day rise again, and ascend into heaven. Now, two thousand years after Christ’s presence among us, by God’s grace though faith, each of you has been delivered from sin, death, and divine punishment, so that you might praise God.

Peter wrote; "You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light." (1 Peter 2:9) Like the Old Testament believers, New Testament believers have no other ultimate purpose than to give glory to God.

The waters of Baptism and the power of the Holy Spirit working through those waters have transformed the desert of our lost and sinful souls into souls that are full of life. And God’s plan is for those waters to benefit the rest of the world. Those waters, and the new life they create empower us to give glory to God, and share with the world around us the message of God’s plan of salvation for His people.

In northern France, about a hundred miles east of Paris, stands the Cathedral of Rheims, which was rebuilt after a fire in 1210. It is known the world over for its sculptured beauty. I did a Google search on Rheims, and the pictures I saw probably don’t do the building justice. It is indeed very ornate and impressive.

Much to the horror of the local people, it was deliberately bombarded by the Germans during WWI. Rheims was the site of 25 coronations of the kings of France, from Louis VIII in 1223 to Charles X in 1825, including the crowning of Charles VII in 1429 in the presence of Joan of Arc.

During the years after the war, great efforts were carried on to restore and reopen it. After the war, the cathedral was rebuilt from the ruins, finally being reopened and re-consecrated some 40 years after the war was over.

Even during the war, the people of Rheims worked tirelessly to save the broken statues, the bits of sculpture, the slivers of glass from the smashed windows. The famed "smiling angel," which was picked up in 113 pieces, is standing in her old place by the left door, and it’s impossible to see where she has been cemented together again.

The lead sheets that covered the roof had been melted during the fire that burned the building. The lead had poured over the gargoyles and seeped into crevices. The lead was collected and stored and has been re-used for its original purpose. The fragments of glass were painstakingly pieced together. Wherever possible, the original glass has even been used. The color of replacement glass matched the old glass perfectly. The delicate pinnacles and curving gothic arches rise again in their original grace.

In the same way, God can take a human life, which has been defaced and almost destroyed by sin, and restore it into a new structure for the praise and glory of His grace. All we sinners need to do is yield to the Holy Spirit, and let him rebuild us to the image God originally planned. Then we can again declare God’s praise. Amen.