1. "Weariness, friends, in the face of battle is perilous. A weary army is a vulnerable army. A weary people, a weak people. And those who grow weary can be vulnerable to surprising temptation."

2. "In our trials, God offers us a great gift. He offers us himself. He offers his presence to us that we may know him, that we can seek him and know that he will always be found."

3. "It's easy when we try to flatten all of our trials to only what makes sense to us, our hearts can grow cold. Grow cold to God who ministers to us amidst our trials. A God who is present with us now. A God who knows our frame, who knows our need."

4. "Weariness often can be disguised as callousness, where we've just sought to accept things the way that they are and coldly seek to move on. This weariness can make you numb and dull your appetite for a greater knowledge of God."

5. "Your fight to show up and sing is by grace a fight of faith. It's a window into a great reality. For all of us, we can't escape our burdens wherever we go. But when we sing, we testify and we declare that what we recite with our mouths is greater than all of our burdens."

6. "The truths that thunder in this room week after week will outlast all of your burdens. The God we praise will bring all our weariness in this life to an end."

7. "No burden is too great, no darkness too deep, for the Lord to come to you. For the Lord to reach into your life and to remind you that he is good, that he's given you everything you need, that he will not abandon you."

8. "There's something here that confounds the world. It confounds the world's wisdom when the people of God forego earthly comforts to seek heavenly treasure."

9. "This king, this servant, this Jesus did not forsake you when it cost him his life. Why would he ever forsake you now?"

10. "No matter how low you are in this life, how much burdens may press you down, this servant, your Savior, Jesus, has gone lower. He's humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. And now he's exalted that you may look to him and be saved."

Observation Questions

1. In Isaiah 52:1-2, what specific commands does the Lord give to Zion and Jerusalem, and what imagery does He use to describe their current state versus their intended state?

2. According to Isaiah 52:3-5, what historical examples does the Lord cite to demonstrate His knowledge of His people's suffering, and what does He say about how they were sold and will be redeemed?

3. In Isaiah 52:6, what does the Lord promise His people will know, and what phrase does He use to describe His coming presence with them?

4. What responses to the news of salvation are described in Isaiah 52:7-9, and who are the different groups mentioned as responding (the messenger, the watchmen, the waste places of Jerusalem)?

5. According to Isaiah 52:11-12, how does the departure described here differ from the Exodus from Egypt, and what promises does the Lord make about His presence with His people?

6. In Isaiah 52:13-15, what contrasting descriptions are given of the servant—his exaltation and his appearance—and what effect will he have on many nations and kings?

Interpretation Questions

1. Why does the Lord respond to His people's cry of "Awake, awake" (Isaiah 51:9) by commanding them to "Awake, awake" in Isaiah 52:1? What does this reversal reveal about the true problem His people faced?

2. How does the Lord's detailed knowledge of His people's afflictions—from Egypt to Assyria to their present circumstance (Isaiah 52:4-5)—serve to comfort weary believers? What does this comprehensive awareness reveal about God's character?

3. The sermon emphasizes that God's work for His people's good and the honor of His name are "intertwined." How do verses 5-6 and verse 10 demonstrate this connection between God's glory among the nations and His people's deliverance?

4. Why is it significant that the messenger's feet are described as "beautiful" in verse 7? What does this imagery communicate about the nature of the good news and the appropriate response of those who carry it?

5. How do the four traits of the servant in Isaiah 52:13-15—wisdom, exaltation, disgrace, and worldwide effect—create a surprising and paradoxical picture of how God would bring salvation to His people?

Application Questions

1. The sermon identifies two common errors when facing trials: trying to "outsmart" them by finding immediate explanations, or becoming callous through mere acceptance. Which tendency are you more prone to, and what specific step could you take this week to instead seek the Lord who draws near in your current trial?

2. The preacher noted that sharing the gospel should help us "savor the joy" we have in Christ, yet our hearts can grow cold to this news. When was the last time you shared the good news with someone, and what might be causing any coldness in your heart toward evangelism?

3. The sermon described how many in the congregation "sing through tears, through pain, through grief" as a "fight of faith." How does viewing corporate worship as a declaration that God's truth outlasts your burdens change your approach to gathering with the church, especially when you feel weary?

4. Verses 11-12 describe God's people being sent out to bear His name to the nations. What earthly comfort might you need to "trade" in order to invest more strategically in sending out workers or considering whether you should go yourself?

5. The sermon concludes by urging weary people to "behold" the servant Jesus, who "has gone lower" than any of our burdens. What specific burden are you carrying right now, and how does the truth that Jesus did not forsake you when it cost Him His life speak to your fear that He might forsake you now?

Additional Bible Reading

1. Exodus 12:1-14 — This passage describes the original Passover, which Isaiah 52:12 echoes and contrasts, showing how the greater Exodus through Christ is deliberate and secure rather than hurried.

2. Romans 10:9-17 — Paul quotes Isaiah 52:7 about beautiful feet, demonstrating how the good news of salvation through Christ must be proclaimed and heard for people to believe.

3. Philippians 2:5-11 — This passage parallels Isaiah 52:13-15 by describing Christ's humiliation and exaltation, showing how Jesus fulfilled the pattern of the suffering and glorified servant.

4. Hebrews 12:1-3 — This passage calls weary believers to look to Jesus who endured the cross, providing a New Testament application of beholding the servant when facing trials and weariness.

5. 2 Corinthians 4:1-18 — Paul describes the paradox of carrying treasure in jars of clay and not losing heart despite affliction, connecting to the sermon's theme of God's power displayed through weakness and the call to behold Christ's glory.

Sermon Main Topics

I. The Peril of Weariness Illustrated Through Benedict Arnold's Quebec Campaign

II. Seek the Lord Who Comes Near (Isaiah 52:1-6)

III. Savor the Blessing of Salvation (Isaiah 52:7-12)

IV. See the Surprising Servant (Isaiah 52:13-15)

V. Behold Christ as the Answer to All Weariness

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Detailed Sermon Outline

Well, this year our city has big plans. Plans that is to celebrate and remember the signing of the Declaration of Independence 250 years ago. Maybe you caught the display on the Washington Monument last week. Well, there's many promises and plans to have more like things in this city this year. And it would seem that even such significant events don't escape the eye of our church calendar.

As yes, our pastor, word has it, plans to have a special sermon on July 5th. To know what that is, you'll have to stay tuned to the sermon card. Well, I don't know what your plans are to commemorate this anniversary, but Laura and I decided to begin the new year in what we think is really the most American of ways. That's by watching a documentary. Well, Ken Burns' documentary on the American Revolution, to be specific.

Well, there, Burns tells the story of one early action of the newly formed Continental Army. The Second Continental Congress authorized the army to invade Quebec. Sorry, Canadians. They authorized it in hopes of taking control of that province and persuading its citizens to join the Revolutionary cause. In the fall of 1775, two commands set out for Quebec City.

One was comprised of 1,100 men. It took an arduous route through the wilderness. They expected to reach the destination in 20 days, covering what they thought would be about 180 miles. Some of you will know the story. However, due to inaccurate maps, harsh terrain, Brutal weather, it took them over 45 days to reach Quebec City as they had to travel over 350 miles, nearly twice the distance that they expected.

By the time the army arrived, its numbers had dwindled. It's told that around 200 troops died in the wilderness and another 300, wearied by the journey, turned back. The siege of Quebec was doomed. Before the army even arrived. Their wearying path through the wilderness had taken its toll.

Well, over the next 15 years, the cause that once invigorated this once great commander of this army grew weary himself and would end up betraying the people he once led. Benedict Arnold, once a man of great reputation, now infamous for his treason against the American cause. Weariness, friends, in the face of battle is perilous. A weary army is a vulnerable army. A weary people, a weak people.

And those who grow weary can be vulnerable to surprising temptation. Our passage for this morning is for a weary people. The prophet Isaiah has a word for the weary. He speaks to a people weary by trials, weary by sin, weary by fear of their enemies, weary by the many, many trials that they've faced both then and in their history. And to those people, to those weary people, Isaiah says, Something great is coming.

Maybe you, like the people Isaiah is addressing, are in a similar circumstance. Maybe you find yourself this morning weary, you're tired, you don't know how much more you can take. Well friend, if that's you, Isaiah has a word for you. Indeed, Isaiah has a word for all of us. If you've been with us in recent weeks, we've studied a particularly sweet portion of the book of Isaiah.

From Isaiah 48 to 51, Isaiah has been telling God's people of God's plans. Plans to refine them, plans to restore them, plans to secure them, and plans to comfort them. Though they would be expelled from their homes and sent to a strange land that's Babylon, the Lord would not forget them. Even there, the Lord would work for them. Through his coming servant.

Last week in chapter 51, we heard of how the Lord comforts his people when their fears loom large. Now we turn to Isaiah 52. You can find it on page 622 of the black pew Bible. I'd encourage you to go ahead and turn there. This morning we'll consider more of the blessings of this God's salvation.

And here we'll see To his wearied people, the Lord brings surprising salvation. To his wearied people, the Lord brings surprising salvation. So what is it that we need when we're weary? Three things, which will form our outline. Seek, savor, see.

Seek the Lord who comes near. That's verses 1 to 6. Savor the blessing of salvation. That's verses 7 to 12. And see the surprising servant, 13 to 15.

Say that one more time. Seek the Lord who comes near, verses 1 to 6. Savor the blessing of salvation, verses 7 to 12. And see the surprising Servant, verses 13 to 15. First, seek the Lord who comes near.

Look there starting in verse 1.

Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion. Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city. For there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised, and unclean. Shake yourself from the dust and arise. Be seated, O Jerusalem.

Loose the bonds from your neck, O captive daughter of Zion. For thus says the Lord, you are sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money. For thus says the Lord God, my people went down at first into Egypt to sojourn there, and the Assyrian oppressed them for nothing. Now therefore what have I here? Declares the Lord, seeing that my people are taken away for nothing.

Their rulers wail, declares the Lord, and continually all the day my name is despised. Therefore my people shall know my name, therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak. Here I am. Our passage begins with God summoning his people. Look back there in verses 1 to 2.

The Lord has just told his people what will happen to their enemies in chapter 51, and now he commands them to action. He says, Awake, awake. And just a few weeks ago, it was God's people calling out to the Lord, telling him to awake. Was this God sleeping on them? Had he forgotten them?

His people had been weakened by fear and they cried out to a God who to them seemed distant, who like themselves seemed weak and vulnerable. Look back over at verse 9 of chapter 51. It says, Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord. Awake, as in the days of old. These people had heard of God's power in the old days.

Where was his power now? Had he forgotten them? Had he abandoned them? Well here in Isaiah 52 is God's joyful rejoinder. He was not asleep.

He had not abandoned them. Instead, his people needed to wake up and they needed to remember his plans. He tells them to wake up and clothe yourself with strength and righteousness. Saying to them, In your weariness, seek the Lord amidst your mourning and sorrow. The problem with the people here is that their eyes had fallen.

They had forgotten the Lord. They were blinded by the chaos of circumstance, and they forgot the Lord's promise, so they doubted the Lord's presence with them. So the Lord reminds them of what's ahead, what it is that He will bring. Something that He's promised them, something that they were still looking forward to, and the action that only He will do. Well, my son has two lights in his room.

Like many millennial parents, Laura and I thought it was absolutely essential for our children to sleep with a sound machine. I don't know how babies slept before these modern marvels.

Nevertheless, our sound machine has a light on it. And by all accounts, of the two lights, it's certainly the lesser light, or as he affectionately calls it, baby light. And the greater, overhead light, he names big light. Now, at times when his fears scare him awake and he cries out for his mommy or daddy, and we come, upon hearing us enter the room, before we can even get to him, he'll say, Baby light on?

For him, there's comfort that this little light brings. The little light that illumines the face of his mother and helps him to know that she's there with him. And all of a sudden, his fears can pass away.

Well, like us, our God in heaven knows our needs. In the chaos of our darkness, in our weariness, it's often a little light that can bring us comfort. And that's the power of God's Word. That's the power of God's Word here. As verses 3 to 6 demonstrate, verse 3 shows us that God is indebted to no one.

Redemption will occur without money being paid. This God is no dealmaker. He's in control of it all. Yet in his sovereignty, the Lord is also acquainted with all his people's plight. He's not some distant ruler.

He gives two examples demonstrating that he knows all his people's suffering. Did you see that there? There's nothing that's escaped him. He knows the comprehensive history of his people's affliction. That's the point of him citing what they suffered in Egypt.

You see it there in verse 4, to what they've seen in Assyria. This is like an A to Z accounting of all his people's oppression, that beginning of it back in Egypt to now what the northern kingdoms have experienced with Assyria moving in.

And his knowledge of these past afflictions doesn't dull his insight into their present circumstance. That's verse 5, it switches to the present. He knows what's at stake now. He knows what's at stake for his people. See how closely it is that he identifies with them.

They were his. Never were they outside his gaze. So it's worth considering here. Are you part of his people? What we're reading in Isaiah 52 is a magnificent blessing and it's only gonna get better.

But the blessings here that Isaiah extends are for his people only. Those that have turned from their sins, trusted him. Those who have seen this God come near to them, removing their sin. So have you done that? Have you repented of your sin?

Have you agreed with God's indictment of you and turned to him? By faith. If so, the offer stands that you can be part of his people. You can be ones that are never outside his loving gaze. Never does this God cast off his elect.

He has compassion on them. And his work for their good secures the honor of his name. The two are connected. It's not that as if God works for his honor among the nations and forgets his people. No, the two are intertwined all throughout biblical history.

You see the Lord's name is glorified as his people are raised up, as they're established. Yet when his people fall away, God doesn't forget them. He still knows them. He's still working to bring about their deliverance. This God chose to freely love this people, and this God still chooses to freely love his people now.

To make them and us objects of his affection. For them to bear his name, to carry his name. Nothing in their history or in their circumstances has been missed. In all their trials, this Lord has stayed with them. His purposes have never failed them.

Well, I wonder how such knowledge strikes you. Maybe you think it's one thing for God to do these great acts in history, It's grand to consider God's deliverance of the peoples many, many years ago, even to know that this God knows His people's trials then. But what about now? What about you? Does this God know what tries you?

What wearies you? Friend, don't miss the point of this passage. The entire passage is arranged as reasoning from the greater to the lesser, from grand acts of deliverance to the discreet. He works in all things. He is the God of great things and small things.

He is the God in our home of big lights and baby lights. And here, God's knowledge of past affliction is meant to secure confidence in God's knowledge of present trials. So what is it that you're carrying? What burden to you right now feels too great to bear?

Do you know that this God knows exactly what it is, exactly what wearies you? Amid your burden, friend, this God is the comfort that you need. That's the climax that we see in verse six. Through all these trials, there's been a single purpose in view. God has not forgotten his people.

They've forgotten him. They've failed to know him rightly. In verse six, God says he'll act in such a way that his people will know his name, like he did when he revealed his name to Moses back in Exodus three. And here again, yet this time, God will show up not by telling a people his name, not by performing signs and just rescuing his people. Something greater is in view.

Something that will bring all of these things to their rightful end, to a glorifying and satisfying conclusion. It's him who will come. You see that there in verse six, it says, that they will know that I who speak, here I am. He will be present with his people and his people will behold him anew.

I hope we can see when this God draws near, He does so in a way that better orients a weary people.

He exposes our inadequate coping with present trials. Responding to trials often can be wearying in itself. We're limited. We look for reasons. We search for answers.

Yet God often exposes kindly our shortcomings. I wonder how you may err when you face trials. I think it's common to err in a similar way, yet do so in two different directions. Some we can seek to outsmart or outmaneuver our trials. Often we can think that if we understand what good is happening, we trust that God is working good, but we want to see what good He's working right now.

And if somehow you can see it, you think it'll make the trial easier to bear. And sometimes it's true, God does grant us that insight, and sometimes it does help us to endure. But if that's what we search for, if that's what we expect, that we must discover what good is happening, what virtue is being developed, what relationship is being renewed, we can often miss something more subtle and also more grand.

It's easy when we try to flatten all of our trials to only what makes sense to us, our hearts can grow cold. Grow cold to God who ministers to us amidst our trials. A God who is present with us now. A God who knows our frame, who knows our need. Yet some in an opposite direction, you may know that you will rightly face trials in many in this life and not all of them may make immediate sense.

You've kind of given up on searching for the satisfactory answer to your present trial. You like to keep the stiff upper lip. You guard against weariness by acceptance and often determined to carry on. You're strong and you keep going no matter what may confront you. Certainly this can be a God glorifying strength.

And evidence of a deep trust in Him. But be watchful, because weariness does come in various forms. Weariness often can be disguised as callousness, where we've just sought to accept things the way that they are and coldly seek to move on. This weariness can make you numb and dull your appetite for a greater knowledge of God. In our trials, God offers us a great gift.

He offers us himself. He offers his presence to us that we may know him, that we can seek him and know that he will always be found. So with what you're facing, are you seeking him or are you resting on your own understanding? Are you resting on what makes immediate sense to you? Or are you seeking this God?

Are you seeking him in the way that he draws near to you? I wonder which error you're more prone to make. For me, I think it's often the latter, but often, and when I face trials, they can be so dizzying that I feel like I bounce back and forth like a pinball between both. But for each error, the solution is the same. Trials in this life and the weirdness that they bring offers us an occasion to better seek the Lord who draws near in all our afflictions.

He knows your need. He sees your weakness, Psalm 103:14. He will not abandon you, Hebrews 13:5. He will finish the work that he started, Philippians 1:6, and he will come for you. Those are Jesus's words.

Jesus's words in John 14:18. So seek the Lord Seek this God who comes near. Second, savor the blessing of salvation. Look now at verses 7 to 12.

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news. Who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, your God reigns. The voice of your watchmen, they lift up their voice, together they sing for joy, for eye to eye they see the return of the Lord to Zion. Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people. He has redeemed Jerusalem.

The Lord has bared His holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. Depart, depart, go out from there. Touch no unclean thing. Go out from the midst of her. Purify yourselves, you who bear the vessels of the Lord.

For you shall not go out in haste and you shall not go in flight, for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard. Well, here we've seen that God is the one who draws near and He saves His people. These verses detail the responses of the Lord's people when the salvation comes. I wonder if you caught that these verses follow a progression. It's like Isaiah has us follow the news as it comes to trace its results.

First, look there in verse 7, we see the messenger coming to tell of Yahweh's salvation. Then in verse 8, the news reaches the watchmen of the city. The watchmen or prophets were those stationed often at the city gates prepared for news of all kinds. This news and what follows causes them to erupt in a joyful chorus. They hear the message of the messenger, and on the heels of the messenger, they see something else.

Look again at verse 8. Eye to eye, they see the return of the Lord to Zion. More than just a happy message, they see the Lord's return. And their response, and the rest of the people in verse 9, is a deafening joy, a thunderous chorus.

Of rejoicing and gladness in what the Lord has done. We hear the messenger, the watchman, and all the people savor the blessings of the salvation as they see the Lord come near. They savor this news in three ways, all worth imitating. We'll sketch them briefly. First, the watchman, or excuse me, the messenger shares the news with others.

You saw it there that, and we've, we've, read of it already this morning. All of the messenger is enveloped in heralding this news. His joy is palpable. Even from the feet of this messenger, you know it's good news. The feet, beautiful feet.

What a striking image. It's no wonder that Paul grabbed this when he's talking about the good news going. It's such a striking image. Imagine for a moment that you had the best news to share with your family. Great news, news that you knew as soon as you shared it, as soon as they knew it, they would erupt in happiness and gladness.

How close would you have to get to them before they knew you had good news to share? I'm not talking about news that you kind of want to surprise them with so you work to kind of hold back and then kind of let there be the big reveal, but news that you are overjoyed to share. How close would you have to get? Well here it's clear even from the feet of the messenger that they know that this is good news. The messenger didn't have to come close.

They didn't have to see his face. His feet were so light and quick. It's only good news that travels like that. Only good news that travels at such a rate. And you can feel the anticipation building of waiting to hear and see what this messenger is sharing.

So what about you? Does sharing the gospel help you savor the joy that you have in Christ? Oh, be careful here, brothers and sisters.

Be watchful. Seek more of the Lord if your heart grows cold to this news. It is great news of great joy. It's salvation for all people. Yet when we share it, often, sadly, in our limits, we can become weary by the message that saves us.

Be watchful of this. Pray that the Lord would help you to delight anew and savor the blessings of salvation. Ask others to pray with you in this, that the words of our mouth would never become cold from our heart, but that we would delight in the news of such great salvation. The watchmen and the people savor this salvation by singing. I don't know if flash mobs are still a thing.

Maybe they are.

You know what a flash mob is? When a group of people seemingly spontaneously just all gather in one place and start doing something utterly ridiculous. Well, regardless of how you relate to such a modern phenomenon, what we have here is truly a holy and spontaneous flash mob. As salvation comes, the whole city thunders in song. Their song is magnificently unified.

They all savor the same thing, the Lord's return to his people. The Lord's return, which is comforted and redeemed his people, as verse 9 says. This is one of the reasons why we Christians, the redeemed of God, and joined with Christians throughout the ages in uniting in song. Not because we have it all together or because it's easy, but because as Psalm 40 verse 3 says, He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. We sing because the Lord has come near.

He's made himself known. He's saved his people. And this kind of singing is not to be or nor never can it be removed from our experience or our weariness in this life. The joy of Christian singing goes deeper than trite worldly happiness.

I just want you to know as one of your pastors, many of you model this joy. So well.

You model it through trials. For you and for many, it can often at times feel like a burden, a burden to show up here week after week to work to sing these songs of praise. A burden not because you don't believe what you sing, you do, but because no matter how hard you try, your burdens follow you through that door. It's a battle daily, weekly, to arrest your attention and sing. Many of you sing through tears, through pain, through grief, and often amidst many distractions.

And you know what? I think in all of these things, I think you're onto something. Your fight to show up and sing is by grace a fight of faith. It's a window into a great reality. You see, for all of us, we can't escape our burdens wherever we go.

But when we sing, we testify and we declare that what we recite with our mouths is greater than all of our burdens. Oh friends, the truths that thunder in this room week after week, will outlast all of your burdens. The God we praise will bring all our weariness in this life to an end. So sing and sing loudly, friends, for this God is near to you now. He knows your burdens and amidst them, he's given you a song to sing, a song to remember his goodness, a song to know that this God A song to know that no matter what may ail you in this life, no burden is too great, no darkness too deep, for the Lord to come to you.

For the Lord to reach into your life and to remind you that he is good, that he's given you everything you need, that he will not abandon you. He has put a new song in our hearts, a song of praise to him. The God who is good, the God who is everlasting, the God who is merciful. There's one way, there's one more way that these people savor this salvation, and that's by sending, or more accurately, by being sent by this God. Look at verses 10 to 12.

You see there that the Lord has acted decisively in verse 10. The Lord comes near bringing salvation. Then he sends them out. Verse 10 does trace the reverberations of the Lord's action. He bore his arm, that is, he worked, and all nations see, and his people overflow with joy to the nations as they've seen the salvation come.

Commentators debate exactly what's being referenced in verses 11 to 12. Some think it's a call to depart Babylon and return to Jerusalem. Others see it referencing the future salvation that the Messiah brings. When, like as Paul cites it, that the ends of the earth will know of God's salvation because Jesus, the good news of Jesus will be told. I think there's more reason to think it's the latter rather than the former.

But in either case, the decisive action of the Lord is what sets His people's steps. And the Lord's people, as verse 11 describes it, are priestly. That's the image there in verse 11. They purify themselves as they bear the vessels of the Lord. They are holy to God.

It's the Lord who's done this. As the nations see the work of salvation, they're also meant to see the lives of his holy people. That's what we're looking at here. Their salvation, it's what they're, the salvation that they received is what draws them out. It's what has them depart, to go, not to flee, not to flee in fear, but to go and share, to tell the good news.

To display it with their lives. Verse 12 echoes language from Exodus 12 as the Passover. You may remember in the Passover that the people ate unleavened bread because they had to depart quickly. They left Egypt in a hurry, but not now. This greater Exodus will be deliberate and decisive.

No Pharaoh, no king will threaten to change his mind. His people will be graciously given everything they need, and the Lord's presence will not leave them. He will envelop them. He'll surround them. And often here, I know in this church, it's wearying to labor to send out others, to be part of this Lord's work.

But laboring to send out others those that we've grown to love, is part of savoring the Lord's salvation. Building friendships, raising up and sending out pastors and missionaries, year after year certainly takes its toll. Many of you have quietly paid the cost of seeing many sent out from this church. Of course this is hard. Of course we grow weary in this, but friends, this wearying work is worth it, as it's often worth trading what's immediately comfortable to us to send out workers and to consider for yourself if you should go, if you should give up what's comfortable, what makes sense to you so that you can be part of spreading and sharing this good news.

The blessing of this salvation are magnificent and many.

Would it help you to savor them more if you gave up some lesser comforts in this life to invest in heavenly treasure? I was so encouraged last Sunday night hearing of our brother Josh who is struck by this very thing of thinking of this life lightly, but thinking greatly of a heavenly reward. How many more in our number could be like him? There's something here that confounds the world. It confounds the world's wisdom when the people of God forego earthly comforts to seek heavenly treasure.

What could this look like in your life? It could be a great thing worth talking about. That doesn't always mean that we go to the ends of the earth, but it means that we strategize to see that the gospel does spread. How is it that your prayer life can better consider what it means to send others out to bear this good news? How can you support those who are already going, whether with your time, your thoughts, your finances?

All of these things are ripe things for conversation. But in all of this, savor the blessings of this great salvation. Third and finally, see the surprising servant. So far, a passage has described the Lord and His salvation, but it's also provoked a few unanswered questions. Remember those garments back in verse 1 and the strength the Lord's people are told to put on?

Well, where do they come from? Chapter 51, what came before, describes how the Lord will comfort His people by judging their enemies. But in chapter 52, it's personal. And so far, these details, maybe crucial details, are missing. The Lord says He'll come to His people in verse 6, but how?

It doesn't say. Instead, the camera turns to see the response of the people. It's like you're watching a close game, a game that's coming down to the last play. You know that whatever the play is, it's going to be magnificent. And just as the play starts, the camera turns and you see the crowd.

Now, I don't know if you've ever seen a sporting event where this happens. It's very frustrating.

You know what happens, kinda. You know what team wins, but there's a detail that's missing. The detail is missing. The thing that you have just spent the whole time waiting for. What actually happens?

Well, in Isaiah 51113, the camera snaps back and we start to behold exactly what's happened when we see the surprising servant. Look at verses 13 to 15. Behold, my servant shall act wisely. He shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. As many were astonished at you, his appearance was so marred beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind.

So shall he sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths because of him, for that which has not been told them they see. And that which they have not heard, they understand.

From the first word of verse 13, Isaiah grabs our attention. It says, Behold, the prior 12 verses have all been prologue. The main event is here. The final play is before us. Quickly, there are four traits of the servant's work that are here in view.

The first is his wisdom. You see that in verse 13. The second, his exaltation, also in verse 13. Then verse 14 describes his disgrace or humiliation. And verse 15 traces the effects of his work.

There is also some debate in verse 15 on what the term sprinkle means. I think Isaiah here deliberately leaves it ambiguous. There are future verses in Isaiah or certainly a whole New Testament that's going to fill out what work goes out. But I think here Isaiah is helping us see that what work happens amongst God's people goes out, it radiates outward. There's a sprinkling that happens to the nations.

And this is not the first time that the Lord's servant has been mentioned in Isaiah. We've heard of his endurance in chapter 42, his purpose in chapter 49, his obedience in chapter 50. But here in chapter 52, these four traits and all that's come before combine to reveal the glory of the servant. It's all been building to this. This action will cause God's people to know him.

This action is what brings peace, happiness, salvation, and security to its people. This is what causes the people to know that this God reigns. And this action is what displays God's power to the nations. What do you think they expected? What would you expect?

What would you expect to be the display of power of this God? A God who's working to vindicate His name among the nations. That's working to deliver His people who've long been held captive.

Well, the answer is here with the servant. Where does the strength of verse 1 come from? The people don't have it. It's not something that's theirs for they're weary, but it's the servant that provides it. Whose beautiful garments do they put on?

Not their own, but the servants they put on Jesus's. His strength and his beauty are what's made available through this action. Jesus is the servant that comes near to his people carrying their sins, their shame, and sharing himself with us. Jesus is God drawing near to his people. He is their treasure.

He is the reward.

All that wearies us in this life has only been preparing us to meet Him. All Israel's history, all the baggage that they bring is bringing them face to face with this servant.

I mentioned a moment ago, my son's room has two lights. The brilliance of baby light you've already heard about. But there are times, maybe rare, when this light doesn't do the trick. Times when it's not enough for this lesser light to illumine his mother. In these desperate times, he cries out, Big light on!

He wants the greater light because he knows that when that light's turned on, it's daytime. It's daytime and he will not be left again in the dark. The whole room is filled with glorious light for him. Day is here and darkness is only a memory. Friends, God's servant, Jesus is our big light.

It's his glory that expels the darkness in our lives. The brilliance of God's glory shines to us in the death of his son. It's there, high and lifted up, that he reveals himself to us. It's there that we behold his glory. What power is it that astounds the nations?

It's the display of God's strength on the cross. The willingness of the servant to be crushed. God was being glorified when his son was put to death. It's there that he draws near. It's there that he shows so much power and we know that because of the cross, he will never forsake us.

This king, this servant, this Jesus did not forsake you when it cost him his life. Why would he ever forsake you now? This is the display of his wisdom. This Jesus proves his love for us, proves God's love for us, and that while we were sinners, Christ died for us. He died alone, abandoned.

Nobody was rooting for him, yet he was pursuing his people. He was doing exactly what Isaiah 52 and 53 said that he would. He was pierced for our transgressions. This is heavenly wisdom, wisdom not of man, but of God. This one's crucifixion in all its brutality, was his exaltation.

He was lifted up according to the Father's plan, lifted up offering salvation to all who would repent and believe, all who would look to him in faith. This is the wisdom that confounds kings, wisdom that's perfected by love. It's there we see the eternal love of the Father for his Son. It's there that we're included in the son's praise of the father. It's there that we have faith.

It's the warmth that comes to us through the light of the cross that melts our heart of stone and gives us a heart of flesh. It's there that we can know God is for us. It's there at the cross that we know this God reigns. Because he's done what no one else could do. He's done enough.

He's finished the work. He's satisfied his own wrath by providing a sacrifice for us that we could look to him. And no, there's no reason to be ashamed. There's no reason to let weariness in this life confuse or defeat us because God is for us in Christ. He is the one who's come near.

He's the one who's given us his presence. And in him, in Christ, we see the radiance of the glory of God. We see God's glory in the face of his crucified son. So what should you do when you're weary friends? Behold him.

Behold this servant. And know no matter how low you are in this life, How much burdens may press you down, this servant, your Savior, Jesus, has gone lower. He's humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. And now He's exalted that you may look to Him and be saved.

Look to Him. See this surprising servant. He is the salve for all that wearies you in this life. Have you seen him by faith? Let's pray.

Oh Father, we stand amazed knowing that you know our needs so much that you sent your son to willingly die in our place. That we may turn to you and have life in his name. We pray that you would help us to cherish the gift of Christ, this great news of salvation, that it would radiate outward from us, that it would change hearts, change lives, and that you would be glorified amongst us. In Jesus name we pray, amen.