Isaiah — Chapter 63

What does it mean that the Lord has conquered Edom? In this sermon from Isaiah 63:1–6 titled “Revival Sermon: The Crowning Day is Coming,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preaches on the prophecy of Isaiah where God has conquered Edom, the enemy of Israel. This prophecy looks forward to the day when God will destroy all the enemies of His people and those that persecute the church. He does this by dying upon the cross for sinners. Jesus Christ is the means of overcoming sin, evil, and the devil. Jesus has come to make sinners righteous by granting them His righteousness and adopting them into God’s family. All this is seen in God overcoming Edom. What does this mean for the Christian’s everyday life? This declaration of what God has done in Jesus Christ is the great and only hope. The truth that God has saved His people by His own hand is at the heart of the gospel because Jesus alone saves. It also tells that all who reject the gospel are enemies of God and under His judgment. The only escape from the wrath of God is through faith in Christ. This sermon is a call for all to believe in Jesus.

What does the prayer of Isaiah teach about God and the church? Isaiah prays to God in a time of dire need and crisis. In this sermon from Isaiah 63:7–9 titled “Revival Sermon: Where Is He?” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones looks to this prayer as an example that the church ought to follow. The church must recognize that they pray to a just and holy God who hears their every prayer. God is not a God who is far off. God calls His people to trust in His holy name and to believe that He will uphold them through the midst of the greatest trials and temptations. But when the church does not trust in God and His power, they turn to worldly and vain philosophies. This is the greatest danger to the church in every age: reliance on everything other than God. The history of the church shows how destructive this is. The answer is always to trust that God will do what He has promised to do through Jesus Christ in the gospel. This sermon convicts and encourages the church in its God-given mission to take the gospel to the ends of the earth for the glory of Christ.

Has God turned His back on the church? Why does it seem that the people of God are powerless today? In this sermon on Isaiah 63:15–19 titled “Revival Sermon: Wrestling for the Power,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones expounds upon a prayer of Isaiah in which the prophet recognizes the character of God and reviews the history of His people. In the prayer is found hope for the people of Israel, but more importantly, the Christian finds hope for themselves. Dr. Lloyd-Jones covers the characteristics of Isaiah’s prayer to show what prayers should contain. He notes the prayer’s urgency, importunity, emotion, and pleading. Isaiah is wrestling with God in his prayer—pleading for the nation of Israel, deeply aware of their sins and yet boldly petitioning God to have mercy. Isaiah begins by worshiping God, and then he notes his subsisting relationship with God. He asks where God’s strength and mercy are to be found. Finally, he pleads with God to look again upon His people and have mercy on them. Dr. Lloyd-Jones takes time to carefully explain some difficult words of the prayer in which Isaiah asks why God has hardened their hearts.