Isaiah 42:4

The Bible says in Isaiah 42:4-6, “He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles.” This part of Isaiah along with the last several verses of Isaiah chapter 41 is telling us some very revealing details about the Messiah.

Let’s review some of the things that we have been told about the Messiah up to this point.

1. Isaiah 41:25 tells us that He is from the north (Galilee.)

2. Isaiah 41:25 tells us that there will be a “coming” of the Messiah. In other words there will be an advent about which we will be given many details later in the Bible: His birth from the virgin, His second coming, etc.

3. In Isaiah 41:25 we are told that the Messiah will be King of kings. That is made clear when we are told that “he shall come upon princes as upon mortar, and as the potter treadeth clay.”

4. Isaiah 41:26-29 emphasizes the lack of wisdom that man has, and thus emphasizing the wisdom that the Messiah will have as the Wonderful Counsellor.

5. Isaiah 42:1 tells us that the Messiah will be the servant.

6. Isaiah 42:1 tells us that the Messiah will be the chosen one, the “elect.” The rest of us become one of the elect only through the Messiah.

7. Isaiah 42:1 tells us that the Messiah will have God’s Spirit upon him.

8. Isaiah 42:1 tells us that the Messiah shall bring judgment to the Gentiles…not just the Jews. He is God of the whole earth.

9. Isaiah 42:2 tells us that the Messiah will be humble.

10. Isaiah 42:2 tells us that the Messiah will be forgiving.

Isaiah 42:4 tells us about the steadfastness of the Messiah’s plans and purposes. It says, “He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.” Human beings often fail or become discouraged because life is difficult, and we often do not carry through with well-deserved or well-intentioned plans. That will not happen with the Messiah. Notice what is the Messiah’s plan: “till he have set judgment on the earth.” That is a great goal and an important goal for this earth. There certainly is a need for “judgment.” There is a need to set things straight and to make them right. There are terrible injustices being committed every day. There are crimes. There are inequalities. There are sins. There are bad decisions and wrong evaluations performed by those in positions of authority and leadership. Often those who do the wrong thing are praised, and those who do the right thing are cast down. But the Messiah has a great plan to bring “judgment” to the earth. He will make straight the crooked paths. He will create a kingdom where “the meek shall inherit the earth.” Jesus will bring judgment to the earth. The judgment will be swift, powerful, and final.

Notice that it says in Isaiah 42:4, “He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.” God has a plan, a long-range plan. A lot of time will pass before that plan is accomplished and before that plan is seen in its final form. Many things will happen over that period of time. But no matter what happens, the plan remains in effect and time marches towards that pre-set conclusion: Jesus Christ sitting in judgment upon the whole world. Many times human beings make plans but then ultimately fail to see those plans realized. Many times human beings make plans but because of opposition or difficulty the humans give up on those plans and perhaps make new plans. But God will always carry through on His plans even when the plans take centuries to be fulfilled. The Messiah “shall not fail nor be discouraged.”

The Messiah’s plan is to set judgment in the earth. Jesus’ life has always been about judgment. Judgment involves discernment between good and evil. Judgment involves making the right decisions about sin and righteousness. Judgment involves the punishment of sin. At the end of His life on the earth Jesus judged sin, and condemned sin, and nailed it to the cross. “Jesus became sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” Right now in the age of grace in which we live individuals are given the opportunity to judge sin in their own lives, to turn to Jesus by faith, and to find forgiveness. Anyone who becomes saved through faith in Jesus Christ has already been judged, and there is no more condemnation for them.

In a different kind of judgment believers should daily judge themselves in order to stay in close fellowship with Christ. This kind of judgment involves an honest discernment of your own heart and actions. Immediate repentance and confession to Christ keeps one walking in the Light. The Bible says in First John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleans us from all unrighteousness.” It also says in First Corinthians 11:31-32, “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.”

The Lord makes several promises to us in Isaiah 42:6, but before He makes the promises He reminds us in Isaiah 42:5 why He is capable of keeping those promises. He gives two main reasons: 1. God created the universe and everything in it. 2. God gives life to every living thing on this earth. The One who created all things, and the One who gives life and takes it at His swill certainly has the power to keep any promise. The Bible says in Isaiah 42:6, “I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles.”

There are three basic promises in Isaiah 42:6. In the first promise God says that He “will hold thine hand.” This means that He will always be with the believer throughout life. If you believe in Jesus, you can always count on God’s presence with you to comfort you, to guide you, and to protect you. In the second promise God says to the believer that He “will keep thee.” This is a promise of assurance concerning the future. There are no limitations or qualifications added to this promise. No matter what the danger, God will keep you. No matter what the sin, Jesus will keep you. No matter what the failure, He will keep you. No matter what the problem, God will keep the believer. We do the believing, and God does the keeping. That is a wonderful assurance that lasts through life and into eternity.

In the third promise in Isaiah 42:6 God says to the believer that He will “give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles.” While we are still in this world, Jesus wants to use each of us for something. He wants to use us to be a light in the darkness: to be a witness to a lost world. Jesus said in Matthew 5:14, “Ye are the light of the world.” “The people” mentioned in Isaiah 42:6 are the people of Israel: the Jews. Of course, the Gentiles that are mentioned in Isaiah 42:6 refers to everyone else in the world who are not Jews. In other words God is interested that the light of the gospel of Christ be made available to everyone in the world: whether Jew or Gentile. It says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” God could use many different methods to bring the Light of Christ to a world of darkness, and the method that God has chosen is that believers would be a light by walking in the Light who is Christ.

Looking at the first part of Isaiah 42:6 the Bible tells us how a person becomes one of God’s children. It says, “I have called thee in righteousness.” In order to become one of God’s children, one must be called by God. Remember that the Messiah was called in Isaiah 42:1 the “elect, ” and the word “elect” means “chosen.” The word that is translated “called” in Isaiah 42:6 means “to call out” or “to cry out with a loud voice.” Of course, in Isaiah 42:6 it is symbolic. God does not call us to Christ with an audible voice, but He does call us in a very distinctive way so that we are certain of His calling. Those who have been called know that they have been called. The point is that it all starts with God. No one can be saved until Christ calls them. Jesus passed by the disciples before they became disciples, and Jesus called them. He said to them in Matthew 4:19, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” When Jesus called the Apostle Paul to salvation, Jesus appeared to Paul and the Bible says in Acts 9:5, “And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.”

In Isaiah 42:6 the Lord tells us, “I have called thee in righteousness.” There is a close connection between being called to believe in Christ and “righteousness.” When we are called, we are called to repent of sin and to believe in Christ. When we are called, we are called to turn from a life of sin and to start living a life of righteousness. There are two basic types of righteousness: imputed righteousness and practical righteousness. As soon as we believe in Jesus, the righteousness of Christ is credited to our account, and we are called righteous. That is imputed righteousness. But God wants us also to live righteous lives. He wants us to live righteous lives in practical day-to-day living. The Bible says in First Peter 1:15-16, “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”

Isaiah 42:7 gives the reason that the gospel of Christ needs to be presented to the Jews and to the Gentiles. It says, “To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.” Of course, the blindness, and the darkness, and the prison that are spoken of here are symbolic of the spiritual condition of the lost people of the earth. They are blind to the truth, and they are prisoners to sin. The only way that they can be set free from their sins and escape the darkness is through the glorious liberty of the light of Christ.

___________________________________________________