Sermon 6

Isaiah 53:1. Who has believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?

If it were not recorded in the infallible Scriptures of truth, we would hardly believe that there could be so much powerful and sweet preaching of the most excellent instruments that ever were employed, and yet that there should be so little fruit following on it; who would believe that Isaiah, so excellent, so sweet, and so evangelic a Prophet, should have preached so many pleasant, plain, and powerful sermons to a people from the Lord, and yet that he should have so many sad complaints as he has? Chapter 6, 28, and 58 — that he should be put to bring in the Lord, saying, All the day long have I stretched out my hands to a rebellious people, Chapter 65 — and that here, himself should have it to say, Who has believed our report? It's scarce one man here or there that has savingly believed on Christ; and this is the third thing in the words, that now we would speak to, and it's a very sad, though a very clear truth.

The doctrine is this, That there may be much powerful preaching of the Gospel, and yet unbelief generally among the hearers of it; or take it with dependance on the former two, namely, 1. That the great work of the ministry, is, to propose and make Christ known to a people. 2. That the great duty of a people that have Christ proposed to them, is, to believe on Him. Then this 3. follows on the back of these, That a people may have Christ proposed to them, brought to their heart and mouth, and though it be but believing that is called for from them, yet that cannot be obtained from most of them. This gospel-duty of believing is often slighted by the hearers of the Gospel; this is clearly held forth here, Who has believed our report? We have called for faith, but it's a rare thing among the multitude of hearers to get one that believes savingly.

To make out, and prove this a little further, we would consider this complaint, with these aggravations of it, which will make it the more clear, and so the more to be wondered at. As, 1. Those of whom the complaint is made, it is not heathens, but God's own people, as the Lord complains (Psalm 81:10-11): "My people would not hearken to my voice, and Israel would have none of me." Our Lord Jesus complains of Jerusalem (Matthew 23, at the end): "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered you, and you would not." That the Lord's own professing people should not believe, nor receive the report that is made of Him, heightens the complaint, and aggravates their guilt exceedingly. 2. It is not a complaint as to one sermon, or as to one time, but it is a complaint frequently repeated as to many fruitless sermons, and as to many times, yes, generations. Isaiah preached long in many kings' reigns, and yet all along his prophecy he complains of it, as in Isaiah 6:11: "How long, Lord, shall their eyes be blind, and their ears heavy, etc." And in Isaiah 28:9: "Whom shall I teach doctrine? Those that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts — precept must be upon precept, and line upon line, here a little and there a little." And in Isaiah 65:2: "All day long I have stretched out my hands to a rebellious people." And here again, "Who has believed our report?" Much and long — or many years of preaching, much plain and powerful preaching — and yet little or no fruit; they are snared and taken, and fall backward, for all that. And this was not in Isaiah's days only, but in Christ's days (John 12:37-38), and in Paul's days (Romans 10:16), where the same very words in the text are repeated. Indeed, it runs down from the first spreading of the gospel, even to these latter days in which we live — many hear, but few receive the report. 3. Consider how many they are that complain — it is not one or two, or a few, but all the preachers of the gospel. It is not, "Lord, who has believed my report," but, "who has believed our report?" It is complained of by Isaiah here, and in several other places named before. It is complained of by Micah (Micah 7:1): "Woe is me, for I am as they who have gathered the summer-fruits, as the grape gleanings of the vintage; there is no cluster to eat, the good man is perished out of the earth, and there is none upright among men, etc." It is complained of by Hosea (Hosea 11:7): "Though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt him" — that is, none would give Him the glory of His grace in believing on Him. Ah, sad word! As is that also in Psalm 81 — the Lord calls, "Hear O my people and I will testify to you, open your mouth wide and I will fill it, but my people would not hearken to my voice, and Israel would have none of me." And what prophet is there almost — if I need say almost — but has one way or other this complaint? That though the Lord stretched out His hands all day long, yet it was to a rebellious and gainsaying people. Look forward, and see what our Lord says of John the Baptist, and of Himself (Matthew 11): "To what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces, saying one to another, we have piped to you and you have not danced, we have mourned to you and you have not lamented" — that is, there is much preaching of men endowed with several gifts, but none of them does the people much good. John preached with much holy austerity, like one mourning; the Son of Man most sweetly, like one piping — yet neither the one nor the other prevailed. There are some Boanerges, sons of thunder, alarming and thundering preachers; some Barnabases, sons of consolation, sweetly comforting preachers — yet all gain but little on the hearers. Our Lord says (Matthew 23): "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered you?" This is the ordinary complaint: you would not. A 4th aggravation is, if we consider who they are that meet with this unbelief and unfruitfulness in those they preach to. If it were [reconstructed: lukewarm] preachers, such as we, alas, in a great measure are, or such as the scribes and the Pharisees were, or if it were those who had learning only, and not piety, it were not so great a matter to see them meet with unbelief and unfruitfulness in their hearers. But it is even those whom the Lord sent and sharpened, as arrows out of His quiver, as this prophet was. It is even his preaching that is fruitless in a great measure — and was there ever a more sweet, plain, powerful, and delectable preacher than Isaiah was? That even the very reading of his preachings may affect the readers, yet is there any that complains more, or so much, as he does in the chapters before cited? It is likely you will think, that if Isaiah were preaching now, you would be as a stone that would not be moved thereby — and yet his preaching got the same return and entertainment that ours gets now. And Hosea called his hearers to the most High, yet none at all would exalt Him. It was their work to stretch out their hands all the day long, but they hardened their necks, and refused to return (Jeremiah 8 and Zechariah 7). But 5thly, consider — all these are servants and preachers under the Old Testament, and you may be disposed to think that under the gospel, when the veil is laid by, and when Christ Himself, their Lord and Master, and His apostles come to preach the gospel, it should be otherwise. Yet John the Baptist, who was Christ's harbinger, who was a burning and a shining light, a steadfast and fixed man, not a reed shaken with the wind (as many of us much are), a prophet, indeed more than a prophet — yet when he preached, many of his hearers rejected the counsel of God against themselves (Luke 7). John comes preaching austerely, and they say he has a devil; and if there was any rejoicing in his light, it was but for a season. And Paul, that chosen vessel — how often was he persecuted? And he has the same complaint, in the same words that Isaiah has here, of his hearers, especially the Jews (Acts 13:46 and Acts 28:28), and was constrained to tell them, that he and his fellow preachers were obliged to leave them, and betake themselves to the Gentiles. And how does he complain of the Corinthians and Galatians, and of their being bewitched, and suddenly seduced, and drawn away from the truth and simplicity of the gospel, by some self-seeking [reconstructed: counterfeit ministers], coming with a dazzling show among them. We shall close this with the consideration of our Lord Jesus, who was an incomparable preacher, of whom it is said (Matthew 7:29) that He spoke with power and not as the scribes. And in Luke 4, when He is opening that sweet text (Isaiah 61:1-3), it is said, "They all wondered at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth." And the officers that came to take Him say, that never man spoke as He spoke. And yet this same is His complaint (Matthew 23:37): "How often would I have gathered you, and you would not." And in John 1:11 it is said, "He came to his own, and his own received him not." Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum were lifted up to heaven by the Lord's preaching to them in person, and yet woe after woe is denounced against them, because they believed not, for all His preaching and miracles. And it is a wonder, if we look through the history of the gospel, how many a sweet preaching He had, and with what weight and power He spoke — and sometimes with tears — and withal backed His word with miracles, that made His hearers acknowledge the finger of God. And yet how few were brought to believe on Him? So that He was put to take up this very complaint of Isaiah here (John 12:38). Is it not a wonder, when He and His apostles have preached so much, and so long, that the church is so little a flock, and that believers are so few in number, even after His ascension? Need we any further proof, that the gospel where it comes gets but little welcome? The conduct of many among ourselves is a sad proof of it, for we are afraid that many of you do not believe to this day, though there has been among you much, long, many years, and powerful preaching of the gospel, but you are still living without faith, and perishing.

If this be not enough to clear the doctrine, 1. See how Christ speaks of it, in Matthew 13, in the parable of the sower of the seed, where there are three sorts of ground that never bring forth good fruit, and there He speaks, not only of the time of His own personal ministry, but of all times. 2. Look to the ordinary and daily effect, or rather consequent of this preached gospel, and it will prove it; do not many perish? Do not many crowd thick in the broad way that leads to destruction? Do not but very few fruits of faith appear? Is there not little, lamentably little, real change in the way and walk of most to be seen? To clear it yet further, go through the several ranks of persons, that in God's account are unbelievers, and lay them by, O! there will be exceeding few believers in Christ found. First, then lay by the grossly profane, that are never so much as civilized. Secondly, the ignorant, stupid, and senseless, that never have mind they have souls, are never feared for wrath, nor in the least exercised to make their peace with God. Thirdly, the earthly-minded, that mind no other thing save the world. Fourthly, these of a civil outward carriage, that have some good works, and as they think, good days too, and yet come not near Christ to close with Him. Fifthly, the hypocrites, and that of all sorts, both the presuming hypocrites, that will thank God they are better than their neighbors, and yet trust not to Christ, and free grace through Him, but seek to establish their own righteousness, gross as it is; and the legal hypocrites, that never denied their own righteousness, nor submitted to the righteousness of Christ. Lay aside all these, I say, and we leave it to your own consciences to judge, how few will be found to have saving faith; and therefore I am persuaded, if there be any truth of God delivered to you, that this is a truth, that though the gospel be preached to many, yet there are but few hearers of it, that do actually believe in Jesus Christ to the saving of their souls.

Use 1. The first use of it is, to beseech you to let this sink deep into your minds as the truth of God, for these reasons. 1. Because it's a most useful truth, and if it were believed, it would make folks very watchful over themselves, and to tremble for fear, lest they be found among the multitude that believe not, and put them to secure and ensure their interest in God, and not to rest on a fashion and form of religion, without observing what fruit follows on the gospel; among the many evils that undo not a few, we think this is not the least, that this truth is never thoroughly fixed in them; they think there are many heathens and Turks without the church, and many gross swearers, drunkards, and others such within it, that will perish, but none others, or at least, that they are but very few, who among a professing people perish; neither can they be induced to think it's such a hard matter, to find one, or a very few that are believers in a country side, so that if Isaiah were now alive to cry, "Who believes our report?" each of them would be ready to answer, "I believe." 2. Because for as certain and useful a truth as this is, yet generally it's not believed — folks cannot think that so few believe, and that believing is so difficult and rare a thing: I would ask you this question, was it ever a difficulty to any of you to believe? If not, what is it that makes believing so rare? What should move the prophet thus to complain, "Who has believed our report?" I shall shortly give you some evidences that many of you do not really believe this truth. The first is, that so few of you tremble at the word of God; the historical faith that the devils have makes them tremble, but you have not that much; this is given as a property of a suitable hearer of the gospel, to whom the Lord will look (Isaiah 66:1-2), that he is one who trembles at the word; but the most part of you that hear this gospel are like these pillars on which this house stands, who are never so much as once moved at the word; you either take not faith to be an absolutely necessary thing, and that you cannot but perish without it, or you think that the faith you were born with will do your turn; you do not believe that you are naturally under the power of the devil, and led captive by him at his will, and that without holiness, and a spiritual gracious frame, and stamp on your heart and way, you shall never see God; what wonder then that you come not to rest on Christ, when the very letter of the gospel is not credited. A second evidence is, that there is so little preparation made to prevent your eternal hazard — it is said of Noah (Hebrews 11) that Noah being warned of God prepared an ark, and this is attributed to his faith; it is not possible that you would live so negligently and carelessly, if you believed that the curse of God were pursuing you, and that you will be brought to reckon for that which you have done in the body, and that you will meet with God as an enemy; if this were believed, though your hearts were harder than they are, it would make you tremble, and put you to other sorts of thoughts and seriousness. A third evidence is, that there is no fruit of faith among many of you, for where it is, it will not be altogether smothered, but will show and manifest itself one way or other; and if you will still assert your faith, I would say to you as James does to those to whom he writes, "Show me your faith by your works"; if you shall say, "God knows" — I answer, that you shall find that to be a truth that He knows, and He will make you know that He does so; but alas, that poor shift will not avail you when it comes to the push. O, try your faith then by your works; see what mortification of lusts, what repentance from dead works, what growth in knowledge, what shining of holiness in your conversation, is attained to; many of you, as to your very knowledge, are as if you lived among heathens, many of whom have been as free of vice, and more profitable to others, than many of you are, and cared as little for the world as many of you do; how comes it to pass then, that you have lived as if you could have faith, and yet have no fruit? You must either say, that faith is not necessary, or that you may have faith without fruit, for we are sure your fruit is not the fruit of faith. To live honestly, as you call it, what is that? There are many heathens who have gone beyond you in that; we will not say, that moral honesty is nothing, but sure it is not all; all the fruits of mere moral honesty are but sour fruits, that will set your teeth on edge. Neither is it your hearing of the word only, but your believing and doing of it, that will profit you; it is very sad, that most plain obvious duties are not at all followed, as the studying of knowledge, the exercising of repentance, one of the very first duties, which is never separated from faith, the humbling of the soul before God, the loathing of yourselves for all you have done, the love of God, etc.; for there may be challenges for gross evils in heathens; and fear is not repentance, but godly sorrow that causes repentance not to be repented of. A fourth evidence is, the want of that work of God's Spirit that accompanies faith — faith is a special work of the Spirit, and the gracious gift of God; it is wrought by the exceeding mighty power of God, whereby He raised Christ from the dead, and by that same power He works in them that believe; now, did you ever know what this work meant? Did you ever find it to be a difficult work to believe? Did you ever know what it was to have the Spirit of God constraining your heart to believe? I speak not of any extraordinary thing; but certainly, faith is not natural, nor comes from pure nature, and wherever it is, it manifests itself by works, and evidences the power of the Spirit in the working thereof. There are some sad evidences of, and bitter fruits that spring from this root, to wit, folks being strangers to the experiential knowledge of the work of faith. As: 1. When men know no more difficulty to get Christ, and to rest on Christ, than to believe a story of Wallace, or of Julius Caesar. 2. When folks say that they believed all their days, and believed always since ever they knew good by ill; and though their faith be no true saving faith, but a guessing, yet they will not quit it — indeed it is impossible for men to get them convinced that they lack faith. 3. When men never knew what it is to be without faith; it is one of the great works of the Spirit (John 16:8) to convince of the lack of faith; folks will be easily convinced, that breach of the Sabbath, that stealing, that bearing false witness, etc. are sins, where the special work of the Spirit is not; but how many of you have been convinced of the lack of faith? We are constrained to say this sad word when we look on this text, that it is lamentably fulfilled in your eyes, and in this our congregation; think not that we wrong such of you who have believed our report — ah, it is few, even very few of you, that receive and believe this gospel.

Use 2. The second use is for conviction: if it is ordinary for the great part of the hearers of the gospel not to believe, let it sink in your hearts that it is no extraordinary thing that has befallen you; are you not such hearers as many of these were, who heard Isaiah, and Jesus Christ? And if so, will not this follow, that there are many, indeed, even the thick and throng of the hearers of this gospel, that believe not? And who, if Christ were gathering sinners by this preached gospel, would not be gathered; if where the gospel comes many do not believe, then here in this city where the gospel is preached to a great multitude of professing members of the visible church, there are readily many that do not believe; or let me ask of you a reason why you do except yourselves, either this truth holds not so universally, or many of you must fall under it, or else give a reason why you fall not under it; the truth which Isaiah preached has been preached to you, and yet you remain unbelieving, and despisers of the invitation to the Marriage of the King's Son, as the Jews did; we are not now speaking of Jews, Turks, nor heathens, nor of the churches in general, nor of other congregations, but of you in Glasgow, that have this gospel preached among you, and we say of you, that there are few that believe our report. Think it not our word, the application flows natively from the text, not from necessity of the thing, but from the ordinary course of men's corruption; are not the same evidences of the want of faith, which we spoke of, among you? How many are there in their life profane? How many rest on civility and formality? Is there not as little repentance now as was in Isaiah's time? As little denying of our own righteousness, and making use of Christ's, though the word be taught by line upon line, here a little and there a little? It may be, though you think that the doctrine is true in the general, you will not, you cannot digest the application, that among so many of you visible professors of faith, there are but few real believers; therefore we shall follow the conviction a little further, by giving you some considerations to make it out, that we have but too just ground to make application of the doctrine to you, especially considering the abounding of corruption that is among you, that you may be put to fear the wrath that attends sin, and to flee to Christ for refuge in time. 1. Consider of whom it is that the prophet is speaking, and of what time, is it not of the times and days of the gospel? Had not the Spirit (in dictating this text of Scripture) an eye on Scotland, and on Glasgow? And do not our Lord Jesus Christ and Paul apply it in their days? And why then may not we also in ours? And when the Spirit speaks expressly of the last times, that they shall be perilous, and of the falling away of many, should it not give us the hotter alarm. 2. Do not all things agree to us as to them? Is not this gospel the same? Is our preaching any better than theirs? In fact, had they not much more powerful preaching? And if that preaching which was much more powerful had not efficacy as to many to work faith in them, what may we expect to do by our preaching? Are not your hearts as deceitful? Are not your corruptions as strong? Are you not as bent to backsliding as they were? What sort of folks were they that were unfruitful hearers? Were they not members of the visible church as you are, circumcised under the Old Testament, as you are baptized under the New? Was it not these who had Christ and His Apostles preaching to them? Indeed, they were not among the more ignorant sort who did not believe, but Scribes and Pharisees, and these not of the most profane sort only, but such as came to church, and attended on ordinances, as you do, indeed, were such as had gifts, and cast out devils, and preached in Christ's Name, as you may see (Luke 13:26). Now when there are so many, and of such ranks, who get no good of the word, and of such, a great many that will seek to enter in, and shall not be able, to whom Christ shall say, depart, I know you not, you workers of iniquity; what can be the reason that many of you do so confidently assert your faith, when there are scarcely any characters of unbelief but you have them? Or, what can be your advantage in keeping yourselves carnally secure, when the strong man, in the mean time, is in the house? And to shut your eyes, and make your necks stiff, and to resolve, as it were, not only to lie still, but to die in your unbelief; I persuade myself, that many of you ere long, will be made to wonder that ever you thought yourselves believers, and will be galled when you think upon it, that whatever was said to you, you would needs maintain your presumptuous faith. When we bid you suffer the conviction to sink, let none put it from themselves to others, but let every one take it home to himself; although we would not have any of you casting loose what is indeed made fast and well secured, nor overturning a slender and weak building, though it were, to speak so, but of two stone height, if it be founded on a right foundation, on the Rock; but we speak to you that cannot be brought to suspect yourselves, when you have just reason to do so; sure, this challenge and charge belongs to some, indeed to many, and we would ask what ground have you to shift it? How can you prove your faith more than others that have none at all? That you hope you have faith, will not do your turn, that's no solid proof; you cannot come to Christ except made suitably sensible of your distance, and of that you have never been convinced as yet; do you think to roll yourselves on Christ sleeping, and you know not how? Certainly when the pins of your tabernacle come to be coming loose, you shall find that your fancied faith shall not be able to keep out a challenge; you could never endure to think yourselves to be Christ's enemies, or that you wanted faith, but when death comes, conscience will awaken, and the challenge will needs be in upon you, whether you will or not; many of you think that you get wrong when your faith is questioned or reproved, as if it were an odd and rare thing to be graceless, or to be living as members of the visible church, and yet want faith; and it irritates you to be expostulated with in private for your lying in unbelief. But suffer this word now to take hold of you, I beseech you, and if you could once be brought to suspect yourselves, and to think thus with yourselves. What if I be one of those many that believe not? I fear I be in hazard to be mistaken about my faith, and from that, put to follow on to see how you will be able to ward off the challenge, and to prove your believing to be sound, we would think you were fair on; O if you had the faith of this truth, that among the many hearers of the gospel, there are but few that believe, and were brought thereby to examine and try yourselves; there is no truth that Christ insists more on than this, that strait is the gate, and narrow is the way to heaven, and that but few find it, and that there are few that believe, and few that be saved; if you did once in earnest look on yourselves as in hazard, and were brought to reflect on matters between God and you, it might be the Lord would follow the conviction, we desire Him to do it, and to Him be praise.