Isaiah 56:1-2 – Salvation Is About To Come
God is telling His people, who are already trusting in the One Who will come, that because this One shall come, and He will bring not merely a promised redemption, but an accomplished redemption, that they who are trusting on Him, they who are saved because they trust in Him, they who have new hearts, because they have a new character with that new heart implanted in them by the Holy Spirit, must live that out. Even as God Himself, with His own holy, good character, lives that out in the way He acts toward us; that holy goodness appears in His wonderful works to the children of men. Our new hearts must do the same thing. It is not therefore that we are declared innocent of our sin by our own righteousness, by somehow making up for our sin. What we need to be looking for is His salvation and His righteousness. Only the righteousness of God, given by Him, attained for us by His only begotten son, accomplished by Christ alone for us, imputed by grace alone to us through faith alone, only that brings us to be forgiven, brings us to be declared innocent. The new heart wants to be in conformity to the law of God. It grieves when it is not, but it continues to look to the One Who does give life. It continues to look to Jesus Christ.
The people of Isaiah’s day looked forward to the end of the week, when they would have special communion with God, restored by the One Who would come. They looked forward to the end of the week. They looked forward to the coming of the Saviour. We look forward from the first day of the week. We look ahead to working for God’s glory during the week with a week that is established upon the Resurrection. We look forward during the week of working for Him until His coming to end all things, even as the week is ended. People that were given new hearts would want to spend time with the people of God, and with the God of His people. That’s why God is saying here that this One will keep from defiling the Sabbath. He will keep his hand from doing any evil. He will do this because that’s what his heart wants more and more, to have that fellowship with God on God’s day. That speaks of a day to come when there shall be nothing but Sabbath. All shall be redeemed, and we will have everlasting perfected fellowship with God and His people in our home to come.
Question
- What does the new heart want?
Prayer Points
- Pray that we would grow more in our desire to love and obey God.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.