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Dr. J. Vernon McGee pointed out that Isaiah 53 tells us about the suffering Saviour, dying to pay for our sins. Then he said that Isaiah 54 shows how the suffering Saviour will bring salvation to Israel when He comes again the second time. But in Isaiah 55 the Gospel invitation is offered to the entire world. Dr. McGee said, “This is remarkable because there have been very few religious leaders who have had a global view. The work of the suffering servant in Isaiah 53 makes possible the offer of salvation to a lost world” (J. Vernon McGee, Thru The Bible, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1982, Volume III, p. 318, Introduction to Isaiah 55).

The great Reformer Martin Luther said that certain verses are “little Bibles.” He meant that they contain the whole Gospel in a few verses. Luther said that about John 3:16. He might also have said it about our text. It certainly is a little Gospel – because it gives us, in three verses, Christ’s loving advice to those are lost.

As I speak on Isaiah 55:1-3, I will divide the text into four parts. Each part contains the Saviour’s loving advice to you who are lost.

I. First, we see Christ’s loving invitation.

“Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price” (Isaiah 55:1).

The verse begins with the word “Ho.” It is a Hebrew particle that is difficult to translate. It seems to be an attention-getting word like “hey” in English. “Hey, every one that thirsteth, come to the waters…” It was a word that salesmen used to attract customers. To stop them from passing by, he cries out, “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters…come ye, buy, and eat…without money and without price” – like a man selling jugs of water, wine, and milk to thirsty travellers.

There are five imperatives in the text, “come, buy and eat, even come, buy.” (Edward J. Young, Ph.D., The Book of Isaiah, Eerdmans, volume 3, p. 375). The first “come” implies that the thirsty man is not yet where the water is, and he must come to that place.

Here we see the love of Jesus toward man. Jesus comes, not like the salesman we know – for He does not ask for any money. Jesus really comes as a beggar, begging sinners to take that which He offers to them free! But man is so sinful, depraved and rebellious that the Saviour must come to him like a poor Arab beggar and offer to give away water, wine and milk free of charge to those who are dying of spiritual thirst. Think also of the warped and foolish hearts of sinners, so ruined that they must be begged by the Saviour to take some of His water, which He is giving away here in the arid desert of this dried up world.

No mere words from this preacher, or any other Christian, will bring you to Jesus. To use Christ’s words, He Himself must “compel you to come in.” You would rather starve, and die of thirst, than come in to the marriage feast and enjoy it. Oh, the insanity of lost sinners, to be uninterested in this wonderful, free offer! The Saviour is so kind and loving, and so insistently begging you to take His free water and milk! How can you be so foolish and ungrateful as to turn a deaf ear to Him? Dr. W. A. Criswell said of this verse,

           I remember visiting a large city in the Middle East where there were those who were walking up and down the streets selling water. Their call in Arabic was translated, “O Thirsty One, Water!” “Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters.”
         There are two different features, however, of the [waters] that God offers. First, what God offers satisfies. There is no emptiness in what He gives. It is full, abundant, and overflowing. Second, God says that if the buyer has no money, then there is no cost or price – it is absolutely free (W. A. Criswell, Ph.D., Isaiah: An Exposition, Zondervan, 1977, p. 255).

The text says, “Ho, everyone that thirsteth…and he that hath no money.” Do you ever wish you were converted? Have you thought you would feel more comfortable if you were saved? You may think that you’re not thirsty enough. But that is the same mistake as those who think they don't have enough conviction. One person wrote a note to me on a prayer card. That person said, “Dr. Hymers, please pray for me to come under conviction of my sins.” I happen to know that person is already under deep conviction of sin. That person feels miserable every time I preach. She does not need more conviction! No! No! She is already as convicted and thirsty as anyone I have ever spoken to about salvation. She asked me to pray for her to have even more conviction! I did not pray for her request. Instead, I prayed for her to act on the conviction she already has – and come to Jesus! What do you think God has to do to you? Do you expect Him to drive you insane? He will not do it! I say you are already so thirsty and convicted that more thirst and more conviction won’t do you any good! You are plenty thirsty already! Now come to Jesus – and all your worries and fears will be gone! The text says, “Come ye, buy and eat…without money and without price.”

Everything you need has already been provided by Jesus! He says to you, “Come, for all things are now ready” (Luke 14:17). His cauldron of Blood is there to cleanse you! Aren’t you glad when you hear me say that His Blood is there, waiting to wash sinners clean? Aren’t you happy when you hear me preach against the false teaching that there is no Blood? Didn’t you applaud and smile when you heard me correct Colonel R. B. Thieme and John MacArthur? Weren’t you glad to hear that “the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin”? (I John 1:7). Wasn’t your heart filled with joy when you heard me say, “There was a conversion tonight?” Of course you were glad when others found peace by trusting Jesus! Why, man, think! If you felt happy when others were cleansed and saved by the Blood – think! Think! Think what joy you will feel when you, yourself are made clean by the Holy Blood of Jesus! Others are smiling because they came to Him “without money and without price.” Wouldn’t you like to smile with them? Wouldn’t you like to feel some of the joy they feel? If you say “yes” – even a little “yes” – in your heart, then why not come to Jesus and be satisfied by Him – “without money and without price”? It’s free! It’s free! It's free!

In the world you’ve failed to find
   Aught of peace for troubled mind;
Come to Christ, on Him believe,
   Peace and joy you shall receive.

Why not now? Why not now?
   Why not come to Jesus now?
Why not now? Why not now?
   Why not come to Jesus now?
(“Why Not Now?” by Daniel W. Whittle, 1840-1901).

“Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price” (Isaiah 55:1).

That is Christ’s loving invitation to you.

II. Second, Christ’s loving rebuke.

“Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not?” (Isaiah 55:2a).

I know I am speaking to some of you who have been spiritually hungry for a long time. You need bread that will satisfy your soul. You have longed to be satisfied, but you worked for that which does not satisfy, and will never satisfy you. Now, who are those who do that? I will describe them.  If the shoe fits, wear it!

They are those who try to satisfy their souls by outward religion. You come to church out of habit. You have been coming to church for a long time. You know a lot of the hymns by heart. Often you don’t even have to look at the song sheet. You can find a place in the Bible quickly. You may even know the verse by heart. But none of that, by itself, can give you peace and save your soul. And they can never satisfy you or save you! Never! Never! Never!

You have gone soul winning. But your own soul is not saved. You have come repeatedly to prayer meeting, but your heart is not satisfied. You have given money to the Lord’s work, but your own heart is miserable.

I know exactly where I was the very first time I heard Toplady’s great hymn. I was only 15. I didn’t know what it meant, but I knew it was important. My, how it speaks to those of you who are faithful to all the meetings in the church – but are still lost. It is the second stanza. It says,

Not the labors of my hands
   Can fulfill Thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
   Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
   Thou must save, and Thou alone.
(“Rock of Ages” by Augustus M. Toplady, 1740-1778).

It’s a shame that the “progressive” churches have thrown out the hymn books with great classical hymns in them like this. No “modern” chorus speaks to the heart on this subject, like this one, like this hymn,

Not the labors of my hands
   Can fulfill Thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
   Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
   Thou must save, and Thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring,
   Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress,
   Helpless, look to Thee for grace:
Foul, I to the fountain fly,
   Wash me, Saviour, or I die!
(“Rock of Ages” by Augustus M. Toplady, 1740-1778).

Hear the Saviour’s gentle rebuke, “[Why] do ye spend money for that which is not bread? And your labour for that which satisfieth not?” (Isaiah 55:2). Nothing that you work for, nothing that you spend money on, nothing that you buy – none of it will ever satisfy the deep spiritual cravings of your soul. I think you already know that, don’t you? Then, why not give up trying to be satisfied that way? Why not simply come to Jesus?

III. Third, Christ’s loving command.

“Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness” (Isaiah 55:2b).

That loving command is very simple – “Hearken.” It just means “listen.” Oh, but that’s not all He says! The next word is all-important – “diligently” – “Hearken diligently.” I believe in the divine inspiration of every word of the Bible. The Hebrew and Greek text of it was given by God through inspiration, word for word, to the prophets and the apostles. That is “plenary, verbal inspiration,” that all the great preachers from the past believed. Here God gave us two words, “hearken” and “diligently.” The Hebrew word translated “diligently” is from “qashab” which means “give much heed,” pay much attention (Strong). “Hearken diligently” – listen with much attention – not to the prophet, but as Dr. Gill said, to “The Lord.”

When His loving command is obeyed you are not far from being saved. “But doesn’t everyone listen to the preaching of God’s word?” you ask. Yes, in a sense they do, but not “diligently” – with much attention. It has been my experience, where I see someone in the congregation listening like that,  to find that they have been converted from hearing that sermon.

I have often seen someone looking at me "diligently" while I preached.  After a while it almost seemed that we were the only two people in the meeting.  Needless to say, such people are nearly always saved in that meeting.  They do trust Jesus right after the sermon.  They are saved because they listened "diligently."  

“Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness – Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in my abundance” (Isaiah 55:2b).

If you listen to the preaching of God’s word like that, instead of thinking your own thoughts, you will soon trust Jesus and your soul will “delight itself” in His rich abundance! So Jesus commands you, not only to listen diligently to God’s word, but also to eat, that is, to receive the Gospel into your very soul. In the next verse Jesus says, “Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live” (Isaiah 55:3a). Listen as though your very life depended on it – and come to Jesus! Your soul will live! You will be saved! You will be regenerated! You will be alive from the dead! “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). Praise God! That is a real conversion!

IV. Fourth, Christ’s loving encouragement.

“…your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David” (Isaiah 55:3b).

You may fear that you will never be saved, that you will die in despair. But if you hear the Gospel diligently, and come to Jesus, you will live. You will not go on in a state of spiritual death! No! No! You will live – and you will live forever in God’s kingdom!

Thank God, Jesus goes on to say it! “I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.” When you are saved, you have an “everlasting covenant” with Jesus. When you are in that covenant, you can never fall out of it! The last thing David said was “…he hath made with me an everlasting covenant…for this is all my salvation, and all my desire” (II Samuel 23:5). This everlasting covenant is what God has promised to make with every sinner who comes to Jesus and trusts Him!

I pray that you will hearken diligently, and come to Jesus right now, tonight! His Blood will cleanse your sin, and you will be saved forever, in an everlasting covenant with the Son of God! Amen and amen.

If you would like to speak with us about trusting Jesus, please leave your seat right now and go to the inquiry room. Dr. Chan, please pray that someone will trust Jesus tonight. Amen.

(END OF SERMON)
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Scripture Read Before the Sermon by Mr. Abel Prudhomme: Isaiah 55:1-3.
Solo Sung Before the Sermon by Mr. Benjamin Kincaid Griffith:
“Ho! Every One That is Thirsty” (by Lucy J. Rider, 1849-1922).