Word of Salvation – Vol. 21 No.07 - November 1974

 

New Year's Eve Sermon

 

Sermon by the Rev. W.F. Van Brussel, B.D. on Isaiah 5:4

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 5:1-7, Luke 20:9-18

Psalter Hymnal: Psalm 136:1,2,3; Hymn 173:1,2,6; 286; 230; 475

 

God wants to ask a question of us this evening.  It will be a healthy exercise this final evening of 1974 to act as if God was asking this question of all and everyone of us.  It is always a good thing, of course, to stop for a second or two whenever we meet with a question in the Bible.  The Bible has plenty of questions to ask.  But they do not do us much good, if we fail to answer them.  This only shows that too often we read the Bible wrongly.  As if its questions were not addressed to us.

On an evening such as we have tonight we want to think about a question or two.  Well, here is a question of God.  What are we going to do with it tonight?

God addressed this question to Israel.  And no doubt we belong to the Israel of the N.T.  God is waiting for our answer.

This is an unusual thing for us to think about perhaps.  For we always act as if we were the ones who could ask questions all the time.  And God is the One Who is supposed to give us the answers.

True, we may come to God with our questions.  And we can say that God answers a tremendous lot of questions for us.

There are lots of things which we want to ask questions about, and since we know that God is All-knowing, we often address our questions to Him.  There are so many problems which we can't solve.  So many things develop so much more differently than we expected, and thus we have plenty of questions to ask.

This is not a sign of lack of faith.  Not necessarily anyway.  There are plenty of Christians who are faced with real problems and questions which they can't answer.  We could think here about this question, which comes around so many a time: WHY?  Why did this have to happen in my life?  Or, why did my good friend who is such a fine Christian have to go through such difficult experiences?  And, well you know there are numerous questions of this particular kind.

There are so many events which we can't explain, and which seem to be wrong altogether.  We know that this asking of: ‘Why?’ is not much good.  It does not really help us, and it leaves us even more puzzled, time and again.

This question in particular seems to come back all the time: How can this dreadful event be in harmony with the fact that the Bible teaches that God is love?  How can God be the God of all mercies, if He allows all this kind of thing to happen?

The Bible is full of this kind of question: Job was wondering about what God wanted.  It looked to him as if God was playing a game with his life.  He could not follow what God was doing, in his life.

We all know practically by heart what we find in Ps.42: I say to God, my Rock: "Why hast Thou forgotten me?  Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?"

Or the other famous questions of Ps.73.  “The wicked have no pangs; their bodies are sound and sleek.  They are not in trouble as other men are; they are not stricken like other men.  Therefore, pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment.  Their eyes swell out with fatness; their hearts overflow with follies....!”

Or David's problem in Ps.22: “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me.  Why art Thou so far from helping me...?  O my God, I cry by day, but Thou dost not answer; and by night but find no rest.”

We have so many questions to ask, that God hardly gets a chance of asking questions Himself.  Why do we not get children, whereas others do get them, even people who do not really want them?  Why do others find a husband, and I have none?  Why is it that I am always ill and having trouble, whereas others seem to have no problem at all?  Why all these wars?  Those famines?  Why these family-problems?  Why this generation-gap in Christian homes?  Why?  Why?  Why?

If somebody wouldn't stop us we would never stop perhaps.

Well, tonight, God stops us and says to us: Will you please be quiet.  I want to say something.  I also have My questions, you see.  What more was there to do for My vineyard, that I have not done in it?  This question comes along with one of the most beautiful and famous parts of Isaiah's book of prophecies.  It comes along with a love song as vs.1 says.  Here is a loving God, Who has shown His love in an amazing way, and Who has seen little response to His love.  What more can I do, God says, than what I have done already?

What has He done, anyway?

This is said in this love song concerning the vineyard.  Somebody has planted a vineyard on a fertile hill.  He has done his utmost to make it a really good vineyard.  He has put a lot of time into it.  He has selected the best area for it he could find.  He has put an enormous lot of energy and care into it.  He has not spared any labour or cost.  He has removed the stones and all other items which might have impeded a proper development of the plants.  He has looked for choice vines.  He has built a tower from where the watchmen could keep an eye on whatever happened to the vineyard.  He has hewn out a wine vat in the rocks.

And after he had finished everything he was sure that there was going to be a plentiful harvest of choicest fruit.  Yet, the vineyard yielded nothing but wild grapes.  How disappointed the man was.

How disappointed God was when He looked at His people and their lives.  He did not find any worthwhile fruit from all His labours.  And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, between Me and My vineyard.  What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it?

Just imagine, God asking this kind of question of us tonight at the end of this year 1974.  This question actually is a complaint.  A complaint of GOD.  A complaint of a great love which remained without a reasonable response.

We often read about the adulterous actions of Israel in regard to their relationship with God.  God had shown His people so much love as a husband shows his love for his wife.  But what's the use of this love if the wife turns to other men in the meantime?  What is the use for God to love His people if they fail to appreciate His love and leave Him alone, time and again?

Isn't that terrible that GOD has to ask this kind of question?  Or can you say: Wait a minute, this was about O.T. Israel, but things are entirely different now?  Well, that's beautiful, if you can say that, as long as this is not a show of blindness.

God has shown us His great love in Jesus Christ.  We just celebrated Christmas again and we know what it means.  We are the objects of God's beautiful love.  But can we say that there was a healthy response in our lives to this love throughout the past year?  Do we have no reasons to worry about this question of God?  Are we thoroughly convinced that God has shown us His love in the past year in a tremendous way?  That we were surprised so often about the tokens of His love and His mercy?  Did we respond to His love by loving Him and our neighbour the way and to the extent He wants us to, and He made it possible by His grace?

God had given O.T. Israel a special place among the nations.  There was no nation in exactly the same privileged condition as Israel was.  And Israel failed to see that.  Time and again they wanted much rather to be like the other nations.  They envied their ways and their customs.

Do we not have anything like that in our present situation?  Do we really and truly appreciate the privilege of belonging to the nation of God in the world today?  Do we appreciate this to such an extent that we are able to bear our burdens and to cope with our frustrating experiences?  Do we say, Well we had our problems and our disappointments this past year, but all that does not mean anything over against the good we have in Christ and in our blessed faith?  Is that the way we talk?

In other words, does God receive good grapes from us tonight?

God was far from happy about Israel in the days of Isaiah.  When we read this chapter we notice that God had a lot of reason to complain about the attitude of His privileged people.  See vs.7, for example: “For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are His pleasant planting; and He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, a cry.”

And vs.13: “Therefore My people go into exile for want of knowledge...!”

We read also a portion of Luke 20.  This was done because in that chapter our Lord Jesus built on to what Isaiah had said many centuries before.

Jesus was speaking of a vineyard again: The conditions were the same.  Again a lot of time, money and energy had been spent on it.  And after everything had come to a proper stage of development the owner had left the vineyard to his tenants.

At harvest-time the owner sent His slaves in order to collect the fruit.  But you know what the tenants did to those slaves.

And then, right in the heart of that parable we hear a similar question: What shall I do?

And then he decided to make a final attempt to take an incredible step.  He decided to send his beloved son this time.  They would certainly respect him!

Well, this is the picture of the climax of God's love.  Greater love could God never have shown than this that He gave His only begotten Son.  God had sent many servants, a lot of prophets.  But nearly all of them had been killed, in particular when they spoke about fruits that were to be collected.

When Jesus came to collect the fruit, He was crucified and killed.  He was not wanted in the vineyard.  This was the world's answer to God's love.  The world's answer?  Yes, that's the way we would like to put it.  But the Bible says: He came to His own but those who were His own received Him not.

Yes, here we are faced with what God's question of Isa.5 boils down to: What else, what more could God have done to show His love?

God is asking this question of you and me!  Not just of the world, but of those who belong to His people.  Of us who know all about Christ and the way of salvation?  Did God not show us enough love?  Do we have reason to complain tonight?

Or do we want to say.  O yes, I know all that.  God has done enough for our salvation, BUT....!

Well, where are the fruits of it that we know it all so well?  How did we show our love?  What did we do about our sins and the sinful traits in our character?

Was our life in 1974 one big long line of obedience to God and of gratitude for all that we have in our blessed faith in Christ?

God is asking you and me: Is there anything more I should have done for you?  Did I disappoint you?  I have given you the best I had, My own only begotten, beloved Son.  What more do you want?

There is only one answer to God's question tonight.  It is the beautiful answer of Ps.116:

            What shall I render to the Lord
            For all His benefits to me?
            How shall my soul, by grace restored,
            Give worthy thanks, O Lord, to Thee?

            With thankful heart I offer now
            My gift, and call upon God's name;
            Before His saints I pay my vow
            And here my gratitude proclaim.

            Within His house, the House of prayer,
            I dedicate myself to God;
            Let all His saints His grace declare
            And join to sound His praise abroad.   (P/H 230)