On Isaiah 55

“Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters;
And you who have no money come, buy and eat.
Come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without cost.
“Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And delight yourself in abundance.
“Incline your ear and come to Me.
Listen, that you may live;
And I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
According to the faithful mercies shown to David.
“Behold, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
A leader and commander for the peoples.
“Behold, you will call a nation you do not know,
And a nation which knows you not will run to you,
Because of the Lord your God, even the Holy One of Israel;
For He has glorified you.”

Seek the Lord while He may be found;
Call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
And let him return to the Lord,
And He will have compassion on him,
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
And do not return there without watering the earth
And making it bear and sprout,
And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;
It will not return to Me empty,
Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
“For you will go out with joy
And be led forth with peace;
The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,
And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
“Instead of the thorn bush the cypress will come up,
And instead of the nettle the myrtle will come up,
And it will be a memorial to the Lord,
For an everlasting sign which will not be cut off.”

I was reading Isaiah 55 again, and there are several reasons why I love it:

1. I think it's important to look at the Gospel from the vantage point opposite of us today. We look back, but the believers of the Old Testament were looking forward. Tasting the longing and anticipation in OT prophecies gives us a sense of how precious our salvation is.
2. The language of the goodness of God's covenant with us is reassuring. Membership in His family is a life-giving thing. We are partakers of God's lovingkindness.
3. It reminds us that the call of the Gospel is not something that is only relevant when we are on the road to regeneration. After we are converted, we need to be reminded of it just as much as before. We become tempted to spend our "wages for what does not satisfy." Things like grad school. As awesome as it can be.

"For in Him we live, and move, and have our being." Acts 17.28

"Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You." St. Augustine