以赛亚书51:1-6

愿恩惠平安从父神和救主耶稣基督归于你们追求公义、寻求耶和华的人。阿门。

“你们这寻求公义、寻求耶和华的”，“我必坚定我的公理为万民之光”，“我的公义临近……我的膀臂要审判万民”，“天必像烟云消散，地必如衣服渐渐旧了；其上的居民也要如此死亡，……我的公义也不废掉。”（赛51：1-6）神是公义的、圣洁的至高主，他不以无罪的为有罪，也不以有罪的为无罪。谈到公义或者说正义，我们想到的常常是司法审判，要法官主持公道，替受害者伸冤；通常，我们是站在受害者的角色来思想的，很少有人以加害者、施暴者来寻求公义，那样自己要受审判，也是担惊受怕的，不愿意寻求公义。

事实上，当先知以赛亚发出这个预言的时候，以色列人，就是这里所说“你们这追求公义、寻求耶和华的”是处在什么位置呢？不是受害者，而是作恶多端、离弃神，并不行公义好怜悯的。这时，以色列大部分人已经被掳巴比伦，所有人都以为没有希望了，整个民族完了，神对他们充满了愤怒和审判。同样是51章，末尾这样说：“耶路撒冷啊，……你从耶和华手中喝了他忿怒之杯，喝了那使人东倒西歪的爵，以致喝尽。……荒凉、毁灭、饥荒、刀兵，这几样临到你，谁为你举哀？”（赛51:17,19）前一章，就是50章开头：“耶和华如此说：‘我休你们的母亲，休书在哪里呢？我将你们卖给我哪一个债主呢？你们被卖，是因你们的罪孽；你们的母亲被休，是因你们的过犯。”（赛50:1）这里所说的母亲就是以色列，也是指着今天的基督教会说的，教会就是用福音生养我们的母亲。

弟兄姐妹们，我们是不是也常常处在这样的罪孽和污秽当中，以至于良心被重担压垮，不敢提及主的名字，不愿意祷告神，更不敢说在神面前寻求公义呢？然而，就是在这样的情况中，主借着以赛亚呼召以色列百姓寻求耶和华的面，寻求公义。为什么？如果我们寻求的是公义，那么结果不是神进一步的愤怒和审判吗？就像我们今天经文所读到的这些审判的画面那样。天地都要坍塌，审判必要临到万民，地上的居民要如此灭亡，像蠓虫那样死亡。

我们所做的常常不是跟保罗的劝勉相对，常常跟随世界的脚步，不仅仅是效仿，而是沉浸在其中，不能自拔，常常不愿意察验“何为神的良善、纯全、可喜悦的旨意”，相反，人人都跟着自己的感觉走，都是讨自己的喜欢，怎么舒服怎么做，而且常常跟别人、跟世界攀比，唯恐在物质生活和富足上落后了，被人嘲笑等等。在教会中，我们不也常常否认彼此为基督身体的一部分，并不彼此看顾、彼此配搭服侍，一同让基督的身体得以建造吗？

按着福音经文来说，我们不是常常惧怕、逃避教会的权柄吗？毕竟这权柄听起来并不总是有利于我们：“我要把天国的钥匙给你，凡你地上所捆绑的，在天上也要捆绑；凡你在地上所释放的，在天上也要释放。”（太15：19）似乎阴间的权柄常常胜过教会，看到有多少受洗的基督徒倒退，离弃信仰，追随世界，看到有多少教会教堂陆续关门，出售，谁不会怀疑阴间的权柄远远大于天堂的权柄，救恩的权柄呢？我们不也常常感到自己被地狱所震惊，被罪所俘虏，被魔鬼辖制吗？我们不也常常觉得，这基督信仰，这彼得的宣告：耶稣是基督，是永生神的儿子，听起来毫无力量——不就是一句话，一个宣言吗？崇拜的时候，我们不也常常觉得不断地宣告使徒信经是多么乏味无聊，走形式吗？若牧师指责谁的过错，我们不是觉得——你算什么，我只向神负责，你凭什么审判我，捆绑我的罪呢？甚至惩戒我呢？信仰是我个人的事情，我感觉好就行了，跟教会和牧师没什么关系，一切都在我的掌控之中。“我的神，我做主。”任何其他人无权干涉。

事实上，就是这样，就是在以色列人和我们处在这样糟糕的状况之下，神仍然继续呼唤我们。首先，神让以赛亚提醒以色列人自己的信实。你们不要忘记，而是要“追想被凿而出的磐石……要追想你们的祖宗亚伯拉罕……”（赛51:1-2）主耶和华是信实的，并不会忘记自己的百姓，不会忘记自己的救恩和所立的约。我们要时常“留心、侧耳”（赛51:4），因为主要继续赐下训诲，并且坚定自己的公理。神在一切看似不可能的境况中施行奇妙的作为：撒拉百岁年老不能生育的时候，神应许并且真的赐给他们一个儿子以撒；亚伯拉罕独自带领家人走向应许之地的时候，神多次向祂显现，坚定自己的约定，赐福祂。以色列人对此一清二楚，只是他们当下的遭遇和经历让他们不敢去想象神的怜悯，不敢祈求主的赐福和恩惠。主继续安慰锡安，也是今天的基督教会说：”要使旷野像伊甸，使沙漠像耶和华的园囿（伊甸园）；在其中必有欢喜、快乐、感谢和歌唱的声音。”（赛51:3）

如果你是满心依靠主的怜悯和救恩的人，请不要害怕主的公义，因为这公义不是要让你惧怕和灭亡，而是要拯救你。主亲自宣告说：“我的公理（就是基督），为万民之光，我的公义（耶稣基督）临近，我的救恩发出。我的膀臂要审判万民。海岛都要等候我，依赖我的膀臂。”（赛51:4-5）亲爱的弟兄姐妹们，“我的膀臂”就是主耶稣在十字架上为着我们的救恩，为要涂抹我们的过犯，要让我们的债一笔勾销伸展开来的救恩膀臂。对于我们信徒来说，这膀臂的审判乃是要拥抱我们，安慰我们，赦免我们，苏醒我们，让我们在神面前重新抬起头来。这膀臂是全地的民可以等候，可以倚赖的；事实上，我们还有别的任何其他事物可以依赖，去逃脱上帝的末日审判和地狱的刑罚呢？除了这十字架的膀臂，再没有其他。这公义不仅之前赦免我们的罪，赦免我们一切过去的罪，赦免我们今日的罪，并且时常要赦免我们带着悔改的心所寻求的赦免和恩惠。我们不是每个主日都用约翰一书的经文宣告说：“我们若说自己无罪，便是自欺，真理不在我们心里了。我们若认自己的罪，神是信实的，是公义的，必要赦免我们的罪，洗净我们一切的不义。”（约翰一书1:8-9）

虽然天地都要废去，虽然地上的居民，就是不信的人都要如此灭亡，但主的救恩永远长存，主的公义不会废掉。我们信徒所拥抱的救恩和公义必要带领我们趟过死亡的河水，平安地抵达彼岸。这救恩的磐石是稳固的，我们所宣告的信仰是无价的，也是充满属天的权柄。主耶稣亲自说：“我要把我的教会建造在这磐石上；阴间的权柄不能胜过她”。为我们钉死在十字架上的耶稣是基督，是永生神的儿子。我们能够从心底由衷地宣告这份信经信仰，并不是我们自己按照属世的智慧琢磨出来的，不是我们多么聪明，事实上，基督的十字架在世人的智慧眼中，都是愚昧无知。我们怎么信了呢？因为是神的工作，在我们身上成就了。“你是有福的！因为这不是属血肉的指示你的，乃是我在天上的父指示的。”（赛51:17）求主坚固保守我们在这属天的信仰和福分当中，祂也是信实的，必要保守我们属于祂的选民，直到永远。奉耶稣基督的名。阿们。

Isaiah 51:1–6

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Savior Jesus Christ, to you who pursue righteousness and seek the LORD. Amen.

“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD” ... “My justice will become a light to the nations” ... “My righteousness draws near quickly... and my arms will bring justice to the nations” ... “The heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies... but my righteousness will never fail.” (Isa. 51:1–6). God is the righteous, holy, and supreme Lord; He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, nor will He condemn the innocent. When we talk about righteousness or justice, we often think of judicial trials—a judge administering justice and vindicating the victim. Typically, we reflect on this from the perspective of the victim. Few people seek justice from the position of the unjust or oppressor, for doing so means facing judgment, fear, and dread; hence, they are unwilling to seek justice.

In fact, when the prophet Isaiah issued this prophecy, what was the position of the Israelites—those addressed here as “you who pursue righteousness and seek the LORD”? They were not victims, but those who had committed many evils, abandoned God, and failed to act justly or love mercy. At this point, most of Israel had already been carried off into Babylonian captivity. Everyone thought there was no hope left, the entire nation was ruined, and God’s fierce anger and judgment rested upon them. At the end of this same chapter 51, it says: “Awake, awake! Stand up, Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of his wrath, you who have drained to its dregs the goblet that makes people stagger... Ruin and destruction, famine and sword—who can console you?” (Isa. 51:17, 19). At the beginning of the previous chapter, chapter 50, it reads: “This is what the LORD says: ‘Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce with which I sent her away? Or to which of my creditors did I sell you? Because of your sins you were sold; because of your transgressions your mother was sent away.’” (Isa. 50:1). The mother mentioned here is Israel, which also points to Christ's Church today—the Church being the mother who gives birth to and nurtures us through the Gospel.

Brothers and sisters, aren't we also often caught in such guilt and filth, so burdened in conscience that we dare not mention the Lord's name, are unwilling to pray, and certainly dare not speak of seeking righteousness before God? Yet, precisely in such circumstances, the Lord calls the people of Israel through Isaiah to seek the face of the LORD and to seek righteousness. Why? If what we seek is righteousness, wouldn't the result be God's further anger and judgment—just like the vivid scenes of judgment we read in today's text? Heaven and earth will collapse, judgment will surely come upon all peoples, and the inhabitants of the earth will perish like gnats.

What we do is often contrary to Paul’s exhortations. We frequently follow the footsteps of the world, not merely imitating it, but immersing ourselves in it so deeply that we cannot extricate ourselves. We are often unwilling to test and approve "what God's will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will." Instead, everyone follows their own feelings, seeking to please themselves and doing whatever feels comfortable. We constantly compare ourselves with others and the world, terrified of falling behind in material comfort and wealth, fearing the mockery of others. In the church, do we not also often deny that we are members of one another in the body of Christ, failing to care for one another or serve together to build up the body of Christ?

According to the Gospel text, do we not often fear and evade the authority of the church? After all, this authority does not always sound favorable to us: "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." (Matt. 16:19). It often seems as though the gates of Hades prevail against the church. When we see how many baptized Christians backslide, abandon the faith, and follow the world, and how many church buildings are closed and sold, who wouldn't question whether the power of Hades is far greater than the authority of heaven and salvation? Do we not also frequently feel overwhelmed by hell, captive to sin, and controlled by the devil? Do we not often feel that this Christian faith—this confession of Peter that "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God"—sounds utterly powerless, just a phrase or a declaration? During worship, don't we often find the constant recitation of the Apostles' Creed tedious, boring, and mere formalism? If a pastor confronts someone's sin, don't we think: Who are you? I am accountable only to God. What authority do you have to judge me, bind my sin, or discipline me? Faith is my personal business; as long as I feel good, it has nothing to do with the church or the pastor. Everything is under my control. "My God, my choice." No one else has the right to interfere.

In truth, even when Israel and we are in such a miserable state, God continues to call us. First, God has Isaiah remind Israel of His faithfulness. Do not forget, but "look to the rock from which you were cut... look to Abraham, your father..." (Isa. 51:1–2). The Lord GOD is faithful; He will not forget His people, His salvation, or the covenant He established. We must continuously "listen to me... pay attention to me" (Isa. 51:4), because the Lord will continue to issue His instruction and establish His justice. God performs wondrous deeds in seemingly impossible situations: when Sarah was a hundred years old and barren, God promised and indeed gave them a son, Isaac; when Abraham led his family alone toward the promised land, God appeared to him many times, confirming His covenant and blessing him. The Israelites knew this full well, yet their immediate suffering made them shrink from imagining God's mercy or asking for His blessing and grace. The Lord continues to comfort Zion—the Christian Church of today—saying: "He will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing." (Isa. 51:3).

If you are one who relies fully on the Lord's mercy and salvation, do not fear His righteousness. This righteousness is not meant to cause you terror or destruction, but to save you. The Lord Himself proclaims: "My justice [which is Christ] will become a light to the nations. My righteousness [Jesus Christ] draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm." (Isa. 51:4–5). Dear brothers and sisters, "my arm" refers to the saving arms of the Lord Jesus stretched out on the cross for our salvation, to blot out our transgressions, and to cancel our debt entirely. For us believers, the judgment of this arm comes to embrace us, comfort us, forgive us, and revive us, enabling us to lift up our heads before God once again. This is the arm that all the people of the earth can wait for and rely upon. In fact, what else do we have to rely on to escape God's final judgment and the punishment of hell? Beside these arms of the cross, there is no other. This righteousness not only forgave our past and present sins, but continually forgives us whenever we seek His pardon and grace with a repentant heart. Do we not declare every Lord's Day using the words of 1 John: "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness"? (1 John 1:8–9).

Though heaven and earth will pass away, and though the inhabitants of the earth—the unbelievers—will perish like gnats, the Lord's salvation endures forever, and His righteousness will never fail. The salvation and righteousness that we believers embrace will surely guide us through the waters of death and bring us safely to the heavenly shore. This rock of salvation is secure, and the faith we confess is priceless and clothed in heavenly authority. The Lord Jesus Himself declared: "I will build my church on this rock, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." Jesus, who was crucified for us, is the Christ, the Son of the living God. That we can confess this creedal faith from the bottom of our hearts is not something we figured out through worldly wisdom, nor is it because we are clever. In fact, the cross of Christ is foolishness in the eyes of worldly wisdom. How then did we come to believe? It is because God's work was accomplished in us. "Blessed are you! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven." (cf. Matt. 16:17). May the Lord strengthen and preserve us in this heavenly faith and blessing. He is faithful and will surely guard His chosen people to eternity. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.