In chapter 40 the Lord instructed Isaiah to comfort His remnant people by reassuring them that the Messiah would come and Immanuel would be born into the world. Harsh times of conquest and exile were yet to afflict Jerusalem and the Jews, nevertheless the coming Christ would deliver God’s promised salvation. As we have seen, the faithful prophet fulfilled his task by consistently pointing forward to the Messiah. He wrote of the suffering which Christ would endure and the success He would enjoy. Believers are always comforted when they see Jesus. The sins of God’s people Now, however, the Lord God has an additional message for His prophet-preacher. Isaiah must declare loudly and strongly the transgressions of God’s people and show the house of Jacob…

The Psalmist tells us, ‘Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints’. Here Isaiah contrasts the attitude of the wicked, perhaps thinking especially of the blind watchmen and ignorant shepherds of the previous chapter. They have no sense of the value lost to the church and the world by the death of those who lived uprightly, prayed for their brothers and sisters, and daily witnessed to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Unbelievers do not realise the benefits they receive from the presence of the church in the world. The blessings of death Those who die in the Lord are triply blessed. They are evermore preserved and protected from the evil of this world. Their souls are carried into the presence…