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…

For all the comfort and encouragement granted to the Old Testament saints by Isaiah’s prophecies concerning the Messiah, the remnant people were not to imagine that the coming gospel age would be a time of blessing without trial. The gospel must go to all nations, and the Lord’s elect will be gathered from the ends of the earth, but the growth of the church would not be trouble-free. Each generation of God’s people have their peculiar blessings and their distinctive difficulties as we shall see in this and the coming chapters. When God speaks Isaiah opens this prophecy with a ‘Thus saith the LORD’. It is our privilege to be always listening for the word of the Lord God while seeking opportunity to follow in…