Those Who Mourn in Zion Shall Be Comforted

Those Who Mourn in Zion Shall Be Comforted

Regarding the Messiah, God said, “You are My servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” To this the Messiah replied, “I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain; yet surely my just reward is with the Lord, and my work with my God.” Is. 49:3-4.

We could ask, who vindicated the Son while He walked on this earth? Who understood Him? Who trod the winepress with Him? Who comforted Him when He was contradicted from every side? It must have seemed to Him that He had labored in vain, that He spent His strength for nothing and in vain.

If we want to follow our Master and speak words that lead people to salvation rather than just make them feel good, won’t we also have similar feelings? Yes, we certainly will. It can seem like we have labored in vain. People reject the clearest and most obvious truths because these truths don’t appeal to them. It can seem like we spend our strength for nothing. Zion says, “The Lord has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me.” But had the Messiah really labored in vain? No, His vindication was with the Lord. “Thus says the Lord: ‘In an acceptable time I have heard You, and in the day of salvation I have helped You; I will preserve You and give You as a covenant to the people, to restore the earth, to cause them to inherit the desolate heritages . . . .’” Is. 49:8.

There are so many desolate heritages on the inner ways. The Messiah took possession of them when He seemingly spent His strength in vain. Now He imparts these heritages to His elect—those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. No wild beast can enter these heritages, because this land is behind the veil. Everyone who practices abominations and all liars must remain outside. They can’t even come near the veil, let alone approach the inheritance of the saints in the light. Who comes in? Who is called? “Say to the prisoners, ‘Go forth,’ to those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves [Come into the light].’ They shall feed along the roads, and their pastures shall be on all desolate heights.” Is. 49:9.

He says to those who truly sense they are bound: “Go forth”! To those who are truly in darkness: “Come into the light”! They will find green pastures on this way. They will find nourishment as they continue. Though the way is narrow and few find it, we see that the Messiah has gone before us and left rich nourishment along the way. There are desolate heights where almost no one has ever gone, but everyone who walks there will find abundant nourishment. The Messiah has left supply stations along this new and living way.

“They shall neither hunger nor thirst, neither heat nor sun shall strike them; for He who has mercy on them will lead them, even by the springs of water He will guide them. I will make each of My mountains a road, and My highways shall be elevated.” Is. 49:10-11.

Isaac knew how to dig wells and find springs of water, but the Philistines and the herdsmen of Gerar stole the wells from him. Gen. 26:18. But here, behind the veil, there are no herdsmen of Gerar, no Philistines. All of them were killed during the conquest of this glorious land of Canaan. Now we can keep the springs; we can drink water from our own well. The Lord Himself will lead us to these glorious springs of water. The heat and the sun shall strike us no more. The Sun of Righteousness has burned up all wood, hay and straw on the road to this land. Gold, silver and precious stones reflect the sun’s glorious radiance. Feet that were sore and burned by the hot sand have been healed. Great mountains—great difficulties—have become a plain. The Messiah has gone ahead of us to break through and make a way.

It is amazing that He prepared such a glorious land for us, and yet when He was taking possession of it in the days of His flesh, no one wanted to be with Him. The Scriptures are being fulfilled which say that one will come from a city and one from a family to Zion. Only a few from each generation enter this land. Thousands speak about it, but few reach it.

Now the Lord is answering the prayer: “Surely these shall come from afar; look! Those from the north and the west, and these from the land of Sinim.” Is. 49:12.

“Sing, O heavens! Be joyful, O earth! And break out in singing, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted His people, and will have mercy on His afflicted.”

This earth and these mountains—behind the veil—have lain barren since ancient times. Now people are coming from the north and the west and from the land of Sinim, people who have loved the cross, and who love it still—those who consider the reproach of Christ the greatest of riches. They come from every race and from every generation to take possession of this blessed land. They will be glorified with the Messiah, for they have suffered with Him. All resistance has been broken; principalities and powers have been overcome on the cross. The cross keeps worldliness and evil out of this land. We only have access to it through the cross and a love of the truth.

“‘Your sons shall make haste; your destroyers and those who laid you waste shall go away from you. Lift up your eyes, look around and see; all these gather together and come to you. As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘you shall surely clothe yourselves with them all as an ornament, and bind them on you as a bride does.’” Is. 49:17-18.

The Messiah is now receiving the reward for His arduous labor. All those who have gathered with Him on the inner ways will also receive their reward and joy with and in their precious Savior. These are the members of His body. They are flesh of His flesh and bone of His bones. They are the Bride.

“For your waste and desolate places, and the land of your destruction, will even now be too small for the inhabitants; and those who swallowed you up will be far away. The children you will have, after you have lost the others, will say again in your ears, ‘The place is too small for me; give me a place where I may dwell.’” Is. 49:19-20.

Some people say, “No, you’re totally wrong. These things indicate the gathering of the Jewish people in their land—the land of Israel—which has now been liberated from the power of the Turks.”

True, there is a land that can be seen and touched, that our feet can walk on, a land with definite boundaries. But just as certainly as this land exists, a corresponding “heavenly Canaan” also exists. There is a Jerusalem here below, but there is also a Jerusalem above. We are speaking about the Jerusalem and the Canaan above, for she is our mother and our land. Those who have an interest in the land situated between the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean can talk about whatever they like.

Just as the land of Israel has lain desolate, so our heavenly Canaan has also lain desolate, deserted and uninhabited. But now it will be occupied, and everyone who has sought the things above will inhabit it. This land was childless when Jesus of Nazareth forced His way into it, but soon it will be too small. The borders will have to be extended. His destroyers will be far off. Those who abhorred the Messiah during His humiliation will be far away. Compare this with verse 7. Those who despised the way to this glorious land will not see it. The way went through humiliation, which is why it was not tolerated and why it was not esteemed. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. People who are rich, mighty and self-satisfied balk and stumble on this way. They can never come in.

“Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has begotten these for me, since I have lost my children and am desolate, a captive, and wandering to and fro? And who has brought these up? There I was, left alone; but these, where were they?’” Is. 49:21.

Yes, this is the reward of the Lord. “He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him the many as a portion, and He shall receive the strong as spoil, because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Is. 53:11-12 (Norw.).

Everyone who on these inner ways pours out his soul to death will receive the many as his portion and the strong as his spoil. We all belong to Him and in Him; we belong to one another—He has brought us together. He is our Father and we are His children.

We, too, must seek vindication by the Lord. Even though it is hard and toilsome, though we sow with tears, though people abhor us, though we are childless, though we labor in vain, remember this: the Messiah had to go this way before us. Consider the tremendous reward for His faithful work, and let this be a comfort to you—even when everything looks bleak.

“Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers; they shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth, and lick up the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord, for they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me.” Is. 49:23.

Sirach says of Isaiah, “By his dauntless spirit he saw the future, and comforted those who mourned in Zion.” Sir. 48:24.

Be quiet and turn your eyes inward; wait on the Lord and expect your reward from Him. Do your work before His face, and the blessing must come. Be careful not to blow the trumpet to show off your works, because God will receive the honor for what He works in us. Whether He wants to honor us or not is His business, for only the one whom God honors is approved. Don’t allow yourself to be blinded by giftedness, for life is not in the gifts, but in the Giver Himself. A perfect life abounds with grace and with gifts. Let us therefore seek more of the perfect and take God’s kingdom by force.

Wisdom keeps quiet in a man of understanding, but foolishness is a contentious woman—lots of clamor, little effect. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. The Word comes to us in all quietness and transforms us from being sinful, natural men into being men of God. What a great work, but how quietly it takes place. Let us learn to become quiet. Save your words, for they are usually worthless. Speak when the Spirit works and stop speaking when the Spirit stops working. All dryness will then disappear. People don’t need our knowledge. They live by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Don’t try to instruct when God’s Spirit isn’t working. But when you feel the Spirit’s anointing and leading, bring what you have, both new and old.