The entire book of Isaiah could be called "The Gospel According to Isaiah." God's Spirit caused Isaiah to document many wonderful things about the Messiah, around seven hundred years before Jesus Christ was born! Here are three particularly spectacular statements that are meant to help us know and identify the one-and-only Messiah - the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us bathe our souls in these precious words and find ways to express the greatness of Jesus Christ to others.

From Isaiah 7:14; 9:6-7; 40:5 we have asked three questions:

• What did the Lord give us?
• What is God, through His Son, going to do for us / do with us?
• What forces are at work in the world: revealing Christ to us / releasing Christ through us?

Question # 3 - What forces are at work in the world: revealing Christ to us / releasing Christ through us?

• Isaiah 7:14 & Luke 1:26-35 The Holy Spirit / The power of the Highest
• Isaiah 9:7 The zeal of the Lord of hosts.
• Isaiah 40:5 The mouth of the Lord

Today we will consider . . .

Isaiah 40:5 - The mouth of the Lord
If there is any doubt that the glory of the Lord is going to be revealed to men by the coming of the Messiah, it is settled by the simple fact that God said so. Getting people to receive the words of God is of primary importance. We have no basis to believe anything, to say anything, or to do anything unless we have the foundation and authority of God's Word (Matthew 4:4; II Timothy 1:5; 3:14-17; I Thessalonians 2:13; I John 5:9-13 cp. Isaiah 8:20).

"The mouth of the Lord" is a metaphor. A metaphor is a figure of speech that uses ideas and qualities to describe something, but it is not to be taken literally. For example, "His hand was swollen like a balloon." But you can't take a pin and pop it. We say a clock has "hands" because it has two pieces that point to the numbers. But you can't shake hands with a clock. Even so, God is described with metaphors that are not to be taken literally.

• "The eyes / ears of the Lord" - Psalm 34:15; Isaiah 59:1
• "The arm of the Lord" (The Messiah) - Isaiah 53:1
• "The hand of the Lord" - Psalm 20:6; Isaiah 59:1
• "Feet" - Nahum 1:3
• "Nose / Nostrils" - Isaiah 65:5; Psalm 18:15
• "Breath / Mouth" - Job 37:10; Psalm 33:6 cp. II Thessalonians 2:8
• "Feathers / wings" - Psalm 91:4

The verses that might tempt someone to say that God is a man with an actual physical body are joined by a verse that would make Him a chicken! See John 1:18; 4:24; I John 4:12-13 .

Now let's focus on the meaning and importance of "The mouth of the LORD."

The concept of God's mouth was used to describe His breath - His creative power and His control over all that He has created (Job 37:10; Psalm 33:6 cp. Genesis 2:7). More commonly, God's mouth describes God's words (II Timothy 3:16 - Greek "Inspiration / inspired" = "God-breathed"). God's words have been given to us with timeless authority, divine power, and perfect knowledge through the words and writings of the prophets or of other writers of Scripture (II Samuel 23:1-2; I Corinthians 2:1-5; II Thessalonians 1:5; 2:13; II Peter 1:20-21; 3:16; I John 4:5-6).

This leads us to consider . . .

The priority of God's Word
Psalm 1:1-3; 19:7-11; 56:10-11; 57:9-11; 119:89; Psalm 138:2,4-5; 33:1-12; Proverbs 2:1-11; 30:5-6; Isaiah 55:8-11

The power of God's Word
Romans 1:16-17; 10:17; 15:4-13; 16:25-27; Hebrews 6:11-19 (God's Word is true and unchangeable - a reliable anchor for our souls). See also Amos 3:8; Jeremiah 23: 28-32; Hebrews 4:12.

The personal Word - the Word was made flesh
John 1:1-3,14,16-17 (Hebrews 1:1-2; 4:12-16).

Heed the call: Matthew 17:5; 24:35; John 5:24; 6:63; 8:30-32; Colossians 3:16; Revelation 3:20