Worship Prep Guide for Sunday, May 1

“You are surprised that the world is losing its grip, that the world is grown old?  Think of a man.  He is born, he grows up, he becomes old.  Old age has many complaints: coughing, shaking, failing eyesight, anxious, terribly tired.  A man grows old; it is full of pressing tribulations……..Do not hold onto the old man, the world.  Do not refuse to regain your youth in Christ, who says to you: “The world is passing away; the world is losing its grip; the world is short of breath. Do not fear, “your youth shall be renewed as an eagle.’” (Ray Ortland, Isaiah – God Saves Sinners, p. 141)

This quote is from a sermon Augustine preached after the fall of Rome in AD410.  The earthly world that Augustine and the people of his time knew was drastically changing, being destroyed right before their eyes.  Augustine was preaching the same truths we are seeing in Isaiah: “Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?” (Is 2:22)

To help people understand the times and trust in God instead of man, Augustine preached and wrote the same truths we are seeing in Isaiah: it is foolishness to trust in man and the world that he is building, what Augustine called the ‘city of Man’.  He contrasted man’s self-centered efforts with the eternal kingdom God has prepared for His glory and for His people, the city of God.  In his great work The City of God, Augustine started in Genesis and traced out the story of two cities “stemming originally from Cain and Abel – two humanities traceable through history in parallel tracks, defined by two loves, the city of man and the city of God.” (Ray Ortland, Isaiah – God Saves Sinners, p. 142)

This week we see in Isaiah 24 the future of these two cities, these two kingdoms.  Isaiah concludes this major section of his prophecy with a grand vision that involves the whole world that God will one day judge and destroy.  The message of Isaiah 23 is this: This world is doomed to destruction; the city of man will reel, stagger and ultimately fall while the strong city of God will be established forever.

Isaiah 24 ends with worship.  The Word of God in Isaiah 24 gives us the vision of the end of time and lets us hear the song of salvation that will be sung forever by the remnant people saved by God:  “From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise, of glory to the Righteous One” (Is 24:16). 

As you prepare for worship consider that we who have trusted in Christ are a part of this remnant.  As we will gather for worship we join the saints of old in singing the song of salvation in praise to the King of kings and Lord of lords.   

“To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb

be blessings and honor and glory 

and might forever and ever!” (Rev 5:13)

The Word of God in Isaiah 24 also gives us the vision to see the future of this earth and all that is in it.

“Behold, the Lord will empty the earth 

and make it desolate,

and He will twist its surface 

and scatter its inhabitants” (Is 24:1).

As you prepare for worship consider that this reality should profoundly impact the way we live and the way we worship.  The writer of Hebrews put it this way:

For here we have no lasting city, 

but we seek the city that is to come.

Through Him then let us continually offer up 

a sacrifice of praise to God,

that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name.   

Hebrews 13:14-15

Fruitful lives that live for His glory and fruitful lips that sing praises to His name.  That’s why we live and that’s why we gather this Lord’s Day for worship. 

Until then I am praying for you and I look forward to seeing you there.