Gen 49:8-12, "Judah, your brothers shall praise you; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father's sons shall bow down to you. "Judah is a lion's whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He couches, he lies down as a lion, And as a lion, who dares rouse him up? "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. "He ties his foal to the vine, And his donkey's colt to the choice vine; He washes his garments in wine, And his robes in the blood of grapes. "His eyes are dull from wine, And his teeth white from milk.
	We are deep in the midst of our consideration of Jesus Christ as the Messiah, the Promised One, the One in whom the full blessing pronounced upon Judah is accomplished forever and forever. There is much that is contained in this emphasis of the royal heritage and the supreme sovereignty that is vested into Jesus Christ. He is the Only Begotten of the Father, proclaimed throughout both the Old and the New Testament. It is never sufficient enough to merely mention the Lordship of Our Savior. All of eternity will be filled with the praises due to His honor and His majesty. Therefore, please bear with me as we spend several more weeks in the study of just how awesome is the reign and the glory of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
	We ended last week with the words written by the Prophet Isaiah, and that is where we will pick up today. Isaiah was given the view of the Christ in terms of the glory due to Him because He offered Himself as the Suffering Servant for the sake of the salvation of His people, including you and me. Please turn to Isa 42:1-4. 
Isa 42:1-4, "Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. "He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street. "A bruised reed He will not break, And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. "He will not be disheartened or crushed, Until He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law." 
	It is directly attributable to the fact that Jesus gave up His position as the One by Whom all was created that He deserves all praise and honor. He took upon Himself the humble and lowly station of the servant of all for the sake of the glory of His Father by which His majesty and His Sovereignty is accomplished. As we read in Phil 2:5-11, Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 
	Christ, in His humility as the Suffering Servant, accomplished all that was prophesied by Isaiah. He did not foment revolution within the streets in an attempt to overthrow the established rulers of His day. He did not raise up an outcry against the injustice under which He suffered the scourging of the Roman soldiers and crucifixion on the cross. He knew that the only manner in which to bring forth justice for all humanity was to suffer the death penalty that was due to each one. 
He willingly endured the shame and the anguish and the torment and death. Through His humble submission, He brought righteousness and holiness and sanctification into the lives of those who would call upon His name and believe the truth that He paid the righteous penalty of sin and death for each one of us. The justice of God was satisfied for all of eternity in the perfect work of this Holy Servant. In Him is found the only course of salvation for all of eternity, bringing peace with God into the very core of our living relationship of being the adopted children of Our Holy and Just and Loving Heavenly Father. 
	As the Prophet further declares in Isa 49:6+7, He says, "It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth." Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and its Holy One, To the despised One, To the One abhorred by the nation, To the Servant of rulers, "Kings shall see and arise, Princes shall also bow down; Because of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You." 
	You see, the salvation that is found in Christ is so full and so rich and so marvelous and so perfect that it broke down any separation or distinction within the framework of humanity. No longer is it just those of a particular nationality who are considered as God’s people. Any person of any nationality who will call upon the name of Jesus Christ will be freely given eternal salvation. All barriers and walls of distinction are forever shattered by the Omnipotent Power of God unto salvation. 
As is so gloriously proclaimed by the Apostle Paul in Gal 3:26-29, For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. 
This inclusion into the very family of God is open to all who will turn to Jesus and freely receive the offered salvation from God. There is no cultural basis or nationality requirement. God’s love covers everyone who will come to Him in faith in His Only Begotten Son. This is why the prophet Isaiah is so adamant that God has proclaimed that …My salvation may reach to the end of the earth… and that "Kings shall see and arise, Princes shall also bow down; Because of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You." The work of the Suffering Servant is so inclusive and so effective and so complete that it manifested the very heart of the Father unto our adoption as His Beloved children.
The Prophet then continues to describe the blessing of Jacob upon Judah, …And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples… with the following in Isa 49:22+23, Thus says the Lord God, "Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations, And set up My standard to the peoples; And they will bring your sons in their bosom, And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders. "And kings will be your guardians, And their princesses your nurses. They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth, And lick the dust of your feet; And you will know that I am the Lord; Those who hopefully wait for Me will not be put to shame. 
The family of God, brought unto Him in Christ, will see that the nations are ruled and obey the King of kings and the Lord of lords. This will be in evidence as those who are called by the name of Christ will be maintained and kept by His ruling power over all the nations of the earth. This does not mean that we will never know adversity or calamity or tribulation in this life. But it does mean that when we undergo all those things that are part of this realm, we will do so knowing that God is the One in charge of our lives and that we are secure for all of eternity in Him. Through the struggles and the stresses and the trials of life, He will prove Himself mighty to save and to rule and to overrule. We will see Him glorious in His Sovereignty to manifest His grace and His mercy and His never ending lovingkindness despite the storms and gales of this age. 
As God so enlightens us through the continued prophecies of Isaiah, so should our hearts and our minds celebrate the triumphant glory of His revealed goodness and grace in our lives. Please turn to Isa 55:1-11 and feast together on the satisfying and invigorating Word of God. It will always sustain and encourage and reveal all that is now true of us in Jesus Christ, the Lord, the Perfect Lamb of God, the Suffering Servant, and the Lion of Judah. 
Isa 55:1-11, "Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost. "Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight yourself in abundance. "Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, According to the faithful mercies shown to David. "Behold, I have made him a witness to the peoples, A leader and commander for the peoples. "Behold, you will call a nation you do not know, And a nation which knows you not will run to you, Because of the Lord your God, even the Holy One of Israel; For He has glorified you." Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the Lord, And He will have compassion on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways My ways," declares the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth, And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. 
The Lord reaffirms His blessing to Abraham and to Isaac and to Jacob and to Judah down through King David in that all that God states He will do is accomplished and completed in His Christ, the Promised One. His Word will go forth and produce and declare the fullness of His Majesty and His Glory and His Grace and His Love and His Mercy upon the heads of His people, forever and forever. 
As those who are the redeemed of the Lord, so should our hearts be incorporated and instilled with all that the Prophet pronounces and declares in Isa 60:1-5. Isa 60:1-5, "Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. "For behold, darkness will cover the earth, And deep darkness the peoples; But the Lord will rise upon you, And His glory will appear upon you. "And nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising. "Lift up your eyes round about, and see; They all gather together, they come to you. Your sons will come from afar, And your daughters will be carried in the arms. "Then you will see and be radiant, And your heart will thrill and rejoice; Because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you, The wealth of the nations will come to you. 
	…"Then you will see and be radiant, And your heart will thrill and rejoice… This is the course that should be so evident in the lives that we live before God. It is because He has made us partakers of the blessing of the ages in His Son that we should be rejoicing and radiant and thrilled to bask in the splendor of His so great love showered lavishly upon us in Christ. 
Please note the terminology of lushness and abundance and rejoicing and radiance that is ours. This is not a meager salvation, just sufficient to accomplish the needed task without any extra measure to spare! God has fully heaped the entire treasury of heaven upon and into us in Christ Jesus! There is absolutely no lack or slackening of all the glorious wealth of His love copiously bestowed upon those who respond to His Word of Truth and life!
Then, as our final passage in Isaiah, Isa 62:11-63:4, the prophet reiterates the fact of how this all comes into the lives of those so fully blessed with the Lord’s gracious mercy and love. He recounts once again the blessing of our passage of consideration. …He washes his garments in wine, And his robes in the blood of grapes... 
Isa 62:11-63:4, Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth, Say to the daughter of Zion, "Lo, your salvation comes; Behold His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him." And they will call them, "The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord "; And you will be called, "Sought out, a city not forsaken." Who is this who comes from Edom, With garments of glowing colors from Bozrah, This One who is majestic in His apparel, Marching in the greatness of His strength? "It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save." Why is Your apparel red, And Your garments like the one who treads in the wine press? "I have trodden the wine trough alone, And from the peoples there was no man with Me. I also trod them in My anger, And trampled them in My wrath; And their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments, And I stained all My raiment. "For the day of vengeance was in My heart, And My year of redemption has come. 
As with the fact of His perfect sacrifice being our justification with God and our robe of righteousness unto the adoption as the very Children of God, so also is the fact that His robe is stained with the work of all that is part of the redemption process of God. The Promised and Blessed One is revealed as the One Who will bear all the required iniquity of mankind in order to show forth the reality that those who turn to Him will be saved. As well, those, who deny Him, will face the awful and forever devastating consequences of that decision. He will never force anyone to trust Him. Those who fail to freely do so will know that the blood He shed for them has become their guilt at the day of the revelation of His glorious and eternal Lordship over all of creation. So be it. 
"The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. Amen.

	This morning’s benediction is Gal 1:3-5. Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us out of this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen.