Nogales is a dusty Mexican town about 60 miles south of Tucson. A tall steel and concrete fence marks the border, barring illegal immigrants from the US. This town has ballooned from a sleepy village of 13,000 to its present population of approximately 270,000 in the last 45 years. The unemployment rate in Nogales is more than 50%, and 80% of its inhabitants live in wood and cardboard settlements with no services of any kind.

Last week's Economist, the international news magazine from London, contains an article about the abandoned children of this town,

What despair! What hopelessness! But these children are not alone in their hopelessness, in their despair. How many more thousands and millions of people are there in similar situations, resorting to substance abuse & violence in a vain attempt to escape reality, to find a way out of their darkness?

Children in similar circumstances scrape out a hellish existence all over the less developed world. But how many others, outwardly successful, share with these children a sense of hopelessness? How many find life worthless and meaningless, and find now way of escape?

How many here this at Community Bible Church this morning, beneath a veneer of smiles and calm, are frustrated, angry, feeling trapped

• in a marriage that is not at all what you anticipated
• in a dead end job, hopes for advancement dashed
• in a school where you feel unmotivated and misunderstood

How many others feel betrayed by those they trusted and depended upon?

In our trek through Isaiah, we have come to God's proclamation to those caught in traps, to those feeling despair, to those who thought there was nothing worthwhile left in their lives. Chapters 60-62 present a glorious vision of God's promises to his children, to those who turn to him and depend upon him. These chapters picture a God who will bring light out of darkness, who will cause those who were lost in darkness to shine themselves, who will substitute freedom for the prisons that bind us, gladness for mourning, shouts of joy for humiliation. All tears will be wiped away, all wrongs righted and paid for, and God's people will be the delight of the Lord. Moreover, these very people, abused and apparently forsaken, will be the glory of God -- God himself will be glorified by what we become.

How can you be sure that you are to share in this glory? This morning I want, first, to help you to understand God's prerequisites for your participating in this glorious vision. Second, I want to help you to see through the gloom and darkness you may be in, to help you to get a foretaste, just a foretaste of what is in store for God's people. Paul says in Romans 8:18: "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us." It is that glory which Isaiah shares with us in these chapters -- catch a glimpse of it this morning!

So let us begin with Isaiah 60 verse 1: "ARISE! SHINE! For your light has come!"

You arise! You shine! Your light is here! This is a proclamation of light and hope -- but to whom? How can we make sure that we are among those who are to share in this hope?

To understand this, we need to look back into chapter 59. Recall that the chapter divisions in the Bible were not in the original manuscripts, but were added later to make referencing easier. Chapter 60 is addressed to the same audience as Chapter 59. So who was addressed in Chapter 59? Who are these people who will share in God's glory?

Note three characteristics of these people:

First, they are lost in darkness. Like the bajadores of Nogales, like some of us this morning, they look around and see darkness; they see no way out, no hope. Consider 59:9-11:

These people are in the dark, looking for light, but unable to see. They are weak, with no ability to accomplish anything. They are weeping and moaning. They lack justice -- wrongs against them continue to be committed, but no one is punished, no one is called to account. They seek salvation, protection, deliverance, but it is nowhere in sight.

Second, these people are responsible for their plight. Consider verse 2:

The people walking in darkness are not innocent, they are not only victims of the sins of others. Instead, these are people who could have had a relationship with the all-powerful creator of the universe, but instead have chosen to live lives that result in separation from God. God does not hear their pleas; God does not show his face to these people because of their sins.

Now, stumbling in the darkness, feeling that God hides his face, could lead to despair and a lashing out at God and the world. But instead, these people respond in verses 12-15a in a different way: So the third point to note about these people is that they confess their responsibility, their own role in bringing about darkness:

When we are lost in darkness, it is easy to be angry with our circumstances, angry with God, and to blame Him and other people for all that we suffer. Oh, we might acknowledge some "minor" personal offenses, but in our minds those look so small compared to what has been done to us! But these people in Isaiah 59 instead acknowledge their own role in creating that darkness. And this is vital. THE FIRST STEP IN ESCAPING FROM DARKNESS IS TO ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR OWN ROLE IN CREATING DARKNESS.

This is so hard for us to do, yet it is the key to escaping from darkness! God says to us, "Take responsibility! Acknowledge before me that you are a sinner, that YOU have caused this separation from me."

This need to accept responsibility is the key to resolving so many of our problems. Consider problems in marriage, or problems between parents and children -- and problems between us and God. We are all so quick to assign blame: "OK, I may be 10% at fault but he/she is 90% at fault!" And the other party to the dispute simply reverses the proportion of assigned blame. We need to be like these people in Isaiah 59, and confess to God, confess to our aggrieved loved one -- not to falsely assume all blame, but to acknowledge that we are at fault, that our own sinfulness is the root of the problem, to agree with God when he says that our iniquities have separated us from Him.

So we have seen that these people are suffering in darkness, that they are responsible for their own lost state, and that they have confessed to their role in creating the darkness that surrounds them. They admit that they are wicked. But what is God's response? Does God care? If he cares, is he able to save?

This chapter assures us that God does care, and that He is able to save:

Does the Lord care? YES! Does he see the injustice and hurt and pain of the bajadores, of you this morning? YES! What does he do about it? The loving and almighty God works salvation for those wallowing in darkness who have confessed their own sinfulness. This working of salvation is twofold, as described in verses 17 to 21. First of all, look at verses 17 and 18:

God is saying here, "You have confessed, but you are not the only ones at fault. I hate injustice! I hate sin! I hate what the sin of others has done to you! I will wreak vengeance for that, I will right all wrongs!" This is the God of justice speaking. Every sin will be paid for, every wrong will be righted. Isaiah will elaborate on this theme in chapter 63, which we will consider next week.

But we will focus the rest of our time this morning on the second outworking of God's salvation, as introduced in 59:20-21 and then elaborated on in chapters 60-62. The prophet writes:

God says that the redeemer will come for those who repent. First, all sins will be paid for -- the Lord is a God of justice. But God will pay the penalty himself, he will redeem all those who repent. Furthermore, not only will he redeem their sins, he will put his words within us, he will give us his Spirit forevermore. What a blessing to those who had walked in darkness!

Chapters 60 to 62 then elaborate on this idea, on the blessings that will come to those who repent of their sins and acknowledge that God is right and just in his reaction to our sins. The prophet illustrates these blessings as a series of substitutions, where God substitutes good for evil, or substitutes the best for the good. Let us read these three chapters in their entirety, and then discuss a few of these substitutions:

This morning we will focus on three of the many substitutions that the prophet highlights. First, consider the substitution of Light for Darkness.

Remember, these are the same folks who were lost in darkness, in gloom, and were moaning in the last chapter. But this chapter is full of images of light, as God replaces that gloomy darkness with the brightness of His presence. There are images of the sun, of God rising and shining on his people, resulting in the same folks who were lost in darkness becoming light themselves! Those who could not see because of the absence of an external light by God's grace receive an internal light, and shine on all those around them.

Indeed, in 60:5, we, God's people, are said to be radiant. Radiant! Whenever I hear the word "radiant" I have to think of Wilbur the Pig in Charlotte's Web. Remember, Charlotte, the clever spider, saves Wilbur from becoming pork by writing words in webs above his stall. She first weaves "some pig" to the astonishment of everyone around. But her second word is this one: "Radiant." Radiant: shining, glowing, beaming, brilliant. Giving off light.

God says this radiance is characteristic of all of us together, of the entire people of God. We may confess our sinfulness to God one by one, but God is in the process of purifying an entire holy nation for himself, and as Isaiah writes in 62:1, our righteousness will then shine like the dawn.

So God replaces the darkness, the gloom in which we are lost with light. We ourselves, individually and corporately, become light, as God exercises his strong right arm to save us, to perfect us, to give us His Spirit.

The second substitution I want to draw to your attention this morning is Joy for Sorrow. Look at these four verses:

• 60:5 Your heart will thrill and rejoice
• 61:3 [He has sent me] to provide for those who grieve in Zion-- to bestow on them . . . the oil of gladness instead of mourning
• 61:7 instead of humiliation they will shout for joy . . . everlasting joy will be theirs.
• 61:10 I will rejoice greatly in the Lord

The contrast with chapter 59 cannot be more striking. Grief, humiliation, sorrow, weeping will all be changed, as we will be overwhelmed with joy and gladness.

The apostle John gives us a similar picture in Revelation chapters 21 and 22, when describing the new heavens and the new earth that God will create. Consider Revelation 21:4

This is God's promise to those lost in darkness: "Repent, confess, turn to me and I will substitute joy for your sorrow, I will wipe every tear from your eyes, joy will be yours for all eternity."

Furthermore, note that the substitution of joy for sorrow is not limited to God's people. God himself will experience joy instead of sorrow. Remember in chapter 59, God was appalled that their was no justice, and was hurt by his people's lack of faithfulness. But in chapter 62:4-5, Isaiah pictures the redeemed as the beloved bride of God, with God rejoicing in his perfected bride. In a good marriage, the greatest joy to a husband or wife is to know that the other delights in him or her. As all is laid bare before each other, nothing is hidden, each spouse knows that he or she is known completely and is fully loved. This is the picture of our relationship to God in Isaiah 62. He knows us, he perfects us, and he delights in us. For God, too, joy replaces sorrow.

Thirdly, God substitutes Righteousness for Sin. The people in chapter 59 were suffering because of their own sinfulness. But God, through his redeemer, makes the people righteous (60:21) so that the Messiah can proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners (61:1). We were slaves to sin, we were taken captive by Satan to do his will, but God in his great mercy frees us from that slavery, and makes us righteous before him. In verses 10 and 11 of chapter 61 the prophet says he has "wrapped me with a robe of righteousness" -- as God covers us all over, replacing our filthy clothes with his, replacing our poor protection from the elements with his perfect protection -- and, in verse 11, that righteousness will spring up like a plant, growing, becoming what God intended it to be. This then results in the shining forth of all his people in 62:1, as we discussed above, so that we will be called Hephzibah, "My delight is in her."

Righteousness for Sin! Mercy instead of judgment! Joy for sorrow! Light for darkness! This is God's perfect plan of salvation, salvation for us individually, available for all who turn to him, broken and contrite, admitting their sins and falling on his mercy. This is God's perfect plan of redemption for all creation, as he creates a new heaven and a new earth, replacing this creation that mankind through its sin has so thoroughly polluted.

So God will make these substitutions for his people who confess their sin. But two questions arise here. First, when will this happen? How we long for this to take place!

Isaiah addresses this question too. Consider 60:22: "In its time I will do this swiftly." At just the right time this will take place. As God told Habakkuk, though this culmination of God's plan may appear to us to tarry, it will come at exactly the right time. God is sovereign, and he will bring this about swiftly, "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet," as Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians. It will come.

The second question is, What should we do now? Isaiah gives us the answer in 62:6-7:

We are to watch and wait, praying expectantly to God, reminding the Lord of his promises, knowing that everything that he has promised will happen at exactly the right time.

Return for a moment with me to the bajadores. The same news article tells of a ministry to these forlorn children, a ministry that provides shelter, food, education, and listening ears to these who are in despair. The name of the ministry: Mi Nueva Casa, my new house. A shelter from the storms raging around the lives of these children, a place of refuge for those who have never had a real home.

God offers us a nueva casa also, but one that provides much more than relief of our physical needs. God's message to those in despair is here: ARISE! SHINE! I will substitute good for bad, I will redeem the lost! Justice will be done, evil punished, and I will set all things right!

In C.S. Lewis' classic children's tale, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, an evil witch has taken over the land of Narnia,. This once beautiful land has become a waste, where it is always cold, always winter and never Christmas. But the Narnians hold on to a prophecy of long ago, a prophecy that goes like this:

This is the promise that Isaiah gives to us. Wrong will be right. Sorrow will be no more. Darkness will end. New life will come.

So where are you this morning? Discouraged? Mourning? Crying out for justice? Enslaved by sin and longing for righteousness?

God offers his redemption, his freedom, his joy, and his love to all who confess, to all who turn to him, humbly seeking his face. Your eternal life can begin today, as he makes you righteous in his eyes, as he regenerates you, as he gives you his Spirit, so that even in this fallen world you can know joy and peace.

But the promise of Isaiah 60 to 62 is that after this life, beyond this world, God will make us perfect. He will obliterate all sin, all darkness, he will put all right, and we will share in the greatest joy imaginable -- No, we will share in a joy beyond what we can even imagine. God will perfect us together with all his people, and we will be his delight even as we delight in Him; we will be to his glory, forever and ever.

This is the promise of God, freely available. Why live as a bajadore, a tunnel rat, when this nueva casa is freely available? Come to the Lord; come to the King of the Universe, even now.

Copyright © 1998, Thomas C. Pinckney. This data file is the sole property of Thomas C. Pinckney. Please feel free to copy it, but only in its entirety for circulation freely without charge. All copies of this data file must contain the above copyright notice.

This data file may not be copied in part, edited, revised, copied for resale or incorporated in any commercial publications, recordings, broadcasts, performances, displays or other products offered for sale, without the written permission of Thomas C. Pinckney, tpinckney@williams.edu, c/o Community Bible Church, Harrison Ave, Williamstown, MA 01267.

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