Today I would like to talk about the good news of salvation from Isaiah 52. In today’s passage too, God’s words of comfort continue. In the previous chapter God spoke powerfully, “I even I, am he who comforts you.” (51:12) Here too, the Lord comforts his people. God is telling them how great the grace is for those who are redeemed by the Lord and that he will comfort them by various ways.

I. Only by grace (vs. 1-6)
First look at verses 1-6.
Vs. 1
“Awake, Awake!” (1) also appeared in 51:9 and 51:17, but it appears here again. In 51:9 the Israelites are calling out to God, “Awake, awake! Clothe yourself with strength, O arm of the LORD,” but in 15:17 God is talking to Israel. He is saying that you are the ones that must open your eyes. You have to wake up and see what the situation that you have been put in is like. Here is the same. God says to Israel, “Awake, awake, Zion, clothe yourself with strength! Put on your garments of splendor.” (1) God is saying to look carefully at themselves and what they are like.
The reason why they must look carefully at themselves and what they are like is because they are already saved. They have been set free from captivity and everything that they had lost has been recovered. “The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again.“ (1) This refers to Babylon. Babylon had been completely destroyed. Therefore, they have no need to worry about anything. This is written in the past tense as if this has already occurred, but in reality it hasn’t occurred yet. God is saying that because he will fulfill it they must act as if they are already saved.
Therefore it says in verse 2, “Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, Daughter Zion now a captive.” “Shake off your dust; rise up“ (2) or “free yourself from the chains on your neck“ (2) means you must not forever appear as a captive. “Dust” (2) or “chains” (2) expresses the manner of slaves. They were captured by Babylon and had to work getting dirtied by dust and mud. Also their hands and feet and necks were chained by metal and wood chains so they could not move freely. However, now they have been set free from such conditions. Therefore they must shake off the dust and free themselves from the chains on them.
We too are the same. Before we were dirtied by the mud and dust of sin, and were chained by the chains of sin. However, by the grace of God by redemption through the cross of Jesus Christ we were saved. We are no longer slaves of sin. We have been set free from it. Therefore, we have to shake off the dust from when we were slaves. We must free ourselves from the chains of sin. We must not forever live as if we are slaves of sin. We must not live forever like a slave of sin dwelling on it, being sad about little things, complaining, and wailing and living like Gentiles with an empty heart.
Paul said the same thing in Ephesians. “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” (Ephesians 4:1) “Put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds.” (Ephesians 4:22, 23)
To do that you have to look at what kind of person you are. You have to open your eyes and look carefully at the condition that you have been put in. You have to look at the fact that you believe in Jesus Christ and are a completely new person, and that you have been set free from eternal destruction, and “shake off your dust” (2) and “free yourself from the chains on your neck.” (2)
Please look at verse 3. “For this is what the LORD says:
‘You were sold for nothing,
and without money you will be redeemed.”
Usually when you buy and sell things, there is giving and receiving of money. However, here it says that when Israel is set free from Babylon such giving and receiving of money did not take place. “Without money” (3) they were redeemed. That was because they “were sold for nothing.” (3) What this means is explained in verses 4 and 5.
“For this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
‘At first my people went down to Egypt to live;
lately, Assyria has oppressed them.
And now what do I have here?’ declares the LORD.
‘For my people have been taken away for nothing,
and those who rule them mock,’ declares the LORD.
‘And all day long my name is constantly blasphemed.’”
Here it says the Israel “went down to Egypt to live;” (4) and that “Assyria has oppressed them.” (4) That is the same as now. Now the people are struggling by the Babylon’s capture of them. If you look at the history of Israel they have been continually oppressed.
However think about it carefully. In 51:6 God said to Israel, “You are my people.” They are God’s, the people of God. We can’t remember God ever selling them. Certainly Israel as a result of their sins became separated from God, and were punished. That resulted in tribulation from Assyria and Babylon. However, it must be remembered that that was to discipline them and they hadn’t been sold to Assyria and Babylon. Even so Assyria and Babylon misunderstood this and thought the Israelites belonged to them and at their own discretion did harm to them. God himself was held in contempt the most. The Lord’s name was blasphemed.
For example, when Moses asked the Pharaoh of Egypt to let the people go, the Pharaoh answered, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORED and I will not let Israel go.” (Exodus 5:2)
Also when Hezekiah encouraged the people saying that God would save Israel, the Assyrian field commander said, “Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?…How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from my hand?” (36:18-20) They said things like this and blasphemed Israel’s God.
Thus the Lord will do what is written in verse 6. “Therefore my people will know my name; therefore in that day they will know that it is I who foretold it. Yes, it is I.”
The Lord’s name has been blasphemed so it must not remain overlooked. Therefore, God himself will rise up for his own name sake and save them. Then Israel will know the Lord’s name. Here what is clear is that God works in this way not for us. It must be remembered that it is for God’s own name. It is so that God himself will not be blasphemed. In other words, they were saved by the one way grace of God.
We were saved not because we are superior or smart or refined or a good person or earnest, etc. We are saved only because God loves us. It is only because God did it for us. It is not because of something that we did. It is for God’s name. God did this so that God’s name will be praised, and so that God’s glory will be shown.
In Ephesians 2 it says, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not of works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:1-9)
We were saved only by the grace of God. When we were dead in our “transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient,” (Ephesians2:1,2) we were dead so we said nothing. We couldn’t do anything on our own. We were saved because God gave life to us who were dead.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
For that purpose God gave his only Son, Jesus Christ to us. He gave us a present. It is a one way present from God. Soon it will be Christmas. At Christmas we give lots of presents. The greatest present is that God gave us his son Jesus Christ. That is so “that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) That is by the one way grace of God.
There is a story about salvation by grace. A person fell into a deep hole. It was really deep and he couldn’t climb out by himself. Buddah came. “The bad things you have done in life caused you to fall. Too bad.” And with a sad face he left. Next Confucius came. “If you had followed my teaching, that wouldn’t have happened” and regretfully he left. After that one person came. He didn’t say anything. He lowered a rope and went down in the hole. Then he embraced the man and pulled him up. This was really Jesus Christ.
Grace is receiving a present that you don’t deserve. Pay can be compared to grace. Pay is the money you receive for working. It is can be said that those who work deserve the right to receive pay. However, salvation is not pay. Salvation is by the grace of God. If our salvation is obtained by our accomplishment and achievements, then heaven will be a contest of bragging. “I did this so I was saved.” However, heaven is a humble place. Salvation is grace so there is no one boasting there. The destiny of those who are dead in transgressions and sin are “by nature objects of wrath.” (Ephesians 2:3) They are destined to receive God’s judgment and to go to hell. “By nature” (Eph. 2:3) they should perish. However, God who is abundantly merciful, by his huge love, gave us who were dead in our transgressions life with Christ. We have been saved only by grace. Even though all of mankind is perishing, there is an exception. That is just like a person sentenced to death receiving a special pardon, and becoming acquitted as innocent. That is a great thing and there is no greater joy.
“Therefore my people will know my name.” (6) Let’s remember well that God’s salvation is by the one way grace of God and not by what we do. Let’s stick to our Christian life by faith.

II. Good tidings (vs. 7-10)
Next please look at verses 7 to 10. I will read verse 7. “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’”
Up until now Isaiah has prophesized about Israel being saved from Babylon. Moreover, God will save them by his one way grace. This is the Gospel, the good news, the good tidings. Here it says, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news.” (7)
Paul quoted this verse and talked about how wonderful preaching the gospel is. I will read Romans 10:13 to15. “How then can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’”
Usually we have an image of feet being dirty. However, these feet are beautiful because they “bring good news”. (7) Those who preach the Gospel are the most beautiful.
That is because they “proclaim peace,…bring good tidings,… proclaim salvation.” (7) They bring joyful news and proclaim it so they are filled with joy. Imagine it please. How happy would you be if you brought some good news and proclaimed it to someone? This is a message of hope and freedom so you would be moved and overflowing in joy.
The content of this message is “Your God reigns!” (7) It is the testimony that up until now you have been god. You have acted like you are the king of your life. The result has been destructive and really disappointing. Even though you thought there was no one as reliable as you, you realized there was no one as irresponsible as yourself. However, another king came, and pulled together your life which was in ruins. That is your God. ”Your God reigns!” (7) so you were saved from a destructive life and are able to live a life of peace and joy. Therefore, “How beautiful…are the feet of those who bring good news.” (7)
In a book that a person wrote, it is written about why the present day church is not strong. According to the book, the first reason is that the people who have accepted the Lord Jesus as their Savior have not become Christ’s disciples. They have believed in Jesus, but they are not living a life of following Jesus. They are still the king of their life. The second reason is that those who have believed in Jesus as their Savior have not become apostles. They have received a lot of teaching about Christ, but they don’t go out and preach to Gospel to other people.
That makes a lot of sense. No matter how much you believe in Christ, if you don’t follow Christ, nothing will change in your life. Even though you believe in Christ you will conduct yourself as if you are still in sin. Also if you have only received the grace of the Gospel and not put it on the outside, in other words, not proclaimed it, it will bring no joy. “How beautiful…are the feet of those who bring good news.” (7) Let’s become beautiful feet. Let’s become feet that “bring good news,” (7) beautiful, healthy, attractive, and good looking feet.
In verse 8 “watchmen” appear. “Watchmen” (8) were the men stationed on Jerusalem’s walls. They stood there and if the enemy came, they rang the warning bell. If a messenger came, they had to notice him quickly and open the gates and soon spread the message. These watchmen are lifting “up their voices; together they shout for joy.” (8) The reason for this is written at the end of the verse. “When the LORD returns to Zion, They will see it with their own eyes.” (8)
That is because they will see with their own eyes the person who brings the good news come and the Lord returning to Zion. When the Lord returns to Zion he will rebuild the ruined Jerusalem. This is really comfort. What man can’t do, God will do. Not only will God set Israel free from her captivity to Babylon, but He will also rebuild Jerusalem which is in ruins. The Lord comforts the people, and redeems Jerusalem. This is good news, right? And this is not just Jerusalem, but is the same for all countries. The Lord through Jesus Christ saved us from sin, and redeemed the city of heaven, heaven’s Jerusalem. The Lord will before the eyes of all nations, show the holy arm of God. By it everyone to the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God. This was already by the birth of the church fulfilled on a spiritual side. Christ’s salvation has been brought not only to Jerusalem, but to Judah and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. To the ends of the earth God’s salvation is being seen.

III. Depart, depart (Vs. 11, 12)
Therefore, the conclusion is “depart, depart. Go out from there.” (11) They are to depart from there. Let’s read together verses 11 and 12.
Verses 11 & 12
Israel was saved by the one way grace of God. They have been clothed with beautiful garments. Also on their feet they have put on shoes of the Gospel of peace. In order to proclaim the good news they have entered into the preparation of the gospel of peace. What God wants them to do is ”Depart, depart, Go out from there.” (11) You have been saved from Babylon and have been clothed in beautiful clothing. Since you have left Babylon, you must “shake off your dust”(2) and “free yourself from the chains on your neck.” (2) Then “go out from there. Touch no unclean thing! Come out from it and be pure.” (11)
“But you will not leave in haste or go in flight:
for the LORD will go before you,
the God of Israel will be your rear guard.” (12)

It is not necessary to “leave in haste or go in flight” (12) like when you left Egypt. Your pursuers won’t come. Even if your enemy Satan comes and captures you again, you will not perish in your sins. A person who was saved one time will never lose his salvation. No matter how much you forget the Lord, no matter how far you become separated from the Lord, the Lord will never forget you. He will grab you and not let go.
Jesus promised, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt. 28:20) The Lord is with you always. (Matt. 28:20) “The LORD will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard.” (12) “But you will not leave in haste or go in flight.” (12) Slowly, but surely you will be thankful for the grace of the Lord who redeemed you, and you must “Go out from” (11) Babylon. You must not stay in the sin forever. Since you have been clothed in beautiful clothes, since you put on good news, the preparation for the gospel, you must “Go out from” (11) Babylon, and you must be purified. You must stop clinging to you past life style and walk the road that the Lord who saved you wants you to walk.
What is your Babylon? What is the thing that you struggle with finding it difficult to leave? However, no matter what it is, you have been clothed with beautiful clothes. You have received the good news so you must depart from there. Slowly, but surely “go out from there!” (11) Let’s walk the road that the Lord wants you to walk. As a person saved from sin, how about now stopping remaining in sin and living a life of giving all to God?