One great implication of the Lord's being the only God is that He ordains whatever comes to pass, including both good and bad. This sermon expounds on the Lord's own testimony that He "makes wellbeing and creates calamity," and presses hearers to accept and submit to the providence of God.

We work and God works; but God's work is ultimate. We are dependent upon Him, and we must rely on Him. Unless the Lord works in and for us our lives, homes, churches, and societies are all hopeless.

When it seems that the powers of darkness are ascendent, God's People need a fresh vision of the Lord. He is not one god among many. He is God alone. Our hearts must be turned away from vain idols and set again upon the one true and living God.

There are two great polarities of God's work - His judgment and His mercy. With one breath, Isaiah predicted Israel's utter destruction. And with the next, He prophesied great mercy for them. What are the reasons for His judgment and His mercy, and how are those two great polarities reconciled?

God's dealings with His People are held up as testimony to the fact that He is the only God, the only Savior, and the only Sovereign. Both The People He delivered from Egypt and from Babylon, but especially those who are set free in Christ, bear witness to Him.

This is a message for those who are "in the depths." We are encouraged to wait upon the Lord and finding Him faithful, to testify of his merciful redemption.

This Word of God is for those of His true people who are facing His dark providences. Those providences are His testing, His training, and are often His chastening for their own sin. But to His fearful children in the midst of that chastening He affirms His love and His sustaining grace.

This passage speaks to the people of God who are enduring judgment for their sins. Here God offers the hope of grace even while urging them to consider the chastening of the Lord. Ultimately, believers are assured of God's faithful love -- even His chastening love.

The Lord desired that Judah see His glory and heed His words. Instead, they distracted themselves and looked only at the world before them in the moment. This is a message to all of God's People, warning us of the frivolous distractions of the moment and the ever-present danger of being oblivious to the sight of our great God.

"And though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet." In this passage, God encourages His people with the promise of a great reversal -- a Day in which all evil powers would be brought low and His own humble People lifted high.