Truth Faileth

The Rev’d Stephen E. Stults
St. Barnabas Anglican Church
Twenty First Sunday After Trinity
November 13, 2011

“Truth Faileth”

KJV Isaiah 59:15 Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.

From our Old Testament lesson for the day, the prophet bewails the situation of the times in which he lived. It is both a complete condemnation of the society of Isaiah’s time and a dark portrait of unredeemed human condition. First, the prophet says, “truth fails.” What a concept! Truth FAILS! That is, it had no application or efficacy for the society in which Isaiah lived. This is astounding. Sin had so permeated society that truth was an alien concept. Deception, falsehood and shades of meaning were the norm. Thus, truth failed. The second astounding statement the prophet made was that he who departed from evil in Isaiah’s time made himself a target, a prey for who delighted in so doing. This is a dark picture, indeed.

Considering how our society treats so-called “whistleblowers”, those who point out graft, corruption, or gross ineptitude in high places, this may sound familiar. As you know, for the most part, these people are often destroyed or discredited, because they bring to light evil deeds. Evil, after all, prefers to stay in the dark, where it can do the most damage and enjoy the greatest camouflage.

This ringing condemnation of Isaiah’s society is even more apparent when one considers this passage, which follows immediately afterwards: Isa 59:15-16: (NAS) “Now the LORD saw, And it was displeasing in His sight that there was no justice. 16 And He saw that there was no man, And was astonished that there was no one to intercede;”
The prophet is saying that there was no one who would intercede for righteousness and true religion. At this time in history, Israel and Judah were both corrupt, giving themselves over to the various fertility religions of the Canaanites and to their immoral behaviors. Recall that the Canaanites were the very people that the Lord had declared anathema because of their abominations. Now the Jews were gladly embracing their earth religions and forsaking the Lord who had brought them out of bondage in Egypt. Please note that these base and profane religions considered drinking copious amounts of wine and engaging in immoral acts with temple prostitutes “worship” and pious behavior! This is a very dark picture of fallen human nature.

If this were the end of the story for mankind, it would indeed be a very dark picture. For both Israel and Judah, it would turn out to be tragic. First, the mighty Assyrian Empire consumed Israel and scattered its ten tribes into different parts of its vast territory; this accounted for the so-called “ten lost tribes”. Later, Judah succumbed to the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar following the dreadful siege and near-total destruction of Jerusalem. As prophesied by Jeremiah, the end did come for Jerusalem and the best of the population, those who survived the siege. As related in the Book of Daniel, they were carried off captive to Babylon for 70 years.

Yet, even in judgment, the Lord had mercy on Judah. Mighty Babylon would eventually fall to the Medes under Darius and later, under the edict of Cyrus, the Jewish remnant would rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, as recounted in the book of Ezra.

In Isaiah’s prophecy, the Lord himself will bring this salvation to Judah, as he says,
Isa 59:17 “For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke.”

Thus, the Lord will rouse Himself to fight for Judah and bring justice to His people.

The prophet says: (Isa 59:18): “According to their deeds, so He will repay, Wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies; To the coastlands He will make recompense. 19 So they will fear the name of the LORD from the west And His glory from the rising of the sun, For He will come like a rushing stream Which the wind of the LORD drives. 20 "A Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob," declares the LORD.”

As is common in Biblical prophecy, we see in the passage both the near future and the far future. Isaiah’s prophetic vision takes in both, as he foretells the near-term deliverance of Judah from Babylon and the coming of the Messiah in the longer term.

The Lord’s mercy is so evident here, as he promises deliverance for Israel, which occurred via the edict of Cyrus and provides for the salvation of the human race by the foretold gift of his only Son.

Our epistle from Eph. 6:10-20 echoes this passage from Isaiah as St. Paul tells us:

“13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul evidently had Isaiah in mind as he penned this wonderful passage for the church in Ephesus. It is not only one of my personal favorites, but is one of the more useful and instructive passages in the N.T. It is not mere spiritual “pie in the sky”, but has real constructive value for Christians today. To the world, it is foolishness, but to us, it is truth. Recall that St. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 2:14-15: “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one” The world thinks Christianity (true spirituality) is foolishness, yet the Christian in his/her walk with God judges all things.

Thus, the Christian, more so than the unredeemed, carries a realization of his or her dual existence: physical and spiritual, made possible because of the dual nature of mankind.
Recall that in C. S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters, the senior tempter, Uncle Screwtape, tells his nephew, the junior tempter Wormwood, that man is a fluid being, with one part rooted firmly in the physical plane, while the other part undulates in the spiritual realm. That is, since one part is physical and one part is spiritual, both physical and spiritual events can influence us. In my humble opinion, the spiritual events may have greater power to affect us than the physical since they have eternal consequences.

St. Paul begins the passage by exhorting us to rely on God and not on ourselves by saying, “My brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.”

There is a great question inherent in this statement; in whom do we trust? Do we trust in our own power or that of God? The answer to this is rhetorical and can only be answered by each of us in the quiet of our soul. Suffice it to say, however, that in the spiritual realm, absent God, we are in very perilous territory.

The very heart of the matter comes in (Eph 6:12):
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

If we break this down a bit, we see that the Christian life, while joyous and fulfilled, is one of struggle. In this case, the apostle Paul tells us that we are not “wrestling with flesh and blood”, but with “principalities, with “powers”, the “rulers of the darkness of this world”, “spiritual wickedness in high places.” The World is God’s Creation, and thus inherently good. Yet, at the same time, it is populated with beings who possess free will and who can accept God or reject Him, while simultaneously being affected by the malignity of the Devil, with his temptations, suggestions, influences and the like.

Christian maturity is the key to spiritual survival and health in this fallen world. As one grows in Christ and the Christian experience, one is more aware of the spiritual environment in which one lives.
When a spirit of anger, greed, lust, pettiness, wounded pride, or self-importance assaults a mature Christian, he or she has developed defenses against them. Unlike the carnal man, who is either oblivious to the spiritual forces around him or denies outright that they even exist, the mature Christian has a means to deal with these “principalities”, these “powers”, the “spiritual wickedness in high places”, found in Eph. 6:10-20.

They read, “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Note the language used here. It is strong; it is fervent. The word used is “stand,” not “sit down in a discussion group” with evil, or “establish a commission” to study evil, but to vigorously stand against it. We do not dally with it, or much less roll over in the face of it, but we strive to “withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

Listen to the words of Martin Luther in his wonderful hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is our God”: “Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing.” Thank God, Praise God, we are not solitary in our defense. We have the “whole armour of God” to protect us. St. Paul again exhorts us to “Stand.” He writes, “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness.”

Thus, we must have our spiritual “loins” wrapped in truth. Now, what is the Truth? How about John 3:16: “So God loved the world, that He gave his only-begotten Son, to the end that all that believe in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Jesus Christ is Truth incarnate.

After we are girt about with truth, we are put on the breastplate of righteousness, echoing Isaiah 59, and to have our “feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace”. The Lord wants us to walk as peacefully as possible in a fallen world,
“Above all”, says St. Paul, “take the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all of the fiery darts of the wicked.” When doubts, temptations, fears or unwelcome suggestions threaten you, your Christian faith is your shield. Finally, take the “helmet of salvation” to repel the mental assaults which our spiritual Adversary hurls at us. Rev. 12:10 refers to Satan as “the accuser of the brethren” for a very good reason, for he attempts to be very active in our mind and our intellect. Yet, we are not powerless against him. Rather, as James 4:7 tell us: “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

St. Paul’s final plea in this wonderful epistle is that prayers be offered for him, that “utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel”. Beloved, we have a part in that. Wearing the armor of God, we are defended against the evils of our day. Filled with the love of Christ, we are ambassadors of the Gospel. Wielding the sword of the Spirit prayerfully, we can, through Christ, bring light to dark situations, give hope to those without hope and “make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel.”

To do this, it all comes down to one question: in whom do you trust?

KJV Isaiah 59:15 “Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.”


AMEN