When Isaiah came to chapter fifty-five, after having written so many chapters concerning Christ, he spoke of an aspect of Christ which we would never dream of or imagine. This aspect of Christ is that He is "the sure mercies shown to David" (v. 3b). The word shown is not in the Hebrew text of Isaiah 55:3. A number of translations say "the sure mercies of David," but this can be interpreted as David having a lot of mercies. This is not correct. These mercies are shown to David or promised to David.
We have pointed out that the sixty-six chapters of Isaiah are divided into two sections. The first section of thirty-nine chapters matches the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament; and the last section of twenty-seven chapters matches the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. The content of these two sections also matches the thought in the Old and New Testaments respectively. The second section, matching the New Testament, is altogether a word of comfort. There is no more condemnation or rebuking. In this word of comfort, there is a portion which says that Christ, the all-inclusive One, is the sure mercies that God has shown to David and promised to David. God promised that the very Christ, who would come out of David's descendants, would be the sure mercies of God toward the royal family of David.
No one could blot out the entire royal family of David because of the sure mercies of God, Christ. Christ, one of the descendants of David, became God's sure mercies to David. Jeremiah said that just as the ordinances of the sun for light by day and of the moon and the stars for light by night will never depart, so the seed of Israel and David would not cease from being a nation before Him forever (Jer. 31:35-36; 33:24-26). In other words, nothing can annul God's feeling toward the royal family of David. Many kings among David's descendants are mentioned in 1 and 2 Kings. The last king of the royal family of David will be Jesus Christ, the embodiment of God's sure mercies. He is the sure mercies to the house of David. These mercies include many gracious things and blessings from God to the house of David.
The Scriptures speak of God's love, God's grace, and God's mercy. Luke 15 says that when the prodigal son came back, the father, who was expecting him, was moved with compassion (v. 20). Compassion is a tender kind of mercy. The father's tender mercy was touched because the returned prodigal son was in such a poor condition, just like that of a beggar. He was altogether not worthy of the father's love. The father's love was so high, and his son had fallen to the bottom level. Thus, the father's compassion was moved.
The apostle Paul in Romans 12 exhorted the saints through the compassions, the mercies, of God (v. 1). Why did Paul not exhort the saints through the great love of God? This is because the great love of God is too far away from us in our pitiful condition and situation. Love and grace are too high for us to touch in our low state. But, hallelujah, God has another attribute called mercy. Mercy reaches the farthest. We are so low, but the mercies of God can reach us in our pitiful situation and wretched position. Often in my prayers before ministering the word, I tell the Lord, "We trust in Your mercy." I dare not tell the Lord that we trust in His love. If I am so poor, I am not on the level to match God's love. But God reaches us on the bottom level through His mercies.