Isaiah 55:3 prophesied concerning the resurrected Christ being the sure mercies shown to David, the faithful things. Christ is the sure mercies and blessings to us. Acts 13:34 refers to this prophecy: “As to His having raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to corruption, He spoke in this way, ‘I will give you the holy things of David, the faithful things.’” God promised to give the resurrected Christ to His people as a gift; this One is the holy and faithful things of David. The phrase the holy things of David, the faithful things indicates that Christ was of David, for it was out of David’s seed that God raised up such a One. The Greek word for “the holy things” is in the plural. The same Greek word is translated “Holy One” in Acts 13:35, but in the singular. However, it is not the regular word for “holy”; it is a Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word chesed, which is translated as “mercies” in Isaiah 55:3 and also in 2 Chronicles 6:42 and Psalm 89:1 in both the Septuagint and the King James Version. The word mercies (in plural) in Psalm 89:1 is the same word for Holy One in singular in verse 19. This shows that the Holy One is Christ, the seed of David, in whom God’s mercies are centered and conveyed. The word faithful means “trustworthy.” The resurrected Christ is the holy things, the faithful things, and the trustworthy One given to us by God. These holy and trustworthy things are all aspects of Christ. How much Christ is to us as the holy and trustworthy things! In the Old Testament these things are regarded as mercies. For this reason, Isaiah 55:3 speaks of the resurrected Christ being “the sure mercies shown to David.”
Isaiah 53:10b-11a says, “He will see a seed, He will extend His days, / And the pleasure of Jehovah will prosper in His hand. / He will see the fruit of the travail of His soul, / And He will be satisfied.” These verses prophesied that Christ’s resurrection would be a reproductive resurrection. Seed here is singular, indicating that this seed is a corporate seed. In resurrection Christ will see a seed, which is His church. As His seed, the church is constituted of the many believers who are produced as the many grains by the death of Christ, the one grain, and by His reproductive resurrection (John 12:24; 1 Pet. 1:3). Christ not only sees a seed; He also extends His days. Today Christ is extending His days by living in His believers. As His seed, His believers are His extension, just as one of our hymns says, “We are Thy continuation, / Thy life-increase and Thy spread” (Hymns, #203, stanza 4).
“The pleasure of Jehovah will prosper in His hand” (Isa. 53:10). According to Ephesians 1:5 and 9, the good pleasure of God is God’s eternal economy, accomplished through God’s dispensing, for the producing of many sons to become the members of Christ, who constitute the church as the corporate expression of Christ. This is the greatest pleasure of God, and it altogether depends on Christ’s death and resurrection. This great pleasure will prosper in the hand of the resurrected Christ. This means that Christ’s hand is still moving and working to produce more believers for the pleasure of God. The fruit of His travail is the fruit of the travail of His death, which is also corporate, including all believers, that is His church. When Christ sees the church, He is satisfied with the church, just as Adam was satisfied when he saw Eve.
Isaiah 53:11b says, “By the knowledge of Him, the righteous One, My Servant, will make the many righteous.” This prophecy was fulfilled by Christ as the resurrected, righteous Servant of Jehovah through whom many are justified, as seen in Acts 13:39 and Romans 4:25.
Acts 13:39 says, “From all the things from which you were not able to be justified by the law of Moses, in this One everyone who believes is justified.” “This One” is Christ, who was resurrected to be the firstborn Son of God and our Savior. Christ justifies us from all the things from which we were not able to be justified by the law of Moses. Not only so, this One by whom we are justified is our righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30). Today Christ in resurrection is our righteousness.