Alec Motyer on Isaiah
“The rewritten brief of the Servant (49:1-6) arose out of the recognition (48:22) that there is no peace for the wicked. Consequently, there can be no unconditional call into blessing. Wickedness, objectively considered, has been dealt with by the Servant’s death; wickedness subjectively considered, calls for repentance. If we may say that chapter 54 details the objective, God-given benefits of the Servant’s work, chapter 55 answers to its subjectivity in emphasizing the response which brings those benefits into personal experience. There is free entrance into life (1-5) through the moral and spiritual response of turning to God (6-11).
‘…we come to the Lord as we are, but not to stay as we are…’
