Princeton Presbyterian Church

Princeton Presbyterian Church (EPC) Sermon # 1733

May 31, 2026

Isaiah 65.17-25        Click here for audio worship.

Dr. Ed Pettus

(This is an extended outline, not a verbatim transcript.)

 

“New Creation Joy!”

 

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed. They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord, and their descendants with them. Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,” says the Lord.

 

• Behold!

 

Behold is one of the best words in Scripture. This word appears eighty-eight times in Isaiah alone. It signals something awesome to follow. Behold – look up, get ready, embrace! Here, in Isaiah 65, it is beholding a new thing, new heavens and a new earth, and a new Jerusalem. New things are wonderful, especially new things from God.

 

One of the most familiar behold statements in Isaiah, “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43.19).

 

The prophet Jeremiah has Isaiah beat on the behold count with one hundred thirty-one! The most well known from Jeremiah 31.31-34,

 

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Good news indeed!

 

Behold can also signal trouble to come, so you have to be prepared for what may come.

 

Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high” (Isaiah 58.4).

 

 

Isaiah 65.17 begins with “For behold…” We need to look back to see what precedes the word for. For is synonymous with therefore or since and joins the following paragraphs with what precedes the thing to behold.

In this case it is judgment for those who rebelled against God but deliverance for a remnant, for behold, I create a new heaven and a new earth. In essence, God is starting over as He did with the flood of Genesis 6-7, but not by a flood. In a similar way, He is saving a remnant just as He did in the flood. Behold, I am starting over with a new heaven and earth, and a new Jerusalem, that is, a new people. This points us to Jesus because in Jesus all things are ultimately made new. Behold, the Savior and Lord who ushers in a new thing! It is the same message at the end of the Bible...

 

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true” (Revelation 21.5)

 

Behold what God has created and will create in making all things new.

 

• I Create

 

We know well the creation narrative of Genesis. God’s spirit hovered over the face of the deep and then God spoke. “Create” is a word that is technically only used when God is the subject of the verb. God creates and all people can do is either form or make. We cannot create. Creation comes from the mouth of God and comes when something is created out of nothing. We cannot say we have created a work of art, or created a new idea, or created anything new. We only make or form that which has already been created by God.

Now, in Isaiah, God is about to create new things. New heaven, new earth, new Jerusalem. In these new creations there is a new way of being. Only God calls into existence that which does not exist. Romans 4.17, “...in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.”

 

God creates something within all who believe, a new heart: Ezekiel 36.26, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

 

This is the prayer of the Psalmist: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me (Psalm 51.10).

 

This is what is done in the Spirit, the heart is created anew from above, “Jesus answered [Nicodemus], “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3.3). Again can also be translated as from above, God creating a new heart within us.

 

We behold the power of God to create and re-create, and this brings us gladness and joy!

 

 

• Be Glad and Rejoice

 

God’s behold and God’s re-creation lead to nothing but gladness and joy. The majority of this section of Isaiah 65, verses 18b-25 reveal all the benefits of God’s new creation. Jerusalem will be a joy and the people a gladness to the Lord and thus there will be no more weeping, people will fill out their days, no one will oppress another to the point of driving people from their homes and living in them, (no exile), all will enjoy the work of their hands without concern of theft or conquest. All of creation will be in harmony and none shall be injured on God’s holy mountain.

Every concern for joy and gladness is spoken in the future tense. This is a promise and a promise that has come in Jesus and will come when Jesus returns in His Second Coming. It is a revelation of heaven, and some consider it a return to God’s created order before the sin of Adam and Eve.

 

 

• New Creation Joy

 

The book of Isaiah ends with new creation joy.

 

In the very last chapter, 66, we see similar concepts as in 65.

 

“For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the Lord, so shall your offspring and your name remain. From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath,
all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the Lord (66.22-23).

 

This is the promise of what God will do and we have seen some of those promises come to fruition in Jesus Christ and we will see them all completed in Him. We have seen so far the joy and gladness of resurrection. We have experienced joy in the wonder and meaning of the cross. We rejoice in having the gospel records of the life of Christ, His teachings, His miracles, and His witness to the glory of God.

We have seen glimpses of new creation in turning water into wine, feeding five thousand with five loaves and two fish. We find joy in Jesus calming the storm with His word. We know gladness in receiving the Holy Spirit. We are indeed a “product” of this new creation promise as we see in 2 Corinthians 5.17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” There it is again, “behold!” Behold, the new has come! God is the creator of the new in us. He created the heavens and the earth at the beginning. He created redemption, deliverance, grace, love, miracles, wisdom, hope, regeneration, justification, sanctification, and He created all of it for His glory. Even the behold statements that are about judgment are also about His glory.

Behold! Behold the wonder of new creation joy.

Behold the beauty of God’s creation.

Behold the Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.

Behold the grace of God that embraces us and moves us toward the gift of faith.

Behold every day blessings that we might take for granted.

Behold the splendor of the prophetic word.

Behold the promise of a great future.

Behold the family of God.

Behold the love of God and neighbor.

Behold God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.

Behold – look up, get ready, embrace!

There is so much more to behold. His Word and attributes are never ending. Behold His gladness over you and His joy over all His church. Rejoice today and be glad, for in Christ we are God’s new creation! Amen.