Come and Listen

The David Crowder Band has a song called "Come and Listen." (I think you can listen to it here.) I like this song. I think that it is a perfect song for a wedding. Its a great song to lead into a sermon or teaching. The song tells the thirsty listener to come to God, for He is good.

The lyrics are based, at least in part, on verses from Isaiah 55:

"Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;

and he who has no money, come and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,

and your labor for that which does not satisfy?

Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,

and delight yourself in rich food.

Incline your ear, and come to me;

hear, that your soul may live."

In v. 1-3, God addresses those who are needy--those who thirst. He invites them to come to the waters of Himself. He uses the metaphor of milk and wine and honey to describe the richness and delight of Himself. Rather than waste our lives toiling, sweating, living for what does not satisfy, for what is empty and vain, God calls us to enjoy what is real and satisfying. By following God, there is great delight.

The plea is for those who recognize that they are needy and thirsty. God pleads with those who see that they have no money and no means of obtaining satisfaction on their own. The plea calls for these thirsty to people to enjoy rich, satisfying food--a feast--at no cost.

In v. 4-5, God talks about Jesus, the One whom we must go to for our thirst.

In v. 6-7, He tells us how to enjoy this rich feast--how to enjoy God. God loves you and God has abundant mercy to forgive. But we must repent. We must bow the knee and take up our cross. We must admit that we are thirsty. That we don't deserve to eat this glorious feast. While we don't deserve this satisfaction, God's limitless compassion and grace make it possible. But God wants us broken.

In v. 8-9, we find that in repentance and obedience to God, we may not always understand why God does things or why certain things happen. Our natural response is often to doubt God, to wonder if He sees and cares, to think that we know better than God. But, God assures us that He knows best. That He is wiser than we are. Because He has given us the greatest of feasts--His Son, who fully satisfies our needy souls--we can fully trust Him, even when we don't understand.

v. 10-11, how can we be sure that God is telling the truth? Because, let's be honest, life gets hard. People fail us, prayers seemingly go unanswered, obedience is difficult, repentance can appear to make things worse, and living according to our sinful nature often looks a whole lot more fun. We can be sure, because God's Word is sure. Just like rain, which accomplishes its purpose of watering the plants and bringing life, so God's Word accomplishes its purpose of satisfying the thirsty soul.

v. 12-13, God closes the chapter giving us hope. He reminds of us of the gloriousness of His promise. He reminds of His goodness. He reminds us of the feast that He has prepared for us. We get two verses, but our minds are left to imagine life without hinderance, without sin, and without the curse. Life will be full of joy and peace. Great rejoicing and singing. Heaven is a place where we worship God and sing of His sovereign grace.

Come and listen,

Come to water's edge,

Come, all who are thirsty,

Come...

Come and listen to what He has done,

What He has done for me,

What He has done for you,

What He has done for us...

Come...