Isaiah 42:4 - "He Shall Not Fail"

Isaiah 42:4

"He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law."

The question set before us is not merely theological; it is searching and weighty. Did the LORD Jesus Christ come into the world to attempt salvation, or to accomplish it? Scripture never portrays the Son of God as One Who tries and fails. The glory of Christ rests in this unshakable truth: He came to do the will of the Father, and He finished it.

Isaiah speaks by the Spirit concerning the LORD Jesus as God’s Servant for the accomplishing of the salvation of His people: “He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles” (Isaiah 42:1). Judgment here is not chaos or destruction, but justice satisfied. Mercy does not flow at the expense of Righteousness. God’s law must be honored, His holiness upheld. Christ came not to soften the law, but to fulfill it. He came to establish righteousness for sinners who possess none of their own.

The manner of His work reveals the heart of God. “He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street” (Isaiah 42:2). Christ did not come as a self-promoting reformer or political deliverer. His power was not displayed in noise or spectacle, but in quiet obedience. “A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench” (Isaiah 42:3). These words describe sinners brought low by sin and weakness. He did not come to crush them further. They were already condemned in Adam. He came to save them by fulfilling the law they could never keep.

This salvation rests on this decisive declaration: “He shall not fail, nor be discouraged” (Isaiah 42:4). The success of redemption does not depend on man’s response, but on Christ’s obedience. If He failed, salvation would collapse. But Scripture affirms the opposite. The Son accomplished everything entrusted to Him. Before the cross, He prayed, “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do” (John 17:4). The work He finished even before going to the cross was to earn and establish in His life that Righteous Obedience necessary for Him to lay down His life as the Perfect, Spotless Lamb, and therefore was able to say to His Father, even before laying down His life, "I have finished the work." Yet, the entire work He would complete when He cried, "It is finished," from the cross (John 19:30).

The Father’s satisfaction confirms this truth. “The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable” (Isaiah 42:21). God is never pleased with so-called human righteousness. “All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). But He is well pleased with the Righteousness of His Son. Christ magnified the law not only by obeying it outwardly, but by fulfilling its spirit in perfect love and submission. That righteousness is not admired from a distance; it is imputed to those the Father gave Him to save. This exchange is the heart of the Gospel. “He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Sin was charged to Christ. Righteousness is attributed to His people. God would be unjust to punish sin twice—once in the Substitute and again in those He redeemed. The cross guarantees that all for whom Christ died are saved.

The eternal relationship between the Father and the Son underscores this certainty. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). The Son was “daily his delight” (Proverbs 8:30). When He came in the Flesh, the same declaration was heard: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). To suggest that Christ failed in His mission is to deny the Father’s pleasure in His work. Scripture gathers all of Salvation into the Person of Christ. “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30). Wisdom reveals how God is just and the Justifier. Righteousness establishes our standing. Sanctification is in Christ, having set Himself apart wholly and completely to the Father in His work of Substitution for His people, and Redemption promises final deliverance, body and soul, (Romans 8:23).

The believer’s Hope rests here: Christ did not fail. Because He lives, they live. Because He satisfied justice, they are accepted before God in Him (Ephesians 1:6). This truth humbles the sinner and exalts the Savior. The heart bows and confesses with joy: salvation is not attempted—it has been accomplished by the finished work of the LORD Jesus Christ.