ENGAGING GOSPEL DOCTRINE 116.2

Lesson 39 (Study Notes): “How Beautiful upon the Mountains”

Class Member Reading: Isaiah 50; 51; 52; 53; Matthew 26:39; Philippians 2:8; Hebrews 2:16-18; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Nephi 19:9; Mosiah 15:10-13; Mosiah 16:9; Alma 7:11-13; Alma 34:10

Isaiah 50; 51; 52; 53;

One challenge of these chapters is to tell who is speaking when, so I will indicate

the speakers throughout the reading:

50 God: Thus says the LORD:

Where is your mother’s bill of divorce with which I put her away?Or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? (God is speaking according to the norms of the time—we can relate to divorce, but fortunately not to debt slavery! The message is that God has not given up his rights and ownership of his people, and so will continue to care for them)No, because of your sins you were sold, and for your transgressions your mother was put away. 2

Why was no one there when I came?

Why did no one answer when I called?Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver?By my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a desert;their fish stink for lack of water, and die of thirst. 3

I clothe the heavens with blackness,

and make sackcloth their covering.

The Servant’s Humiliation and Vindication

4 The Prophet: The Lord GOD has given me

the tongue of a teacher,

that I may know how to sustain

the weary with a word.

Morning by morning he wakens—

wakens my ear

to listen as those who are taught. I really resonate with this wording. I love

these principles, how to connect with, listen to, and teach others. How can we

“listen as those who are taught”?

5 The Lord GOD has opened my ear,

and I was not rebellious,

I did not turn backwards.

6 I gave my back to those who struck me,

and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;

I did not hide my face

from insult and spitting.

7 The Lord GOD helps me;

therefore I have not been disgraced;

therefore I have set my face like flint,

and I know that I shall not be put to shame;

8 he who vindicates me is near.

Who will contend with me?

Let us stand up together.

Who are my adversaries?

Let them confront me.

9 It is the Lord GOD who helps me;

who will declare me guilty?

All of them will wear out like a garment;

the moth will eat them up. An example worthy of emulation—endure trials with

equanimity (though avoid those that are avoidable), have confidence, and boldly

stand against opponents with integrity. Makes me think of the Serenity Prayer.

10 (10-11 describe the righteous and wicked responses to the prophet’s counsel)

Who among you fears the LORD

and obeys the voice of his servant,

who walks in darkness

and has no light,

yet trusts in the name of the LORD

and relies upon his God?

11 But all of you are kindlers of fire,

lighters of firebrands.

Walk in the flame of your fire,

and among the brands that you have kindled! (These verses make me think of

those who always seek to build themselves up as they disregard others)

This is what you shall have from my hand:

you shall lie down in torment.

Blessings in Store for God’s People

51 God: Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness,

you that seek the LORD.Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. (Heritage and heroes)2

Look to Abraham your father

and to Sarah who bore you;for he was but one when I called him, but I blessed him and made him many. 3

For the LORD will comfort Zion;

he will comfort all her waste places,and will make her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the LORD;joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song.

4 Listen to me, my people,

and give heed to me, my nation;

for a teaching will go out from me,

and my justice for a light to the peoples.

5 I will bring near my deliverance swiftly,

my salvation has gone out

and my arms will rule the peoples;

the coastlands wait for me,

and for my arm they hope.

6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,

and look at the earth beneath;

for the heavens will vanish like smoke,

the earth will wear out like a garment,

and those who live on it will die like gnats;

but my salvation will be for ever,

and my deliverance will never be ended.

7 Listen to me, you who know righteousness,

you people who have my teaching in your hearts;

do not fear the reproach of others,

and do not be dismayed when they revile you.

8 For the moth will eat them up like a garment,

and the worm will eat them like wool;

but my deliverance will be for ever,

and my salvation to all generations.

9 The people: Awake, awake, put on strength,

O arm of the LORD!

Awake, as in days of old,

the generations of long ago!

Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces,

who pierced the dragon?

10 Was it not you who dried up the sea,

the waters of the great deep;

who made the depths of the sea a way

for the redeemed to cross over?

11 So the ransomed of the LORD shall return,

and come to Zion with singing;

everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;

they shall obtain joy and gladness,

and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. I am touched by the encouragement in

this hymn. Makes me think of when the brother of Jared says “Lord, thou canst do

this” (Ether 3:5)

12 God: I, I am he who comforts you;

why then are you afraid of a mere mortal who must die,

a human being who fades like grass?

13 You have forgotten the LORD, your Maker,

who stretched out the heavens

and laid the foundations of the earth.

You fear continually all day long

because of the fury of the oppressor,

who is bent on destruction.

But where is the fury of the oppressor?

14 The oppressed shall speedily be released;

they shall not die and go down to the Pit,

nor shall they lack bread.

15 For I am the LORD your God,

who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—

the LORD of hosts is his name.

16 I have put my words in your mouth,

and hidden you in the shadow of my hand,

stretching out the heavens

and laying the foundations of the earth,

and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’

17 Rouse yourself, rouse yourself!

Stand up, O Jerusalem,

you who have drunk at the hand of the LORD

the cup of his wrath,

who have drunk to the dregs

the bowl of staggering. These words really speak to me. For some reason the

wording of 2 Nephi 8:17 moves me especially: “thou hast drunken the dregs of the

cup of trembling wrung out”

18 There is no one to guide her

among all the children she has borne;

there is no one to take her by the hand

among all the children she has brought up.

19 These two things have befallen you

—who will grieve with you?—

devastation and destruction, famine and sword—

who will comfort you?

20 Your children have fainted,

they lie at the head of every street

like an antelope in a net;

they are full of the wrath of the LORD,

the rebuke of your God.

21 Therefore hear this, you who are wounded,

who are drunk, but not with wine:

22 Thus says your Sovereign, the LORD,

your God who pleads the cause of his people:

See, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering;

you shall drink no more

from the bowl of my wrath.

23 And I will put it into the hand of your tormentors,

who have said to you,

‘Bow down, that we may walk on you’;

and you have made your back like the ground

and like the street for them to walk on. (What a painfully apt description of

exploitative and abusive relationships)

Let Zion Rejoice

52Awake, awake,

put on your strength, O Zion!Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city;for the uncircumcised and the unclean shall enter you no more. 2

Shake yourself from the dust, rise up,

O captive Jerusalem;loose the bonds from your neck, O captive daughter Zion! 3 For thus says the LORD: You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed

without money (ie, there was no transferal of property, therefore God retains full

claim on his people). 4

For thus says the Lord GOD: Long ago, my people went

down into Egypt to reside there as aliens; the Assyrian, too, has oppressed them

without cause. 5

Now therefore, what am I doing here, says the LORD, seeing that

my people are taken away without cause? Their rulers howl, says the LORD, and

continually, all day long, my name is despised. 6

Therefore my people shall know

my name; therefore on that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here am I.

(Only in this section of Isaiah does *God* say “here am I”, the same wording

Isaiah used in chapter 6)

7 Prophet: How beautiful upon the mountains

are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,

who brings good news, (Gospel means “good news”)

who announces salvation,

who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’

8 Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices,

together they sing for joy;

for in plain sight they see

the return of the LORD to Zion.

9 Break forth together into singing,

you ruins of Jerusalem;

for the LORD has comforted his people,

he has redeemed Jerusalem.

10 The LORD has bared his holy arm

before the eyes of all the nations;

and all the ends of the earth shall see

the salvation of our God.

11 Depart, depart, go out from there!

Touch no unclean thing;

go out from the midst of it, purify yourselves,

you who carry the vessels of the LORD.

12 God: For you shall not go out in haste,

and you shall not go in flight;

for the LORD will go before you,

and the God of Israel will be your rearguard. (Powerful idea of God going ahead

of and behind us… God “having our backs”. Makes me think of D&C 84:88: “…I

will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you

up.)

The Suffering Servant

13 See, my servant shall prosper;

he shall be exalted and lifted up,

and shall be very high.

14 Just as there were many who were astonished at him

—so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance,

and his form beyond that of mortals—

15 so he shall startle many nations;

kings shall shut their mouths because of him;

for that which had not been told them they shall see,

and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate.

53Who has believed what we have heard?

And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2

For he grew up before him like a young plant,

and like a root out of dry ground;he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3

He was despised and rejected by others;

a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity;and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account.

4 Surely he has borne our infirmities

and carried our diseases;

yet we accounted him stricken,

struck down by God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions,

crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the punishment that made us whole,

and by his bruises we are healed.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray;

we have all turned to our own way,

and the LORD has laid on him

the iniquity of us all. These are the core verses, the heart of the reading. So

many ways to apply this passage. How do they help us appreciate Christ? How can

our suffering decrease that of others? How can our pain be redemptive? Do we

judge, despise, and “hold others of no account”?

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,

yet he did not open his mouth;

like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,

and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,

so he did not open his mouth.

8 By a perversion of justice he was taken away.

Who could have imagined his future?

For he was cut off from the land of the living,

stricken for the transgression of my people.

9 They made his grave with the wicked

and his tomb with the rich,

although he had done no violence,

and there was no deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him with pain.

When you make his life an offering for sin,

he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days;

through him the will of the LORD shall prosper.

11 Out of his anguish he shall see light; (How true this can be for us!)

he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge.

The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous,

and he shall bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,

and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;

because he poured out himself to death, (What vivid, evocative wording)

and was numbered with the transgressors;

yet he bore the sin of many,

and made intercession for the transgressors.

Matthew 26:39;

And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, ‘My Father,

if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you

want.’ (This is a powerful step in spiritual maturity. We can express this idea both

to God and those close to us)

Philippians 2:8;

he humbled himself

and became obedient to the point of death—

even death on a cross.

Hebrews 2:16-18;

16For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of

Abraham. 17Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every

respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of

God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. 18Because he

himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being

tested. Thus becoming an empathetic God.

Hebrews 4:15;

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our

weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are,

yet without sin. Deeply moving and encouraging principle.

1 Nephi 19:9;

9 And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of

naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and

he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving

kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men. We can learn from

the example of Jesus—if we have the resources to remain well, we can “suffer”

difficulty and even the costs of others’ mistakes to make life better for all

involved.

Mosiah 15:10-13;

10 And now I say unto you, who shall declare his generation? Behold, I say unto you,

that when his soul has been made an offering for sin he shall see his seed. And now

what say ye? And who shall be his seed?

11 Behold I say unto you, that whosoever has heard the words of the prophets, yea, all

the holy prophets who have prophesied concerning the coming of the Lord—I say unto

you, that all those who have hearkened unto their words, and believed that the Lord

would redeem his people, and have looked forward to that day for a remission of their

sins, I say unto you, that these are his seed, or they are the heirs of the kingdom of God.

12 For these are they whose sins he has borne; these are they for whom he has died, to redeem them from their transgressions. And now, are they not his seed?

13 Yea, and are not the prophets, every one that has opened his mouth to prophesy,

that has not fallen into transgression, I mean all the holy prophets ever since the world

began? I say unto you that they are his seed.

Mosiah 16:9;

9 He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be

darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death.

Alma 7:11-13;

11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind;

and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh

how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according

to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out

their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is

the testimony which is in me. I find these verses deeply meaningful. They speak to the

difference between theoretical and experiential knowledge. We can conclude Jesus was

already omniscient before his life on earth, but he needed the latter, and needed to work

the Atonement, before he could truly know.

Alma 34:10

10 For it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man,

neither of beast, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must

be an infinite and eternal sacrifice.

Additional Reading: Mosiah 14; 15

Mosiah 14

1 Yea, even doth not Isaiah say: Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm

of the Lord revealed?

2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground; he

hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him there is no beauty that we

should desire him.

3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and

we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him

stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the

chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

6 All we, like sheep, have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and

the Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he is brought

as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb so he opened

not his mouth.

8 He was taken from prison and from judgment; and who shall declare his generation?

For he was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgressions of my people was

he stricken.

9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he

had done no evil, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief; when thou shalt make

his soul an offering for sin he shall see hisseed, he shall prolong his days, and the

pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

11 He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied; by his knowledge shall my

righteous servant justify many; for he shallbear their iniquities.

12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and heshall divide the spoil with

the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death; and he was numbered with

the transgressors; and he bore the sins of many, and made intercession for the

transgressors.

Mosiah 15 (Fascinating chapter)

1 And now Abinadi said unto them: I would that ye should understand that God himself

shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people.

2 And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, being the Father and the Son—

3 The Father, because he was conceived by the power of God; and the Son, because

of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and Son—

4 And they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth.

5 And thus the flesh becoming subject to the Spirit, or the Son to the Father, being one

God, suffereth temptation, and yieldeth not to the temptation, but suffereth himself

to be mocked, and scourged, and cast out, and disowned by his people.

6 And after all this, after working many mighty miracles among the children of men, he

shall be led, yea, even as Isaiah said, as a sheep before the shearer is dumb, so he

opened not his mouth.

7 Yea, even so he shall be led, crucified, and slain, the flesh becoming subject even

unto death, the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father.

8 And thus God breaketh the bands of death, having gained the victory over death;

giving the Son power to make intercession for the children of men—

9 Having ascended into heaven, having the bowels of mercy; being filled with

compassion towards the children of men; standing betwixt them and justice; having

broken the bands of death, taken upon himself their iniquity and their transgressions,

having redeemed them, and satisfied the demands of justice.

10 And now I say unto you, who shall declare his generation? Behold, I say unto you,

that when his soul has been made an offering for sin he shall see his seed. And now

what say ye? And who shall be his seed?

11 Behold I say unto you, that whosoever has heard the words of the prophets, yea, all

the holy prophets who have prophesied concerning the coming of the Lord—I say unto

you, that all those who have hearkened unto their words, and believed that the Lord

would redeem his people, and have looked forward to that day for a remission of their

sins, I say unto you, that these are his seed, or they are the heirs of the kingdom of

God.

12 For these are they whose sins he has borne; these are they for whom he has died,

to redeem them from their transgressions. And now, are they not his seed?

13 Yea, and are not the prophets, every one that has opened his mouth to prophesy,

that has not fallen into transgression, I mean all the holy prophets ever since the world

began? I say unto you that they are his seed.

14 And these are they who have published peace, who have brought good tidings of

good, who have published salvation; and said unto Zion: Thy God reigneth!

15 And O how beautiful upon the mountains were their feet!

16 And again, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those that are still

publishing peace!

17 And again, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those who shall

hereafter publish peace, yea, from this time henceforth and forever!

18 And behold, I say unto you, this is not all. For O how beautiful upon the mountains

are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that is the founder of peace, yea, even the

Lord, who has redeemed his people; yea, him who has granted salvation unto his

people;

19 For were it not for the redemption which he hath made for his people, which was

prepared from the foundation of the world, I say unto you, were it not for this, all

mankind must have perished.

20 But behold, the bands of death shall be broken, and the Son reigneth, and hath

power over the dead; therefore, he bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead.

21 And there cometh a resurrection, even a first resurrection; yea, even a resurrection

of those that have been, and who are, and who shall be, even until the resurrection of

Christ—for so shall he be called.

22 And now, the resurrection of all the prophets, and all those that have believed in

their words, or all those that have kept the commandments of God, shall come forth in

the first resurrection; therefore, they are the first resurrection.

23 They are raised to dwell with God who has redeemed them; thus they have eternal

life through Christ, who has broken the bands of death.

24 And these are those who have part in the first resurrection; and these are they that

have died before Christ came, in their ignorance, not having salvation declared unto

them. And thus the Lord bringeth about the restoration of these; and they have a part in

the first resurrection, or have eternal life, being redeemed by the Lord.

25 And little children also have eternal life.

26 But behold, and fear, and tremble before God, for ye ought to tremble; for the Lord

redeemeth none such that rebel against him and die in their sins; yea, even all those

that have perished in their sins ever since the world began, that have wilfully rebelled

against God, that have known the commandments of God, and would not keep them;

these are they that have no part in the first resurrection.

27 Therefore ought ye not to tremble? For salvation cometh to none such; for the Lord

hath redeemed none such; yea, neither can the Lord redeem such; for he cannot deny

himself; for he cannot deny justice when it has its claim.

28 And now I say unto you that the time shall come that the salvation of the Lord shall

be declared to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.

29 Yea, Lord, thy watchmen shall lift up their voice; with the voice together shall they

sing; for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion.

30 Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the Lord hath

comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.

31 The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends

of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

Other Reading: None