Isaiah (Quality Very Good)

[0:00] Trusting once again in the help of the Lord, we will turn to the prophecy of Isaiah, chapter 58, verse 11.

[0:18] The prophecy of Isaiah, the 58th chapter and the 11th verse. And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones.

[0:41] And thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

[0:54] The prophecy of Isaiah, chapter 58, verse 11. You will notice in this verse, friends, that there are three things that the Lord shall be.

[1:14] We have read together, and the Lord shall guide thee continually. And the Lord shall satisfy thy soul in drought, and the Lord shall make fat thy bones.

[1:33] Now those three things that the Lord hath left in his church for all generations, and all people, in a greater or lesser measure, they will have, of course, an effect.

[1:54] For we cannot wonder that the dear Lord, in all his works, there is always a wonderful effect.

[2:09] And the effect that those three things that I have read to you this evening, that they are spoken now concerning his church and his dear people.

[2:23] And those two things which will flow, or which will be the result of the Lord's shell, are these.

[2:35] And thou shalt be like a water garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

[2:48] I know not, of course, your circumstances, your concerns, your troubles, or whatever the dear Lord hath seen fit to bring you and I into.

[3:06] But we do know this, that the dear Lord hath left in his church some wonderful promises. I often think, of course, of those grapes of Eshcol, where those spies were sent into the land of Canaan, and that branch of grapes that they brought from the land of Canaan, to show the fertility of that land, and the goodness of that land.

[3:44] And these grapes, as you know, they were born by two. The weight was so tremendous. Now, if the dear Lord hath done these things in that natural way, how much more, my dear friends?

[4:01] And will he not fulfill all that he has spoken? And we shall know, perhaps, just a little, here and there, that thou shalt be like a water garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

[4:23] But look, dear friend, first of all, what the Lord shall be unto his dear people. Now he says, And the Lord shall guide thee continually.

[4:39] Sometimes, my dear friends, not always, you and I can approve the ways of God. There are other times, if we are truthful with ourselves, and we cannot approve those ways, because they are irksome to the flesh, they may be contrary to our will, and we may see, I do not doubt for one moment, that there are before me those, including myself, that when the dear Lord hath seen fit to lay something in our path, or to keep the deck, to guide thee in a certain way, we have said words very similar to this, I could have well done without this or that or the other.

[5:44] You see, you see, so very often, our natural reason runs contrary to the continual guiding of the Lord.

[5:56] And how we need, dear friend, is that sweet grace of submission, because we know this, that the Lord, he shall guide thee continually, that is, he will be ever present with thee, and he will be, he will be round about you, and constantly and continually, because he not only guides, but he shall be with thee continually.

[6:28] You see, just a little illustration, that's come into my mind, we may be stopped in the street, and we may be asked to direct a person to a certain place, or a certain road.

[6:48] And of course, if we know the place, or the road, or the place that they want to go, we would guide them in that way, whereby they would, at last, come to that place, where, where they, where they, where their intention, and to go.

[7:09] But we, but we, we are not with them continually, dear friend, to see, and to make certain, they arrive at that place. But the dear Lord, my dear friends, he says, and the Lord shall guide thee, continually.

[7:26] And what a wonderful guide, dear friend, you see, you see, and the dear Lord hath engaged himself, and, and, to become a guide of, of his dear people.

[7:39] We, we, we, we very often ask for, for this favour, in, in singing that hymn, guide me, O thou great Jehovah, pilgrim through this barren land, I am weak, but thou art mighty, hold me with thy powerful hand, bread of heaven, feed me now, and evermore.

[8:02] Now, of course, this, this brings us into, our second thought, concerning, the, the Lord Jesus Christ, or, the Lord, as a guide, unto his dear people.

[8:15] Not only, dear friends, is he a guide, but, but in, but in that way, and that, the dear Lord, guides his dear people, and let me just say this, we do not, and cannot, always approve, of that way, but I, I believe, dear friends, that, the dear Lord, will eventually, bring, bring, bring us, whereby, we surrender, unto his wisdom, his grace, and his mercy, knowing that, that what he does, is for, is for our best.

[8:53] But, what I want, what I want to come to, is this, not only, this, this first, this first bit of our text, and says, and the Lord shall guide thee, continually, also, in that path, where the Lord guides, his dear people, continually, he, he will supply, all of their provisions, he will supply, all their needs, it doesn't mean to say, immediately, and your need, and my need, and will, will be supplied, but, but what, what I feel, my dear friends, because we have, that wonderful, example, and, and that pattern, you know, the scriptures, more particularly, perhaps the, Old Testament scriptures, they are left, in many, in many respects, to, for, for an example, to, to New Testament, to New Testament believers, and when we read, my dear friends, of, of the Lord, miraculously, bringing forth, his dear people, out of, out of the, bondage, of, of, of Egypt, and guiding them, continually, for 40 years, through, through, through that wilderness, dispensation, there's something, more than mere, guiding, that the, you see, the dear Lord,

[10:17] I feel this, if we, if we have, my dear friends, the, the grace, and the understanding, granted unto us, he gives, he gives us, more than he speaks of, because, the, the, the children of Israel, as of course, you all know, they, they were guided, by that pillar of fire, and, and that cloud, and, constantly, continually, throughout that, that wilderness, dispensation, and, and also, they were provided, every day, apart, of course, from the seventh day, and, with, with that manner, and water, constantly, continually, followed them, in that wilderness, dispensation, so, so, I believe we can, we can safely say, it may be, dear friend, that there may be one, in a very intricate, difficult path, or, or, or, or, or, way, and, and you, you, you wonder, you wonder why the dear Lord, has allowed, or permitted you, to, to, to, to come into such, extremities, is it not, my dear friends, to prove the dear Lord, his love, his compassion, and, his preservation, and, and, his help, you, you see, you see, you and I, well,

[11:38] I can only say, you know, we can easily be quite familiar, with, with, with the path that we are in, and we, and we can so, easily get, to, negligence of those things, but the dear Lord, my dear friend, he will, he will be a good guide, and he will, he will bring, all, all his dear people, to trust, and, and rely upon him, and for all the provisions, of, of, of that way, that, that he continually, guides his dear people in, have you, have you, and I, there, there are those, that undoubtedly, with, with difficult things, that, that, in their life, and, and you see, if it was the Lord's will, he, he could have, preserved you, from going in that way, but, but in love, in love to, to his dear people's souls, he puts them, he puts them in, in, in that way, whereby, they have to be more, and more, and dependent, and rely, and rely upon him, not for some of the things, but for, all the things, now, now the Lord, has said, he promised this, and the Lord, shall guide thee, continually, what a, what a wonderful God, you see, we read, my dear friends, that he shall gather, his dear people, and from, from the, from the north, and, and, and, and, and from, and from the south, and, and, from, and, and from the west, and then, and then, then that Psalm, that 107 Psalm, goes on, goes on like, like this, he shall give them out of the lands, from the east, from the west, and from the north, and from the south, they wandered, in the wilderness, in a solitary way, they found, no city, to dwell in, to dwell in, the offender, what a, what an unspeakable mercy, if, if, if you and I, have been, wandering, spiritually, in that spiritual wilderness, and, and you have found, no city to dwell in, and then, and then we, we read together, hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted, within them, then, then they cried, unto the Lord, in their trouble, and he delivered them, out, out, out of their distresses, not only that, and he led them forth, and by, the right way, our dear friends, there are many ways, but there's only one, right way, and I know, my dear friends, it is a concern, and to God's dear people, so very often, and whether they are, in that right way, dare you say, my dear friends, that in that way, if you look back, over your past, it may be, some of you younger ones, can perhaps, only go back to, one or two years, or there may be those, who can go back to more, those who, who are older, can go back, many more years, and can we not say, my dear friends, in that way, although, in that way, there was much to concern us, it was sometimes, a way of darkness, but the dear Lord, upheld our faith, in a faithful God, he came, he came, my dear friends, in that way, whereby, his unerring light, shone in our poor heart, and, and, and he supplied, my dear friends, all, all, all, all that our, our souls, souls were in need of, a guide, to guide us, in the right way, because there was, at the, at the, in this way, there were those times, when, he blessed your soul, was it not so, and where, where he spoke, those words, of encouragement, where, where, where, where you saw, the, you saw the dear Lord's hand, you would have never went in, apart from the dear Lord, guiding you, continue, often think, of course, of, of, of, of God's, of God's dear servant, and, dear, dear Job, and, how the Lord, and so, so dealt with him, he, he was a very wealthy man, and he got a large family, he got everything, thing I think, that the world, the cuckoo, wished for, and there was, that time, when disaster, struck, struck, at, at him, and, and, and his family, and the homes, and, and, and, he, he, he was brought to this point, which undoubtedly, there are, there are those, there are those before me, who know, just a little, before he said, but he knoweth, the way that I take, oh dear friend, this is the faith, and that you and I desire, you don't know the way, you don't know the cause, you don't know the end of it, but it's all in the hand, of a covenant keeping Lord, who knows that way, and, and, and Job, in his great distress, and, and, and in those circumstances, where, there were so many losses, and crosses, and, and so, and there were, the boils on, on his own body, and so many things, that, that the Lord saw fit, to lay upon him, but, but, but he had that faith, to, to, to honor the dear Lord, and was not that faith honored, dear friends, you know, if we, if we just consider, those, those times, where, the dear Lord, hath honored, your faith, and my faith, in, in, in, in the way that he hath, he hath led us, think, think my, think my dear friends, of the many, many mercies, that, that we have been, the recipients of, and what, and what, what faith has been, and able to see, that, that, that this way, was a right way, a right way, and that leads to, a city of habitation, whose builder, and maker is God, well, dear old Job,

[18:26] Job says, he knoweth the way, that I take, and also, he, he, he knew, the, the, the, the end of it, or the conclusion of it, for, for, for, he says this, he knoweth the way, that I take, when he hath tried me, I shall come forth, as God, what a faith, he offends, what a faith, for, may the dear Lord, and grant that same, or measure, of that same faith, and that, that he granted unto, the dear, his dear servant, and Job, and of course, the, the psalmist, in the, I believe it's the 73rd, the, the 73rd Psalm, we can, we can trace, a, a, a similar faith, where, where, where the psal, where the psalmist, says this, thou shalt guide me, look at the work of faith, my dear friends, in a poor sinner's heart, in the, in the, in the, in the heart, in the heart, of the psalmist, in the 73rd Psalm, he, he, he says, thou shalt guide me, or may that faith, be granted, in measure, unto us, each of it is thy, if it is his precious will, thou shalt guide me, with thy counsel, could we have, my dear friend, a better counselor, to guide, to guide you and I, a counselor, who, a counselor, who is unerring, who is so wise, and so good, and so kind, and he knows all, our faults, our faith, and yet, he is still the guide, of his dear people, and he shall guide them, continually, thou shalt guide me, may the dear Lord, grant such a faith, unto every tried, exercised soul, before me, this evening, not only, not only, where, where Job,

[20:39] Job says, he knoweth the way, that I take, and I shall come forth, as gold, but with the psalmist, thou shalt guide me, with thy counsel, you see, what a vast difference, my dear friend, in that trial, in that affliction, or whatever that dispensation, is that, that the Lord sees, seen fit to, to guide, to guide his, his dear people in, if, if, if, if, if, a little faith, is lifted up, above, above all the circumstances, and we are enabled, by precious faith, to see this, wondrous guy, who guides his dear people, continually, and, and, and he says this, thou shalt guide me, with thy counsel, and, after ward, you see, in, in, in, in this way, that the, in this way, that the dear Lord, the dear Lord, guides his dear people, there's a glorious, after ward, and sometimes, we may, almost be, oblivious to this, well,

[21:46] I can only speak, how, I feel at times, everything, my dear friend, may seem, black, and gloomy, you cannot see, as it were, almost a hem, before you, and, and, and you, you, you feel that you have, completely been mistaken, but, dear friend, look at, look at what the, look at what the psalmist says, after ward, there's a glorious, after ward, for, because he says, and not only thou shalt guide me, with thy counsel, and, after ward, receive, me, in, receive me, in, in, in, in, to glory, look at the end, dear friends, of, of the, of the Lord's, continually, guiding his dear people, one, one more point, that I just, very briefly, because it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a wonderful promise, and I do trust, that it may be made, and just a little bit, helpful, and profitable, to, a poor, exercised soul, because so very often, the adversary, has got so much, dear friend, to cast us down, and he holds, these things at us, do you think, you're in the way, do you think, you're one of God's children, would you ever be, in such a state, as this, the Lord, will guide thee, continually, and he will show, my dear friend, his almighty power, to preserve you, and to keep you, and to bring you through, you know,

[23:22] I often think, of, of, of those words, that, and that, that John, John, John heard, on the, on the Isle of Patmos, when he asked, who are these, these are they, that have been brought, through, great tribulation, they've been brought, through it, my dear friend, and, and this, this path, that the Lord, continually guides his, dear people, what I don't want, to speak disrespectful, of, of those, of those things, that the dear Lord, may have put, in your path, because, you know, you know, there are great concern, and anxiety, and you're, constantly, at the throne of grace, and to ask the dear Lord, to help you, but, but dear friend, this is the great, great point, is, is this, the Lord knows, how to temper you, you and I, and to, and to, and to bring you, in that way, whereby, we, as it was, with the, with the children, of, of Israel, when, when, when the Lord, had opened the Red Sea, and, and he, and all the children, of Israel, had passed safely through, they saw their enemies, dead, dead on the seashore, and they, they sang, this song, and part of that song, was this, thou, in thy mercy, hast led, hast led forth, the people, which thou hast redeemed, oh dear friends, what a wonderful confirmation, he doesn't lead, those people, that he hath not redeemed, and if you and I, can trace some, in some measure, that the dear Lord, hath led us to this, hitherto, hath the Lord, led us, and we, and he's a wonderful token, because, because, and that song, that they sung was, that, thou, in thy mercy, hast led, forth the people, which thou hast redeemed, thou hast guided them, in thy strength, unto, thy holy habitation, and what more, my dear friends, could we desire, than to know, the mercy of the Lord, and his strength, guiding us, into, that holy habitation, even, unto, eternal bliss, well, and the Lord, poor trembling, exercised soul, the Lord, shall guide thee, that shell, which can never be broken, the Lord, shall guide thee, continually, and then he goes on to say, and satisfy, thy soul, in drought, one unspeakable mercy, dear friends, he says, he shall satisfy, thy soul, he doesn't, he doesn't, he doesn't say, you, you, you will have, you, you, you have an abundance,

[26:29] I often think, dear friends, of, of a dear, man of God, Elijah, you know, I'll be very brief, because you, you all know, where, where the Lord, directed him, to the brook church, it was all right, for a start, then it dwindled away, did it, did it not, was the Lord, unfaithful, to what he had spoken, he, he, he's spoken this, in the old church, and he fulfilled, every detail, in the new church, or the new testament church, and that, although that, that brook dwindled away, I believe, to just, a mere little trickle, but the Lord, spake unto him, and when that brook, and the, and could not satisfy him, he, he was sent, to that woman, that woman, at Zarephath, and there was that, that handful of mail, and that cruise of oil, and I believe, it just made, sufficient, to satisfy, and, the, the prophet Elijah, and, and, and the widowed mother, and the son, there, there was nothing, that they could help, anyone with, it was just sufficient, and they, and the, and the, and we read that, the Lord says, says he shall, satisfy, thy soul, in drought, now, look, look at another point, my dear friend, hungry, and thirsty, are, blessed are they, because when there's a drought, especially more particularly, perhaps, in these eastern clines, and there was very often, a drought, where, as of course, it was so, with the case of, of, of Jacob, but,

[28:19] I, I did, I could go into that, but, I haven't the time, but, but you see, and the, the, the dear Lord, he satisfies, his dear people, and, and they are, they are brought to, they are brought in this way, where, they are blessing, you, you very often, perhaps, and rightly so, and I hope I do, we ask, for, the blessing, of the dear Lord, now, the blessing, of the Lord, is, is, provided, on certain, certain, and people, and certain circumstances, blessed are they, that hunger and thirst, after, after, and righteousness, for they shall be filled, and the dear Lord, very often, brings his dear people, hungry, and thirsting, after that righteousness, you've asked the Lord, to bless your soul, rightly so, I hope he does it again, but dear friends, we may be brought, into circumstances, and where shall I say, the Lord, the Lord fits us, for, for, for that blessing, and that he has designed, to bless his dear people with, and so they hunger, and they thirst, after righteousness, and, but what, but, what, what our text says is this, they shall satisfy, the soul in drought, and could there be, my dear friends, a greater satisfaction, than, than, than, than, to come into, the wonderful possession, of the righteousness, of God, that righteousness, which he hath, wrought out, while he was here, in that perfect obedience, unto the Lord, cleansing, his precious blood, and clothing, that glorious robe, of righteousness, there is complete satisfaction, my dear friends, well,

[30:19] I must, I mustn't, I mustn't delay, for, for, for the next, that the Lord shall do, he says, and, and the Lord shall make fat, thy bones, here, my dear friends, the dear Lord, I believe, is set forth, an abundance, and you say, what do you mean, by abundance, abundance, I'll tell you, dear friends, very, very briefly, the abundance, that the Lord, has set, in his church, is the ministry, of his word, and, and what a favored people, they are, who sit under, perhaps we do, perhaps we do not, value it, sufficiently, I do not know, I don't think, I did, when I sat under, the ministry, of a pastor, but I think, I valued it, perhaps more, after the Lord, sent me forth, but, but do you, and I value, the ministry, of the word, because, because, the ministry, of the word, sets forth, the gospel table, and that gospel table, makes, fat the bones, in, its abundance, my dear friend, because, because, you know, the psalmist says,

[31:39] I believe it's in the 36th psalm, we shall be, abundantly, satisfied, with the provision, of thine house, and the provision, of, of God's house, will, will abundantly, satisfy, all of God's, dear people, and although, one feels this, and that, in our sad, and our solemn day, and there, there is, a great neglect, you see, we, rightly so, I'm not, speak against it, we, we, we all, desire, to keep, to keep our bodies, in, in, in, as, a healthy condition, as, as it is possible, I'm not speaking, against that, my dear friends, but what I, what I do want to say, dear friends, to myself, and to each one of you, are you, are you, interested in, in keeping, a healthy body, as a healthy soul, and that, that when the gospel table, is spread, and you, you, you, you desire, that, that, that, that this gospel table, will make thy bones fat, and flourish, in the of them, and, and you will say, with a psalmist, that, that the abundant provision, of, of, thy house, and satisfies, my soul, with, with, with those things, that we, that you desire, to know of, and those, those things, that we do desire, to know of, to know of, one of those things, is, more, more of thy presence, dear Lord, and may we be favoured with, more, more of the knowledge, of thy wondrous person, and those, those two, two glorious natures, in one person, more, more, more, more of, of all that thou, hath done, you see, these things, make fat, the bones, as it were, it, it, it, it, it was, it, it was, of course, a, a common expression, where, where, where a person, is healthy, and, and, and, and they, and they were, their bones were fat, so do you, friends, spiritually, when that gospel ministry, has laid the gospel table, what a, what a wonderful thing it is, if our little hand of faith, reaches forth, for a royal dainty, where love will touch our poor, poor senseless heart, very often, well, he says this, he says then, and, and, and, and, and the Lord shall make, make fat thy bones, then he comes to this point, which I shall be very brief, and thou shalt be like, a watered garden, now,

[34:25] I believe, my dear friends, this, this sets more, particularly, I know it singles out, and thou shalt be like, a watered garden, I know it singles out, one person, but I believe also, it includes, that God shall be like, a watered garden, now, of course, we, we know, we, we know the great benefits, of a watered garden, and that there, there is of course, beauty, and, and is there not a beauty, in the Lord Jesus Christ, he is so beautiful, to behold, and to a poor sinner, as you and I, lost and undone, and guilty, worthy, my dear friends, of that, awful punishment, but the, that the beauty of the Lord, shines forth, from time, from time to time, as we read the scriptures, as he makes himself known, in, in such a suitable way, to, to our case, and our condition, they shall be like, a watered garden, well, well, we know of course, the stature of plants, varies, in a watered garden, and there, there are some, that are, that are small, and there are some, there are some, that are, that are higher, but they, all need, my dear friends, the watering, of the Holy Spirit, and to, and the reviving, of that spirit, and to, to keep them alive, now, now, now, the, the, that which follows, those promises, and we, we, we, we read, and thou shalt be, like a watered garden, you may feel, you're as dry as a bone, as that valley of dry bones, but look, the offenders, and thou shalt be, he doesn't say, you are, at this very moment, but you shalt, thou shalt be, my dear friends, as a watered garden, what, what, what, what, what wonderful expectations, when faith, is in lively exercise, is before,

[36:31] God's dear children, although we are, so cast down, so discouraged, from time to time, and yet, dear friends, how we do desire, and that, that, we, we may, not be, not be like, our first parents, don't think, I'm throwing stones, at them, but they would, rather have, listened, to that, awful old serpent, the devil, than listen, to the words, of God, and we, very often, in that same place, and I do pray, that the dear Lord, will grant this faith, to you and I, and, and thou shalt be like, a water garden, just think, one more thing, in this water garden, redeeming, grace, oh, what, what, what, what a wonderful water, these plants are watered, and the, God's dear children, are watered, by redeeming, love, and grace, where the dear Lord, in his, in his love, hath redeemed our souls, from sin, death, and hell, and then, and then,

[37:35] I'm sorry, I have to be very brief, and, and not only be like, a water garden, and like, a spring of water, whose waters, fail not, well, you know, when the Lord, in that last day, of the feast, how he cried, whosoever thirsteth, let him come unto me, and it shall be, it shall be as, as a well of water, springing up, unto eternal life, oh, may these things, dear Lord, dear friends, may, may, may they be, our constant companion, what the Lord, has said, and the wonderful, effects, and blessings, and that follow, that which the Lord, hath made known, then, and thou shalt be like, a water garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters, never fail, a spring up, unto, eternal life, but there,

[38:37] I shall have to leave, those brief remarks, may the Lord, have his blessing, amen, and the Lord, let us close this evening, by singing hymn number 1048, hymn number 1048, the tune is, a cable, 357, hymn number 1048, we've, no abiding city here, this, may distress, the worldlings mind, but, should not cost, the saint, a tear, who hopes, a better rest, to find, hymn number 1048, and 48, and 48, and 48.

[40:01] c computer. THE END THE END

[41:03] THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END

[42:05] THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END

[43:07] THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END Cbes Brandon he headed the hill on the , under line tr under his back the end tha each long fa IF his that the Lord Jesus Christ the love of God the Father the fellowship and communion of God the Holy Spirit the comforter be with us now and forever and ever

[44:08] Amen