Thine eyes shall see ... (Quality: Very good)

[0:00] as the Lord may be pleased to help us. We will turn again to this morning's text. You will find it in the 33rd chapter of the prophecy of Isaiah and verses 17 and 20.

[0:22] 33rd chapter of Isaiah, the 17th verse. Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty.

[0:35] They shall behold the land that is far up. Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities. Thine eyes shall see Jerusalem, a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down.

[0:55] Not one of the states thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken.

[1:07] And friends, we would endeavor to commence as we try to this morning. First of all, thine eyes shall see.

[1:18] What the Lord has given us here in his word, we want spiritual sight to see it. We want the grace of knowledge to understand it.

[1:34] And thou hast promised, as not the Lord promised, that all his people shall be taught of the Lord. And so the prophet says, thine eyes shall see the king and his beauty.

[1:53] A solemn thing, friends, to have a religion and never see the beauty of Christ in it, to never know savingly the merciful benefits of knowing the king of kings and lord of lords.

[2:12] For the king in his beauty, yes, his beauty, is his holy righteousness, is that though he could come to earth, yet he knew no sin.

[2:28] And he could take upon himself a body like our own, but yet without sin. The beauty of Christ, friends, means your salvation.

[2:43] He has taken nothing for himself to be other than he is. But what he gives to his people is that will make them what he will have them be.

[2:58] They must show forth his glory. As rather solemn, friends, as the word of God is, when we realize that in our profession do we set forth and show forth the glory of God.

[3:17] Profession, true profession, with the eyes open, is accompanied with possession. Many might profess, but they don't possess what they profess.

[3:31] How solemn that is. But the prophet says, thine eyes, when they are open, shall see the king and his beauty.

[3:42] They shall behold the land that is very far off. The land is a promised land, friends, and in between, there's the journey, there's that which must be taught, the way must be shown, the path must be opened, and the want must be put in the soul, and the Lord God must lead us, guide and direct us.

[4:13] Well, now, we've got, as the Lord shall help us, to say a little more on the 20th verse, look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities.

[4:27] As we noted this morning, how religion, the religion of the world, is far away from the thought of solemnity.

[4:37] Now, there are those who profess to be Christians, and they're always happy. They know nothing of solemnity, because they do not know that they have sinned against the Holy God.

[4:54] They make their promises, they make their vows to God, and serve in him. And they are happy in themselves, friends, though they know not that they are sinners in God's sight.

[5:13] For all are sinners in God's sight, though few are so in their own. And the city that they are aced into, and the Lord is bringing them to, is that city which upon earth is known as Zion.

[5:32] Yes, the church of God is the chosen Zion, Mount Zion, where they must travel to, even to that place, to find the city of our God.

[5:49] It's the city of solemnity, friends. It's not pleasure, as we understand it in the carnal mind, because all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

[6:05] It causes them to look upon all things and handle all things with solemnity. Do we not often have to chide ourselves for the likeness of feeling and thought when, after all, our profession is to be that we are in a city of our solemnities, our strengths.

[6:33] Have you got any in your religion? Or are you happy always? No solemnity. It says here, it's a city of our solemnities.

[6:45] And it's the Lord himself that's dealt with us in a solemn way to cause us to know that he is dealing with us. And it's a solemn thing, friends, for those who are untaught and instructed, those who know nothing of the Spirit's work, to speak as if they have a saving knowledge of Zion.

[7:12] And, friends, that's the knowledge we must have. We must know it to be the city of our God, and yet the city of solemnity.

[7:26] What a solemn thing it is, friends, that sin should bring the Lord of life and glory to this earth. What a solemn thing it was that he should purpose salvation in such a way and manner that he himself must die to redeem his people, that he must suffer, bleed, and die, that he must come unto his own nation, in his own and receive him not, to all very solemn things.

[8:00] And they're now solemn, that he chooses his people for salvation. And so often they walk contrary, so often they sin against him, which makes the whole matter so solemn, that they profess to be God's people and yet may go after the world, for they're born in sin and shape and iniquity.

[8:27] When you read the history, even in the word of God, how you have to view it in this way, what a solemn work it was, that the church of God should be made manifest on a sinful earth, that their parentages, that they're born in sin and shape and iniquity, that they come from the man whose guilty fall, corrupts the race, and taints us all.

[9:00] How solemn friends. How solemn that is, because God is holy and the Lord could come to earth and be treated as he was treated, and give his life as a ransom for many, and yet man is still a sinner.

[9:20] We are born in sin and shape and iniquity. We should die as sinners. Oh, there's some think, oh, now I'm going to die as a saint. Friends, we should die as sinners, but it's the mortal sinful part that must die, the soul that is saved, that immortal soul will live forever under the enjoyment and goodness and mercy of God to be crowned in heaven.

[9:52] That is the position, friends, but let us view our own position. What am I, what are you, in the light of these celebrities?

[10:04] Are we concerned? I know we shake our head at times, and we say, oh, what a sinful world it is. Yes, friends, that's right, but you know we all make up the sins of the nation and the world.

[10:20] It's our sins as well as others. And what is more, if we sin against light, oh, the solemnity of that, sinning against the light of the knowledge of God.

[10:34] But, friends, such we are. And we would have to consider these things. When the Lord deals with us, we must, we must consider them, because he deals with us in all solemnity.

[10:52] And we have to receive his gifts of mercy in all solemnity. And yet, you'll find here and there places of enjoyment, pleasurable religion that satisfies nature.

[11:09] They have their services in such a way as the flesh can enjoy, friends. So apparently they know nothing of the city of solemnity.

[11:22] Christ must die. Yes, that was the solemn part, was it not, that ever man experienced upon earth. But, friends, do we know anything of that, as taught of the Spirit, and causes it to be a solemnity in our own heart?

[11:44] The Lord knows those that are is, and he deals with them, he teaches them. So, friends, sometimes you're unable to look upon your life, and you shake your head, and you say, it's been a solemn business.

[12:02] The Lord has dealt with me as a sinner, and here I am, still a sinner before him, often sinning against light and knowledge, and yet I profess to see the King in his beauty.

[12:20] Look upon Zion, friends, have we sight to see where Zion is? Have we life in our souls to feel it? For this city is the city of God, friends.

[12:34] Yes, it doesn't matter how many cities on earth that are of a material nature on our earth, the city of God.

[12:45] Where the King of kings reigns, where the Lord of life and glory makes manifest his great work. you know, when the dear Lord was crucified, they mocked him even upon his kingship.

[13:03] When they put inscription over him, they mockingly said, the King of the Jews. And the Jews said, don't say that, say, he says he is, but no, says the ruler, what I have said, I have said.

[13:24] And that was the truth. The man did not understand, but he had to declare it, Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

[13:36] But how the old seeing, friends, was solemn that the Son of God should come to die to redeem his people.

[13:47] And how solemn that they are brought into this world born in sin, shape, and in iniquity. But nevertheless, this great King will reign.

[14:00] He will gather together his own people. And the last great work will be that he will send his angels. They will gather together the whole election of grace to worship him eternally in heaven.

[14:19] But to get to the point, friends, it's all very solemn. You and I, to travel through the years appointed for us is one of solemnity.

[14:32] Because turning to ourselves, we are all born in sin and shape and iniquity. And if we are not kept by the grace of God, we still sin.

[14:45] We have to be kept captured by the grace of God through faith unto salvation. What a solemn work that is, friends.

[14:56] Because we still rebel, we still have much that is against us through our fallen nature and the great temptation of the devil.

[15:10] And we look for pleasure in the world. sometimes we see pleasing things with these eyes, friends, that we boast to see the king in his beauty.

[15:24] When it all is put to the test, the answer is this, our solemn, our solemn. And yet there are many in religion who say they are happy all the day.

[15:40] So that solemnity in the lie of it, in the deceit of it, there's a solemnity. May the Lord show us, may open our eyes to see and our hearts to understand.

[15:56] Thine eyes shall see Jerusalem. Yes. And when you find Jerusalem, says our text, it'll be a quiet habitation.

[16:14] A tabernacle that shall not be taken down, then I shall see Jerusalem, a quiet habitation. Can you say that of the world, friends?

[16:27] What a hubba, what a disturbance in commerce. Oh, the greed of man and the disturbance of the mind, all the evils in the heart of man.

[16:41] Is this the quiet habitation? Friends, it can't be. No, this earth is not a quiet habitation, and the devil's seeking to have the reign and the rule, but the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof.

[17:02] So he must call his people, friends, out of the noise and hubbub and roar of the world and bring them to this quiet habitation.

[17:15] It's a place, it's a habitation where they live. But this is chosen of God. It has a shore of foundation.

[17:26] It will stand through storm and tempest. It's that habitation, it's that house that the Lord said must be built upon the rock and not upon the sand.

[17:42] There's no sandy foundation for this quiet habitation, because even though it be shaken with many temptations, and whilst the evils of mankind will be made known on earth, yet in heaven there's established a quiet habitation.

[18:04] when you can have this world as it were in the back of your mind, in the heart, instead of foremost, and you often are disturbed by the things of nature, and you have to look away from others and look to yourself, and you have to say, why me, why such a wretch as me, you must forever lie in hell, can I expect a quieter habitation.

[18:37] So, friends, it's just what the Lord has spoken, and the prophet speaks of that, which must be experienced, it's the church of God.

[18:49] Why, if we consider the world today, and the hubba, and the temptation, and all that takes place, how you have to shake your head and say, I hope this is not my habitation, I hope that he's called me from this place, and give me a fixed abode that I might fix my hopes upon, and his eternal praise, a quiet habitation, friends, and the further we go into life, the more we see of the world, the less do we see of quietness, the mind of man is stabbed up by the devil himself, the awful abominable things that take place, all the ingenuity of the devil himself, and he hopes, does he not, to embrace the church with his deceit, and when that enters the heart of his people, how the people of

[20:02] God are disturbed, oh, friends, to have a quiet habitation, to sit down, to meditate upon this grace, and to try to remember all the way which the Lord has led you, and the place becomes a palace to you, a quiet, resting place, all the psalmist's mind was on that, when he prayed the Lord would lead him in the path of righteousness, where he could lay down in green pastures, where he could hope for the restoring of his soul, where the king of kings would be his shepherd, there would be a quieter habitation, and perhaps you have for a little while felt it, but oh, soon the devil comes in, he brings to your mind and heart quite a reality, something in your life, you can't deny him, to say that's not true, it is truth, and it's presented by the devil himself, he'll deceive people with his truth, and he disturb your rest, disturb your walk, disturb your life, and you'll not have any quieter habitation, but the work of the spirit is to bring that which God has promised for his people, look upon

[21:41] Zion, it's a quiet habitation, now that's very solemn, because we have to ask ourselves the question, are we really abiding in Zion, we sing of Zion, we say we know about it, but is it to us a quiet habitation, see the disturbances of the human mind, and the wickedness in our own heart, it's not as we would have it, and yet the promise is thine eyes, thine eyes, the eye God has opened, the sight that is given you of the real things of God, and that which is put in your heart, when you can rest and build all your hope upon the righteousness of Christ, becomes to you a quiet habitation, overcomes all this, the emptiness of the world, and all that is promised, which never is fulfilled in happiness, no, the happiness which belongs to God's people, is centered in one, that's in

[23:00] Christ, and when Christ came to the earth, friends, they wanted to do away with him, for he had disturbed them, he disturbed the people, yes, but when he entered the hearts of his people, that he had come to meet upon earth, for he did meet many, he brought to them a quiet habitation, when the one that they never knew appeared before them, they manifest his salvation to them, then their hopes and their habitation was alone with him, a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down, it's why I read that chapter tonight, I'm not concerned whether you enjoyed it or not, unless any of you might have said, well what's he want to read out all those dimensions for, we can read that at home,

[24:13] I asked the question, do you ever read it at home, or do you pass it over as only that which relates to the building of the tabernacle, ah but friends, that was to prove to the people of that day, and prove today, that the building of God is now, spiritually, not a building made by hands, but it is according to his own will and purpose, and the dimensions, and the measurement, and the covering is according to his eternal purpose, if you will notice, there's numbers of the boards, each on each side, twenty on each side, there were forty boards, friends, they were all one size, and they'd all been cut out of the shittin' wood, which we understand, you may know the tree, the acacia tree, and if you know anything about an acacia tree, it's neither fit for anything, because it's all knots and out of shape, you wouldn't go to an acacia tree for a good playing board, and you can't go to human nature and find a good man, for there's none good, no, not one, so, out of nature, out of the forest, they must cut out the boards, and they must put them to shape, and everyone the same dimension, friends, that's enough, is it not, to put us to this thought, no one greater than another in the church of God, no one before another in the church of

[26:11] God, all born in sin, and shape and iniquity, and if we've not been shaped and afresh by almighty grace, we are just what we are, fallen, hell-deserving sinners, and the shaping was just as the Lord said it should be, and the covering the same, oh, there's some wonderful points about that, because it was the first built-in that God had chosen for himself, it was to be a tabernacle, a place for the Lord to receive the worship of his great and holy name, it was divided, you remember, and there was a curtain dividing it, there was the holiest of all, where the high priest entered once a year, with his own sins, and the sins of the nation, and in, behind that curtain, in that holy place, there was the ark of the covenant, there was the mercy seat, and there was shining that brilliant, what was known as the

[27:28] Shekinah light, and man could not look upon it with his naked eye, so that the priest who was to enter, he would take the incense, and the smoke of the incense burning in that which he was carrying, it put forth a cloud, and enabled the priest to enter into the holy place, and not be struck down with that heavenly light, which no human eye can see, it was a solemn work indeed, and you know, those that built it, I believe, they had to feel the solemnity of it, oh, what a mercy, friends, if the Lord instructs us in the work of God, the solemnity of the house of God, a place pointed where his honor shall dwell, as the scripture says, as the apostle spoke much of the work of the church of

[28:34] God, he says, let all things be done decently and in order, yes, all the sovereignty of God, choosing a place for himself, this building here, friends, has stood many generations, souls have been born again here, and they've been measured up, and the righteousness of Christ has covered them, and then the Lord has called them home, and removed them from this city of solemnity, and entered fully, eternally, into Zion, quiet, resting place, is the church of God, but always a disturbance, friends, is that sin comes in, what's your disturbance?

[29:29] Always a sudden thing, and we do get disturbed, being sinners, we can be disturbed in the church of God, with worldly, carnal, foreign matters, friends, and what does that do?

[29:44] That brings the devil in, and seems to drive the truth of God out. That is necessary to consider, friends, that tabernacle was a type of Christ, the boards were representative of the mystical body of Christ, everyone, fitted and chosen, the two tenants that stood in those sockets of silver.

[30:11] Yes, that redemption work of Christ that each must stand upon, and then there should be one solid mass, as it were.

[30:23] We read the bar shot right through, ah, blessed be the part tie, that binds our hearts in Christian love, and brings us together as one in Christ.

[30:36] Yes, the unity of the spirit, the house of God. You know, we are likely to read that over, and to say, well, that was the history of Israel.

[30:51] But, friends, it's typical, not mere history, but the real life of the church. Each one brought out of nature's darkness, each worked upon by the Holy Spirit.

[31:07] It's not the attachment, no. No. No one could go to Moses or the builders and say, I've got a very nice piece of wood. I believe it will adorn this place.

[31:20] You fit it in. It's a go away, man. We've got our room, we've got the holy plans, and we've got the heavenly architect.

[31:31] This is the house of God. God. It's a place for worship, and it's a place where sin will be confessed. Ah, and when they entered, friends, they entered with a place that was lit.

[31:53] Yes, the lamp was there, the seven golden candlesticks, there they were, lit, supplied continuously with the oil, and what a brilliancy there must have been, friends, with that light shining on the gold, the splendor of gold, friends.

[32:14] But we don't want to enter into anything to cause a material interest, but we do want to remember this, the church of God is lit with the glory of Christ in his precious word, and all that he did, and when we consider the preciousness of it all and the beauty of it all, in this our solemn day, we have to add again what a city of solemnity we dwell in.

[32:50] Yes, the tabernacle, not made with hands, that shall not be taken down, that was made by hands, it was made by wise men, but it was under the direction of God.

[33:07] Yes, and the church of God on earth must be the same, God's wisdom must be found in the house of God, his ruling power and his authority must be there, his word must be obeyed, his commandments obeyed and considered, yes, you know, I'll put it in plain language, all that was in the tabernacle was used, yes, and the house of God, there's sometimes things that are never used, yes, the pool in the chapels, how often are they open today, who are those that consider the way which the God has appointed, what a mercy, when we're given grace to walk in his commands, tis a delightful road, and it is the way which he has appointed, for he himself passed that way, and what did he say, thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness,

[34:18] I'll leave it there, because sometimes that point is often misconstrued, I do know this, that we as a denomination have left much of the old powers, and we've not gained by it, we've not, but nevertheless it's a tabernacle we must consider that shall not be taken down, now the Lord has ordained and instructed that this should so be built, this tabernacle, that it could be taken down and raised up again, because I was continuing to move, and the light shone upon him, and at night, so it could be seen, and the cloud by day, where they saw the cloud in the daytime, there was the tabernacle, where they saw the brilliancy of the night, there was the tabernacle, and it's seen today, friends, there's a cloud over it, and there's a light over it, it's this, the Lord has made the church of God, that in every age it will be seen, and may those whose eyes are open be considered, as those who would look for the tabernacle, and seek to find a place in it, but there's a point I must stress, and that's it, it was for the great high priest to enter, and he went in with his own sins, and the sins of the people, so friends, the poor creatures today that preach the gospel, they must come as sinners themselves, and the

[36:12] Holy Spirit must convince the healer that he's a sinner also, that it's this tabernacle, this eternal church, this building as the apostles said, not made with hands, but is eternal in the heavens, it will never be taken down, when you get to heaven, if you're so favoured, if I'm so favoured, there it would be an eternal place, an eternal hiding place, all those professed wonders that are going to take place on earth, we leave them out friends, I had it stated just recently, he said they're only a figment of deception, what a mercy to be kept to the truth of God, the tabernacle is in heaven, and the church of God will be taken to heaven everywhere, and that will be their eternal dwelling place, that would not be moved, whilst they were in the wilderness friends, so they had to travel, and they could never say, we've left the tabernacle at the last place, we don't think we shall want it in this place, take it down, put it up again, cover it with the curtains to keep the elements from destroying it, the tabernacle was God's appointment in the wilderness, and the church of

[37:48] God is his appointment in the wilderness still, that the eternity of this tabernacle is in heaven itself, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down, and mind you, though that was built by man, the tabernacle in the wilderness, and put up again by man, then pulled down again, and so they constantly carried it about, there came a time, friends, when all that was abolished, for Christ himself, the true tabernacle, the true church of God, he came to earth, friends, he brought the gospel, the tabernacle was built under the ceremonial law, and the law of Moses, but the gospel Christ himself brought, what do we know of the gospel, and what way have we been brought to the gospel, have we proved it to be a city of solemnity, or have we come without concern, for it's a great matter, it will stand, not one of the states thereof shall ever be removed, what we read tonight, there's nothing said about the states or the courts, but we do understand this, it stood under a tent, yes, and the tent would have to be kept up and supported, that it might truly cover the tabernacle, well friends, there are courts that must not be removed, states that never shall be removed, yes, that which

[39:56] God has promised will preserve the church of God in all ages, so that the church must say in Christ the solid rock I stand or other ground is sinking sand, the church in every age suffers many storms, yes, and we pass through them, man passes through them, because on earth man is a sinner, and yet on earth the Lord shows his mercy, and those who are of that mercy, the cause of his love will keep them, yes, the stakes, the foundation of holding them and keeping them, even as in Christ himself, so I repeat again, I repeated earlier, that the house that is built upon a rock will stand, and it will stand eternal in the heavens, and it will suffer, yes, the shaking, the storms, and the tempest, that it will not fall, but they that are built upon the sand, when the tempest comes, it will fall, and great will be the fall of it, so we have to leave it, friends, all this, when it's rightly explained to us, when the spirit enlightens us with it, causes it to be in our minds a city of solemnity, there's no room, friends, for indifference, no room for saying, well,

[41:41] I've got my belief, I've got my faith, and you've got yours, and many say, and we all serve the same master, and therefore at the end, it will all be all right, friends, we've read the particulars of the building, that was to be on earth, and to be moved about, but what of these particulars of the church of God, that shall never be moved, but stand eternally in the heavens, and if you and I are inhabitants of Zion, we should say, Zion, thrice happy place, adorned with wondrous grace, and the king of kings sits there to reign, and his glory will be seen, not with these eyes, but the eye that God gives his people, the sight, the spiritual sight, and the understanding, well, we shall leave it now, repeat our text once more, thine eyes shall see the king and his beauty, they shall behold the land that is far off, look upon

[42:56] Zion, the city of our solemnity, thine eyes shall see Jerusalem, a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down, not one of the states that of shall ever be removed, not one, oh, what are they saying today, oh, you don't want to be so particular as that in these days, you've got to give and take, not one of the states thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the courts thereof be broken, although we will say this, there must be a great strain on those courts, yes, but the Lord has provided, the courts are his, the stakes are his implanted, and nothing that's on the earth shall overthrow the church of the living God.

[43:57] Amen.