Isaiah

[0:00] Seeking the Lord's help, I direct your attention this evening to the verse resting on my mind, which you'll find in Isaiah chapter 60, the last clause of verse 16.

[0:16] Isaiah chapter 60, and the last clause of verse 16. And thou shalt know that I, the Lord, am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

[0:37] And thou shalt know that I, the Lord, am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. So, in this text, is encompassed the whole truth and working out of our salvation.

[0:58] The promise that Christ will be revealed to us, and we shall know him as ours.

[1:10] And what can be more blessed than that? And perhaps there are those among the company this night who want just that.

[1:27] To have this blessed divine knowledge revealed in our heart. It is not unattainable.

[1:42] It is promised in God's holy word. And we read of those who have been given this knowledge.

[1:54] Apostle Paul says, I know. And I'm persuaded. That he is able to keep that which I have committed.

[2:09] There may be some of you who feel that this is what you want. This is what is essential to your salvation.

[2:20] And you're right. But you feel that it is unattainable. And that you will never come to that place where you can say with the dear Apostle, I know.

[2:37] Where you can say with the Apostle, for me to live is Christ. Where you can say with the Apostle, There is laid out for me a crown of righteousness.

[2:51] You know, The Lord did teach here. The Apostle didn't know it all at once.

[3:02] There are heights of assurance to be reached.

[3:13] Not by our own effort. The Apostle didn't know it all at once. He said, I press toward the mark for the prize.

[3:26] Of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Not as though I had already attained. Either were already perfect. He knew and understood. And the Lord teaches.

[3:39] Here a little and there a little. Line upon line and precept upon precept. He brings his dear church along this heavenly road.

[3:54] And he leads them into these precious truths. Let us be quite clear about this. The teaching is the work of the Holy Spirit.

[4:10] And what is spoken of here, Thou shalt know, Is revelation. It is not in your hand to get it.

[4:26] It is in your heart, Under the teaching of the Spirit, To reach out after it. And to long for it. And to pray for it. It is in your heart, To yearn for that peace, Of union with Jesus Christ.

[4:47] To yearn for that sacred peace, That is spoken of here. It is a pathway that consists of prayer, And asking, Pleading, And wrestling.

[5:06] It is a pathway that consists of tribulation. Trials and afflictions are, As meted out by God in his divine purposes, To bring you to wrestle on toward heaven.

[5:28] And to seek, Earnestly, These best gifts, That are spoken of here. It is a great, Mercy, When under the, Teaching of the Spirit, You can say with the hymn writer, The path I see.

[5:52] And I'll pursue the narrow way, Till him I view. Ibn Iyam's pilgrim, And I've, When asked, Did he see on the shining light?

[6:03] He said, I think I do. Well, he was in the way. Very exercised, Without much assurance, Yet, Pressing toward the mark.

[6:19] Carrying a, Solemn load of sin. And wanting to, Know that Jesus was his saviour. He was surrounded by, Carnal, Religious professors.

[6:33] One of whom told him to, Get rid of his load. Because it was a nuisance. And he had the, Remarkable conversation with him, That, The load was strapped on in such a way, That he couldn't get rid of it.

[6:48] And perhaps that is so in your heart. But, This was, Passive teaching, I'm going this way, To get rid of it.

[7:02] And that is the, Pathway of God's dear children. They, Carry a very real load, In their hearts, Of exercising concern.

[7:17] The very real longing, And yearning. To be brought to the place, Of our text, Tonight. And to come into these, Precious promises, Thou shalt know, That I the Lord, Am thy saviour.

[7:34] Not then, An unattainable goal. And you know, There's a lovely word, At the end of this chapter.

[7:50] A word of, A divine teaching. I the Lord, Will hasten it in his time. He has a set time, To give a sweet, Hope and assurance, In the hearts, Of his dear children.

[8:06] He has a set time, To reveal himself, As their saviour. These are sacred, Divine, Blessings.

[8:18] These, Eternal blessings, Are given, At a particular time, In a particular place, In a particular way, By God himself.

[8:32] They're precious. We are to, Be brought to, Value them. And I believe this, You know, That God, In his, Rich mercy, Sees fit, To reveal himself, As the saviour, Of the last.

[8:55] We need to, Be brought down, Under God's holy law, And the sight of our, Own hearts, As revealed by the, Holy spirit, To feel now.

[9:14] We've got to be taught, What sovereign grace is. Never are we taught, Sovereign grace, More than when the heavens, Are iron and brown. We have to be shorn, Of all duty faith, And, Duty repentance, And all, The carnal legality, That goes in the name, Of Calvinism.

[9:35] To be brought down, To that, Solemn place, Where, We know, What sovereign grace is. Sovereign grace is, Mercy, Extended by our God, To us.

[9:48] When, We have absolutely, No claim upon him, And nothing to bring. When, We are condemned, By his, Holy law, And come as, Beggars, To his mercy seat.

[10:07] You see, Before his throne, Is that, Mercy seat, He sits on it, As the great, King of kings, And, Lord of lords, And his children, Come to him, Condemn by his, Holy law, They, Long to hear, The sacred truth, That he is their saviour, Never is it more revealed, Than when he says to them, Thou shalt not fall, By the sword.

[10:36] Oh, What a sight they have then, Of his sovereign grace, Of his divine mercy, And I tell you this, That, When he leads them into that, Precious truth, He will equally show them this, Awake those swords, Against my shepherd, Against the man, That is mine equal, Smite the shepherd, And the sheep shall be scattered, There is a great, Blessed truth, You see, That his dear, Sheep have to, Realise, That the shepherd was slain, In order that the sword, Might not fall on them, And to see that it, Fell on him, Solely and alone, On account, Of their sins, In that,

[11:38] Teaching, In that sacred, Experience, They will come to know, That he, Is their, Saviour, And you see, There is a certainty, In this, This, Word that is, Spoken here, They shall know, That I am the Lord, Thy Saviour, Lies, Lies, Before the truth, Of the covenant of grace, In that eternal covenant, Ordered in all things, And sure, Made in eternity, Past, Christ undertook, To become, The saviour, Of his church, Of his church, He was the,

[12:40] Lamb slain, Before the, Foundation of the world, What a title, That is of him, And when he died, Upon the, Cross of Calvary, And, Lay down his life, And, In doing so, Out of those words, It is finished, The salvation, Of his church, Was perfected, They were secure, In him forever, And what is being, Revealed here, Thou shalt know, That I, The Lord, The Lord Jesus Christ, That is, Eternal son of God, And thy saviour, Is an act, Of revelation, Of the secret will, And mind of God, In eternity past, In the, Work of his dear son, The revelation, Is a bringing together, Of the sinner,

[13:41] And Christ, In the blessed union, One with the other, The Lord speaks, Into the heart, Of his dear children, Well, May he speak, Into your heart, That lovely word, Which he spoke, Into mine, Many years ago, Rebellious, Though has been, And art rebellious still, But since, In love I took thee in, My promise I'll fulfil, I'll bind thee up, Secure, Mest all the, Rage of hell, The curse thou, Never shalt endure, My love's unchangeable, And the Lord, Will not only, Reveal himself, To you as your, Own saviour, For the first time, But you will find,

[14:41] That you need him, To reveal himself, Again and again, For sin will come, Between your soul, And him, And there will be times, When you have, Good cause, To wonder, Whether he hasn't left you, When David, Fell, How solemnly, He had cause, To wonder, Whether his God, Would ever have mercy on you, And yet, He drew near, And pardoned, His iniquity, When David, When Peter, Blessed, When Peter, Blessed, Fiend his Lord, With oaths and curses, What?

[15:20] What revelations, These are, What openings, These are, In the scripture, For the comfort, Of God's dear people, These striking cases, Of those who fell, And yet, Bound in that eternal covenant, Washed in the, Redeemer's blood, They came to know, Again and again, What the professing religious world, Never needs to know, When they, In their Arminian theology, Give their souls to the Lord, And never have another day, The rest of their life, But the child of God, As exercised and tempted, And tried, Wants to know, The pardoning blood of Christ, Again and again, And to know, That the Lord is their Savior, They shall know, How,

[16:24] Blessed, Is this, Knowledge, There is one word, That stands out here, And that is this, Assurance, Perhaps you feel tonight, You haven't got any assurance, Assurance, That the, That the, Ridiculous world, Bubbles over with Assurance, I remember, When I was a soldier, In Germany, Doing my national service, They used to sing, In the, Church army, From the Billy Graham song book, It was 1956, And it was quite popular, But I always remember, One of the hymns, That used to strike me, With absolute horror, I do believe, I will believe, That Jesus died for me, That on the cross, He shed his blood, From sin, To set me free, You see, It contains, The sacred, Divine truth,

[17:25] But oh dear friend, We'll never come to it that way, Never come to it that way, Not by, Trying to manipulate it, To our own code, It has to be given, It has to be applied, It has to be revealed, It's not a hot house plant, If I may speak very reverently, It is something natural, That weathers wind, And storm, And time, And that as dear Philpott, says, Has a solemn winter, Before harvest, Deep paths, Of divine teaching, Of sovereign grace, As the sinner woes, And wrestles, And cries, And is not answered, Over long weeks, And months, And sometimes years, Longing and waiting, For the Lord, To come and,

[18:26] Speak this, Blessed truth, Which they are certain, Is what they need, What they want, And what they're waiting for, I, The Lord, Will hasten it, In his time, And this is the, Blessed promise, Of this word, That you know, Love shall know, What a good thing, What a good thing, What a good thing, That is, It speaks, Of a heavenly knowledge, Which will never be taken away, Once it's given, It will not be like, The foolish virgin's lamp, Which had no light in it, Once given, It will be a blessed, And glorious, Divine light, In the soul, Of comfort, And peace, And you will never, Thank the Lord more, Than for this,

[19:28] That he kept you waiting, To give you, What is divine reality, And that is a sweet, Revelation, That he died for you, And that he is, Your savior, And that you, Have been given this, And it will never be taken away, You are looking in the, Right direction, In the, Right way, Longing for, Right things, How much, Better, Than like, The poor, Foolish, Religious world, Being satisfied, With heart, Easily come by, But the gold, And silver, True spiritual experience, Not easily come by, And why, Because the Lord, Will have you value it, It will come in,

[20:28] Rare moments, Unexpected moments, After, Years of waiting, Years of waiting, And yet, What a mercy, If you, Know, What you are waiting for, Wait, Says the scripture on the Lord, And again I say wait, And I say it to you tonight, Oh wait, The promise, The promise, Rests here, In the, Word of God, And I wouldn't set you down, Short, It is, Divine, Knowledge, Revealed, By the Holy Spirit, Once given, It can never be taken away, Then, Then your loins, Will indeed, Be girt about, With truth, Then you will know, Something, Of the shield of faith,

[21:30] And the sword of the spirit, The sword of the spirit, As spoken of, By, The apostle, Is not the printed word, Not the letter of truth, It is the revealed truth, In the heart, Only what you can say, To the Lord, In the, Language of scripture, Lord thou said, Is in your hand, The sword of the spirit, Only the precious promises, As given by, Him in your heart, Are in fact, The helmet of salvation, None other are, Heaven is a word, A pathway to heaven, Is a way lined, With one word, And it's this, Revelation, Revelation, Revelation, The gift of God, It is indeed, You will have such a sight,

[22:33] Of the, Solemnity, Of eternity, And the majesty of God, Which will, Burn up, The trivialities, Of the fire, And wood, And hay, And stubble, Of an empty profession, That you will, Be perfectly content, To let that go, Long and wait, For the Lord, To give you, Little by little, Line upon line, Precept upon precept, Throughout life's journey, The gold, The gold, Silver, And precious stone, Because when you come, To old age, And infirmity, And eternity, Becomes the most, Awful, And weighty reality, And you know, That it cannot be long, Before you face, The king of kings, Then you will want, What he alone, Can give you, Thou shalt know, That I, The Lord thy God,

[23:35] Am thy saviour, Nothing, Can be, More blessed than this, To know that, Jesus is your saviour, And have it, Sealed in your heart, As divine knowledge, And to know, And to hear from his own lips, Yea, I have loved thee, With an everlasting love, Therefore, With loving kindness, Have I drawn thee, Thou, Art mine, This is what we all, Must have, If we're, To reach, Glory, Then the text goes on, And, Thy redeemer, This speaks to us,

[24:35] Not so much of our, Lost condition, As our, Bondage, The chains, And shackles of sin, And unbelief, And it speaks to us, Peculiarly of deliverance, It is the slave, That is redeemed, And the thing that, He acquires in that redemption, Is a glorious, Freedom, Spoken of in the scriptures, As the liberty, Of the children of God, To be brought out, To be brought out, Of the, Bondage of legality, The solemn thing that is, To, Always be thinking that, We can do something, To please God, And something that will, Be acceptable to him, There is, Nothing that we can ever do, That will ever be, Acceptable to him, We must,

[25:36] Be brought to face this, As dear top lady, Faced it, Nothing, Nothing, Nothing, Nothing, Nothing, Nothing, Nothing, Nothing, Nothing, There are certain words, In scripture, Which are, Divine, And they are very simple words, One is never, That's an eternal word, I'll never leave it, When they had nothing, To pay, It's an eternal word, It speaks of, What the hymn writer says, It's perfect poverty alone, That sets the soul at last, Whilst we can call one, Might our own, We have no foolish judge, But it's good playing, Perfect poverty, I feel this in the ministry, I am well aware, And deeply conscious, That I have an earthen vessel, And I, Know this, When standing up, To preach, That the, Emptier that vessel, Feels to be indeed, The more the law,

[26:37] Can put in it, But it's not, Nice, Not what I would have, But it's like, The children of Israel, In their manner, It was given daily, And they were dependent, And that's how, The Lord will have it, And it's so, With his dear children, It's not nice, To be bankrupt, Pride is, Sharply, Hurt, And wounded, But God will have that, So, And he will have it, So spiritually, That his dear children, Must come to him, With an, Empty earthen vessel, Nothing to pay, And they have nothing, To pay, He frankly forgave them all, And that is, His divine purpose, A slave has nothing, To pay, He is a prisoner, For the Lord, For the Lord, For the Lord, For the Lord, For the Lord, For the Lord, For the Lord, For the Lord, For the Lord, For the Lord, Liberate,

[27:37] He paid the price, And when we look at this lovely word, Redemption, What a glorious sight we have, For what it is, The price, His own heart's blood, That was the price he paid, To redeem his dear children, And dear Job, Under the afflictive hand of his God, And the solemn poverty he came to, And the depths of the knowledge of iniquity of his heart, When he said, Behold, I am God, He couldn't have come to redemption in any other way, And God won't let you, Nor me, If we are to come to this glorious truth, Of salvation and redemption, Then we have come to it the right way, It's not, Will you give your soul to the Lord?

[28:32] What is it then? It's this, Will God apply his blood to my heart?

[28:44] Dear Lord, Bring me to the place, Where I can truly say, Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness, My beauty are my glorious dress, And he alone can do that, But he does it, Thou shalt know that, I will hasten it in my time, They shalt know that I, The Lord, Am thy redeemer, It is to be known, Not unattainable, Revealed, In sovereign grace, And God's dear church have to come, As beggars, Pour at mercy's door, To plead for it, But oh, It is there, To be revealed, And he gives it, To those, Who come to him,

[29:47] And not with any peculiar, Qualification, When they had nothing to pay, They are to come just as they are, They can't come too poor, Says the hymn writer, They are to come, And beg for this, Precious, Gift, And it's a heavenly gift, By that I mean this, It will grant them entrance to glory, When the hymn writer said, Rest in Christ, I fain would have, That's what he meant, The peace that is, Inherent in this, Is this, That, There is a reconciliation here, There is the atonement, In this precious blood, Redemption, And the atonement,

[30:48] Speak to us, Of the blood of Christ, One, As regards, Release, And the other, As regards reconciliation, They are delivered, From bondage, Into the glorious liberty, Of the children of God, And that liberty, Includes, Reconciliation, With their God, Through the, Eternal son of God, Their redeemer, And so it brings with it, Peace, A peace of God, Which passes all understanding, And then the prophet, The prophet goes on, To speak in this way, And to say, Thou shalt know, That I, The Lord, Am thy saviour, And thy redeemer, And thou shalt know, That I, The Lord, Am the mighty God, Of Jacob, It's often, This expression, This very same,

[31:48] These very same words, Appear, In other parts, Of this prophecy, They appear, In the 43rd, Chapter, And they appear, I believe, In the 59th, In two or three places, They appear, Almost identically, Word for word, The mighty, God of Jacob, It appears in the psalm, What a lovely expression it is, When we contemplate, The character of Jacob, And his God, View his pathway, And see what his God did, We see here, The Lord was, A saviour, And a redeemer to Jacob, He came to lean upon his staff, At the end of life's journey, And, He said this,

[32:49] The Lord, That redeemed me, From all evil, That was the God, He wrestled with, At Jabba, That was, The Jesus, That same Jesus, Who, Met him, At Bethel, And time and again, In, Life's journey, Jacob, Had cause, To, Know his sovereignty, And his mercy, Sovereign grace, He had cause, When he said, It's enough, To realize the, Mercy of God, He had cause, When he said, I hadn't thought, To see thy face, But God has shown me, Thy two sons also, You know, We can contemplate,

[33:50] The mighty God of Jacob, In all his power, Tracing the life, Of his dear servant, Following it through to glory, And, We can, Trace that, Mighty hand of God, In his mercy, To Jacob, We see, Exactly the same, With the Lord's dear servant, Moses, When in his dying hour, Under the, Tracing hand of his God, He, Had such a sign, Of his God, Riding on the heavens, In his hell, None like, Under the God of Jeshua, If I can, Highlight this, Mighty to save, He watched, All my past, While Satan's, Vain slave, I sported with death, There is something,

[34:53] So mighty, In regeneration, It is, Resurrection, Power, When the child of God, Gets the sight of it, Of the sovereign, Grace, And the mercy, That saved him, He'll have a glimpse, Of a mighty, Hand, Of a mighty God, Put forward, In a mighty way, On his behalf, And he will say, There is none like, Unto the God of Jeshua, The riders upon the heaven, In thy hell, And in his excellence, In the sky, The eternal God, That is the son of God, Is thy refuge, And underneath, The everlasting arm, You see,

[35:54] The church walks in, Immense depths, And darkness, And sorrow, And temptation, But, She knows heights, She knows, Moments of the Lord's, Sweet presence, Of his deliverance, Of his power, She knows, His appearance, And she knows, What it is, To be touched, By his love, And that is the, Mercy of God, That, He will, Bring the blind, By a way, That they knew not, He will lead them, In path, That they have not known, And these things, Will he do unto them, And not, Forsake them,

[36:55] And these, Are the, Paths, That are promised here, In scripture, As the, Footsteps, Of the flock, It is all part, Of the, Sweet prophecy, Of Isaiah, This, Evangelical prophet, Preaching the glorious, Evangelium, The gospel, Of Jesus Christ, Thy maker, Is thy husband, The Lord of hosts, Is his name, And as we read, I think it is in the ninth, Chapter, And his name, Shall be called, Wonderful, And in that same, Prophecy, Comes these words, The mighty God, Well, It is only going to be called, Wonderful, By his dear church, It won't be like, The singing of the,

[37:55] Hallelujah chorus, In the, Handless Messiah, Which, To my mind, Verges on blasphemy, The only, Hallelujahs, That can ever be sung, Are by the children of God, Not by a godless, Professing world, And when we come to, These precious truths, His name, Should be called, Wonderful, The mighty God, It comes from the lips, Of his living family, As these truths, These very truths, Are made over to them, By revelation, And when it's done, It's done forever, Nothing can be added to it, Nothing can be taken from it, The Lord has done it, And it's done forever, And all the, Grace, That is needed to wait for, But have this, Insight, That this is the one, There is no other way,

[39:00] It is a straight, A narrow way, And that straight, Means narrow, It doesn't mean straight, As a straight line, It means it's narrow, And yet more narrow, It is a narrow way, That really is for life, And it's narrow, In this respect, That we're particular Baptists, And we believe in particular redemption, And it's narrow, In this way, That many are called, But few are chosen, And how solemn it is, To the child of God, And he is brought to this, To sing and say, When thou, My righteous judge, Shall come, To take thy ransom, And people home, Now this is an exercise, Shall I among them stand, And he's brought to this, To say, Forbid, Forbid it, By thy grace, Come then, Be thou, Dear Lord, My hiding place, In this the accepted hour,

[40:02] Is this your prayer tonight, Thy parting voice, Dear friend, Don't give up, Until you know it, He waits, To be gracious, Thy parting voice, Oh let me hear, To still, My unbelieving fear, Nor let me fall, I pray, Then, Loudest of the crowd, I'll sing, While heavens, And they'll, Resound in the right way then, While heavens, Resounding mansions, Ring with shades, Of sovereign room, It's learned, In the pathway, Of experience, Here below, It's never going to be, Learned, Anywhere else, All doctrine, Is learned, In experience, It must be,

[41:04] It must be, It's revealed, By God, It is never, Taught anywhere else, No, University, Or theological, College, Is ever going to teach, A poor sinner doctrine, God, God does that, He will reveal, Redemption, In your heart, He will reveal, The atonement, He will reveal, Sovereign grace, And you will learn it, Here a little, And there a little, By revelation, But the mercy, Will be this, That in a dying hour, It won't be, The wood, Hay and stub, Of empty notions, Dead letter truth, Something vastly, Different to that, It will be, That which has been, Given to you, And which, Satan can't, Take away, And which you can,

[42:05] Never lose, Because it's your, The Lord give you, His precious promises, And teach you, What it is, To possess, One, And that will be, A mercy, Vastly different, To the religious world, That claims, All the promises, Of God is there, How solemn, But the mercy is, To have one, Which we can say, And have written over it, Lord, That thou said, May the Lord, Add his blessing, Amen.

[42:44] To have another, You.