Isaiah (Quality: Good)

[0:00] As the Lord may help me, I will direct your attention to the prophecy of Isaiah, the first chapter, the 18th verse.

[0:19] The prophecy of Isaiah, chapter 1, verse 18. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord.

[0:42] Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

[0:55] Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.

[1:10] Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. The first point that we may notice in this verse is the blessed, gracious, glorious invitation of the Lord himself.

[1:33] A person that is convinced and, as it were, swallowed up with a sense of their guilt and sinfulness is in no place to draw near to God.

[1:47] And therefore would remain in his sad, guilty position and sit there until the Lord came.

[2:01] So we observe in this invitation of the Lord, the great mercy of God. Come now. The Lord says that which we could not say.

[2:16] What infrontary it would be for a wretched and undone person to come to God and say, Come now. Let us sort this matter out.

[2:29] It is for God to come and to say, It is only God that can come and say, Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord.

[2:45] So we notice also the wonderful condescension of God that he should come down to speak to poor, guilty, sinful men.

[3:01] How apt and appropriate was the closing verse that we have just sung. A guilty, weak and helpless worm, on thy kind arms I fall.

[3:15] Be thou my strength and righteousness, my Jesus and my all. Now this indicates to us that though the children of God may indeed feel a deep sense of their guilt in relation to the conviction of sin laid upon them, yet nevertheless there is a looking by faith unto him.

[3:43] Sometimes though there is a looking by faith unto him, as the hymn says, A guilty, weak and helpless worm, on thy kind arms I fall, yet that person is dumb.

[3:59] It is impossible for that person to begin any conversation with God. Have we been in the place when, though our guilt has pressed heavily upon us, and by reason of it our mouth is closed, that we need someone to begin the conversation.

[4:23] We come into situations like this in life sometimes, and there is sometimes a silence when two people meet. Now someone has got to break the silence.

[4:37] And if God and the sinner come together, and there is a silence. Now someone has got to break the silence. And what a blessed experience it will be if we hear the Lord saying, commencing the conversation, Come now.

[5:01] Come now. Let us reason together, as saith the Lord. Now we have in this word us, the fullness and glory of the condescension of the Lord.

[5:17] We are familiar with those words. He condescends to men of lower state. When you hear this word spoken into your soul, what conception is presented to your mind?

[5:34] Is it not one that is as though God is on the same level that you are?

[5:44] Come now. And let us reason together. Oh, it is gracious when the Spirit of God breaks everything away, and when we see that Jesus in his humanity came down to earth.

[6:05] You know there is a great deal of significance which perhaps we do not give sufficient attention unto in connection with the Lord Jesus in his humiliation.

[6:17] When he came down from heaven to earth, we think of him as a babe in Bethlehem. We think of him as walking the streets of Jerusalem and of the holy man.

[6:33] We think of him suffering upon Calvary. But is that all we think of? Is that something which is gone and passed? Literally has.

[6:46] What about spiritually? Have we not sometimes felt that very same Lord God come down in the blessedness and veil of his humanity and spoken to us through that veil and revealed to us as our limitations may be able to receive it the glorious blessing and condescension of the Son of God in speaking to us.

[7:18] Now there is no other that could ever speak to the people of God than Jesus Christ. You will remember that when the disciples on the road to Emmaus were in so great distress that the Lord joined them.

[7:38] Their eyes were holden so that they knew him not until a certain time came when they should know him. But he raised this point.

[7:52] Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to have entered into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets he spake unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

[8:08] And one feels convinced of this that this would be one of the scriptures that could be emphatically set forth as being concerning himself.

[8:23] Come now and let us reason together. I who am your brother I who am your brother born from adversity I who am willing to come down where you are.

[8:41] Do you see when a man fell among thieves it was a question of the good so that he was going to where he was. As we see here in this chapter the dreadful itinerary or inventory of the dreadful sins of Judah Israel it was necessary that the Lord should come down to where these people were and is it not so if God is to be of any use to you it is to be a God that comes down we are not in any part of the scriptures as far as I can remember invited to go up what a taunting that would be but God comes down and he comes down to that place not only as it may be physical or geographical but as it also may be spiritual he comes down to speak to his people comes down to their level comes down to their place of distress comes down to their place wherein they are overwhelmed with their own sin and guilt come now and let us reason together you know we do not understand this to indicate that there was a debate to be commenced and I am sure if you know the experience of it when the Lord has come down and reasoned with you it is he that has done the talking and the most you have had to do is to say amen the most you have had to do is to give your assent come now and let us reason together together great emphasis is laid in the present day on what is called togetherness but you know there is nothing to be compared with the togetherness which is enjoyed between the sinner and the Lord Jesus Christ coming down in his person to speak with sinners oh then does it speak to you this morning come now come now you who cannot come whose steps are stilted and stunted because of what you feel there you see you can come come now my mind just goes to that occasion when the Lord appeared to his disciples on the water and Peter said if it be thou bid me come unto thee on the water and the Lord said come oh come and do we stand in our feelings this morning in that position where we really value the cross of Jesus Christ

[12:41] and yet we need an encouragement to come to the cross if it be thou is this what we are saying if it be thou the son of God that is truly on Calvary's cross bid us that we may come to thee now here's the answer the Lord can we see this yes surely these words must be spoken from Calvary's tree come now and let us reason together reason together this is giving an explanation of all things showing why these things were done and so we repeat the words in Luke 24 ought not

[13:42] Christ to have suffered these things and to have entered into his glory and beginning of Moses and all the prophets he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself now so that there should be no mistake as to who is speaking here we have the insertion of these words saith the Lord come now and let us reason together saith the Lord where the word of a king is there is power power to come power to sit at the feet of Jesus and be clothed and in our right mind saith the Lord now to the people of God saith the Lord is we may say one of the most important phrases in the scriptures the whole of the scripture is the mind of

[15:01] God whatever other people may say it is the mind of God revealed to the church of God and that applies from the first words in in Genesis in the beginning God to the last words the benediction in the revelation and the last word Amen Amen now it is all the word of God but there are certain situations when the matter is of such importance the situation is so precarious that we need as it were a special reminder that it is the

[16:01] Lord's voice so we have it here come now and let us reason together saith the Lord now the purpose of this was that they might be shown the way of salvation I sometimes feel that there are very few people in the world even in the religious world that know very much about salvation they may speak of it they may refer to it they may debate upon it but you see it is this question of sin being known and felt that brings forth

[17:02] God's salvation and it doesn't matter how much you may care to delineate on the salvation of God if you're not a sinner that knows yourself to be such and feels yourself to be such then you're only beating we are you're not knowing God's salvation at all you're not beholding the glory of salvation at all it is impossible for you to do so now if the spirit of God comes into your soul and into mine to convince us of our sin have we not prayed sometimes convince me of my sin then lead to Jesus blood and to my wondering soul reveal the secret will of God now what is the will of God in order that we may know the will of

[18:03] God the words of the prophet are before us come now and let us reason together saith the Lord what do you think the will of God is I speak to you to see this morning as one that feels condemned now you see we do not necessarily have to have just started on the way to feel condemned some of us perhaps may have been many years in the way and yet there's something which has come up in our lives and we've come into the house of God condemned condemned in our spirits and it is when sin is known and felt that we begin to see something of the glory of God's salvation but then we need to explain is the salvation of

[19:07] God has spoken to us through the gospel able to save me do we find any person amongst us this morning that is so much at the end of the earth that they wonder whether the gospel is ever able to reach unto them now then you will find this word to be useful indeed at least it will be an encouragement come now and let us reason together saith the Lord if your case you link with the impossible if you have looked at some and the Lord has said to such a person yet that is there one thing and you looked upon that person as being upright and well worthy of salvation you come to the same conclusion that the disciples came to when they said who then can be saved if a person that is recognized as being upright and honorable cannot be saved who can and what hope is there for me if the righteous shall scarcely be saved where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear we need therefore the

[20:42] Lord graciously to condescend and to issue this invitation you feel this morning that the issuing of this invitation causes something to rise up in your spirit who can tell though my sins deserving hell are not despair for who can tell who can tell well now come now and let us reason together saith the Lord hath this inspired in your breast for this who can tell what will the Lord say to me now you see if he appears here as the eternal God absolutely and only there's only one answer for our God is a consuming fire therefore it is to the rejoicing of our spirit that we set before you the appearance to the fate of these people of a

[21:58] God man come now come now and let us reason together saith the Lord now what was the subject of the reasoning the subject of the conversation we may say it was the most momentous subject that can ever be considered it is not a consideration of a subject of great importance as sins crimson sins scarlet sins of the church of God though this indeed is worthy of our consideration and would be a subject which we may listen to with a certain amount of pleasure and thankfulness but the great question arises though if the church of God be saved as it is

[23:14] I'm fully persuaded of it am I saved now this is where this word becomes and this subject becomes of the most momentous importance to you if you are such a person to whom the Lord says come now and let us reason together saith the Lord the subject for this conversation is though your sins the sins of the church your sins you see we have to come away from generalities down to personalities it is your sins oh what a subject is before us your sins sins now

[24:16] God will always speak with honesty and straightforwardness we say that with deep reverence to see he says here though your sins be as scars human nature will tend to kind of lessen the depth or water it down but God doesn't he says though your sins be as scars we shall not water this down at all says God now come now draw a little closer do not be disturbed do not be affrighted I have only asserted that which is absolutely true and after all it is only when truth is asserted if that truth is as a sword which divided between soul and spirit and the thoughts and intent of the heart yet nevertheless let the deep truth of the matter be brought forth because then we can consider the remedy it is only when the malady is clearly truthfully deeply and wholly set forth that a remedy can be sought that is able rightly and properly to deal with it and so though your sins be as scarlet what does that mean

[26:03] I have read I think somewhere that scarlet in the old days was obtained by a double dying and therefore we may say it was a double dipping are there any of your sins that are in that category they've been dyed in sometimes we may use the expression engraved ingrained now if something is ingrained you know it's not easy to get it out oh it's not easy to get it out at all and so you look at this ingrained sin your sin and you say how can

[27:05] I get this ingrained sin out try as I will wash with full of soap as I will yet the sin remains there it is ingrained like dirt in the pores of my skin God says though your sins be scarlet though your sins are ingrained what is ingrained what sins are ingrained can we mention just one or two in passing the pride of your heart isn't that ingrained sometimes the envy of your mind isn't that ingrained the unbelief which prevails at times is that not ingrained seems to be double dyed double dipped and it is impossible for you to remove it so you look upon these things and perhaps some of you have looked upon these things and had many fears and have said it's no use this ingrained sin will sink me to hell at last well it's good to have these thoughts is it well you see as I said before sin known and felt makes good

[28:43] God's salvation and it will make the salvation of God all the more glorious as you are the more and more convinced of the ingrained condition of some of your sins though your sins be as scarlet now you know whether they appear in this you to you as scarlet now you know scarlet is a color which is also eye catching eye catching so we find that these ingrained sins are also sins which stand out now the mercy of

[29:47] God is this that they don't always stand out to other people what about the ingrained sin of pride stands out in your mind perhaps sometimes the ingrained sin of unbelief stands out in your mind eye catcher you can't get away from it and so we may say of envy and so God says though though your sins be as scarlet ingrained and eye catches so when you get up in the morning and these sins catch your eye throw you down you go to bed at night sometimes you may reflect upon the day and have much cause to be abashed because of these sins being eye catches of course sometimes these sins that are ingrained they are eye catches to other people and people say look at that proud man or that proud woman you see but they don't always know the cost that pride takes and has to your soul the groans and the sighs which often escape your heart before God come now and let us reason together saith the

[31:44] Lord though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow white as snow we may say that whiteness in all its glory and purity is to be seen in the snow other things that we may reckon to be white when placed against the driven snow have lost all their whiteness they're not white at all though they're called white well the psalmist you know he had a wonderful view of the glory and the certainty of this wonderful salvation which is here spoken of he was a man in the 51st psalm that had guilt laid upon his conscience had iniquity in his heart and a remembrance which made him sad but what is the desire of his soul come now and let us reason together saith the

[33:17] Lord if there is any reasoning from your side what is it going to be I believe we have it here purge me with his and I shall be clean wash me and I shall be whiter than snow do we find then that the view given to the psalmist as his faith worked as it were in a transcendency that it was greater than the words declared from the lips of the Lord here though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow yet he saw that the driven snow was David saw that driven snow with all its purity and whiteness was not to be compared with the excellency of the whiteness brought forth by the blood of

[34:21] Christ you see the blood of Jesus Christ is able to cleanse from all sin oh how great a power there is in the precious blood of Christ we have referred to it in our hymns of praise this morning the blood of Christ this is what is referred to see there is no remission without shedding of blood so if this remarkable change is to take place it can only be through the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ but we come again to bring your attention to the important personalized words in our text though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow through the application powerful application efficacious application of the blood of

[35:30] Christ to your conscience we may say how can the blood of Christ be applied to my conscience what does it mean it is very difficult to explain I might almost say it is impossible to explain but it is an experience of that I can assure you when the blood is sprinkled we have it in the ninth chapter to the Hebrews when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law he took the blood of calves and of goats with water and scarlet wool and hyssop and sprinkled both the book and all the people saying this is the blood of the testament which

[36:32] God hath enjoined unto you moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry and almost all things are by the law purged with blood and without shedding of blood there is no remission but herifficious is the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse from all sin there are some little words in the scripture which have an an unutterable depth in them all sin all manner of sin all chains of sin sins of thought of words of deed all sin though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow now in the snow we have water and therefore we have the washing the washing we need to be washed and for the washing to appear is wonderful how does it appear

[38:04] I think it is in Leviticus that sin that leprosy is referred to in this way and he came out a leper as white as snow now that's what the sin had done and God in order that he might destroy sin in the flesh he took on him the same nature maybe the spirit of God will lead us to see some connection a leper as white as snow a scarlet sinner washed as white as snow some significance surely if the

[39:06] Holy Ghost were about to open our understanding to the glory and excellency of it though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow there shall be washing and washing is needful there is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins and sinners plunge beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains some may begin to say well here is a mixture of metaphors and so on but you know these things are so closely connected where in the gospel of Jesus Christ it is very difficult to separate one from the other out of the Lord's side came water and blood from the same source and so when the dear hymn writer speaks about the fountain filled with blood he speaks of plenty and sinners plunge beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains the dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day and there am I as buying a seed washed all my sins not somebody else's sins but my sins away how did he know that may we not put this point forward that the

[40:55] Lord had granted that man a gracious invitation come now and let us reason together saith the Lord though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow now there is one point here that we would draw your attention to for your encouragement and comfort we read in Isaiah's prophecy elsewhere that God is one that declares the end from the beginning now that's just what he's doing here declaring the end from the beginning your sins be as scarlet as the beginning what's going to be the end of it God can come to his people now and declare the end from the beginning so we have it here though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow what a day that will be in your soul's experience when you are able to say they are they are my sins are gone and I am dressed in garments white as snow though they be red like crimson they shall be as wool so the

[42:42] Lord sees two views has two views of your sins there are the scarlet the ingrained ones how should we look at this latter part though they be red like crimson I believe we may consider this point in the nature of sin the nature of sin sin which worketh in us sin of which the apostle spoke in the seventh chapter to the Romans which brought about such a sad confession for I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing for to will is present with me but how to perform that which is good

[43:52] I find not for the good that I would I do not but the evil which I would not that I do now if I do that I would not it is no more I that do it but sin that dwelleth in me we have we have the expression indwelling sin sin which dwells within so we have two points here the ingrained sin or sins and of a general nature indwelling sin born in sin and the shape of in illiquity the apostle makes his own sad confession I find then a law that when I would do good evil is present with me for I delight in the law of God out to the inward man but I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members oh wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death though they be red like crimson though when you look at your sins there is you become a person that contains a nature of sin and because you have a nature of sin therefore you don't have to try to sin it is a natural development solemn isn't it though your sins though they be red like crimson they shall be as war now there is a very close analogy between snow and war and

[46:23] I was looking this morning at a verse in the 147th psalm where we read that he giveth snow like wool this led me to think on a connection here now though snow is very cold that which it covers is preserved with wool in the same way wool as we know is a warm covering we are reminded that there is no substitute for it very often this is proved naturally with all the man made fibers that are produced in the present day there is no substitute for wool there may be many man made fibers in relation to self righteousness but there is no substitute for wool and that wool is the garment of

[47:41] Jesus Christ we read in the revelation that he was clothed with a garment and that garment was indeed white his head and his hairs were white like wool as white as snow you see the connection here one is taken to the other so he goes on to speak of his eyes were as a flame of fire and so on his garments the garments of Jesus Christ in the 45th psalm we read of that garment which is of wrought needle work though they be red like crimson they shall be as wool though your nature is a sinful nature

[49:07] God is able to do that which will clothe you with the spirit of Christ with the righteousness of Christ we need great care in considering this word because we need wisdom and grace to consider it though they be red like crimson your nature your aptitude to sin God is able to create a great miracle how did he do it well he did like this he lived a life spent his life as the hymn says spent his life to weave a robe of righteousness spent his life and then as you come on through his life he died upon

[50:14] Calvary to atone for sinners to die the just for the unjust to deal with not only scarlet sins wherein is the washing but also the nature of sin which is covered which is not only the subject of washing but also has a covering now wool is referred to in the scriptures on I think one occasion certainly in this way white as wool white as wool we are familiar with the expression white as snow but are we so familiar with the expression white as wool let us consider it in the light of the hymn writer's words when he said unless the shadow of a spot should on thy soul be found he took the robe the saviour wrought and cast it all around though they be red like crimson they shall be as wool now you see there is an importance concerning wool one of the considerations that had to be observed under the

[51:57] Old Testament law was that there should not be worn a mixed garment a woolsey linsey garment the priests in particular were to be clothed in linen and the purpose of that was that there should be no possibility of sweating by reason of the garment that they wore so though it was not permissible for them to have a mixed weave yet we may say that it would be permissible to have an individual weave now it is when people begin to mix things up that they get into trouble and come into confusion so it must surely be this is why we need much grace to look at a subject like this we may so easily take a wrong course and find ourselves in deep water but we come back to this though they be red like crimson is your nature the sin which dwelleth in you an eye catcher in this point red like crimson they shall be as warm you see we have two miracles here the first that your sins though they are scarlet shall be as white as snow and there's no mistaking it is there it's not just altering the shade a little but even so you see blood and water will never mix will they though they be red like crimson they shall be as warm now it will be good for us if the spirit of

[54:15] God should speak to any of us today whatever our soul condition especially if we should be grieved within ourselves because of a knowledge of our ingrained sins and a knowledge and a knowledge of the Lord should come and speak to us come down to where we are ragged and undone and say come now come ye sinners poor and wretched lost and ruined in the fall come now you and let us raise them together said the Lord though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow though they be red like crimson they shall be as warm ameneness poor and fish a

[55:26] Si a present a Taxılmış aur resource to cai ni sang canned dem dasresh sous sigh its Thank you.

[56:15] Shall we now sing hymn 984, tune Greaves 342. Hark!

[56:43] Hark! Hear the gospel trumpet sounds. Christ and free grace, they're in abounds.

[56:55] Free grace to such as sinners be. And if free grace, why not for me? Tamara inοMatthes Morning Rain in эти ye atacs, found By prov금 with sweet priest poner in the o monesis.

[57:13] What fell from their soul? Rise and re-raise them in the world.

[57:28] Re-raise to start the sinless peace. Re-raise to start the sinless peace.

[57:45] Re-raise to start the sinless peace. Re-raise to start the sinless peace.

[57:58] Re-raise to start the sinless peace. Re-raise to start the sinless peace.

[58:09] No, dear God, guide us by His blood.

[58:22] The Lord has breathed the sin of His blood.

[58:32] Re-raise to start the sinless peace. Re-raise to start the sinless peace.

[58:46] Re-raise to start the sinless peace. Re-raise to start the sinless peace. Re-raise to start the sinless peace.

[59:01] Re-raise to start the sinless peace. Re-raise to start the sinless peace.

[59:13] Re-raise to start the sinless peace. Re-raise to start the sinless peace.

[59:26] Re-raise to start the sinless peace. Re-raise to start the sinless peace.

[59:50] Re-raise to start the sinless peace. It's a dei renStartow!

[60:09] It's a dei nenYiabikaIsa Thank you.

[60:47] Thank you.

[61:17] Thank you. Thank you.

[62:17] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[62:29] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[62:41] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[62:53] Thank you. be with you all. Amen.