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[0:00] As the Lord may be pleased to help us, we will again turn to the prophet Isaiah chapter 13. And our text, as you will know, is found in verse 15.

[0:16] For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, in return and rest, shall it nearly say, in quietness and in confidence, shall be your strength, and ye would not.

[0:38] Verse 15 of chapter 13 of the prophet Isaiah. You'll remember this morning we tried to speak a little from this first part particular, in returning and rest, shall ye be saved.

[0:58] For this afternoon, as the Lord may give us wisdom, we will particularly concentrate upon these words, in quietness and in confidence, shall be your strength.

[1:14] I would add, these words have been rather sweet to me, this last week or two, as we have entered into this present affliction, which we trust to God's mercy and blessing may pass away in new seasons.

[1:34] But we do hope that as the crucial part comes, we may prove the truth of these words, that in quietness and in confidence, shall be your strength.

[1:50] Now, as it was for the first part of this text, these words have seemed to be spoken in vain to those to whom they were addressed.

[2:00] These people desired not to acknowledge God's ways. They were quite happy to live a life apart from worshipping God.

[2:14] They wanted to hear if they heard anyone call those, as we read, that prophesied smooth things. And as for God's Holy Spirit, they would that it were taken away from them.

[2:31] How great. But though these people rejected such language as this, there has been all ages of people who would indeed reap these words of love and be so thankful if in their private needs they were applied even to them.

[2:53] Well, let us try to make it out to consider them. In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.

[3:06] In quietness. To quietness here doesn't mean a necessity that there's a cessation of noise. What it does mean is that there's a cessation of turmoil within our very being, our soul.

[3:27] It means that instead of being so taken up or woe, or tried, and upset, we find within us this quietness of spirit.

[3:40] What a wonderful possession it is then it is then it is so paved. I will confess that I read the long chapter just now in Job.

[3:52] There was one very near to it but the reason I was going to read was this. That we read there that this young man, Eli Hill, he was one young man, he said among other things that if he gives it quiet, who then can make trouble?

[4:14] Wonderful words for a young man to see. If he gives quietness to be friends in that place when we can leave all things in the hands of God.

[4:29] Not to be unduly disturbed but to be able to consider things rightly because of the quietness of your spirit.

[4:41] Well, that's the cause of the gift that we have no doubt whatsoever and something we cannot cultivate. It is that that the Lord shows upon his people as their various needs arise.

[4:58] We read of those in the word of God who were similarly placed those four sailors upon the Sea of Galilee.

[5:09] They made a lot of noise did they not when the tumult arose? They were scared that you and I might rather be. And they in their fears had noticed that their Lord and Saviour Jesus was passed to sleep in a boat.

[5:28] I think that's very sweet when we read of him and laid his head upon a pillow it seemed so trifling and a very wonderful thing he was resting neither the waves or the tumult could disturb the peace of that dear Saviour.

[5:46] But with them well they were ready to perish they thought the going hard so they decided that they would what weight in the Master and in waking they didn't behave very nicely.

[6:03] They said Master care if not that we perish of course that was quite wrong. The Lord Jesus did care he does care for his dear people in such times as this.

[6:19] However we read how he rose and we beat the storm and the wine and there was we read a great harm a great harm.

[6:31] Have you known that dear friends? Have you been sometimes tossed by the tempest of its life? Have you been brought to which end?

[6:44] Have you been brought as the psalmist has said tops to and fro like a drunken man and that they were seen then cry they to the Lord in their trouble and he saved them out of their distresses does he not?

[7:03] What a thing it is to be brought into the camp. It is so easy in our circumstances friends to be brought into a place of fear we are glad that in the word of God we have so many fear nots.

[7:24] I remember some not probably 10 to 15 years ago I was brought into great fear and in that state I swept greatly and then it seems our saint said well you profess to be what you are and next you are in such a state of this well I was in that state range some of you probably have known in your experience the time one time another when you feared greatly well in that state it just seemed to me a still small voice came to me ever so quiet but this voice said to me hear not almost a whisper and to prove I believe what's from the Lord those fears gradually dissipated they were gone and I found he said there's in with turmoil that there was a great come you see friends we don't forget these things do we it is as

[8:36] Hezekiah said by these things men live by all these things is the life of our spirit that's how we feel and that's how we prove these disciples like you and I were often brought to be fearful there's ever so many fear and often things remember one afternoon at Biddenden you may well know they have quite a screening of children there particularly the afternoon they sit up the gallery and then I have the honour of paying and addressing them when I was speaking I remember that afternoon at least I mentioned the fear not and I said I understand that there's 300 places where it says fear not in the Bible and I looked up the gallery and I said hear what I say children and I said I wonder whether any of you children would like to turn up to your Bible and see how many fear not you would find and if you would find some that's telling your superintendent that you would come there well I was greatly surprised that for the future visit I said to the superintendent did those children find any fear nots oh dear yes this had some of them found over a hundred oh I thought well that shows does doesn't it the children were seekers find all that lot fear nots so you see it's two little words simple yet so important words which the dear

[10:35] Lord is pleased to convey to his people from time to time as their barriers needs arise and then brings them into this place of quietness you see it says as I said concern the sea when there was a great calm oh that's a lovely place to be friends when fears arise isn't it to be calm to know no will that he is one says sweet life passive is his hands and no no will but his and wonderful pain then we are as it were enabled to cast our rule upon him our fears are gone and our trust is in him in quietness this precious gift to the dear

[11:36] Lord is pleased to the soul upon his dear people and if you haven't yet experienced such a state I hope you have I do hope whenever that need may arise that you may know its blessedness that you may enjoy the time the dear Lord removing those things which have brought you into a state of agitation well we all differ in our temperaments do we not but it is a wonderful wonderful favor if we have a quiet spirit a sovereign one you see this state brings us through complete trust in the Lord brings us to be assured that all is well with us it brings us to weigh matters up correctly because when we are agitated that we cannot do there is another classic example of this in the word of God relative to those two dear sisters

[12:51] Martha and Mary they were sisters as we know of that dear man Lazarus who died and rose again from the dead but we read how the Lord Jesus who loved Martha and Mary and their brother how he was invited apparently to that home one day Mary she took opportunity took this opportunity of having a converse with the saviour who she got us a chair or stool and sat down to his feet and there she was listening contented with all the saviour said greetings all in friends quiet in her spirit but of her sister who no doubt was just as racist we find that she was looking over her shoulder she was at the kitchen she was doing the work and I suppose all of us have a jealous nature of times and she looked with envy at her sister who was having the best of things enjoying the words which flowed from the same lips and she was working so much so that being of

[14:21] I would say an impetuous nature she couldn't keep a hold of tongue so she said care shall not master do all the work my sister come and help me but the Lord Jesus didn't reply as she thought he would do he said Martha Martha thou art careful and troubled about many things yet one thing is needful and Mary shall not have that part taken away from her children friend make the part there's the place to find peace and tranquility there's the place friends where you shall find quietness for the dear saviour who's pleased to speak to you I know the Lord can bring quietness to you even the crown of people doesn't matter you can't always be brought to be quiet if you're in a room all on your own men's been the time when when I used to go over all I do now in my itinerary days a kind of friend would say now you can go in the quiet room in the room quietly give you a time of peace to consider the evening service it might be well a very good idea but you couldn't guarantee that when you got there that you will be quiet

[16:09] I thought even this morning or not in the culture I don't think but early today in a quiet prayer that all terrible things come to mind don't they invite them but they spoil your peace they're horrible like banyan stairs of a pilgrim going to that dark place about the shadow of death it's all these fields so severe and didn't know whether it was him speaking or they that these evil thoughts do come and we drive them away from us if we could but it is when we have that peace of God which passes all understanding that we enjoy that perfect peace you see the Lord Jesus not long before his supper only a very few days he called those disciples together he spoke to it's recorded in verse chapters 14 15 16 17 now the things he says to them is this peace

[17:27] I leave with you not as the world give it did I unto you let not your heart be troubled well when he give it peace who then can make trouble and may we know and enjoy more of these times of peace of quietness which is recorded in this word the the Savior said on one occasion disciples come to yourselves apart and rest a while for there are many coming and going wonderful time when we recall the part it were to rest and to meditate and when we feel that quietness in our very soul there's another word that goes with it here in returning and rest shall be your safe you shall be saved in quietness and in confidence now this word confidence means doesn't it that we are pretty sure of a thing which is on our mind confidence means we are sure or believe that what we believe in will come to pass and we might enlarge and say many other things about this word too but here of course it means that we are brought to have confidence in God there's not many today who know this experience of being confident in

[19:25] God in fact there are many who are to reject that there is a God who have no confidence whatsoever at all but there are those and it comes from this phrase those who have been favored to enjoy quietness it's one of the most wonderful things to breed confidence and this confidence means to have confidence in God I know that we cannot say well now I will always believe and be perfectly sure of my interest in the redeemed love I never permit the shadow of doubt to pass over my mind as to my status standing before God I will be sure it doesn't mean that friend but it does mean this that the

[20:26] Lord gives a quiet confidence that we are persuaded that we believe in the living God and how comes this confidence we view as the Holy Spirit reveals to us the things that God has done there's one thing I feel that we should be more of and that is to believe in what we see and in these days when men are told by professors and some of men they tell us that they believe in evolution 40 million years or so ago they began this gradual evolving of matter which eventually turned into a man that what a lot of wicked and rubbish friends it is and how terrible the men defy God when we conceive in those wonderful works of creation

[21:33] I to my part I have no lack of confidence in our God as creator for I think to behold his work is wonderful and as that of him says he gave us eyes to see them and lips that we might tell how great is God almighty who hath done all things well and as David says concerning our human frame he said we are fearful in what we may and one might enlarge upon the organs of our bodies our eyes see our ears hear and so on and then before the flesh that these things came of themselves is indeed the most awful blasphemous thing we agree to sing to this song for in the teaching of the children day at our present schools we've seen essays from our grandchildren which speak of evolution wicked indeed friends it is to the very core such things allowed in our schools today destroying the childlike mind of confidence in

[23:04] God well we have to leave these evil men in God's hands that oh how we let in we have a strong confidence in God's creative ability and in maintaining this earth in which we live and in maintaining you and I are friends in these evil days well let us look now to the spiritual dear Paul speaks quite a lot of confidence he speaks to those we know who have confidence in the flesh that we don't want that kind of confidence but we want confidence in God and how is one of the best ways that we prove this confidence to be well founded I believe it is found in this that we build that confidence upon what the

[24:12] Lord has done for us and one great thing which I have built in my confidence upon is this his answers to our prayers and his help to us in times of trouble oh when we have seen what he has done for us friends how he has answered our poor petitions how he has from time to time delivered us from many things how marked have been these mercies beyond any doubt whatsoever so that they breed a sweet quiet confidence in him they do indeed and then when we think of the Lord's work in our poor souls when we think of what the Lord Jesus

[25:13] Christ has done is it not wonderful beyond our powers to comprehend the thing that he has sent his Holy Spirit within us convinced us of our sin and brought us to see the value of Jesus blood and to our wandering soul reveal the secret love of God I say these revelations bring this sweet confidence that God is God I believe this you know that many of our dear people who if you were to ask them what kind of hope they had there are many whom I am quite persuaded are God's dear people quite believe it friends they have never had it yet what we might call a real sealing home by the spirit that they are

[26:16] God's people but I have no doubt at all they belong to him now in that category that they believe in God they believe in the Lord Jesus Christ that they want it applied to them reminds me of that wonderful incident in the scriptures concerning that poor leper and that poor leper came where the Lord Jesus Christ was and that poor leper he had a case to bring to the Lord Jesus he'd heard or perhaps seen the wonderful things the Lord Jesus could do but so in this plight he came to the Lord Jesus and he said and I think it's very wonderful simple the prayer that you and I can use he said if thou wilt thou canst make me clean the dear man probably may have been the

[27:24] Gentile I know not but you see he said if thou wilt thou canst make me clean indicating he was quite convinced that the Lord Jesus could kill him but his position was will he kill me and isn't that a sweet simple prayer that you and I can take to the Lord Jesus Christ can we not say Lord we have seen how wonderfully thou hast come to one another and bless their poor souls and wilt thou not come to me wilt thou not come and see alone to my soul that I am one of thy dear children a wonderful thing very simple and very real and then if the Lord does such a thing as that to you friend you will have a sweet precious confidence the

[28:29] Lord Jesus Christ has brought you into the living family and sealed that joy home to you that you are one of his dear people and thus there is as Paul speaks of the confidence of faith faith is that which speaks of something that we've never seen if we could see there would be no need of faith there's no faith friends in heaven the office of faith is ended when they get there because they can see what was the object of their faith they can see it in possession which makes it so very wonderful because as one said even Peter whom having not seen ye love in whom though now ye see him not yet believing ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of faith and

[29:36] I often think as I look round the people sitting before me isn't it a wonderful thing really we worship someone we never see where there's a natural religion there has to be something to worship always why idolaters they have they build stones don't they why the catholics have their idols of mary in their home some of them some of them in churches the man lives almost he does next door to the back of our chapel and we look through his window sometimes and there's the shrine of mary and also they take flowers to it every day friends terrible we don't want a religion like that do we we believe as one says whom having not seen ye love of course the

[30:43] Holy Spirit of God has revealed him to us this is obvious who fully persuade and give us confidence in the reality of him whom these eyes have never seen you see that's why one reason at least the Lord Jesus took himself away from his disciples who lived with him for we say about three years they saw the Saviour converse with him different with them than with us and they were sad when he told them it is expedient for you that I go away a good thing because you're not living the life of faith blessed are they who see me and yet have not seen me yet believe you see there are those who praise up that apostle who when the

[31:53] Lord Jesus came after his resurrection to meet them he just said that Thomas was not there and when afterwards he saw the disciples again and they said to him we have seen the Lord well he wasn't very pleased was he but he said except I see the print of his nails in his hands and feet I shall not believe wasn't a very nice thing to say friends because he just leaves his friends it's like this if you told me some little experience you'd pass through some sweet touch what would you think of me if I told you I didn't believe you not very much it would be wrong of me to do it so there are some that rather uphold Thomas I don't personally because you know what follow when the

[32:58] Lord Jesus Christ came again Thomas was with them Lord Jesus knew all that had gone on he looked first at Thomas Thomas come here come see me give me thy hand and put it in said he my wounded side look at the prince that now is in my hands and in my feet and then Thomas said concerning the Lord Jesus he says blessed the words have gone for a moment blessed be the Lord my Lord and my God that's it my Lord and my God saviour he said blessed are they that believe and yet not of seen they are the ones friends who believe and are not seen and have a confidence a real confidence in the saviour because their religion has been made real not a false one not like so many today oh there are thousands that have sung in that hymn with

[34:21] Lordly go to church they don't know anything I don't like to be complaining friends but we know them don't you by speech and life just destitute of any experience that to all powers of the people are it's very sad I I think so grievous you see true religion is more than notion it's very sweet to have something real within something that has been applied and we are fully persuaded of what we believe you see to believe implicitly that Jesus is the son of God there are those who have spoke openly and written a book and disbelieve that Jesus is the son of God that is the one great doctrine that must be believed if we don't believe that Jesus is the son of

[35:22] God we are not one of his we are not it's an essential true friends and though it seems so difficult reason to expect to know friends faith believes it and is confident of it yes as Paul has said being confident of this one thing he that has begun the good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ Paul was very confident of some of those saints he preached to not all of them he spoke to the church of Galatia he said I'm afraid of you lest I have laboured among you in vain wasn't very nice after years of ministry for that poor man to be filled with fears relative to his converts was it but you see there are those in our day of whom we are confident we know them their belief their life and conduct their hopes and their fears and it is a wonderful thing to have the confidence of faith

[36:43] I know if you have it Satan will seek to overthrow it he'll come and tell you that it's not right it's not a thing that's real at all friends where the Lord has given it he'll bring you that sweet confidence of which the Lord speaks here to these dear people in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength this word strength is the opposite isn't it of being weak and the Lord you see he speaks to the weak that they might obtain strength there's that lovely word in chapter 40 of this same book but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength they shall mount up with wings as egos they shall run and not be weary they shall walk and not faint and what means this strength

[37:49] I believe it means both in the spirit and the body too I do indeed the man that preaches needs to be strong in faith and strong in body so it is not an easy thing friends always to stand here we need strength from every side from the Lord and thus we need it means more here than anything else a strength of faith so many of God's people we're told are weak in faith and when we enjoy quietness and confidence that brings strength it strengthens our faith we have the evidences of why we should be strong because the Lord has given us quietness of spirit and the confidence of faith see

[38:52] Paul in his demonstration of faith he could say I know whom I have believed and I am persuaded he is able to keep that which I have committed under him against that day there are some who may object to the strength and the confidence of faith but friends to be always filled with doubt and fear is not strength indeed it is not this is the strength which builds the soul in its most holy faith it is a strength which enjoys the confidence of its belief because they have known those times of quiet and rest and also confidence if

[39:53] I said to you now have you confidence you might say well I wish I had if you said it to me what would be my reply perhaps not at this moment all that confidence but nevertheless when we review what the Lord has done for us when the Holy Spirit brings to our remembrance whatsoever things he has spoken unto us I say those things bring confidence you can't always remember them can you you forget all the good things the Lord has done for you in leading you along but you know there are times when we are reminded of them and that brings us confidence then we can say he that has helped us hitherto will help us all our journey through and give us daily calls to raise new

[41:01] Ebeneezus to his praise we can look back this past beginning of another year we can look back upon all the way the Lord has led us and if the Lord gives us quietness and confidence we can look forward casting all our care upon him in the days of the year to come what a wonderful thing now just a word in conclusion it is the Lord that is speaking to these ancient people he brings to their remembrance these good things he would do for them but he adds this and ye would not how solemn there is a reference I think in the margin most bibles to these words and you would not perhaps you may know them they take us to the time when the

[42:08] Lord Jesus Christ descended Mount Olivet and he sat upon the top of the hill which I understand is a very beautiful spot he looked upon Jerusalem and he wept over it oh Jerusalem Jerusalem that killeth the prophets how could I gather thee together as a hen duttle chickens and he says ye would not and now your house is left unto you desolate it may well be that many a godly parent mother said their children when they seen them living in the path of sin I told you my boy I told you my girl I warned you of these evils which you were falling to but you know you wouldn't listen to me you would not

[43:11] I believe many the godly parents said that to their children many the godly ministers said it to the way would wonder the flock the backsliders and he would not and most of all it may well be spoken again on that great day of judgment when the Lord shall judge both the quick and the dead he may say to those on his left hand I preach these things to you it's left on record in Isaiah 30 what I would do for you but ye would not the Lord grant that you and me and all that we love may be among those who are sweetly constrained to do his will and not to be found among the rebellious the

[44:14] Lord be pleased to add his blessing his dear name sake Amen Amen Thank you.