[0:01] Now as the Lord enables us, let us turn back to the chapter we have read together, Isaiah chapter 32, and again reading the first two verses of the chapter.
[0:18] Isaiah 32, verse 1, Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covered from the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
[0:43] The prophet Isaiah was sent to minister to a people who did not want to hear, but the Lord has been able to hear.
[1:01] The prophet Isaiah was sent to minister to a people who did not want to hear what the Lord was saying.
[1:15] If you read in Isaiah chapter 6, the account we have there of the Lord's call to Isaiah to go forth, to make his word known.
[1:30] Isaiah 6, verse 9, And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not. And see ye indeed, but perceive not.
[1:44] Make the heart of this people fat. Make their ears heavy. Shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes. Hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
[1:58] They were a people who did not want to listen to what God was saying. Nevertheless, the Lord was sending them a word of encouragement, thinking particularly of chapter 1.
[2:17] In Isaiah, it talks about the Lord's exhortation in verse 18. Come now, let us reason together, saith the Lord.
[2:30] Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land.
[2:45] But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword. For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. That is the background to what we have here in chapter 32.
[3:01] He is talking to a people who are turning away from God. And the whole of their society is marked by godlessness.
[3:18] And a worship that is at variance to what the Lord would require of them. And there were a number of kings during Isaiah's ministry.
[3:34] Chapter 1 again. He was a king. He was a prophet in Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.
[3:48] Kings of Judah. And Ahaz was a wicked king. And it's very possible that it's against the wickedness that prevailed in the days of Ahaz that we have the chapter 32, verses 1 and 2.
[4:05] And the Lord highlights that there is a king coming who is to be very different to the king Ahaz. A king who will reign in righteousness.
[4:17] And not unrighteousness. And princes who will rule in judgment. There is a king coming. And in verse 2 it highlights that a man shall be as a hiding place from the wind, a cupboard from the tempest, rivers of water in a dry place, and the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
[4:44] We believe that the prophet is led here to focus upon the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the king mediator, and whom the prophet has prophesied earlier in this particular prophecy, that he will come.
[5:06] In chapter 9, for example, unto us a child is born, unto us a king is given, and the judgment or the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace.
[5:30] Isaiah highlights that very one of whom he speaks in chapter 9 in these terms. Now, in chapter 32, as this man, who is a special man, who is a man and God at the same time.
[5:51] He is the mediator between God and man, the man, Christ Jesus. And there are four things that he highlights here in relation to Christ.
[6:07] First of all, that he is a hiding place from the wind. Secondly, that he is a covert from the tempest. Thirdly, that he is as rivers of water in a dry place.
[6:20] And fourthly, he is as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. Just like to say one or two words on each of these four headings.
[6:33] First of all, he says, this man whom we have highlighted as Jesus Christ, our Savior, that he is as a hiding place from the wind.
[6:46] Now, the question needs to be asked, what wind is the prophet speaking about in particular?
[6:58] I mean, he is not talking about winds that blow in from the desert or over the sea of Galilee or whatever. He is not talking about that kind of wind.
[7:10] I believe he is talking about the wind of sin. And when and where did that wind first begin to blow?
[7:24] Well, if you read in Genesis, you find that that wind began to blow in the experience of Eve and Adam in the Garden of Eden.
[7:39] they were standing, as it were, in a holy and a happy state in fellowship with God doing God's will as God had created them.
[7:56] But Satan came and with his prevailing reasoning with Eve and ultimately with Adam himself, this wind of sin blew with its strong blast and knocked Adam and Eve out of fellowship with God.
[8:24] Sin prevailed upon them in their minds, in their will, in their affections. Sin prevailed upon them in their hearts in such a way that they embraced the lie that the devil propounded to them and, at the same time, turned their back upon God.
[8:50] And that wind has continued to blow right through the generations up until this moment. sinned. And each one of us who are Adam's children, we have this legacy from him that we sinned with him and fell with him in his first transgression.
[9:17] In other words, the Bible says, in the words of the Apostle Paul, we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God.
[9:28] There is none righteous. No, not one. Not one. Not even the most careful of the Pharisees as Saul of Tarshish saw himself.
[9:43] Nevertheless, a day came when he realized this wind is blowing in my thoughts, in my affections, in my attitudes, in my lifestyle, and it shrivels my very soul in such a way that I need a hiding place from this prevailing wind.
[10:09] And on the road to Damascus, in the teeth of that gale of sin, Saul of Tarshish was intent upon arresting Christians and bringing them to Jerusalem in order to have them dealt with.
[10:30] He wanted the Christian religion and everything in connection with it to be completely obliterated and cast away. But in the midst of that blowing, howling gale of sin and animosity, the Lord appeared to him.
[10:50] Who are you, Lord? I am Jesus whom thou art persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the pricks.
[11:01] Do you remember what Saul then said? Lord, what is it you want me to do? It's as if Jesus Christ, the hiding place, had begun to shelter him from that deadly wind of sin.
[11:22] And he knew what it was to have his sins forgiven. A man shall be as a hiding place from the wind.
[11:35] the Lord Jesus Christ is the only name given under heaven among men whereby we must be saved.
[11:50] And I was thinking for a while today and yesterday about Psalm 91 and I thought, well, it's the same word that's used at the beginning of Psalm 91.
[12:07] He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. He's there talking about a secret place.
[12:21] The same as we have here a hiding place from the wind. And there are people who dwell in the secret place of the Most High.
[12:34] There are people who flee to this hiding place under the influence of God's Holy Spirit when the Spirit teaches them their need of a hiding place.
[12:50] When the Spirit teaches them their need of being saved from the power of the sin of their lives. when the Holy Spirit enables them to look unto Jesus who's the author and the finisher of faith.
[13:11] The man Christ Jesus he is the only hiding place from the wind of sin. Have we found him to be so for ourselves?
[13:25] sins of thought when they appear. Where do you take them? Maybe when you're reading the scriptures and something comes into your mind and you know the devil has put it there.
[13:42] What do you do with that? You pray Lord save me from this. Save me from the power of this sin. Sins of word.
[13:53] Sins of action. sins of our lives that we're not really aware of at all because they were sins of ignorance for which sacrifices had to be given under the Old Testament and we sin all the time sins of which we are not aware.
[14:13] And we need to flee to this hiding place that is Christ Jesus. Just as the Israelites had said before them the cities of refuge if they had sinned a particular kind of sin and they were unable to flee to the city of refuge and there they were saved.
[14:33] And so it is still with the Lord Jesus Christ, the man Christ Jesus, who is a hiding place from the wind. Secondly, it says here that he is a covert from the tempest.
[14:51] using other words that could be translated he is a shelter from the storm. A shelter from the storm.
[15:05] The word tempest, if you look it up in the dictionary it says a storm with pouring rain. And that's what we have here, that Jesus Christ is a shelter from the storm with pouring rain.
[15:23] It's as if the prophet is saying there is the wind of sin, but there are times when that wind blows with such power and intensity and penetration.
[15:40] you need a cupboard or a shelter from it. And only the man Christ Jesus is the cupboard or the shelter from it.
[15:59] What would be the example of a tempest, a storm with pouring rain?
[16:11] I mean spiritually speaking. Would it not be something like a time of temptation when the devil comes and he intensifies his efforts to get into your heart and into your soul and into your life, seeking to draw you away from the things of God seeking to confuse your thinking about the things of Christ, seeking to darken your understanding, to harden your heart, seeking to bring chaos to reign.
[16:56] The storm of temptation takes many forms. temptation from any point of temptation from any point that he sees is weak in your heart, in your life, and in mine.
[17:37] But it says here, a man shall be as a cupboard or a shelter from such a store. The man Christ Jesus.
[17:51] You remember that the New Testament tells us of the temptation of the temptation of Jesus, that he was for 40 days and 40 nights fasting in the wilderness, tempted by the devil.
[18:08] And the devil tried from all angles to get Jesus to capitulate and commit sin. the lust of the flesh.
[18:21] He says, knowing that Jesus was hungry after 40 days, command these storms that they be made bread. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye.
[18:36] When he took him to the top of a hill and said, all these kingdoms in the world, I will give to you if you just bow down and worship me.
[18:49] And the pride of life, the devil uses words from Psalm 91. He says, his angels shall take you up, even if you cast yourself from this pinnacle of the temple to which it says he brought him.
[19:07] Pride of life, tempting him, as it were, to show that he was able to escape any injury because of who he was and the power he had.
[19:19] And he was able and he was powerful to escape all kinds of injury if that was his mind to do so. But he saw behind these temptations a hand of the devil, seeking to undo his commitment to the Lord and to his mission as saviour.
[19:47] And when the tempest comes our way, isn't Jesus, who was tempted and who did not capitulate and who did not weaken against the temptation but prevailed against the devil, is he not the one to whom we must apply.
[20:11] Lord, help me. Lord, help me. You are able to give me grace for every situation of life.
[20:22] the tempest. That's the personal tempest. There may be other kinds of tempest.
[20:34] There may be situations in our families, situations in our communities that are trying and difficult.
[20:47] To whom do we want that we might be hidden from the evil effects of these things. To the Lord Jesus when he says, come unto me, all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
[21:05] I will give you protection. I will give you everything you stand in need of. Just like Paul said, having prayed three times in relation to the thorn in the flesh, and Jesus said, my grace is sufficient for you.
[21:21] and my strength is made perfect in weakness. But then on a wider scale, think of the tempest of persecution and of suffering endured by Christians in our day and down through the years.
[21:45] all you have to do is read a history of the Scottish Church and you realize that so many good men were put to death for their faith.
[22:01] They were taken and burnt at the stake, not just in Scotland, but in England as well. that was a storm of persecution and there's a sense in which the Church was given grace for every situation.
[22:20] I remember saying that in one of our history lectures to Professor Collins once. Some of you remember Professor Collins. And he was talking about the persecuted Church and the Covenanters particularly.
[22:35] And I asked him, did he think that the Church today could stand in such persecution as the Church did then?
[22:47] They were willing to go to be burnt at the stake. And Colin said, well, he said, yes, if they had and if we had the same grace administered to us as they had administered to them, we would do the same thing.
[23:09] And when Jesus says to Paul, my grace is sufficient for you, that's the grace we stand in need of for our present situation as a nation, as communities, and our personal situation with personal temptations of various kinds, there is only one to whom we had encouraged to look, and that is the man who is a cupboard from the tempest, Jesus Christ.
[23:43] and thirdly, he's talking about rivers of water in a dry place. Judah must have been a dry place for men like Isaiah, men who were close to the Lord, who were involved in the Lord's work, work, and who were not at all seeing any food for their labour.
[24:16] All you have to do is go to chapter 53, and he says, Lord, you must believe our report. Or we tend to complain that there's nobody being converted and the church of Christ seems to be at a standstill as it were.
[24:36] Same thing in Isaiah's day. Nobody was believing him, but he was looking to this man who was the hiding place from the wind and the covered from the tempest, and as rivers of water in a dry place.
[24:56] An interesting verse in Ezekiel and chapter 9. Ezekiel 9.
[25:18] Ezekiel 9. And I'll read the first two or three verses. He cried also in my ears with a loud voice saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroy weapon in his hand.
[25:38] And behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand. One man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's ink horn by his side.
[25:53] And they went in and stood beside the brazen altar. And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house.
[26:04] And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's ink horn by his side. And the Lord said unto him, Go, through the midst of the city. Through the midst of Jerusalem and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst of the same kind of situation described in Ezekiel 9 as we have here.
[26:39] It is a land where people have turned their back upon the Lord but in the midst of that population there were some who were sighing and crying for all the abominations that were done in the midst of it.
[27:01] People who had the Lord's cause close to their heart and who could not but be praying for it and who could not but be burdened for it and the Lord said to this man with the right of inkjorn put a mark on them and all the rest had to be destroyed apart from those who had the mark on them and the ones with the mark were those who were sighing and crying for all the abominations that were done and the midst of all the thing is this is a situation where there's no water as it were in a dry place a man has rivers of water in a dry place the point I've got is this that things have become so unspiritual and it's as if there was no encouragement for the prophet and it's as if he was walking in a desert situation with no water to nourish and encourage him as he looked around there was just deadness and idolatry but the spirit leads him to say a man shall be as rivers of water in a dry place the same man who is the hiding place from the wind and covered from the tempest is also a man who is as rivers of water in a dry place the Lord
[28:47] Jesus Christ he alone is the one who is able to irrigate and water our souls and he does so in the experience of his real people his true people as they do business with him reading his word and meditating upon it and in prayer he at the right time and in his own time will give them to know what it is to be watered in their soul maybe it will be one word maybe it will be a concept of the scripture that you hadn't actually been able to grasp before maybe it's some aspect of the Lord Jesus' person and life and work whatever it is it will change your innermost being so that you'll rejoice as someone who is being watered to the very depths of your being the Lord
[29:59] Jesus Christ look onto Jesus who is the author and finisher of our faith and I'll just finish off with this fourth one he's as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land a weary land just of the same concept again a dry place a weary land it is clear that the Lord led his people out of Egypt of old into the wilderness and he brought them to the wilderness to test them to prove them to show what was in their heart whether they would keep the commandments of God or not that they might understand that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of
[31:02] God and in the tiresome and difficult wilderness journey that each one of God's people has to walk they appreciate the shadow of the great rock in such a weary land I was in a very hot country at one time and when you're not used to high temperatures going to a country like that it really drains your energy until you get used to it remember this particular day and there was a large building there and I went across and stood in the shadow of the building and what a relief it was what a relief and that's what we have here when the sun of difficulties and trials and afflictions and disappointments beats down upon your heart and your life as a
[32:17] Christian oh isn't it wonderful to know that we have our saviour Jesus Christ who knows our every situation and as the psalmist says he said with wonderful confidence my times are in your hands and to know that that is the case and that he sees every detail of our lives and of our circumstances and that he cares for us more than we know he cares for us more than we know for the details of your life and for circumstances that are awaiting in your providence and he goes ahead of you and makes sure that you are kept safe the shadow of a great rock in a weary land land the Lord
[33:19] Jesus Christ a man a hiding place from the wind a cover from the storm rivers of water in a dry place and as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land and it's little wonder that the scripture elsewhere says look unto me and be ye saved all the ends of the earth for I am God and there is none else Amen let us pray Lord our God give us to rejoice in your kindness and in your goodness to us give us to rejoice that we have such a saviour as the Lord Jesus Christ is the God man mediator who is the hiding place for his people
[34:20] Lord we pray that we might know your love more and more we pray for your blessing upon this congregation we thank you for the scriptures that are opened here and we pray that it would bear much fruit in the lives of those who come to hear it because you promise that your word shall not be turned unto you void it will accomplish that which thou dost please and prosper in the thing where to thou dost send remember remember every family every individual throughout the community we pray bless those who are ill and laid aside remember those whose hearts are still heavy who are mourning the passing of loved ones maybe some time ago go before us now Lord we pray and part us with your blessing
[35:21] Jesus name for his sake amen I've been asked to intimate that there's a deacon's quote after the meeting we'll finish our worship in psalm 31 verses 21 to the end of the psalm psalm 31 at verse 21 all praise and thanks be to the Lord for he hath magnified his wondrous love to me within a city fortified for from thine eyes cut off I am I in my haste had said my voice yet heard thou when to thee was cries my moan I made O love the Lord all ye his saints because the Lord doth guard the faithful and he plenteously proud doers doth reward be of good courage and his strength unto your heart shall send all ye whose hope and confidence doth on the
[36:26] Lord depend Psalm 31 verse 21 to the end all praise and thanks be to the Lord all praise and thanks be to the Lord for he hath magnified his wondrous love to me within a silky for divine for from thine eyes back on my arm I in my his ass said my voice yet can look when to thee with
[37:31] Christ my hope I bid all of the Lord all his sins because the Lord doth care the faithful and he plentiously proud to the church reward be of good care and he and to your heart shall send on ye whose hope and confidence that on the
[38:33] Lord depends now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit rest upon and abide with you all now and forever more Amen