Let us turn back to the portion
we were just reading in Isaiah 66, and I'll read the first two
verses again. Isaiah 66, verses 1 and 2. I said, the Lord, the heaven
is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house
that ye build unto me? And where is the place of my
rest? for all those things hath mine hand made, and all those
things have been, saith the Lord. But to this man will I look,
even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth
at my word. We read then here at the end
of this second verse of those that tremble at the word of the
Lord. And then again at the beginning
of verse five, hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble. at his word. We are to come to
God's word then with that real reverence, to bow before the
authority of what the Lord God is saying. Him like the cessate
Christian would so thrive in knowledge of the Lord against
no scripture ever stride but tremble at his word. How important it is as we come
that we desire to rightly interpret the Word of God. And as we would do that, of course,
we have to take account of the context in which that Word is
found. We're not to tear any portion
of God's Word out of its context. We're to take account of what
the old writers used to call the analogy of Fife. and that
the Bible really is that that interprets itself. So just to
remark briefly with regards to the context, the historical setting
of these words, as we've said many a time, Isaiah was exercising
his ministry about 700 years before Christ. Seven centuries
before the birth of the Lord Jesus was when he was ministering,
and it was about just over a hundred years after that that Judah was
taken into captivity into Babylon and he does make reference to
the captivity we see that of course in chapter 6 where we
have the account of his call to be the Lord's servant, the
Lord's prophet But he doesn't just speak of
captivity, he also speaks of restoration. And just a couple
of weeks ago we were actually looking at words there in chapter
65. In particular we looked at the
words in verses 9 and 10 and said something with regards to
the doctrine of the remnant. There would be a remnant preserved
and restored. after 70 years in captivity.
It says there at verse 9 of that chapter, I will bring forth a
seed out of Jacob and out of Judah, an inheritor of my mountains,
and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell
there. And Sharon shall be a fold of
flocks in the valley of Achor, a place for the herds to lie
down, and for my people that have sought me. Those who would
be seeking after him in the exile, such as We read the prayer of
Daniel, of course. They would not pray in vain. There would come the time of
restoration. And it's spoken of there quite
clearly at 65th chapter, verse 18. Be ye glad and rejoice forever
in that which I create. For behold, I create Jerusalem
a rejoicing and the people a joy. Verse 21, they shall build houses
and inhabit them. They shall plant vineyards and
eat the fruit of them. They shall not build another
inhabit. They shall not plant and another
eat." There would be restoration after all those sad years when
Jerusalem lay in ruins. And it came about of course in
the days of Ezra Ezra the scribe is one who returns to engage
in the rebuilding of the temple and it was by the decree of the
Persian Emperor Cyrus as we're told there in the opening words
of the book of Ezra was the decree of Cyrus that led to Ezra and
others going back to rebuild the temple and it's interesting
because All those years before, Cyrus is actually named, as I'm
sure you're aware, here in this prophecy of Isaiah, back in chapter
44. At the end of that chapter, we
read of the Lord that saith of Cyrus, he is my shepherd, and
shall perform all my pleasure, even saying to Jerusalem, thou
shalt be built, and to the temple thy foundation shall be laid.
Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I
have holden to subdue nations before him, and I will loose
the loins of kings to open before him the two-leafed gates, and
the gates shall not be shut. The Lord will make a way for
his people to return by the decree of that great Persian emperor. And there would then be that
rebuilding of the temple. However, the people are not then
to simply rest in the externals of their religion. That was something
they were very much wont to do. As they looked to the temple,
in the days of Jeremiah. Of course, he's ministering at
the actual time of the Babylonian captivity. He says there in his
prophecy, chapter 7 verse 4, Trust ye not in lying words,
saying, The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple
of the Lord are these. As if because the temple was
there in Jerusalem, they would be saved. That was not to be
the case, of course. But even when we come to the
New Testament in the time of Christ, we see how the Jews and
the disciples also amongst them made too much of the Temple. There in Matthew 24 when Jesus
goes out, how is departing from the temple and his disciples
come to him for to show him the buildings of the temple." Oh,
they made so much of the temple, so much of the externals, as
it were. And of course, this is what is
being rebuked in the words that follow our text tonight, where
we read of the sacrifices. They have this form, a form of
godliness, But what is it? He that killeth an ox is as if
he slew a man. He that sacrifices a lamb is
as if he cut off a dog's neck. He that offereth an oblation
is as if he offered swine's blood. He that burneth incense is as
if he blessed an idol. All they're God's institutions. They're doing those things that
God requires. all that that is prescribed in
the Levitical laws. But God says they have chosen
their own ways, and their soul delighted in their abominations. It's just a form. It's just a
form of godliness. It's looking to the mere externals
of religion. And so when we come to the Word
of God, should tremble at God's work. We are to seek to understand
it to write. We are not doing justice to the
word of God if we are only taken up with the historical context. We are to recognize that the
book is clearly a spiritual book. There are spiritual lessons that
we have to learn as we come to consider God's work. And in all
the scriptures we should be those who are seeking to see something
more concerning the Lord Jesus Christ himself. We know that
the temple is but a type of Christ. Remember how he speaks there
in the second chapter of John's Gospel. Destroy this temple in
three days, I will build it again. And immediately they think of
the temple. They don't understand he's speaking of his body. All
that he is in the incarnation is really the great antitype
that was set before them in the temple. And we need then to seek
to understand the spiritual significance of those things that God says
to us. Now we know that ultimately Isaiah speaks gospel truths. And here of course when we come
to the end he's clearly referring to the gospel coming to Gentiles.
We read it there in verse 12, Thus saith the LORD, Behold,
I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the
Gentiles like a flowing stream. We go back to the beginning of
chapter 65. He says, I am sought of them that ask not for me,
I am found of them that sought me not. I said, Behold, Behold
me unto a nation that was not called by my name. I have spread
out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people which walked
in a way which was not good after their own thoughts." Or the calling
of the Gentiles, the rejection of the Jews. Well, as we come
to consider these words at the beginning of this 66th chapter,
I want us in particular to consider something of God's dwelling. They make much of the temple,
but what is the temple? God can say the heaven is my
throne, the earth is my footstool. Where is the house that you build
unto me? And where is the place of my
rest? Where is it that God dwells?
Where is it that God finds his true rest? Well, as we come to
consider these opening verses, to think of God's dwelling, two
things I want us to take account of. First of all, to recognize
that God clearly dwells in the highest heavens. He says as much. The heaven is my throne. The earth is my footstool. And those words remind us of
at least three things with regards to this God. First of all, are
we not reminded of the eternity of God? When we read here of
the heaven, this is not, of course, to be confused with the heavens
that we can look into when we look into the starry heavens,
stellar space. We know that in the beginning
God created the heavens and the earth. And when we look into
what God has created we see something of God's glory. The heavens declare
the glory of God, says the Psalmist. The firmament show us His handiwork. But we have to remember of course,
with regards to the heavens, that there are three heavens.
There is the lower heavens, there's the atmosphere around about this
planet Earth. Elihu speaks of it there in the
book of Job chapter 35 and verse 5. He says look unto the heavens
and see and behold the clouds which are higher than thou. The
clouds are in the heavens. But that's the first heavens.
but then beyond that of course there is the second heavens the
starry heavens the vastness of the universe, stellar space and
all the creation of God by the word of the Lord were the heavens
made and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth but
when God says the heaven is my throne he's not referring to
these created things. The reference here surely is
to that third heaven. Remember how the Apostle speaks
of it there in 2 Corinthians chapter 12, I was caught up,
he said, into the third heaven. And then later on in that chapter
he refers to it as paradise, I was caught up to paradise.
It's the very presence of God, it's eternity. it's where God
dwells when Solomon created or made I should say the the temple
of the Lord we have the records there in first Kings 8 of the
prayer, the remarkable prayer that he prayed on that auspicious
occasion and he acknowledges that The temple, of course, is
not possible to contain God. They were making far too much
of the temple, looking to the mere externals of their religion.
And remember how in the course of that prayer the king says, And heaven, and the heaven of
heavens cannot contain thee. He recognized something of the
immensity of God, as well as the eternity of God. Oh, he dwells
in the highest heavens. He dwells outside of time, outside
of space. He dwells in eternity. That's how we're to understand
what he is saying here, the heaven is my throne, the earth is my
footstool. Again, back in chapter 57 and
verse 15, we read thus says, the High and Lofty One that inhabits
eternity. He inhabits eternity. And He looks upon the earth,
He looks upon His creation, merely as His footstool. He sits on
the circle of the earth, we read in another part of this prophecy,
and the inhabitants are recounted as grasshoppers, and he takes
up the nations as a very little thing, as a drop in a bucket
or fine dust on a balance. Nor the greatness of God, Again,
the language of the book of Job, there in Job 15, Behold, he putteth
no trust in his saints, yea, the heavens are not clean in
his sight. He is that God, then, who is
the Eternal God. Secondly, he is that God who,
of course, is the Sovereign, the Sovereign Lord over all things.
What does the Psalmist say? Our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever He pleased. And again in another psalm, the
language that we have there in the 113th, at verse 4, The Lord
is high above all nations, and His glory above the heavens.
Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, who
humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and
in the earth. He is that one who is sovereign. He is in that place of power
and authority. And how he humbles that proud
Babylonian emperor Nebuchadnezzar and brings him to make that remarkable
confession recorded in Daniel chapter 4. He says, I blessed
the Most High whose dominion is an everlasting dominion and
his kingdom is from generation to generation and all the inhabitants
of the earth are accounted as nothing and he doeth according
to his will among the armies of heaven and the inhabitants
of the earth and none can stay his hand and say to him what
doest thou? Oh he is eternal he dwells in
eternity and he is sovereign, he is sovereign over all his
works that he does according to his will, and none can withstand
him, for he is the high and the lofty one. But then, thirdly,
when we think of God and his throne in the heaven, the heaven
of heavens, we are reminded also of his holiness. The game we
see it previously in that 57th chapter, and verse 15, Thus saith the High and Lofty
One, that in habit of eternity, whose name is holy, I dwell in
the high and holy place. Heaven is a holy, happy place
where sin no more defiles, where God unveils his blissful face
and looks and loves and smiles that's how the hymn writer speaks
of heaven it's a holy place but it's a happy place for those
who are the lords remember what we are told in
that sixth chapter of the book concerning the call of the prophet how he
is called as he beholds that remarkable vision wherein he
sees the throne of God and he sees the angels about the throne,
the Seraphim, the burning ones those pure creatures. They have
six wings and with two they cover their feet, with two they cover
their faces, they know the place is holy, they are before the
very presence of God, but with two they fly, they fly at the
bidding of God, they do the commandments of God. But how even those holy
angels cannot bear the sight of the holiness of God. Oh, our God is a consuming fire,
the Holy One. The vice too pure to behold iniquity
cannot look upon sin. The wonder of it that sinners
such as we are should be made fit to enter into that high and
that holy place and all by and through the merit of the Lord
Jesus Christ only as we know the purgatory of that precious
blood to purge us from all our sins to make us clean in that
robe of righteousness that He brought, and that gracious work
of sanctification that He accomplishes in His own by the ministry of
the Spirit. God is eternal. God is sovereign. God is the
Holy One. He's the Holy One of Israel. And when we come to pray
to Him, how do we pray? After this manna, says the Lord
Jesus, Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Oh, this is where God dwells
in. The heaven is my throne, he says. The earth is my footstool. Where is the house that ye build
unto me? And where is the place of my
rest? For all those things that mine hand made, and all those
things have been, saith the Lord. But to this man will I look.
even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth
at my word." This is where God has his place of rest. He comes
to dwell in the hearts of these who are humble and contrite. It's a special presence that
they are favored with. We know that He is in fact in
all places. He's omnipresent. Behold, the heaven of heavens
cannot contain, he says King Solomon. And you can think of
the words of David in the 139th Psalm, where in particular he
is rejoicing in God's omniscience, he's the all-knowing God, he's
the omnipresent one, he's in all places. There's no escaping
from his presence. Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit?
asks David. Whither shall I flee from Thy
presence? If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there. If I
make my bed in hell or Hades, the realm of the dead, behold,
Thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall
Thy hand lead me and Thy right hand shall hold me. If I say,
Surely the darkness shall cover me, Even the night shall be light
about me, yea, the darkness hideth not from me, but the night shineth
as the day. The darkness and the light are
both alike to them, no escaping the presence of this God. But
he does have this special dwelling place, the place of my rest. And where is it? It comes into
the hearts of those who are poor and contrite and tremble, those
who are humbled before His holy presence. There's a contrast,
of course. In these verses we see quite
clearly there's God, the high God, and then there's the lowly
sinner. God is that one who is higher
than the highest. And yet, though the Lord be high,
he hath respect unto the lowly, but the proud he knoweth afar
off. Oh, he hath respect unto the
lowly, those humble ones. Be clothed with humility, says
Peter. That's to be the mark of God's
people, humility, humbleness of mind. bowing down before the
authority of His Word, trembling at His Word, or that we might
bear those marks. And of course, as we have the
contrast here, so we're also reminded of that blessed pattern
that we have in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and how
He humbled Himself to accomplish that great work of redemption. We have it there in Philippians
chapter 2, and it's great Christology that we have in that
chapter concerning the person of the Saviour, the work of the
Saviour, and yet it's couched in such practical language. What does Paul say there in Philippians
2.5? Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.
It's the mind of Christ, and what is that mind? Well, he thought
it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation,
took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness
of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself,
and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Its humility upon humility upon humility is equal with God, equal
with the Father, equal with the Holy Spirit the three persons
are co-equal as they are co-eternal no superiority and inferiority
and yet in the covenant he humbles himself he becomes the servant
of God and so in the fullness of the
time he is made of a woman is made under the law of God how
he humbles himself to become a man and then as a man how he
humbles himself he lives a life of obedience and this is the
pattern this is the pattern he is marked by humility who are
his great enemies why it's those proud pharisees and how they
were those who delighted in all the externals of their religion
how they wanted to make a show of their religion all the time,
and how the Lord speaks of them and condemns them really in the
language of those terrible woes of chapter 23 in Matthew. He says concerning these scribes
and Pharisees, All their works they do for to be seen of men.
They make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their
garments, and love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief
seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets, and
to be called of men Rabbi, Rabbi." And then, woe unto you scribes
and Pharisees, hypocrites, repeatedly. He condemns them throughout that
solemn chapter. They were his great enemies,
the proud, self-righteous Pharisees. What does it say here at the
end of the second verse? To this man will I look. And
it's a look that really has the idea of approbation. It's an approving
look. It's a look of affection. The
Lord looks, you see. upon these lowly ones, these
poor contrite ones who are trembling at his words. They are the very
favorites of God. They are the favorites of heaven. They are very much the Lord's
people. And yet, these are the very ones,
of course, that the scribes and the Pharisees so despise, they
murmur. saying of the Lord Jesus that
this man receiveth sinners and eateth with them. Oh, how the
Lord loves sinners. But who are these sinners that
he so delights in? Well, they're contrite and they
tremble. All this contrition, it's an
interesting word that we have of a contrite spirit The word that we have here literally
means smitten. To be smitten. And where there's
that smiting, there's bruising. What are these? Well, there's
that conviction in their hearts. There's that compunction in their
consciences. They're bruised people. But it's
an inward bruising. It's a contrite spirit. It's
not something external. It's something taking place in
the very depths of their souls. It's that brokenness of heart,
that grieving over their sins, that true evangelical repentance. It's heart work. The whole context,
of course, is condemning those who just make much of the mere
external. who are looking to the temple
and looking to their performances in what they imagine is the service
of God. But the ones that the Lord God
delights in are these who know a real contrition and who are
tremulous before Him. These are the ones that the Lord
God comes and dwells with. That's the amazing thing. or
that we might be those then who are truly humbled under that
mighty hand of God, recognizing His greatness, feeling that He
truly is the Eternal One and we are mere flesh and blood,
creatures of a day, recognizing that He is that One who is sovereign,
all power and authority belongs to Him. And what are we? Often times Do we not feel we
just encumber the very ground upon which we're standing? And
yet this high and holy God spares our lives. He is the Holy One
and we're the sinners. But oh, to come before Him and
to desire that we might know a real communing with Him. But
it must be, of course, through one who is the mediator. We cannot
come of ourselves. We have to look to that one who
is the author and finisher of our faith, the Lord Jesus. We
need that faith that is by the operation of the gracious Spirit
of God that we might come and order our cause even before that
throne of grace, the mercy seat. The Lord's dwelling is there.
He dwells in the high, the holy place, but He also dwells with
the humble the lowly and the contrite. O the Lord be pleased
then to come and make His dwelling amongst us. Well let us, before
we turn to hymn in prayer, sing God's praises as we sing the hymn 1060, the tune
Peter Omnium 791. weary of wandering from the Lord's,
and now made willing to return. The last verse, I'll give me,
Lord, the tender heart that trembles at the approach of sin, a godly
fear of sin impart, implant and root it deep within, that I may
love thy gracious power and never dare to offend thee more. The Hymn 1060, the tune 791. I hear and bow me to the road,
for ne'er, nor will at home I moan. O Jesus, full of truth and grace,
More full of grace than I have seen, Yet once again I seek thy
face, Open thy arms and take me in, All my back-side is freely
healed, And love the faithless sinners still. And ask the way to bring me back,
My fallen spirit to You restore. O for Thy truth and mercy spare,
Forgive and lead me still, O Lord. the house of prayer. Give me, Lord, a tender heart
that trembles at the approach of sin. The fear of sin imparts, Implies
and roots in deep within, That I may know Thy gracious power,
And never dare to offend Thee,