Let's take our Bibles and turn
back to the book of Proverbs. I think of this passage of Scripture
and I think how the Lord has blessed it to us. It's like a precious friend,
a gift that the Lord's given us. I'd like to look at verses 15
and 16 of Proverbs 27. Proverbs 27, 15, and 16, a continual
dropping in a very heavy rainy day, and a contentious woman
are alike. Whosoever hideth her hideth the
wind, and the ointment of his right hand which bereath itself. Now the Spirit of God moved upon
a man named Solomon to, humanly speaking, give or reveal something
that is an illustration, it's a picture, it's a type of having
or being married to what the scripture declares to be a contentious
woman. And the Holy Ghost moved Solomon
to say, a contentious woman is like this, a continual dropping
in a very rainy day. Now, what he's saying is this,
he's saying that a roof. A roof. In a very rainy day. When one just, it just pours
in. It just leaks. It's just a continual
leaking. It's a problem. The roof's got
a problem. Just get that in your mind. We've
got a roof. that's the covering for a dwelling
place, and the construction of that roof, either it wasn't properly
done, it wasn't flashed correctly, it wasn't constructed right,
or it's just inferior material, or whatever the problem, the
effects are the same. It's leaking like a sieve. Water
is just pouring in. Everywhere. This is not just
a little drip. Drip. Uh-uh. This is water. This is continual
dropping. When you look up the meaning,
it's talking about water that's pushing the next water so quickly. It's running. It's running water. It's destructive. It's unnerving. There's no rest. There's no comfort,
no peace. Why? The roof's leaking. And I mean it's leaking big time. It's got, in a very rainy day,
openings everywhere. And it's just, it's torturous. A man can't stand anywhere, sit
anywhere, lie down anywhere without getting soaked. He's not at rest. He said that's
the illustration used by the Lord concerning a contentious
woman. Now, this contentious woman. Humanly speaking, it'd be like
that, a woman or a man, either one of them, anyone. Anyone that's
just brawling, quarreling, sore of discord, always desiring to
just live in contentious attitude, engaged in a contest. That's
painful. That's just painful. But the
Spirit of God is teaching us something spiritually. You know
that. I mean, humanly speaking, I get
it. You do too. None of us would
want to be that. But the Lord, by His Holy Spirit,
has used the wording. A contentious woman, according
to His own wise and sovereign purpose, to set forth the harm,
the insecurity, the unsettledness, of trusting in the things, the
religions of this world. It's the religions, the false
religions of this world. I told someone last week, it's
amazing to me, and I'm just going down through Proverbs verse by
verse by verse. I'm not picking them out. I'm
not just saying, well, I think I'll be over here today. I'm going
verse by verse by verse. But when you stop and realize
how often the Spirit of God warns and warns and warns people, warns
them. Be careful what you hear. Be
careful what you hear. Be careful what you hear. I was
speaking to someone this past week, and I was speaking to them
about the necessity. They're in another state. The
necessity. I said, there's a man that I
know that's a few minutes from where you live, and this man's
preaching the truth. And this person told me, he said,
well, I was going to church here, and I said, I'm not talking about
just going to church. I'm not talking about that. Uh-uh. I see the signs, you know. Go
to the church of your choice. Go somewhere where God has raised
up a pastor that's preaching the truth. Well, how am I going
to find him? The Lord will direct you. Lord
direct you. You want to go find somebody
that, you know. I told her, I said, go listen to this man. Go, for
the eternal good of your soul, listen to what this man's got
to say. But this contentious woman, it sets forth the unsettlement,
that religion that's got holes in it. You take false religion,
and you can take the truth and you put false religion and try
to look at the truth and you find out that false religion
has got holes in it. It leaks. It leaks like a sieve. It has
no stability, no comfort, no peace, no protection. It's nothing. It was a continual dropping in
a very rainy day and a contentious woman. They're alike. It's talking
about trying to put your trust in something that won't repel. As the rain fell on the ark,
I'm telling you the roof on that ark, when Noah built that ark,
God told him how to build it. That ark was a picture of Christ.
You know what? It didn't leak. And no record
of that one drop of water got in that heart. God poured out
wrath upon this world, Noah and his family were safe. That's
what's being said right here. When this contentious woman,
when she speaks, she speaks of that which can't be substantiated
by this word. She argues with that which God
sets forth for his glory. She argues with the gospel. That
leaking roof and a contentious woman. All she's wanting to do
is elevate herself and she's like the roof of a man's works. It's just badly constructed,
poor material. And it's not going to hold up.
It's horrible, humanly speaking, to live with one, humanly speaking,
who's obnoxious and argumentative, striving to do nothing but stir
up trouble with the family. But this contentious woman right
here, associate with her is soul damning. Who is she? Well, here's
what the scripture says in Revelation. This is her name, Mystery. Babylon
the Great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.
She's that contentious woman who, like that continual dropping
in a very rainy day, shall be proven to fail in her promised
covering, her promised protection from the justice and judgment
of Almighty God in the day of His wrath. For the only hope
that she declares is false hope. It's the best that a man, a mortal,
can perform. Now this wording, I'm going to
be brief on this message right here, but I want to look at a
couple of things in particular right here. It says, if you'll
notice, verse 15, a continual dropping in a very rainy day. Now this very rainy day, Again,
I looked it up. Find out what is being said on
this very rainy day. This is not just a summer drizzle.
This is not even a violent thunderstorm. You talk about, you look outside,
it looks like it's raining cats and dogs. You know, I mean, it's
just a storm. It's not even a Category 5 hurricane. I'm from Louisiana. I've been
in one hurricane and it was a category one and it was the very lowest. It was 75 miles an hour when
it came through Alexandria, Louisiana when I was living as a kid. Only
hurricane I've ever been through. 75 miles an hour. And it was
horrible. It was horrible. Stuff was flying
all over the place. A cat 5. 150 is where it starts. this right here. But our house
was still there. I mean, if it was passed over,
the house was still there. This very rainy day, when you
look at it, it means a sweeping away. That's what it's talking
about, a sweeping away. That rain that is typical setting
forth what it's going to be like in the day of judgment. Turn
over to Isaiah 28, hold your place, Isaiah 28. This very rainy
day, like I say, it's not just a little, it's nothing like we've
ever seen, I can tell you that. Isaiah 28. This is what a very rainy day
is like. Isaiah 28 verse 14 to 17, Therefore
hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men that rule this
people which is in Jerusalem, because you said we've made a
covenant with death and with hell are we at agreement when
the overflowing scourge shall pass through It shall not come
unto us. That's what you're saying. You've
made your own covenant. We've made lies our refuge and
under falsehood have we hid ourselves. Therefore, thus saith the Lord,
behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation of stone, a tried stone, a precious
cornerstone, a sure foundation. He that believeth shall not make
haste. Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness
to the plummet, and the hail shall sweep away. The refuge
of lies and the water shall overflow the hiding place. You know what?
Here's what the Lord's saying. In that day, I'm going to lay
the plummet to the line. I'm going to lay the righteousness
of my precious Son to the line. His obedience, His righteousness,
His holiness. And everything is going to be
judged according to Him. And if you're not in Him, Everything is going to be swept
away. Nothing is going to stand. Proverbs 27, a continual dropping
in a very rainy day. And a contentious woman or alike. Whosoever hideth her, hideth
the wind. and the ointment of his right
hand which bereath exposes." Excel. What the Lord set forth
through Solomon was to say this, this contentious woman, associating
with her, being found In that day, in that day of that very
rainy day, that sweeping away day, that day in which nothing
gonna stand apart from my Son and all found in Him. In that
day, anyone associated with this mystery Babylon the Great, the
harlot, the abomination of the world, Trusting in anything, trusting something that you've
done, it's not going to stand. It's not going to stand. And
in that day, whosoever hideth her, meaning whoever associated
trusting in her lies, trying to conceal the true intent of
that contentious woman, trying to hide that you were truly standing
in her and trusting in her, you might as well try to hide the
wind, is what the Lord's saying. You might as well try to just
stop and put the wind in check, stop his power. It's going to
be like somebody trying to stifle the smell of that ointment, that
perfume that they've got in their hand. You can squeeze it and
hold it all you want to, but you know what? It's going to
seep out on you. That's what he said. It's a picture
of man trying to conceal in that day. How are they going to try
to conceal it? We've read it so many times.
It's Matthew 7. Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord.
What are you going to try to do? Now you're going to try to
conceal it. Now you're going to try to conceal that contentious
woman. You're going to try to conceal
the smell of that ointment, that salve. Again, I'm about four
paragraphs ahead of myself on these notes right here. You're
going to try to conceal that false security, that false salve
that you tried to bind your own wounds up with, your works. In that day, Lord, And here you
go, you're going to try to conceal her. Might as well conceal the
wind. The Lord said, you might as well try to hide the wind
to do this before God. Lord, we prophesied in your name. I was a preacher. The Lord's
warning us about false preachers. I was a preacher. I cast out
devils in your name. I've done many wonderful works
in your name. What's he trying to do? He's
trying to hide her. I'm trying to conceal her. And
the Lord said, you might as well conceal the wind. I never knew
you. I never knew you. That salve, that ointment, it's
going to call itself out. It means to call out and be properly
addressed by name. That's what it's going to be.
You're going to be standing before the omniscient God. Revelation
20, verse 11 says, I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat
on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and
there was found no place, I've told you before, for them. There
was found no place to hide. There's going to be no place
to hide, no place to go. Books are going to be opened.
And all standing in their own works, trusting in themselves
that they were righteous. They're not standing in God's
advocate, mediator and great high priest. Everyone apart from
Him swept away. Their roof of protection that
they thought they had, it's just leaking all over the place. No
comfort, no joy, no peace. Isaiah 30 verse 1, Woe to the
rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but
not of me. And that cover with a covering,
but not of my spirit. Wasn't a cover that was revealed
by my spirit, that they may add sin to sin. Back in Isaiah 28, Isaiah 28,
continuing where I was reading, verses 18 to 20. Your covenant
with death shall be disannulled. Your agreement with hell shall
not stand. When the overflowing scourge
shall pass through, then you shall be trodden down by it.
From the time that it goeth forth, it shall take you. For morning
by morning shall it pass over, day by night it shall be a vexation
only. to understand the report, for
the bed is shorter than a man can stretch himself on it, and
the covering narrower than he can wrap himself in it." He said,
in that day, apart from my son, that bed of security that you've
been saying that you got, it ain't going to stand. You're
not going to be able to cover yourself with it. There won't
be any covering. Your bedsheets are going to have short sheets,
that's what you're going to have. You pull them up around your neck,
almost to your feet. You're all going to be exposed. Oh, but
to be found in Christ. To have, by the grace of God,
to be made to behold something of the fallacy of the false security
of this world. What a blessing that God will
open our eyes. Show us who He is, who we are. Those who buy
God's grace know that there's one place of comfort, our city
of refuge, our cleft in the rock. He who has established righteousness
and imputed that righteousness to everyone that believeth, the
one who did bear the sins of his people in his own body, upon
the tree, willingly laid down his life for all that were given
him by the Father. And he put away their guilt,
bore it away. He's the safety from the avenger
of blood. He's the true physician. He's
that good Samaritan. Remember that good Samaritan?
There was one that was going down from Jerusalem down to Jericho. And he fell among thieves. That's
all men by nature. All of us have been beaten by
Satan, sin, this world. But God's got a people that's
among all those that fell. And this good Samaritan came
to one that was along that highway. Pharisees and priests, they saw
him. He just looked the other way.
They couldn't do anything for him. The law can't heal us. But this good Samaritan came
and he took him and he poured oil and wine, remember that,
into his wounds. Poured that by the oil of his
Holy Spirit. He poured in the wine and it
set forth the blood, applied the blood to the wounds of that
man that scripture says was half dead. He bound him up, put him
on his own donkey there, took him to an inn. Picture of the
bride, the church, said you take care of him until I come back. Now that ointment right there,
that's the ointment that God's people savor. The ointment of
His Holy Spirit. That balm of Gilead, Scripture
talks about. That true balm that heals those
spiritual wounds. All the other is going to be
exposed. I pray that the Lord teach us
in this life, this life that soon will be over, we've got
one covering. We've got one banner over us.
It's Him who is love. The God that delights to show
mercy. Cast yourself upon Him. Call Him in your heart. Call
upon Him. All that cometh unto me. Who
are they? All that the Father gave. He
said, they're going to come to me. And Him that cometh to me,
to me, to me. I will in no wise cast out. Lord,
cast me not out. For my good and your glory. All
right.