I'm going to ask you to take
your Bibles and turn with me to the book of Isaiah chapter
6. Isaiah chapter 6. I plan to preach
both messages out of Isaiah chapter 6. This morning I want to do
something that's a little bit different, but I want to take the first verse
And I actually want to speak out of the last phrase, out of
the first verse, first, out of the first message. And then Lord
willing I'll go back and I'll start in verse 1 and we'll go
through verse 4. But I'd like to read Isaiah chapter
6 verse 1. In the year that King Uzziah
died, I saw also the Lord. sitting upon a throne, high and
lifted up, and his train filled the temple. We read this verse a lot. We
quote this verse a lot. More is quoted out of the book
of Isaiah than probably any other book in the Old Testament. Isaiah. And this is a very, very familiar
passage of Scripture. And we read, quote, Isaiah, and
there's times that the Spirit of God is just pleased to just
stop, stop us, and cause us to look again at something that's
being said. And I want to look at that last
phrase, and his train filled, the temple. Isaiah saw something. He saw King Uzziah die. He saw the Lord also. He saw
Him high and lifted up. But when it says His train filled
the temple, that bore so much significance to me. that I wanted to just look at
it. Now to grasp the depth of that
portion of Scripture, we should mark that place in Isaiah 6,
but go back with me to Exodus chapter 28. Exodus to find out
exactly what the Lord, or as much light, let me say it like
that, as we could have on that Go back to Exodus chapter 28,
and I want to find out where that word and his train fill
the tense. His train. Exodus chapter 28,
in verse 33, here's the first time that that word is used and
it's interpreted there in Exodus 28, him, H-E-M. Exodus 28, 33, and beneath upon
the hymn of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue and of purple
and of scarlet round about the hymn thereof and bells of gold
between them round about. Now, there's so much that's involved
in that passage of scripture. The articles of clothing is what
was being set forth in here. And Aaron, whenever the Lord
gave instruction to Moses on how to array, how to clothe Aaron,
the high priest, Aaron was clothed so that when he entered into
the holy place, of the representative, or as the representative, picture
of Christ, representative of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here's
what the scripture said about how he was clothed. In verse
29, the scripture says, and Aaron shall bear the names of the children
of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart. When
he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial, for a remembrance
before the Lord continually. He was to have on Himself, He
was to have a breastplate of right. He had a breastplate on
Him and it was a breastplate of righteousness. A breastplate
of judgment upon His heart. And the scripture says, and thou
shalt put in the breastplate, and it was a folded over, folded
over and tucked inside. That breastplate, it says in
verse 30, and thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment
the urem and the thymem. And they shall be upon Aaron's
heart when he goeth in before the Lord. And Aaron shall bear
the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before
the Lord continually. Now, there's a lot of thoughts
on that Urim and the Thummim. They were probably stones. Stones
of judgment. Stones by which the Lord was
pleased to give an answer. concerning questions that would
come up. And Urim and Thummim actually
means lights, lights, lights, and perfection. And they were
used for, like I said, for God-given direction. That priest would
go in and that probably stones. I want to just read something
to you. Numbers 27. In verse 21, a passage of scripture
that gives some understanding of what that Urim and Thummim
was. Numbers 27 verse 21. And he shall stand before Eleazar. Now this was the king. He was
talking about the king. I'll just bring you up to speed
here. The king, if he wanted to know what God's will was,
He'd come before the king. The priest didn't go stand before
the king. The king stood before the priest. And it says, verse
21, He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel
of him after the judgment of Urim before the Lord. At his
word shall they go out. At his word they shall come in.
Both he and all the children of Israel with him, even all
the congregation. So he came and asked counsel
of the priest who would get an answer from God concerning that
urim and that thummum. And those were tucked inside
that breastplate. And so here was the priest back
in Exodus 28, a picture and a type of the Lord Jesus Christ, the
representative before God for all that The Lord had chosen
for His people, so here was a picture of the Lord Himself, the great
high priest who would come and make presentation of His own
blood shed for the remission of sins as the just payment. of the transgression of the elect. Here's how the priest would go
in. He'd go into the holy place. And he had that breastplate on.
He had the Urim and Thummim tucked in. On that breastplate there
was twelve stones on that and it had the names of each of the
tribes of Israel. He'd go and so Continuing back
in Exodus chapter 28, found on those garments, the scripture declared that in
verse, I'm sorry, I'll read verse 31, 32. Thou shalt make the robe
of the ephod of blue, and there shall be a hole in the top of
it, in the midst thereof, and it shall have a binding of woven
work. There was no seams in that robe.
It was a picture of the perfectness. of the Lord Jesus Christ completeness.
It have a hold, as it were, the hold of a habergeon. And it be
not rent. And here's verse 33 and verse
34. It says, and beneath upon the
hem of that robe... Now when that priest went in,
this is how he was dressed. He had that one piece robe. He had that breastplate on. He
had the urim and the thummim fitted inside that breastplate. And on that, around the bottom,
the fringe, the bottom of the skirt of his garment, that's
what he's talking about. Beneath, upon the hem, thou shalt
make pomegranates of blue and of purple and scarlet round about
the hem thereof, and bells of gold between them round about
a golden bell and a pomegranate upon the hem of the robe roundabout. Now, of course, those symbols,
those things that were upon that, they were not without significance. I tried to look and to see something. What does the scriptures have
to say? It doesn't matter. Men say, well I think it was
this, I think it was that. What does God have to say about
what was being set forth. And I found something, again,
hold your place in Exodus there. Turn over. Song of Solomon, or
just, I'll read this to you. Song of Solomon, the Lord is
describing His bride. And in Song of Solomon, chapter
4, in verses 1 to 7, listen, this is the Lord speaking of
His bride. Song of Solomon 4.1, Behold thou
art fair, my love, Behold, thou art fair, thou hast dove's eyes
within thy locks. When we went through the book
of Solomon, we took each one of these and tried to see what
the Lord was saying. And I'm just going to look at
one part on pomegranates is all I'm going to say for the sake
of time. But behold, thou art fair, my love. Behold, thou art
fair, thou hast dove's eyes. You know how doves are. Morning doves. One mate, one
mate. You know, life. That's the Lord's. Okay. Thou hast dove's eyes within
thy locks, thy hair is as flock of goats that appear from Mount
Gilead, thy teeth like a flock of sheep that are even shorn.
which came up from the washing, whereof every one bear twins,
and none is barren among them, thy lips like a thread of scarlet,
thy speech is comely, thy temples are like a piece of pomegranate
within thy locks, thy neck is like the tower of David built
for an armory whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields
and mighty men. Thy two breasts are like two
young rose that are twins which feed among the lilies until the
daybreak and the shadows flee away. I will get me to the mountain
and myrrh to the hill of frankincense. Thou art all fair, my love. There is no spot in thee. Now that's the Lord speaking,
but the part where he said, he said, Thy temples are like a
piece of pomegranate within thy locks. I read where in Hebrew,
the temples, the temples right here, it's just a very thin,
thin skin over that right there. And you can feel what they said
if to check the heart, to check the health of the heart, they
would feel the temples. You can feel your heart beating
right here. And that's how they would check
the health of the heart. And the Lord was speaking to
His bride and He said, your temples are like pomegranates. So said
before, I know this, that the pomegranate had something to
do with the health and the beauty. He was speaking of how beautiful.
You're altogether fair. There's no spot in you. So that
pomegranate, as far as I can know, I know I can safely say
concerning the pomegranates, according to the Lord speaking
to His bride, He said, your temple is the place where the heart
is checked, the health of the heart. He said, I can tell. He
said it's like pomegranates. It's like beauty. It's like health.
And the bells back in Exodus 28 were for a sound of assurance. A sound of assurance. How do
you know that? Well, I'm going to go back in
Exodus 28 and I'm going to read verse 35. And it shall be upon
Aaron to minister and his sound shall be heard when he goeth
in unto the holy place before the Lord and when he cometh out
And listen to this, that he die not. Now let me tell you what
that means. The Lord said, I want you, Moses,
to tell Aaron, this is how I want him to be clothed. This is how I want him. Breastplate,
urim, thumb, and stones. Around that outer garment, he
said, I want a fringe put on him. I want pomegranates, setting
forth the beauty of Christ, imputed to His people, making her without
spot and without blemish. But between every pomegranate,
I want a golden bell. And I want it to be, according
to this scripture right here, for a sound. I want it to be
heard. I want the people to know that
when that priest goes in, they could hear. They could hear those
golden bells on that hymn of that priest was a sound concerning
every step that he took. When he went in, those sounds
that were made were for the benefit of the people on the outside.
It was a testimony. He's inside, and they bear witness. That priest is in there meeting
with God on our behalf. And that priest inside that holy
place, he was invisible actually to them. They couldn't see it,
but they could hear him. They could hear the sound, the
evidence of God's acceptance And the Scripture says concerning
him wearing those bells for the benefit of the people, that latter
part it says, when he goeth in to the holy place before the
Lord, and when he cometh out, he'll have those bells on him,
that he die not. What he was saying is, you go
in there without those bells, and I'll kill you. I'll kill
you. You think about the mercy of
God for the benefit of those people. How the Lord loved and
cared for to give them the assurance. Oh, I know this. Like I said,
that priest was invisible then. He was inside that holy place
and they couldn't see him and we don't see him now, but I'll
tell you the very sound of the bells on Aaron's hymns was a
witness to those people, and we have a witness today too.
You know what the bells are to us? The gospel. The sound of
the gospel. The ringing of the sound of the
gospel. And I think he said, when Aaron
would go in there, you go in there without those bells, and
I'll kill you. Paul the apostle says, woe is
unto me. if I preach not the gospel. Woe
is unto me. Judgment upon me if I don't preach
the truth. Today, just like those bells
were on there for a witness. That was the hymn. That was on
the hymn of his garment. And he went in there and they
jangled and they moved and they could hear them. Here they were. He was ministering on behalf
of the people. That's a priest. A priest is
one that approaches God on the behalf of another. And there it was. They knew. They knew. This is what he's
going in. He's going in. He took the blood
of bulls and goats. And he went in and ministered. Blood was being applied and God
was being satisfied because we still hear the bells. The bells
are ringing. They're on the hem of His garment.
And I know this, the law is being honored. This is what God had,
you know, so here our Lord who left this earth physically over
2,000 years ago. But let me ask you this. Do we
not hear the sound, the witness? Do we not hear by faith the sound
of His ever-living intercession for us as we hear the truth?
being proclaimed, the bells are still ringing. He said, my sheep
hear my voice. I looked up that word voice again
just to hear. I just wanted to know what it
meant. I quote it all the time. My sheep hear my voice. Here's
what it means, manner of speaking. My sheep hear my manner of speaking. How does the Lord speak? It was gospel. We know those
people heard that priest in there. They could hear the bells ringing.
They knew he was alive. And we know that he's alive. Somebody said, well sure he's
alive. Yeah, but God's people know on their behalf he's alive. Let me read Revelation chapter
1 verse 17. Listen. First thing that the
Lord told John. when He revealed Himself on the
Isle of Patmos. First words, Revelation 1 verse
17-18. And when I saw Him, John said,
I felt His feet as dead, and He laid His right hand upon me. Can you imagine? John said He put His hand on
me. I felt Him touch me. He put His
right hand. saying unto me, now listen, I want him to say this to me,
fear not, fear not, I'm the first and the last, I am he that liveth
and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, amen, and
have the keys of hell and death. Well, here's the truth. Just as those people, as the
Lord told Moses, you array Aaron this way. You put all of this
in his garment upon him. And you put upon the hymn, you
put those golden bells. And you put it pomegranate bell,
pomegranate bell. When he goes in, thereof. A sound of a witness. So as Aaron
had on the hem of his garment, all of those things upon him. But that pomegranate,
here was the establishment of peace for God's people according
to the covenant of God's grace. The Lord being honored, oh don't
we know how right now the Father being honored. He who is one
with the Father, who right now is in heaven, in flesh, flesh,
God, man, mediator, And just as Aaron, those bells gave witness,
we have witness right here. We hear it ringing, those golden
bells that sounded out the assurance that all that Christ was sent
to do. Here's the golden bell. Here's
what it says. Finished. Finished. Ever liveth. I've gone to prepare a place
for you that where I am, there you shall be. And if I go and
prepare a place, I will surely come again." God's people hear
that again and they say, I hear it. I hear it. Those people heard
then, we hear now. Now I realize something. In the Old Testament, in the
wilderness, those bells I know are now silent. I know they were.
But the glorious sound of reconciliation before God by the blood of Christ
ever rings in the hearts of God's people now. Now in closing, I
want to just bring to our memory something that was said There
was a woman in Matthew chapter 9 verse 20 and 21. And this just
had new significance to me. She had an issue of blood for
12 years. And she was none the better.
Now there's a picture of man by nature, sick. The crown of his head, sole of
his foot. putrefying source. But God Almighty granted faith
to this woman. He opened her eyes to say what
she's about to say. And here's what she said. It
says, Behold a woman which was diseased with an issue of blood
twelve years came behind him and touched the hem of his garment.
For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment,
I shall be whole. She wanted to touch the hem of
His garment. She wanted to touch that which
the Lord was pleased to reveal Himself through. Him. She wanted to touch Him. Now,
Isaiah chapter 6, and I'm going to close reading Isaiah 6. One
again. that King Uzziah died, I saw
also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train, His hymn, the hymn of the revelation
of Himself in the glorious gospel of God's sovereign grace, His
train, His train only, His hymn only filled the temple. There was room for no other.
Only His. I pray that Almighty God be pleased
to cause us this morning to be thankful for the sound of the
Gospel. The sound of the truth that God's
graciously sent to this little assembly and to many others just
like this one, raised up a place of witness, a candlestick of
hope and light in the midst of a dark world. May God bless this word to our
hearts for Christ's sake. Amen. All right, let's take a
quick break.