I please the Lord to bless us
together this evening as we consider his word. Let us turn to the
prophecy of Isaiah chapter 30 and read verses 20 and 21. The
prophecy of Isaiah chapter 30 and reading verses 20 and 21. And though the Lord give you
the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet shall
not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more. But thine
eye shall see thy teachers, and thine ear shall hear a word behind
thee saying, this is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to
the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. The Prophet Isaiah is here speaking
about a time of blessing and a time of deliverance to Israel,
to the Church of God. We know from the Word of God
that Israel were a very disobedient people on so many, many occasions. And if we are honest, And may
the Spirit of God make us honest, we shall recognise that but for
God's grace we are no better. In fact, probably worse. We have
probably turned our back upon God days without number. We may have said by our actions,
by our thoughts, perhaps by our words, we will not have this
man to reign over us. therefore as Israel deserved
to be annihilated from Almighty God, so surely by our situation
we don't deserve anything else. And yet what a wonderful blessing
to know that God was indeed so gracious to his people, those
people that he had and would redeem from all their sins by
the shedding of his precious blood upon that cross at Calvary. And so the application applies
to his church today. Whatever their situation, however
far off they may have wandered, how hard-hearted they have been
left to themselves, to realise yet the Lord's promises will
be fulfilled. You see, God's promises are yea
and amen. That means they will be fulfilled.
And those promises which God has spoken will not fall to the
ground. Nothing God speaks fails. Everything
that God speaks comes to pass. And may such a realisation be
a wonderful encouragement unto us as we read the Word of God,
as we read the ancient prophecies, and we see how they had to deal
with the people in the day and age in which they lived. And
it still, Lord, applies to us today. yet we see the wonderful
appearing of God's mercy and indeed in this chapter when we
come down to verse 18 we read and therefore will the Lord wait
that he may be gracious unto you and therefore will he be
exalted that he may have mercy upon you for the Lord is a God
of judgment blessed are all they that wait for him when it's a
blessing my friends if you and I have been waiting for the Lord. Now the Lord knows whether that's
true and whether we are waiting for God to appear, waiting for
God to speak, waiting for God to direct us, waiting for God
to bless us and we're really concerned about it and we're
really prayerful about it and we're really earnestly seeking
the Lord will remember us with that mercy and favour which he
has toward his people. and to be able to then recognize
such a word as this is so appropriate and so necessary for the situation
which we find ourselves in today. And therefore, yes, he looks
back and now he says, and therefore, will the Lord, don't forget what
God says comes to pass, and here he says, will the Lord wait,
and he may be gracious, he will be gracious, he may wait for
a time, until his work is worked out in your life and my life. But he will be gracious, and
the word says he will be gracious unto you. And therefore would
he be exalted that he may have mercy upon you, for the Lord
is a God of judgment. Blessed are all they that wait
for him." God knows tonight whether we are waiting for the Lord or
whether we are careless And whether we are not waiting,
whether we may perhaps just act out a form of religion, there
is today a great deal of formality. There is a great deal of mock
humility. There is a great deal of false
religion. But my friends, the Lord looks
at the heart. and people may fool people into
believing they're good Christians, when in fact the heart may be
far from God. We can come, yes we can. We can
sit in chapel and we can look all prim and proper and we can
look as though we're listening and in fact we may be thinking
of all the things of the world. Yes, we may be passing the time
instead of profit to our souls, we find that in fact, instead
of worshipping the Lord God, we are serving the devil. The
Lord therefore knows whether we are here tonight amongst those
who are waiting for the Lord. And the prophet goes on, for
the people shall dwell in Zion and Jerusalem, They shall weep
no more. He will be very gracious unto
thee at the voice of thy cry. When he shall hear it, he will
answer thee. And so we have again a wonderful
promise. The promise is to those that
cry unto the Lord. That means not those that just
speak into the air, for many false prayers today. But my friends,
here we have a true statement. He will be very gracious unto
thee at the voice of thy cry. When he shall hear it, he will
answer thee. And so if we are truly crying,
and as I've often said, a cry is something which emanates from
the heart. It's something which is real.
Yes, we know that when a baby cries, because they need something. And so, my friends, as you and
I may be babes in Christ, we may cry out into God in prayer,
in the reality from our heart. And so it may be that this may
be true of us. Unto thee, he will be very gracious
unto thee at the voice of thy cry. When he shall hear it, he
will answer thee. We're not told when the answer
will be. Your time is always, but my time
is not yet. The Lord waits to be gracious.
The Lord has a divine time to favor Zion. He has a divine time
to bless our souls. But the great and important thing
is whether you and I are on the stretch after God, after the
blessing, if it's something of vital importance to us, that
we come perhaps like the hymn writer who said, give me Christ
or else I die. The perishing state of a needy
sinner wants to know that the Lord Jesus Christ is their all-sufficient
Saviour, and they are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Their
names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. They are one of
those who will one day be with the Saviour in glory forever
and ever. It's not just a form of words,
it comes really from the heart with a very great and true cry. And so in the Lord's time, in
the Lord's way, He will turn look upon us and be gracious
to us and bless us. And so we come to these words.
And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the
water of affliction, now the Lord has promised to bless. But
my friends, there may be yet these times, these testing times
in our spiritual life, when the Lord looks upon us and what does
he do? He gives us, remember that, he
gives us the bread of adversity and the water of affliction.
So we are being fed on adversity and affliction. You may be surprised
to think that's part of the true Christian life. But here we have
this statement. The Lord gives this sometimes,
perhaps we might say very often, to his people. A Christian's
path is not plain sailing. It's not a smooth way. It's a
rough way. It's a difficult path. And because
of that, it causes the Church of God to cry unto the Lord. If there was no adversity, If
there was no affliction, what would we do? Well, we'd be consumed
by the world. We'd find that our lives would
be occupied in satisfying the flesh. We wouldn't be concerned
about our spiritual life. We wouldn't be concerned about
the honour and glory of our God. And so the Lord deals very graciously,
as he says. And in that very gracious dealing,
this is a direction The Lord sees fit to lead his people. And remember the word of God
tells us this, and it's true. He led them forth by the right
way that they might go to a city of habitation. Yes, God's ways
are right. God's way is right for you. God's
way is right for me. And we can expect therefore,
the word here to be fulfilled in our lives. As the Lord gives
us, The bread of adversity and the water of affliction. Oppression. You feel oppressed. You feel
oppressed sometimes. We feel the inroads of Satan.
We might feel oppressed in our soul. Oppressed because of our
carnal state. Because of the evil of our hearts.
Our sinful nature. And we might feel oppressed because
of it. So the Lord then comes and encourages
us in this way and says, and though the Lord give you the
bread of adversity and the water of affliction, and don't be surprised,
and then he comes and says, yet, shall not thy teachers be removed
into a corner anymore? Well, you can think of this in
this way, can't you? If a teacher's in the corner,
out of the way as such, there isn't much instruction, is there?
And perhaps the Lord has allowed that, that those who teach, those
who preach, may, in effect, have been pushed into a corner, and
therefore, as it were, out of the way. And their message, their
words, have not been heeded, they haven't been attended to. And it's as though they've been
placed far away. But the Word of God tells us,
yet shall not thy teachers be removed into corner any more.
They'll now come to the fore. They'll now be there to proclaim
the great truths of the everlasting Gospel. And what does the Word
tell us? But thine eyes shall see thy
teachers. The Church of God then will see
the Word of God. When those teachers are removed
out of the way, there's no seeing, there's no blessing. The Word
of God, as it were, becomes dim. It may be in a corner. I wonder
if the Word of God has been in a corner in your life and my
life, whether we've pushed it aside, shoved it on a shelf,
not really read the Word of God. It's been in a corner, out of
the way. In case it inhibited our condition,
our life of ease, our life of pleasure and the things of God,
there it is in the corner. And surely the Word of God is
our teacher, is it not? Well, has it been in the corner
in your life and my life? You know whether it's true. You know whether the Word of
God is first in your life or if it's last in your life. There
it is, out of the way, not attended to very much. Well, here is the
blessing of the Lord. And what a wonderful thing it
is that we have a gracious God. You see, if the Lord was to deal
with you and me as we deserve, that Word of God would always
be in the corner. It would never be attractive
to us. We should never desire the blessing, because we would
be consumed by the evil of our heart. though the Lord give you
therefore the bread of adversity and the water of affliction,
yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more,
but thine eyes shall see thy teachers." What a blessing when
our eyes are open to see the truth of God's Word, to see the
application of it to our souls, to see that all things are working
together for our spiritual good, to those who love God and to
those who are called according to his purpose. It puts things
in a very different perspective when the Spirit of God speaks
to our heart through his word. Through his word. Well, when
did the Lord last speak to you and me through his word? Through
his word. When did we read the word, and
it was as though it jumped out at us, and it arrested us, and
it spoke to us, and it directed us, and it guided us, and it
brought us nearer to the Lord Jesus Christ. Thine eyes shall
see thy teachers. What a blessing it is then when
the Spirit of God arouses us to this position. In these two
verses we have the statement of the eyes and the ears. Naturally,
we need our eyes and ears. Spiritually, we need our eyes
and our ears. And what a favour when the Lord
grants that, that our eyes are able to see the truth of God's
word. But thine eyes shall see thy
teachers. And who is our blessed teacher really? The Lord Jesus
Christ. And so you see, do we view him
as our teacher? Does the word of God reveal him
to our souls? Do we rejoice to read of him? Our eyes, by faith, view the
Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, not in a corner anymore,
but revealed by his Spirit to our faith to see the Lord Jesus
Christ. And then you see, as the Spirit
of God draws us near and we view what the Saviour has done, whereas
perhaps we were in a time of famine, Yes, but we weren't receiving
any spiritual food. We were becoming lean. There
was no real blessing. There was no appetite for the
things of God. There was no hunger for the things
of God. Yes, our hunger was for the things
of this vain world. But I think then the Lord again
is so gracious. He said he'll be very gracious.
very gracious, and I'm sure that if we have been left to ourselves,
as it were, to find these things in a corner, to then realise
the graciousness of the Lord toward us, yes, it will have,
I'm sure, a good effect upon us, because we shall recognise
the mercy of the Lord. Do you know the mercy of the
Lord towards your soul. God's mercy, God's favour, he
hasn't left you to your just desert, but he's been gracious
to us, and therefore, as we read here, but thine eyes shall see
thy teachers. Well, the Lord gives us faith
to view the Lord Jesus Christ. That will change our barrenness,
that will change our hardness because our heart will be softened
as we realize the great mercy and love of the Lord Jesus Christ. In all that he's done for such
a rebellious person, rebellious sinner, the chapter begins with,
doesn't it? Woe to the rebellious children. Rebellious children, saith the
Lord, that take counsel but not of me, and that cover with a
covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin."
Well, if you and I have been there, rebellious people, you
may be there tonight, I don't know, whether you are rebellious
in your heart against the things of God, against the path that
the Lord has ordained for you. You may be rebellious about it,
and because of that, The Word of God tells us the rebellious
dwell in a dry land. You find yourself in a dry situation. Yes, you need the bread and water
of life and it may perhaps have come in this way, a water of
affliction, of oppression which has come to you and upon you
and that's brought you to this position when then your eyes
have been opened by the Spirit of God to see the Lord Jesus
Christ in all His love, and all His compassion, and all His mercy. And not only that, the Spirit
of God tells us, and not only will our eyes be opened to see
the teaching of the Spirit of God, to reveal Christ unto our
hearts yet, and thine ears, Our ears shall hear a word behind
thee saying." Our ears are being opened. Perhaps our ears are
being stopped. Perhaps, in fact, of course our
ears are stopped until the Spirit of God opens them. Because, you
know, the Church of God, they come and they sit and they hear
the Word of God preached, but until the Spirit of God opens
those ears, There's no hearing. There's no spiritual hearing. My friends, when the Spirit of
God comes and opens our ears, what a wonderful sound it is.
What is it? It's the sound of the Gospel.
Mercy for sinners. The Gospel makes known what a
glorious sound it is. And so has the Spirit of God
open our ears and thine ears shall hear a word behind you
remember here the word of God is speaking to the church of
God those to whom he has a mercy those to whom he says therefore
will the Lord wait that he may be gracious And then to think
that here the Lord is looking upon us in mercy and saying,
and thine eyes shall hear a word behind thee. Well, have you and
I heard the word of the Lord? Have we heard the word of our
beloved? Have we heard the word of the
Lord Jesus Christ speak into our hearts? There is a voice
behind us, encouraging us, directing us in the way that we should
go. Yes, and that is, shall hear
this word of the Lord behind us, saying, this is the way,
walk ye in it. You may have wondered, we may
have been waiting for the Lord to speak and now the Lord comes
and he tells us, this is the way, walk ye in it. answer to our prayers, the answer
to our cries. The Lord's waited to be gracious
and here he comes and we find that our ears are now open to
hear the word of the Lord directing us. Yes, he brought them by the right
way. The Lord leads us in the right
way. He brings us into the narrow
path that leads to eternal life. He delivers us from the broad
way. The broad way is here really
described like this. When you turn to the right hand
and when you turn to the left. You see there's those ways. The Word of God tells us there
is a way that seemeth right to a man. At the end thereof are
the ways of death. And you and I need to ponder
the path of our feet. We need to ponder whether the
old devil is making us go a little under the broad way instead of
the narrow way. Well, I'll tell you how to assess
whether it's right or wrong. I'll tell you how to do that. Is the way bringing you nearer
to Christ, or is it taking you away from Christ. That's not
very difficult, is it? All we need is an honest heart
to be able to seek to God that he will show us whether a way
that seems right to us is the right way. Does it bring you
nearer to Christ? Or does it take you away? That's
a test, my friends, which you and I can apply with confidence
that we will come out with a right answer. You see, the devil wants
us to go in the wrong way. He wants us to go in the broad
way. He doesn't want us to come nearer
to Christ. He wants us to go farther away. But here we have
this gracious word. Our ears shall hear the word
of the Lord. My friends, the word of the Lord
does not make any mistakes. The Word of the Lord is the true
Word, and the Word of the Lord is that which is right. It might
not always appeal to your conscience. You might not always want to
go in the way that the Lord directs you in. You might find it's not
very pleasant, because it spoils your plans, because you can't
do what you want to do. But it is the right way. and
it is the way which leads to eternal life. And surely that's
what you and I need to know, that our ears may hear this word
behind us, directing us, keeping us in that straight and narrow
way and not left to wander off into the broad way. And so we
have here this gracious word from the Lord and our ears shall
hear this word behind us. We're walking in the path, we're
walking in the way, and we want to be encouraged. The way we're
walking is the right way. To believe in the Lord speaks
to us. The Lord speaks to us. Sometimes you may need to wait
for the Lord to speak. But my friends, don't make a
wrong assumption. Don't be impatient. You remember
what King Saul was? King Saul was Impatient. He wouldn't wait for Elisha. He wouldn't wait. He did what
he thought was right. The Word of God had spoken to
him through the Prophet what he should do. And he made an
excuse. My friends, he was condemned
for it. He was condemned for it. The
Lord has a right place and a right time and a right way. And the Lord gives grace to wait
and grace to endure. But that won't be a sitting down
in idleness. That'll be a seeking the Lord,
praying urgently to the Lord that he will come The Lord will
deliver, the Lord will appear, that you may hear the voice of
the Lord directing. It's a good thing to wait for
the voice of the Lord. My friends, it's not a question
of just waiting as though, well, perhaps something will happen.
Here is a word spoken to the living Church of God, who are
crying out for His direction. crying out for his blessing.
He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry."
If there's no prayer, there's no cry, you cannot expect any
direction. You cannot expect the voice of
the Lord to speak to you. I will be inquired of by the
house of Israel to do these things for them. The path of a true
child of God is a path of prayer. and a path of real prayer, and
not just a form of words. Well, thine ears shall hear this
word behind thee saying. The word of God is very clear,
isn't it? The Lord will give that direction. My friends, are
we waiting for it? Are we praying for it? Are we
crying for it? Are we waiting for the Lord to
speak to us? To hear what the Lord will speak
to our souls? We have an urgent case. If you have an urgent case, if
you have a burden, then you see there will be the effect in your
life. You will have a living desire
and a real desire after spiritual blessings, after greater knowledge
of Christ. This is the reality of true religion. Give me Christ or else I die. What a test that is of the reality
of our religion. It's not something which is just
airy-fairy. The Lord brings the people down
to that situation where they have to cry to the Lord there's
no one else to go to. Yes, you may come perhaps weary
and worn and sad. My friends, the Lord brings down
that he might raise up. doesn't come to those who are
full of their own importance, it comes to those who he's brought
down that he might raise up. So they may be amongst those
who bring honour and glory to his great and holy name, and
it's to those whom then the Lord Jesus Christ will be precious. And they will see a glory then
in what Christ has done. They will stand amazed at his
love and mercy towards them, and they will love to meditate
upon the Saviour's death. They will love to meditate upon
that great plan of salvation. They'll love to observe it as
they read the Word of God, to find Christ on the pages. As you read the Word of God,
do you hear the Word speaking behind you? This is the way,
the Lord speaking, From His Word to your soul. Don't go that way. Don't go that way, but this is
the way. Walk ye in it when you turn to
the right hand or when you turn to the left. You see, the Lord
tells us very clearly, this is the way. And my friends, faith knows when
the Lord speaks. This is the way. Yes, the Lord leads in the right
way, and our faith believes it to be the right way. This is
the way, and if it is the way, what is the instruction? To then
sit down and dawdle and not act, not to follow the way? No. Here
is the greatest instruction. If we then hear the Word, saying
this is the way, then we are to walk in it. We are to walk
in it. When the Lord gives the Word,
gives the direction, we are then to walk in it. We are not then
to make excuses. We are not then to be disobedient.
We are to walk in the way. The Lord has directed us in. And so here, the prophet speaks
to Israel. The word of God speaks to our
souls tonight. In this way, and thine ears shall
hear the word of the Lord behind thee, saying, this is the way. Well, perhaps this is what you've
been praying for. The Lord has given you a word
of direction. This is the way. And then the
Lord speaks. Walk in it. Walk in the way. Follow it out. Obey my word,
which I've been gracious to you in coming to you with. Walk in
it. When you turn to the right hand
and when you turn to the left. Well, what a blessing it is to
have a God who hears and answers prayer, to have a God who does
not deal with us as our sins deserve, to have a God who is
full of mercy and love and compassion to such unworthy sinners. Surely we have great cause to
rejoice Surely we have great reason to bless our God, if he
has led us in that way, which has directed us to the Lord Jesus
Christ. And we realise the truth of those
words, the Saviour said, I am the way, the truth and the light. And if we are therefore the followers
of our Saviour, that despised and crucified man, we shall not
make shipwreck. No, but we shall know The Lord
is with us and the Lord will go with us. The Lord will bring
us at last home to glory, there to praise and glorify his great
and holy name. And therefore may we bless God
tonight for a word like this, ye shall and thine eyes shall
hear a word behind this saying, this is the way, walk ye in it. When you turn to the right hand,
and when you turn to the left. Amen.