May it please the Lord to bless
us together this morning as we consider his word. Let's turn
to the prophecy of Isaiah chapter 33 and we'll read verse 23. The prophecy of Isaiah, reading
the 23rd verse from the 33rd chapter. Thy tacklings are loosed, they
could not well strengthen their mast, they could not spread the
sail. Then is the prey of a great spoil
divided, the lame take the prey. We need to remember that many
of the Old Testament books are in fact prophecy. And they are
therefore speaking of those things which are to come. And that's
why perhaps sometimes we find some of the Old Testament really
quite difficult to understand and interpret. And the chapter
we read this morning, chapter 33, is also really quite a difficult
and hard chapter to understand. But it is speaking to Israel
about the situation which existed and that which would be accomplished. Isaiah lived in difficult days
when Israel were disobeying the word of the Lord and there was
that Babylonish captivity. So it was a time that needed
very serious and very straight words to be prophesied and as
we know The Word of God, the Old Testament, occupies quite
a lot of prophecy about that time directed to Israel in the
situation in which they lived. I don't intend to comment on
all the chapter this morning, but just perhaps picking it up
at verse 13, where we read these words. Here, ye that are far
off, what I have done, and ye that are near, acknowledge my
might." It was a call that Isaiah was putting forth so that the
people would hear what he was saying. And he therefore addresses
really those, wherever they might be, far off or near, that they
might understand and hear the words that he was directed by
the Spirit of God to speak to them. We must always remember,
of course, that these prophets were under the direct influence
of the Holy Spirit of God. They were not just speaking words
which came into their own mind. They were speaking the words
which the Lord directed them to speak. And therefore it is
very important that we recognise it in this sense as we consider
the words. They are the words of God. They
are not the words of a man. and therefore having been given
this encouragement to hear, he then says, the sinners in Zion
are afraid. Fearfulness has surprised the
hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with
a devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with
everlasting burnings? There was then a very direct
warning to those who were walking really contrary to God, and how
many people there were walking contrary to God, and how many
people today there are who are walking contrary to God, and
who need the Word of God to be directed to their hearts the
same as it was here. And so he speaks and says the
sinners in Zion And of course, Zion was really the centre of
Jerusalem. Jerusalem, you might say, was
the overall city, and in the centre was Zion, the city of
David. It was a very important area,
and therefore he addresses those The people, as you might say,
who were the nearest, they were closest to the temple, and yet
they needed to be warned about the situation that they were
in. And sometimes it's just like
that. People who appear to be closest in the things of God,
in actual fact, are not really true believers. They just have
a form of religion, an outward skin, as it were, but they are
categorised as hypocrites and sinners in Zion. Then he says,
he that walketh righteously and speaketh out rightly, he that
despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding
of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and
shatteth his eyes from seeing evil. We then see the Prophet
addresses the Church of God and what a good thing it is if we
understand what he's speaking here. He's speaking about those
who walk righteously and speak up rightly. That means they're
walking in the fear of the Lord. They desire to do those things
which are God honouring. The desire to be found serving
the Lord and walking and speaking. That's two very clear elements
in our lives, isn't it? We walk and we speak. And what does our walk demonstrate?
And what does our speech evidence? It's a good thing if our walk
is a godly walk and it's not a worldly walk. That means we
don't follow the ways of the world, but we desire to follow
the way of God. So, he that walketh up righteously
and speaketh up rightly, and he that despises the gain of
oppression. You see, here is a statement
that we are to despise those who gain by oppressing people. And there are today many, of
course, who do oppress people to gain for themselves. And so
we have this statement, he that despises that situation. You see the format we have here
being directed to a godly life. And then he that shaketh his
hands from holding of bribes. I suppose we live in a day where
bribes are prevalent. And we see it sometimes come
to the surface, often it doesn't. And how sad it is when judges,
police receive bribes and therefore justice is not done. And how
sad it is when this situation is allowed to develop Well, he's
shaking his hands, doesn't want anything to do with it. It's
a good thing to have nothing to do with it. Sometimes you
have to be very careful, especially those of you who are in business. It's sometimes quite difficult
to be able to decide whether people are trying to bribe us
to provide work or that kind of situation. We need to have
a right understanding not to give the least inclination that
we are prepared to accept any bribes. Well, it was obviously
prevalent in the day and age in which Isaiah was prophesying. Let's stop at his ears from hearing
of blood. We don't want to hear about things
like that. You know, our old nature often
goes after wrong and evil things. But those who are truly seeking
the Lord What a blessing it is if we don't want to hear. Turn
away from things which are wrong. And I might just say this. Again,
we live in a day, don't we, where many people tell unsavoury jokes
and unsavoury stories. And, you know, if you stop and
listen to those things, they'll rest in your mind and you may
not be able to get rid of them. I remember in my life, a number
of things which I should not have listened to, and they're
stuck in my mind and I can't get rid of them. Sometimes they
rise to the surface. And therefore if people are speaking
like that, it's a good thing to turn away and stop your ears
so you don't hear about it. And so here we have this statement,
that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes
from seeing evil. Again, another good, wonderful
statement. Our eyes very quickly absorb evil things. Very quickly
absorb evil things. Especially with television and
the internet now, in the day and age in which we live, there's
many, many evil things which quickly are before our eyes. And if you watch it, it will
go into your mind. And again, you won't be able
to shake it off. So don't forget this, to shut your eyes, and
turn away from anything which is not in accordance with the
truth and the way of God. It's a very clear line. And don't
forget, we have an evil and wrong heart which goes after evil and
wrong things. And so may we know and be blessed
with the grace of God and the strength to turn away from such
things. And then, the wonderful outcome
that the Prophet gives here. He shall dwell on high. His place
of defence shall be the munitions of rocks. Bread shall be given
him. His waters shall be sure." It's
really a promise from God of prosperity. And that naturally
and also spiritually. So we have a very clear statement. And then he comes and says, shall
see the king in his beauty. They shall behold the land that
is very far off." Now, that may have had a reference in the days
in which Isaiah lives to a natural situation, but I believe it also
has a very wonderful spiritual situation which is developed
here. And remember, he's addressing those who are walking in fear
of God, and the future prospect for them is wonderful, and it's
this, their eyes shall see, their spiritual eyes shall see the
Lord Jesus Christ, who is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords,
And I believe not only in a spiritual sense as you and I journey through
life, but also there will be that beholding then the land,
glory at last, which is very far off, when we shall, by the
grace of God, be with Christ forever and ever, which is of
course far better. Thine eyes shall see the King
in his beauty. They shall behold the land that
is very far off. Thine heart shall meditate terror.
Where is the scribe? Where is the receiver? Where
is he that counted the towers? Thou shalt not see a fierce people,
a people with deeper speech than thou canst perceive, of a stammering
tongue that thou canst not understand. Well there may be that situation
which may be developed, which may be difficult for us, but
then he directs us in this way. Look upon Zion, the city of our
solemnities. Israel realised what the Prophet
was speaking of here. Zion, the city of the Solemnities
was the place where God dwelt in the temple on Mount Zion and
it was therefore a great and a blessed place. Look upon Zion,
look where the Lord is. How directive that is for us
today, to look where the Lord is. The city of our Solemnities
Thine eyes shall see Jerusalem, a quiet habitation, a tabernacle
that shall not be taken down, not one of the stakes thereof
shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof
be broken. But there the glorious Lord will
be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams wherein shall go
no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby. He is painting a picture here
really of a spiritual position because Jerusalem itself, of
course, there weren't any rivers going through Jerusalem. And
yet he's speaking here of a place of broad rivers and streams where
shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass
nearby. There wouldn't be any ships coming up to attack them. and any gallant ships to bring
them into a difficult situation. So there was a time of happiness
and glory to look forward to. Then he says, for the Lord is
our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king, he will
save us. Well, very clearly this must
relate to none other than the Lord Jesus Christ himself, who
is of course our king. He is the King of Kings and the
Lord of Lords. He is also our Judge and He is
also our Lawgiver. So it will be a good situation
if we understand the truth of these words and to know that
that is true with regard to our life, that the Lord Jesus is
our Judge and He is our Lawgiver. and He is our King. He will save
us. My friends, He is the only one
that can save us. Now Israel were concerned about
natural liberty. We today are concerned about
spiritual liberty. We are concerned today that we
might be indeed spiritually saved. We have this statement here,
He will save us. If the Lord is our Judge and
our Lawgiver and our King, we can be sure He will save us. That means He will deliver us. That means He will be with us.
He will draw near to us. He will reveal Himself unto us
as Lord, the Judge and Lawgiver and King. And it will be a blessed
position. to be fair and looking to the
Lord Jesus Christ. And if we are looking to the
Lord Jesus Christ, surely our concern will be to bow down before
Him as our King, and to keep His laws, keep His words, keep
those things which the Lord has provided for us, and then to
realise He is our Judge. Now that's a solemn thought.
Because if the Lord was to judge us as we are, we should be forever lost. We
should come and have to say, well, there's no hope for me.
Because as we stand under the judgment of God, we are condemned,
are we not? You look at the truth of God's
word, and how do we measure up to the commands of God? If we
are judged by that, we are guilty. And there's no hope for us. But
the wonderful thing is then to realise that we stand complete
in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our judge and he's a righteous
judge. But he has carried our sins. He takes our sins upon himself.
He is a judge. He's our judge. But as we are
judged guilty, that Lord Jesus Christ has come to save His people
from their sins. He will save us. What a wonderful thought it is
then, to know that we have such a Saviour who will indeed come
and save us. Well, it's a rather long introduction,
but coming down then to these words, Thy tacklings are loosed,
they could not well strengthen their mast, they could not spread
the soil, Now, this picture here is speaking of those who are
against the truth of God, who are going contrary. And the position
is, the tackling really means ropes, and the picture is here
of a ship, they are trying to get the ship sailing, they are
trying to get it moving, and they are unable to do so. The
ropes have been loosed, they can't get the mast upright, And
therefore they can't spread their sails. And therefore there's
no real prospect of the enemy being able to proceed. And then the encouraging words
are these. Then is the prey of a great spoil
divided. The lame take the prey. And really the words this morning
I want to speak on are these last words. The lame take the
prey. Now, how different that is. to what we would expect. We would
expect normally that the person that is strongest, with the greatest
ability, would always take the prey and there's nothing left. Then for those who are lame. But what a favour it is then
to know that the Word of God is encouraging like this, the
lame take the prey. And the Word of God speaks encouragingly
for those who may feel themselves to be lame. You may say, well,
just explain that a little bit. Well, I'll explain it in this
way. I think very often the true believer,
the true Church of God, looks at himself and looks into his
heart and has to confess that he's not what he would be. He
finds he fails. she finds she fails in so many
things. It just seems as though we are
lame. We haven't got the strength that
we would have and we have an inability perhaps to do those
things that we would. Perhaps it comes down a little
bit to like the Apostle Paul when he wrote that seventh chapter
to the Romans and explained his own deficiency. And we might
think, well, fancy Paul being deficient in these things. Well, the Apostle Paul was an
honest man and we're thankful that we do have the Word of God
which explains to us very clearly his innermost thought and his
innermost desires. And he He tells us in that 7th
chapter to the Romans his condition, and he says this, For we know
that the law, God's law is spiritual, but I am carnal, and he is sold
on the sin, that means his sin, his commitment has sold him.
For that which I do, I allow not. Now, you see here, we don't
see here a great strong man, do we? We know that the Apostle
was strong in faith, but we see here, he's just as it were, allowing
us to see into his heart and understand the conflict that
he had. And we should not think that
Paul was the only person that had this. I believe if we are
the true children of God and journey through this life and
fight in the battle of this life, We will understand what he means
when he said, for that which I do, I allow not. For what I
would, that do I not. But what I hate, that I do. What a strange thought, what
a strange position. For if then I do that which I
would not, I consent unto the law that is good. Now, then it
is no more that I do it, but sin that dwelleth in me." We
see really, don't we not here, the apostle setting forth his
position, and surely his position is as a lame man. Yes, that's his old nature. Now
we do have two natures, we have our old nature and we have our
new nature. And our old nature is sinful
and our new nature is pure and sinless. It's that which we have
received from Almighty God. But our old nature is indeed
lame. And when the Apostle then wrote
to the Corinthians and the first chapter, again he tells us the
opposite to what we might think. He says this, but God hath chosen
the foolish things of the world, to confound the wise. And God hath chosen the weak
things of the world, to confound the things which are mighty.
And base things of the world, and things which are despised,
hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught
things that are. And then he gives us the reason.
And it's a good thing for us to know the reason why this is
so. That no flesh should glory in
his presence. That means that you and I will
never be able to look at ourselves and think, well, I'm a wonderful
Christian. I live a wonderful life. I set a tremendous example. under the working of the Holy
Spirit of God, we will feel the opposite. We'll feel we have
failed. And especially as we think of
what the Lord Jesus Christ has done to redeem our souls, the
wonder of redeeming love, the great cost of our salvation,
and then as we see ourselves as the Apostle addressed us in
that 7th of Romans, And also, as he speaks here to the Corinthians,
and just to remember that he's speaking here very clearly to
the Church of God. He speaks in this way, unto the
Church of God which is at Corinth. To them that are sanctified in
Christ Jesus, call to be saints. With all, in every place, call
upon the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. both theirs and ours.
He's speaking, you see, to the Church of God, and then he's
describing the condition. So we should not be discouraged
then, this morning, if we perhaps feel like this, a lame person,
not running as we want to, not walking perhaps as we want to.
We are hindered. And why are we hindered? We're
hindered because of the sin which does so easily beset us. Now, you will not sit down satisfied
with a condition like that. You won't say, well, okay, that's
my situation, therefore I can take it easy and I needn't be
worried about it. No, you will be concerned to
honour and glorify God in your life. And your desire to do that
because of what he's done, that you might be the receiver of
the gift of eternal life. And if we are the receiver of
that gift of eternal life, surely we would desire to do that which
is God honouring. And therefore the conflict will
continue. You won't sit down satisfied
with your failings. You desire that the Lord be honoured
and glorified because of what he's done for you. The lame take
the prey. In our condition like that, recognising
who we are and where we are, we're not forsaken. We're not
cast off. It's these who the Lord comes
and blesses because their concern and may our concern be the Lord's
name is honoured and glorified in our lives and therefore we're
not looking in ourselves so that our flesh shall not glory but
we want to glory in what Christ has done. That's what we want
to do. Glory in what Christ has done,
not in what we've done. What a wonderful thing it is
then to be blessed with this conscious realisation. But the
lame take the prey. I wonder if God gives us some illustrations.
You remember, there was the case of Mephibosheth, who was the
son of Solomon. And David asked, were there any
still remaining? of Solomon and once, yes there
was, there was Mephibosheth. And what was Mephibosheth? Well
he was lame in both his feet. He couldn't walk at all hardly.
He was lame in both his feet. He couldn't get about. But you know he was greatly blessed.
He was blessed like this. He was invited and sat at the
king's table. and he received his provisions
directly from the King. That may be in our lives. We
might feel lame like that. Perhaps lame in both our feet. And yet, to receive that wonderful
blessing of being fed at the King's table. We can't claim
any great things ourselves. But what a blessing it is to
be fed at the table of the Lord Jesus himself, as he comes and
provides us with all that we need. Indeed, as we read here
together, the bread and the water would be supplied. And I think
in our spiritual life, our spiritual bread and water will be spiritually
provided for. And what is that? that is feeding
upon the Lord Jesus Christ, is meditating upon what He's done. Now to the lame soul, that would
be a glorious meditation, to think of what Christ has done.
If Christ bore the curse for us, that which we deserve to
bear ourselves, we could not bear it and satisfy God's holy
law, But the gracious Saviour, He bore it for us instead. Do we then desire to be found
at the King's table, feeding upon Christ? Well, my friends,
that's the great concern it should be of each one of us. And think
here, the lame take the prey. The lame take the prey. You feel like that, not very
adequate in yourself, and yet the Lord doesn't leave us. He
doesn't cast us aside, He invites us. The Bishops was invited to
the King's table, and He invites His people today to come to His
table and to feast upon those spiritual things, those things
which are from the Lord. Now, the Lord, you see, gives
us that help to do so, and the Prophet Zachariah gives us a
little insight into this, speaking about Zerubbabel, and he says,
And he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word
of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by
power, But by my Spirit, saith the Lord of God." It is the Spirit
of God that draws us, lame as we may feel, to Himself. And because of our lameness,
we cannot claim any glory ourselves, and we come and give all the
glory and all the praise unto our great and glorious Saviour.
But by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. And he comes and says,
Who art thou, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel, thou shalt
become a plain. There may be mountains before
us in our lives, especially if we're feeling lame. Yes, how
are we going to overcome this mountain? What does the prophet
say? Who art thou, O great mountain?
Before Zerubbabel, thou shalt become a plain. Now before our
God, those difficulties, those mountains, will flow down at
His presence. And He shall bring forth a headstone,
the Saviour. Thereof with shoutings crying,
Grace, grace unto it. Oh, who would desire to set the
crown upon the head of the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. What a
blessing it is then to have some understanding of the favour of
the Lord God to us as we may be in that lame and weak condition. Solomon himself gave us a little
insight also into this position when he addressed and wrote the
Ecclesiastes in the 9th chapter we read, 11th verse I returned
and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor
the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet
riches to the men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill,
but time and chance happeneth to them all. The Lord brings
into our life that which will be for our good and for our benefit. It's not how good we are, how
swift we are, how clever we are, how able we are. No, it's what
the Lord does and it's the mercy and the favour that God bestows
upon us. What a wonderful favour it is
then to walk in this way. The lame take the prey. And sometimes the Lord does this. He weakens our strength in the
way. The word of God tells us that. And what that means is, we may
have been young and fit and thinking we're strong and we can face
anything. Well, the Lord brings down our
strength. And it's like that. He weakens
our strength in the way. And why does he weaken our strength
in the way? to make us dependent upon Christ. That's why he brings us down.
And sometimes he brings us down by showing us our failures. Then we have to hang our head
in shame and confess we weren't quite as good as we thought we
were. And what is that? It's a weakening
of our strength in the way. What a wonderful thing then,
to have a God who looks upon us In our condition, lame as
we are, the lame take the prey. Well, it's wonderful isn't it,
we have such a word like this in the word of God to encourage
us. Because I believe if there weren't encouraging words like
this, we might be tempted to give up. Because we look and
we realise what a failure we are. And how we cannot seem to
get out of ourselves. But things seem to just continually
attack us. Well, it's because perhaps we're
striving to do things in our own strength. The secret is this,
looking unto Jesus. That's the secret. And when we
are weak, when we are lame, we have to look to the Lord. No
strength in self I find. yet oft have sought it well.
How true that may be. What a blessing then, to look
to the Lord Jesus Christ as our all-sufficient Saviour. Yes,
everything that you and I need in our natural life, in our spiritual
life, we shall find in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so let us rejoice
in this truth this morning. and realise it is true, the Lord
take the prey, the lame do receive the blessing, the Lord does provide
it for them, he brings it to them that they feast on love
divine, they feast upon what Christ has done and they rejoice
in his great and glorious finished work which he accomplished on
Calvary's cross when he shed his most precious blood to redeem
our souls. Amen.