Come now and within Thee a new
heart create To those who have sought Thee Thou never said no
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow Whiter than snow, yes,
whiter than snow. Now watch me and I shall be whiter
than snow. Singing sounds good in here,
doesn't it? Go back to Isaiah 4 now. Isaiah 4. Several things struck me. As I was reading this, I started
reading through this book. Many, many times throughout this
book and other books, it speaks of that day. In that day, verse
1. In that day, verse 2. In that
day. And on and on it goes. And then
in verse 2, the last line says, It speaks of them that are escaped.
That really struck me. And that's spoken of several
times in Scripture. Those that are escaped. Isaiah
45. You need those that are escaped. Escaped of the nations. Verse
3, it says those that are left in Zion. What's left of true
believers? Those that remain in Jerusalem,
that haven't left, that remain there. And the last line says,
those that are written among the living, they're not dead,
they're living. Those lines really struck me.
I want to be one that escapes. I want to be one that's left
and hasn't left, but remaineth in Jerusalem. One whose name
is written among the living, don't you? In that day, That
speaks of three days in Scripture, yet all three of them apply.
The day when the Lord first came, the first time the Lord came
to this earth. It also speaks of, whenever you
read in that day, it will speak also of the day the Lord comes
to you in the Gospel. The day He brings you out of
darkness into His light, out of death, end of his marvelous
life. And then the day of his second
coming when he comes back. The day of salvation is what
this is talking about. Go back to chapter 1 just briefly. You wonder why I read chapter
3. Well, you'll see. You'll see. Isaiah lived in a day, verse
1, the vision of Isaiah. concerning Judah and Jerusalem
in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. Over a hundred
years, Isaiah lived at a time of four kings over a hundred
years. How many presidents would that
be in a hundred years' time? I counted it the other day and
I forget now. Quite a few just in my time. But Isaiah's day was a... A sinful death. It says down
in verse 4, they were a sinful nation laden with iniquity that
provoked the Holy One of Israel to anger. Verse 6 says, the soul
of the foot to the head is no soundness. Verse 5, the whole
head is sick and the whole heart is faint. That was Isaiah's day. Well, that's our day. That's
our day. Nothing has changed. Our society
is sick. I dread looking at, I don't take
the newspaper, but I turn the computer on just to see the front,
the news right there. I dread looking at it. What's
next? How much more corrupt can our
society get? The thing I want to impress upon
us is, we've escaped. How shall we escape if we neglect
so great a salvation? And so many will not. This society is sick. He calls them Sodom and Gomorrah.
It's supposed to have been Israel. Israel had the truth. Israel
had the prophets. But he called them Sodom and
Gomorrah. No different. No different. He said their religious assemblies,
verse 13, he said he was sick of their religious assemblies. And there are more assemblies
now, more religion today than ever in the history of man, aren't
there? And the Lord said, I'm sick of it. Verse 21, he says, the faithful
cities become harlots, sold themselves for money, for pleasure. It was
full of judgment. Righteousness lodged in it is
murderous. Companies of thieves and so on.
They love rewards. Like in the days of Noah, the
Lord looked down and said the whole earth had corrupted His
way. It's not just America. The whole world is like that. This is more relevant now than
at any time in history because the whole world is like this
now. It's more needful for us now
than ever to remind us, to warn us. I know this is Wednesday
night, but there's going to be some comfort. Are you ready with
me? We're going to get to the end
of chapter 4. Great comfort for them that are escaped. But it's
to remind us and it's to warn us that lest we forget and lest
we become hardened by the deceitfulness of sin and riches, and lest we
become like them. And there's a real danger of
that in it. You look around you at people
who used to be called God-fearing people, but they're okay with
everything that's going on now. Doesn't it astound you? Look
around you and look at the attitude that our society has about these
things which God says are an utter abomination to Him. Why
is that? Because nobody's reading this.
Because preachers aren't preaching this. That's right, isn't it? They turned away their ears from
the truth. And like in the last line of Judges, there's no sovereign
God, no holy God, no judgment for sin, For everyone does that
which is right in their own eyes. But we have escaped. We know better, don't we? Those
who fear God. Oh, no. And such were some of
you. Such were all of us in some way
or another. No different. What? Paul said,
Are we better than they? In no way. We've before proved. They're all understood. Thank
God. We've escaped. Chapter 2, verse 7 and 8, the land is full of gold,
silver. Have it, verse 7, full of horses
and chariots. That's all it will be. No different.
Gold, money, rich. Verse 8, the land is full of
idols. the work of their hands. And he says here, oh, in mercy
and grace, he warns us, he tells us, he exhorts us. Verse 10,
enter into the rock. Hide thee in the dust for fear
of the Lord, for the glory of His majesty. The lofty looks
of man shall be humbled. The haughtiness of men and women. And as we read, young ladies,
it's going to be about now. It's going to come down. The
Lord alone shall be exalted. in that day. In that day, the
day of the Lord, the day of the Lord shall be upon everyone that
is proud and lofty. Upon everyone that is lifted
up there will be brought love. Chapter 3, verse 9. And we've looked at these verses
before, as well we should. Be thankful that we have. Be
thankful we continue to look at them, because very few people
do. How many people have seen this verse and have been warned?
Verse 9. The show of their countenance
doth witness against them. They declare their sin as Sodom. No longer are they ashamed, but
they glory in their shame. They're proud of it. They hide
it not. Oh, verse 10, say ye to the righteous,
those in Christ, it will be well with them. Verse 11, "...but
woe unto the wicked, and such were some of you." Then he goes down, and this is
why I read this in verse 16, the daughters of Zion. Daughters
of Zion. These are young ladies who are
supposed to be God-fearing women, who are supposed to be believers,
who are professors of religion, but have become haughty. And
this is excellent. And what the Lord is going to
show us here is another picture like Hosea's gomer of the bride
that he found, of his wife that he came to marry, that Christ
came to marry. It's another picture, a beautiful
picture of who it is that the Lord finds, what they're like,
and what He does for them. Who He marries. Another picture. And this is us, all right? Verse
16, they're haughty. They walk with stretched forth
necks and wanton eyes. Now, it's clear that this is an actual
literal picture of the pride of the countenance of people
all over the world today. There's nothing more ugly than
this this pride of face that you see in people's eyes, the
beautiful people, women and men, young people and so forth. The
Lord said in Proverbs 16, six things that the Lord hates, yea,
seven are an abomination to Him. He said the first thing, the
thing He hates the most and detests the most is a proud look. And that is what describes our
generation more than anything else does, young people. This
look of pride. And such were some of you. And
it says in verse 18, that day, verse 18, either in judgment
or in salvation, the Lord is going to take away the bravery
of your ornaments, the things you hid behind, the things you
took great pride in. your beauty, your glory. And
all of these things, people are not just jewelry and adornments
for the body, but they represent all of the little things that
people take pride in. Their morality, their goodness,
their honesty, their integrity, all these little things that
make people so proud. And if we had time, we'd look
at all of them. But it says, in the day of the
Lord, in that day, verse 17, the daughters of Zion, His daughters,
the Lord is going to discover their secret part. He's going
to make them naked. He's going to take away everything
that they clothed themselves in. Everything they took pride
in, He's going to strip them. He's going to strip them. Proud and haughty. Down in verse
24, it says, it will come to pass that instead of sweet smell,
they're going to stink. They're going to stink. Your righteousness will become
as filthy rain. You thought you were pretty good. and you end up loathing yourself. It's got to
come to that, doesn't it? It's got to come to that. Instead
of beauty, the last line says burning. That is shame. Burning instead of beauty. It says that her men, those she
trusted in, those lovers like Gomer, the lovers, Though she
attributed all things to, they left her. They're gone. All the
things, all the people, her own beauty that she trusted in, the
people she trusted in, all gone. Until she's left, until she's
left lamenting, verse 26, lamenting, mourning. Oh, blessed are they
that mourn. And here she sits upon the ground. I could not help but think of
our Lord in Simon's house. He was lying there, and in walked
a woman, standing behind him, weeping, until she found herself
sitting on the ground at his feet, bathing his feet with the
tears of her eyes and washing them with the hair of her head,
drying them with the hair of her head. This woman laid hold
of this man. That's what the story is. Only a woman who has been brought
to this point is fit to be married by the Master. This is the only
woman he'll take. Used up. Washed up. Stinking, filthy, naked, poor,
blind, wretched, miserable, lonely. That's the woman, the Lord. That's
the only kind that He married. Verse 1 of chapter 4 says, In
that day, when she's brought to that point, seven women shall
take hold of one man. saying, we'll eat our own bread,
we'll wear our own apparel, just let us be called by thy name.
Would you please marry us and take away our shame, our widowhood? Will you marry us? Seven will
take hold. Listen to this. You'll rejoice.
I went back and looked up some women. And here are the names
of the women that you'll find always at the feet of our Lord.
Mary and his mother. Mary Magdalene, out of whom went
seven of them, Mary, the mother of James and Joseph, Joanna,
Susanna, Cleopas, and Siloam. You think that's a coincidence? Seven, I tell you, seventy times
seven have laid hold of this one man, like Mary Magdalene. Seventy times seven. Seven million
times seven have laid hold of this one man. And if there's
any reason that Solomon had all those wives, it's this. To show
us that one man can satisfy only one man. The Son of David. The Lord Jesus Christ. Seven
women. Well, they say, we'll eat our own bread and wear our
own apparel. We just want your name. Take away our reproach. You know, everyone who comes
to Christ at first, we first come thinking we need to do this
or do that, don't we? When the song says, in our hands
no price we're to bring, not the righteous, but sinners Jesus
came to call. If you tarry till you're better,
you'll never come out. They said, well, we'll provide
for ourselves and we'll wear our apparel. Just marry us. When you come to Christ, you
think, I need to do this, I need to do that. Who was it? What
was her name that wrote, Just As I Am? I forget her name. But anyway, she wrote that hymn,
Just As I Am, without one plea. Jesus, I come to Thee. And when
we come to Christ, to be His bride, we come hungry. And He feeds us. We come naked
in His clothes. We come guilty. And He pardons
us. We come needy. Blessed are the poor and needy.
They'll be comforted. They'll be filled. In verse 2,
in that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and
glory. When that woman smells her stink
and burning with shame, and asks Him and calls upon Him to marry
her. Oh, the branch." That's His name.
The branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, His fruit
excellent and comely for them that are escaping. What's the
branch? What does that mean? Jeremiah.
Go over there to Jeremiah 23. You know these verses. Isaiah
wrote of it. The branch in chapter 11. Jeremiah
23, though. Oh, you know this. Blessed art
thou, Simon Bar-Jonah. The Heavenly Father has revealed
this to you. The Lord, your righteousness. Verse 5, Jeremiah 23, Behold,
the days come, saith the Lord, I will raise unto David a righteous
branch. A king shall reign and prosper
and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his
days, Judah shall be saved. Israel shall dwell safely. Yes,
those idolatrous, rebellious, sinful Israel, just like we saw
in Isaiah 1, they will be saved when He comes. This is His name
whereby He shall be called Jehovah Sidkeniah, the Lord our Righteousness. Now, didn't they say, just give
us Your name? Didn't they say that? You know
where I'm going, don't you? Chapter 33. Go over there. Didn't
they say, just let us have Your name? Jehovah Sidkenu, the Lord
our righteousness. Jeremiah 33 verse 15 says, In
those days, and at that time will I cause the branch of righteousness
to grow up unto David, and he shall execute judgment and righteousness
in the land. In those days shall Judah be
saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely. And this is the name
wherewith She shall be called the Lord Our
Righteousness, Jehovah's Witness. Give us your name. Okay, okay.
He said, I will be made unto you wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. You'll be called holy. Holy. Why? Why was Gomer called holy? Where did her beauty come from?
From Him. Go back to the text now. Oh,
you know, only to an ugly woman is the Lord Jesus Christ beautiful. Only to an ugly woman. Why do
you think it is that they portray Jesus of Nazareth as being such
a handsome fellow on these pictures? Have you ever thought about that? Look at these pictures. He's
right good looking. A Caucasian fellow with blue
eyes? Doesn't resemble a Jew. But he's beautiful to look at.
It's flesh, isn't it? Got to appeal to people's flesh.
That's religion too, isn't it? Just make it all beautiful. No,
let's take all the beauty away. Let's strip ourselves and come
before Him in sackcloth and ashes. That's how we're to come to Him. Because when the Lord says, when
we see Him, Isaiah 53, here's the indictment, when we see Him,
there's no beauty about Him that we should desire Him. He hath
no form or company. In fact, in Isaiah 52, it says,
His visage was marred more than any man, more than the sons of
men. They don't want to see a picture of a man hanging on a cross that
looked like a bloody piece of meat. The beautiful people don't want
to see this picture of one hanging there as a substitute for sin.
They don't want to hear that, do they? Huh? Oh, we're not that
bad. God's not that holy. We don't
need that kind of a redemption. We don't need that kind of salvation.
We've got a few faults. Look at us. We're pretty good
people. Oh, but those that loathe themselves,
when they see that man hanging on that tree, it's altogether
love now. He's altogether loving. They see their substitution.
They see beauty and glory in Christ and Him crucified. The
world doesn't see that. They don't want to see that.
They don't want to hear that, do they? That's why. It's all flesh. It's all show. It's all a facade, hypocrisy. But boy, one of these naked,
hungry, lonely, guilty, wretched, vile, poor, blind, naked sinners,
a woman like this sees Christ as altogether lovely, and she's
amazed that He would even look her way. Imagine Ruth. Have you ever thought
about Ruth? Sure you have. But have you ever thought about
when she was out there gleaning in Boaz's field before she knew
him? She didn't know whose field it
was. And she's still a widow. She's still desolate. She's still
sad. She's still without anything,
without a husband. She doesn't know what the future
holds. She's out there in the barley field in the heat of day.
She's poor. She's sad. She's tired. She's
dirty. She's stinking. Her clothes are
in rags. And she's thinking to herself,
how would any man have me? And lo and behold, one of the
servants comes walking up to her and says, Are you Ruth? She says, Yes, I am. He says,
Boaz is calling to you. The owner of this place says
come to his house. Don't bring anything. Well, I
don't have anything to bring. He wants me. He wants me. Look at all these women. She's the only kind of woman
that would desire Christ. And as I said, these lines really
struck me. Those that are escaped of Israel. Those that are left in Zion.
Escaped in Israel. If you've escaped, if you have
neglected, like so many, so great a salvation, but you've escaped.
You are like Lot, whom the Lord laid hold of, being merciful
unto you. and brought you forth and set
you outside the city and said, escape for your life. Escape
for your life. You're like Rahab. You're just
like Rahab, whom the messengers came, and they came and they
warned you of the destruction of this city and that the great
Joshua is coming through, but he delights to show mercy. And
if you'll just hang this scarlet line out your window, When he
comes through and he sees the scarlet line, he'll save you,
Rahab, and you escape. Those that are left in Zion,
it says, verse 3, those that are left in Zion, like Mephibosheth.
You'll be like Mephibosheth. You are like Mephibosheth whom
David said, is there any left of the house of Saul that I must
show the kindness of Jonathan? But Jonathan said, is there any
whose husband has left them, any whose father or mother has
forsaken them, the Lord will take care of them. In the midst
of an apostate world, most people have fallen away and left the
truth, but there are a few left. Not many, but there are a few
who worship God in the Spirit, who rejoice in Christ Jesus And
they don't have any confidence in any flesh. Don't leave flesh.
Away with that flesh. It takes away from Christ's beauty. Just give me Christ. Away with
all this flesh. There's a few left. I think that's
many. Those that remain in Jerusalem.
Let's see. Those that remaineth in Jerusalem.
You know, when so many go out from us, and many have come and
gone, to this place and every other grace church that you know.
I can't tell you how many left
where we came from. And so many go out from us. To
what? That are not of us, evidently.
Because if they had been of us, then no doubt would have remained. Continued with us. So this is what he tells the
house of Sardis in a day like that. Strengthen the things that
remain. Strengthen. And those, they will
be called holy, verse 3. Now remember what they were,
don't you? What we just read. They'll be called holy. That
means sanctified, separated, set apart. There will be the
ones that are written among the living in Jerusalem. This gospel
will be a savor of life to them. It's death to them. It's life. What a paradox the gospel is,
isn't it? The death of Christ is life to
us. And when we die, we live. What
a paradox. But they'll be called holy whose
names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life before the foundation
of the world among the living in Jerusalem. Why are they called
holy? Verse 4 says, when the Lord shall
have washed away their filth. That's why. The Lord washes them in His precious
blood. And when the Lord has purged
the blood of Jerusalem from the midst by the Spirit of judgment,
didn't He say when the Spirit has come, He'll convince of sin,
righteousness, and judgment? And that's what we've been looking
at. Sin, righteousness. We don't have one. Christ is
ours. Judgment. There's a judgment
to face. Thank God, John, there's no condemnation. No judgment
for those that are in Christ Jesus. Thank the Lord. In a spirit of burning, He'll
burn away the dross. These trials will burn away the
dross. And that's good, isn't it? And
the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of Mount Zion,
every person wherein the Lord Jesus Christ dwells, of Mount
Zion. And upon her assembly, every
local church, every grace church, and there is no other kind. Upon
every grace church, upon every person in it, The Lord, like
the children of Israel, sends a cloudy and a smoke by day,
a cloudy pillar to guide them. And remember, it's not a dark
cloud. It's a bright cloud. Remember
that? We saw that in Ecclesiastes? A bright cloud. There are no
dark clouds hanging over God's people. They're dark to Egypt,
but it's light to the children of Israel. A cloud to lead us and smoke
by day, that's the Holy Spirit. As many as are led by the Spirit
of God, they are the children of God. A shining of a flaming
fire. God has shined in our hearts
to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of Jesus Christ
who comes like a fuller soap and a fire in this day of darkness,
in this night time. And upon all, upon every one
of them, All His assembly and every one of His people is the
glory, Christ our glory, who will be our defense or covering. We need a covering, don't we?
We sang that song. Cover my defenseless head. Christ said, okay. Oh my, these poor women that
wear these little beanies and coverings. We've got a covering,
don't we? Oh my. And verse 6, In closing,
there shall be a tabernacle, a place to run and hide in the
shadow or in the daytime from the heat, a place of refuge,
a covert from storm and from the rain. What is all this? Right. A tabernacle, a shadow,
a refuge, a covert. Jesus Christ. The branch, our righteousness,
our hiding place, our salvation are all in him. Oh, how blessed
we are that we've escaped the corruption that is in the world
through lust by his precious promises. How shall we escape
if we neglect it? I'm glad you were here tonight. I hope you were too. Okay, stand
with me. Our Father, oh, how we thank
You again for Your Word. Your Word is full of warnings,
lest we presume, but promises, lest we despair. Thank You, Lord,
for all of the conviction, the word of conviction. When the
Lord loves, He chastens. Oh, Lord, those You pardon must
feel first their guilt. Those You comfort must feel the
shame. Those you cover must feel naked.
Oh, Lord, those that are warm must feel their coldness. Lord,
make us always poor and needy, hungry and thirsty. Come to You as a forlorn woman, as a woman
in need to take Your name, Lord. Marry us, we ask, we pray. for
your glory and honor for our salvation. In Christ's name we
pray and we'll meet here tonight. Amen.