And he promises that this deliverance
will come through the preaching of the gospel, by the voices
of the watchmen, these watchmen who set forth the great Messiah,
the Lord Jesus. Of course, this is a fitting
introduction to the 53rd chapter, which I think would most probably,
it should begin at verse 13 of chapter 52. But be that as it
may, the verses from chapter 52 verse 13 through the end of
chapter 53 are about our Savior. And so this is a good introduction
that Isaiah is given by God to speak to his troubled people.
to speak to the Lord's people who are weary, who are tempted,
who are tried. And he speaks words of peace,
words of consolation. It's obvious in this passage
of Scripture, even as the passage that Brother Bill read to us
earlier, that God's servants are set forth as being watchmen.
You notice verse 8. Thy watchman shall lift up the
voice. Thy watchman shall lift up the
voice. These servants of the Lord, they
watch for the people of God. And the scripture says in the
7th verse that the voices of these men, they sound out a message. of good tidings, they publish
peace, they bring good tidings of good, they publish salvation,
and they say in the Zion, Thy God reigneth. And it is because
of the message that these men deliver that they're said to
have beautiful feet. Now we know this, there is but
one great messenger of the covenant, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ.
And indeed, He has beautiful feet. Because the feet that carried
Him through His journey in this world, they were the feet of
the Son of God. And when everywhere preaching
the gospel, He went up on the mountains bringing good tidings. He went forth publishing peace. He went forth preaching good
tidings of good. He went forth publishing salvation. And indeed our Savior went forth
saying to Zion, Thy God reigneth. He has the most beautiful feet
of all. And those beautiful feet were
once nailed to a cross. as our Savior hung there between
heaven and earth as our substitute and as our Savior. And we behold
His feet by faith, even as we behold His hands and His side. We behold the wounds that He
bears. We behold by faith the blood
that He shed. We behold His substitutionary
death. And we say upon the authority
of the Word of God, there's our salvation. There's our redemption
in the death of our great Savior who is Himself the watchman over
God's people. Thank God we have a watchman
who is almighty. A watchman who never sleeps.
You see, the watchman in Israel And in other places as well,
the watchmen in Jerusalem, they sat up on the gates at night,
they sat up on the walls, and they watched out for danger.
Is not that our Lord? Doesn't He watch out for His
people? Aren't we always safe in the
Lord Jesus Christ? Because He watches after us.
He is the watchman. He is the watchman. He's the
one who brings the good message of salvation to us. He's the
one who assures us, I will never leave you and I'll never forsake
you. And He's always on the watch
for us. He's always looking out for our
best interests. He's making all things in each
of the lives of His people to work together for our good and
to fulfill His eternal purpose. But we know also that those men
that He sends forth preaching the gospel, these are His watchmen. His watchmen. I said last week
from Romans chapter 10, that these watchmen are sent. The
scripture says, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved. How shall they call on Him whom
they've not believed? And how shall they believe on
Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sent? God sends forth His watchmen
He sends them forth to men and women and young people. They
go forth with the message of God. And as the gospel of God's
grace goes forth, miraculously, God speaks through the Word. He speaks to His people. Notice verses 5 and 6 of Isaiah
52. The Lord says, now therefore
what have I here? Saith the Lord that my people
is taken away for naught. They that rule over them make
them the howl, saith the Lord. My name continually every day
is blasphemed. Therefore my people shall know
my name. He is going to introduce himself
to his people. He's going to make sure that
we know His name. We're going to know Him. We shall
all know the Lord. That's what the Gospel promise
is. Therefore they shall know Him
that day that I am He that does speak. Behold it is I. Or literally, here I am. Here
I am. And oh blessed day it is when
God the Spirit deals with us using the gospel of God's grace
as the watchman sends forth the word of God. And all of a sudden
the things of the gospel become clear to us. And we see ourselves
as undeserving of the least of God's mercies. And we see the
Lord high and lifted up like Isaiah his train filled the temple. And then we say by the leadership
of the Spirit of God, woe is me, I'm undone, I'm undone. Is there no hope for me? Is there somebody who can help
me? Is there somebody who can restore me to God? And then the
Lord Jesus comes to us and He says to us, Here I am. Here I am. That's literally what
those last words, Behold, it is I, literally He's saying,
Behold, here I am. Who will restore me to favor
with God? Who will put away my sins? Who
will make me righteous with God? Who can save my poor soul? And the Lord Jesus Christ comes
to us through the preaching of the Gospel and He says, Behold,
here I am. Here I am. I'm the savior you
need. I'm the redeemer who saved his
people from their captivity by redeeming you from the curse
of the law. Behold, here I am. Here I am. And then he says,
how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth
good tidings, that publisheth peace. that bringeth good tidings
of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, to Zion."
Who is Zion? Who is Zion? That's God's elect. That's God's people. That's that
remnant according to the election of grace. These are the ones
that God chose out of mankind, out of every nation, out of every
kindred, out of every tribe, out of every tongue. These are
His people. His people. And His people shall
hear this message. Zion. Zion, that's the group
that God loves. It's all of the Jacobs of the
world. We're called the sons of Jacob. We said this morning, quoting
the Lord there in Romans chapter 9, which comes right out of Malachi.
The Lord said, Jacob, if I loved Esau, if I hated all of us, Jacobs,
fallen Jacobs, we're a bunch of scoundrels, aren't we? We're
crooked. We're perverse in our mind, in
our imaginations, and in our religious ways and thoughts. We're all distorted. We're like
Jacob. We're trying to get the We're
trying to get acclaim for ourselves. But the Lord sends us good news
of glad tidings. We're Zion. He's got something
to say to Zion. He has something to say to His
people. Bless the name of God. He always
has good things to say to Zion. Zion is always the recipient
of good news. The Lord has never delivered
to Zion any bad news. Did you know that? God has never
delivered to Zion any bad news. And indeed with Zion there is
no bad news. I like what Brother Richardson
said, Brother Scott Richardson, years ago he said, I haven't
heard any bad news ever since I heard the good news. The good
news of redemption, the good news of reconciliation, the good
news of the forgiveness of sins. Anything else you tell me, it's
not news at all. Oh, the doctor says, oh, you're
dying of some awful disease. Oh, I'll see my Savior then.
I'll see the one who redeemed me then. Oh, you've got a heart
disease. Oh, you've got this problem.
You've got that problem. Oh, things are happening in the
financial world and all of your investments and your retirement
has gone down the drain. That's okay. I have an inheritance
in the heavenlies that will never fade away. There is no bad news. There's no bad news for the people
of God. God only has good news for Zion. For Zion. What is the message that God's
watchmen bring to Zion? Well, they bring a message of
deliverance. Deliverance from sin. Deliverance from Satan. Deliverance
from the curse of the law. Those of you who are God's people,
I bring you a message of deliverance tonight. He sets the captives
free. He sets the captives free. I
bring you good tidings from God, from your Father. And you know
what He says to you? I'm not mad at you. But Lord,
I've broken all of your laws. I'm a vile sinner from the top
of my head to the bottom of my feet. And God says, I've loved
you with an everlasting love. And He says, I have no wrath
for you. There's no judgment for you. There is therefore now
no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus. Why not? Because the condemnation has
been borne by the Son of God Himself. God's not mad at you. He never has been. Oh, sometimes
He hides His face from us that we might seek Him more earnestly
and more desperately. But believe the Word of God.
He's always there for us and He's not upset with us. Because
He sees us in His Son. He sees us in Christ Jesus. And this is the one with whom
He's always pleased. He's always pleased with the
Lord Jesus Christ. And the life of Christ and the
death of Christ, the obedience of Christ, it's been imputed
to our accounts. We stand perfect and righteous
in Him before God. He sees us in His Son. We bring
a message of deliverance. The watchmen bring good tidings
from God to men. I have nothing but good news
for Zion. I come publishing peace. I'm
not here to tell you how you can make peace with God. I'm
here to tell you peace has already been made with God by the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ, by the blood of His cross. I'm here
to tell you He is our peace. He is my peace. I'm here to give
you this message that God has never looked to you for anything,
any facet or any part of your salvation whatsoever. He's always
looked to your substitute. Isn't that good news? Isn't that
wonderful? You say, well, I tell you, I
just can't do anything. Well, it's a good thing God doesn't
look to us for anything, then isn't it? He doesn't look to
us for anything. But preacher, don't we believe
Him? Yes, and He gives us faith to believe Him. But don't we
repent? Yes, and repentance is a gift
of God. Everything that's good, everything
that's right, He gives it to us. He gives it to us. Tidings. Good tidings of good
things. What good things? Forgiveness
of all sins. Past, present, future. Blood
atonement. Reconciliation. Justification. Everlasting glory. And we publish salvation. Salvation
purposed by God. Salvation purchased by God, salvation
performed by God, and someday salvation perfected by God. The watchmen do this. What about
these watchmen? Well, I'll tell you this first
of all, and this is pretty obvious. These watchmen, they're men. They're watchmen. They're not
watchwomen. We're thankful for the ladies.
I appreciate my sisters in the Lord. And you make great contributions
in the house of God. You're powerful for us. You're
contributors. Your very presence is an encouragement
to me as your pastor. But you're not a preacher. You
can't be a preacher. Because watchmen are just that.
They're men. They're men. The woman is the
weaker vessel. The weaker vessel. What about
these watchmen? They speak faithfully the Word
of God. We warn people. I had Bill read for us in Ezekiel
chapter 33. I warn you of danger. Consider yourself warned. There's a judgment to face. You
must be righteous. You must have a mediator. You
must have a savior. You must have a great high priest.
The Bible says God is angry with the wicked every day. You're
a vile sinner whether you admit it or not. You still are. There is but one place of safety
and that's in Christ Jesus the Lord. When Noah went about preaching
for 120 years, he was building an ark. The flood is coming. The storm is coming. And you
know, ever since our Lord went back to glory, even during the
days of the Apostle John, he wrote something like this, the
Lord's coming is nigh. It's near. By faith we see the storm, clouds
gathering. There is a judgment that men
must face. There's the flood of God's wrath
that is coming. Just as sure as there was a real
literal flood in the days of Noah, so there's a real literal
judgment coming in which men must stand before the judgment
seat of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is but one place of safety,
the Ark of Christ Jesus. Come into the Ark. Come into
the Ark. The door of the Ark is open for
all who want mercy, who want grace, for all who are made willing
in the day of God's power. Come into the Ark of God's salvation. You say, well, Maybe a more convenient day. I'll give some serious thought
to these things somewhere down the line, but not now. Consider
yourself warned. The watchman has warned you.
That's what watchmen do. They faithfully declare the Word
of God. And it says here, if you'll look
down, look at verse 8, thy watchman shall lift up the voice. They're
not timid. They're bold. They're bold. We don't want to be obnoxious. But listen, we're not going to
hold back the truth. We're going to tell it to you
the way it is. With boldness. And with the voice together they
sing. For they shall see eye to eye
when the Lord shall bring again Zion." All of God's preachers
see eye to eye on the major points on the gospel and on the major
points of doctrine of the Word of God. There are some minor
points wherein God's preachers, the watchmen, may differ, especially
consider maybe the subject of ecclesiology, how a church should
be run, something like that, or prophetic matters, maybe something
like that. But all of God's preachers see
eye to eye on how God saves sinners. There is no difference. There
is no difference. We speak together as though with
one voice, with one voice, and we are all rejoicing in the message
of grace. We see eye to eye in all things
essential to the salvation of our souls, in things related
to the salvation of God's people. And all of God's watchmen, we
watch for your souls. We watch for your souls. Read
at your leisure Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 17. Obey those that
have the rule over you. Talking about spiritual rule.
For they watch for your soul. They pray for you. I seek God's
face for you. I seek God's mercy for you. I
bear you upon my heart. Not as much as I should, and
I'm certainly not elevating myself as though, well, I'm the example
of what a preacher is. I'm not saying that at all, but
every preacher of the gospel, every real watchman, he bears
the burden of the souls of his congregation. upon his heart
and he seeks God's face and he says, Oh God, show these people
mercy. These who sit and listen and
don't seem to have any interest. Oh God, help the young people.
Deal in mercy with the young people of our congregation. Oh
God, bring us that we may all look to Jesus Christ alone for
salvation. And Lord, our children and our
grandchildren, those who maybe were raised in this congregation
and now they've gone out into the world and they haven't come
back, oh God, bring them back. This is the burden of the watchman. We watch for the souls of men
and women and young people. That's why it says obey them. Now the very fact that God has
placed watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem, Jerusalem being
the kingdom of God, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, indicates
that there are dangers to be avoided. Go over to chapter 56. Chapter 56 of Isaiah. And we're certain that the eternal
purpose of God and the salvation of His people cannot be defeated.
God will save His people from their sins. He has already saved
them in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. By grace
are you saved. And we rejoice to know that God
gathers His people through the voices of the watchmen as people
hear the preaching of the cross. The Lord speaks of various kinds
of people being gathered in here in chapter 56. And look what
He says to these who will be gathered in verse 5. Even unto
them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and
a name. God gives us a place in His kingdom. And He gives us a name better
than of sons and of daughters. He gives us a name that's better
and higher than the names of the sons and daughters of kings
and prime ministers and presidents, because we're the children of
God. I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. And look at verse 6, also the
sons of the stranger that join themselves to the Lord to serve
Him, to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants. Everyone
that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it and taketh hold
of My covenant. Who is the Sabbath? Christ Jesus. We rest in Him. We take hold
of the covenant. And we say like David in 2 Samuel
23, he said, this is all of my salvation, this covenant. In
verse 7 he says, "...even them will I bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings
and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar. For
mine house shall be called a house of prayer for all people, for
all kinds of people." Look at verse 8, "...the Lord God which
gathereth the outcasts of Israel..." And that's what we are. Isn't
that right? We're the outcasts of Israel. He said, yet will I gather others
to Him besides those that are gathered unto Him. The Lord is
gathering His people. You say, what is the Lord doing
today? Is the Lord active today? Is
the Lord moving today? Is the Lord working today? Oh
yes, through the preaching of the watchman, He's gathering
His people into the fold of salvation. He's gathering the lost sheep
back into the fold. The shepherd has gone forth.
He has laid down His life for the sheep. And now He's seeking
and finding and saving and rescuing and picking up the lost sheep
and putting them on His shoulders. He's taking them all the way
home to glory. He's gathering the outcasts.
And isn't it wonderful to be one of those that He's gathered?
He's gathered us. But be sure of this, where the
Lord is working through the preaching of the watchman, Satan will also
be active. Because He has His servants.
He has His servants. Look at verse 9. All ye beasts
of the field, you come to devour. Yea, all ye beasts in the forest. Look at verse 10. This is what
the Lord says of Satan's watchman. You see, Satan is the great counterfeiter. That's what he does. And we're not surprised because Satan
himself, he's transformed, he transforms himself into an angel
of light. And therefore his ministers,
his watchmen, they also masquerade, that's what the word transforms
means, they masquerade as ministers of righteousness. Of course,
they're not the ministers of the righteousness of the Lord
Jesus Christ. They're ministers of man's righteousness. And this is what the Lord says
of the watchmen of Satan. His watchmen are blind. Well,
what kind of a watchman can a man be if he's blind? Because what's
the job of the watchman? To be up on the wall, looking
out? Do you see danger approaching?
There's the watchman that watches over the folds of the sheep,
or the sheep that have gathered together, the sheep that are
feeding on the pastures. The watchman that is watching,
well, of what value is he if he's blind? If he's blind. A watchman of all people's got
to have good sight. He's got to see danger approaching. He's got to discern the very
presence of something that may be detrimental to the people
of God. Satan's watchmen are blind. Our
Lord said of the Pharisees, He said, they're blind guides. They're
blind guides. He told his disciples of these
blind guides, he said, leave them alone. They'd be blind leaders
of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind,
both shall fall in the ditch. And you know the sad thing today?
Throughout America, throughout this state, bring it nearer to
home, throughout this city, Blind guides are leading blind people
into the ditch. That's a very sad thing. It's
a very sad thing. They're blind to the character
of God. They're blind to the sinfulness of men. They're blind
to the only hope that men have, that is the substitutionary death
of the Son of God. They're blind to the only way
of salvation, by the grace of God through Christ Jesus. They're
blind to the necessity of the work of redemption. They're blind
to their own corruption. They're blind to God's way of
life and salvation, which is Jesus Christ the Lord. And watch
this, he says they're not only blind, they're all ignorant.
They're ignorant. They're a bunch of know-nothings.
That's what they are. They're a bunch of know-nothings.
Our Lord said in Mark chapter 12 and verse 24, Jesus answering
said unto them, Do you not therefore err because you know not the
scriptures, neither the power of God? You don't know the word
of God, you don't know the power of God. Why don't these men preach
the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace? Because they
don't know the gospel. They're ignorant. They're ignorant.
Why don't they set forth the wonders of God's amazing grace? Because they're ignorant of God's
amazing grace. Why don't they proclaim the majesty
and the greatness and the glories of Christ Jesus? Because they're
ignorant of the majesty and the greatness and the glories of
the Lord Jesus Christ. They can't tell what they don't
know. They're ignorant. And he says this, They're dumb
dogs. They can't bark. Here you got
a sheep dog looking after the flock. And here comes a wolf. And the dog doesn't bark. I got something for him. One
bullet. He's useless. He's useless. And this is what the Lord says
of Satan's watchman. They're dumb dogs, they can't
bark. They can't and won't set forth
the glories of the Lord Jesus Christ. He says they're sleeping,
they're lying down, they're loving to slumber. That's Satan's watchman. Look at verse 11. Yea, they're
greedy dogs which can never have enough. They can never have enough. Greedy. They want more. Like the guy I saw on television,
he's already got a jet, he's got three or four vacation homes,
and he said, God told me to tell you to send more money in because
I need a bigger jet and a faster jet to fly around the world to
distribute this Word of the Lord. Well, let me write a check to
him. They're greedy. They're greedy. They want more. They want more. These are Satan's watchmen. They're shepherds that cannot
understand. They all look to their own way.
They're looking out for themselves. Everyone for his own gain from
his quarter. They don't care about you. They
don't care about the glory of God. They don't care about the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. They care about themselves. He says, Come ye, say they, I'll
fetch wine, we'll fill ourselves with strong drink, and tomorrow
shall be as this day, and much more abundant. That's the prosperity
gospel of today. Everything's going to be fine.
Eat, drink, and be merry. That's Satan's watchman, but
not God's watchman. God's watchman warn. And go back
to chapter 52. God's watchman Here is what we set forth in
verse 7 again. We bring good tidings. I bring
you good tidings. Every time we gather I bring
you good tidings from the Lord. I publish peace that bringeth
good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion,
thy God reigneth. Of all of the things That God's
watchman say, this is the foundational truth. Thy God reigneth. We talk about the purposes of
God. The purpose of God in election.
The purpose of God in predestination. We talk about the death of the
Lord Jesus Christ. We talk about the work of the
Holy Spirit. We talk about all the promises
of God found in the Bible. But God's purposes and God's
promises are only as good as this fact right here. Thy God
reigneth. If he doesn't reign, his purpose
is no good. If he doesn't reign, what's the
good of his promises? We stayed in a motel recently
and I picked up a Bible, had a Bible in the room. And it had a little column and
it said, Promises of the Word of God. And I was looking to some of
the scriptures. I was glad that was in there. But all of God's
promises mean absolutely nothing if this isn't true. Thy God reigneth. If he doesn't reign, how can
the promise bring any comfort at all? And of course we embrace
that great promise of Romans Chapter 8, verse 28, and we know
that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are called according to His purpose. And we say, bless
the name of God. All of these trials and these
difficulties that I experience and that other people of God
experience, all of these things and all of the other things in
my life, they'll all work together for good. How do you know that? How can you be assured of that? We are assured of that because
of this. We say to Zion, Thy God reigneth. He reigns to make all things
work together for your good. He reigns to fulfill His purpose. He reigns. He reigns. Thy God reigneth. Thy God reigneth. I know there are many little
G-O-D-S, little gods in the world. This, what was it, was it Thursday
was the National Day of Prayer? People supposed to get together,
you know, and they did. Even locally, people of different
denominations have different beliefs and so forth. They preach
different gospels, but they'll all come together and pray together.
They're all praying to different gods. But I'll tell you the God Zion
prays to is the God that reigns. The God that reigns. A preacher
told me he saw this on a church sign. God reigns, let him have
his way. God reigns, let him have his
way. That's the God of their religion. That's the God of their denomination. But the God of heaven and earth,
He does His will among the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants
of the earth, and none can stay His hand or say unto Him, What
doest Thou? And my message to Zion tonight
is, Thy God reigneth. Thy God reigneth. He doesn't
want to reign. It's not like He's going to reign.
But He does reign. He does reign. Yes, preacher,
but what about the heathen? What about the heathen? Those
that don't know our God, those who despise the name of Zion's
God? They mock the things of the Lord.
They have no use for the Word of God. What about them? Oh,
Psalm 47 verse 8 says, God reigneth over the heathen. God sitteth
upon the throne of His holiness. This is our abiding confidence,
you see. In every situation, in every
circumstance, in every land, listen up, O Zion, thy God reigneth. Psalm 146 and verse 10, the Lord
shall reign forever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Therefore, praise ye the Lord. Oh, this is a year of elections. Local, state, and national elections. This is a year when people are
in an uproar. So much anxiety. Well, I say
to Zion, just sit back and watch the sovereign will of God come
to pass. because thy God reigneth." Now,
should I vote? Yes. I'm going to vote. I'm going
to vote. I should do that. And you should
do that. But I know this. Our God reigns in all situations. And whoever goes to Washington,
whoever becomes the president, Whoever goes to our state capitol,
whoever is elected to the local offices, they will occupy those
offices for this single, solitary reason. Thy God reigneth. Who is this one who reigns? He's
Zion's God. He's Zion's Savior. who said
upon the basis of having successfully finished the work that the Father
gave him to do, having lived and died and rose again before
he ascended back to heaven, he told his disciples, all authority
is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Now you go preach the
gospel. Our King reigns. He reigns. He must reign. He shall reign
forever and ever. That's what the watchmen say.
The watchmen don't lead you to feel sorry for Jesus. The watchmen,
they don't tell you about a Jesus who needs you to vote for Him. Vote Jesus into the office of
your life. No, the watchmen tell you that
the Lord reigns. He finished the work of redemption.
And He's taking care of Zion. And so all of the people of God
should cease from being anxious. Stop worrying. Stop murmuring. Because I say to you on the authority
of God's own Word, I say to Zion, I say to Zion, Thy God reigneth. Thy God reigneth. Let's sing
221. Thank you, Lord, for saving my
soul. Number 221. Let's stand together. Come, thank the Lord for friends
and all, for mercy sure and sweet. But I would praise Him for His
grace In prayer I would repeat Thank You, Lord, for saving my
soul Thank you, Lord, for making me
whole. Thank you.