none but Jesus, none but Jesus
can do helpless sinners good. How blessed of God to know that
and to know Him. Turn with me if you will to Isaiah
the 12th chapter, Isaiah chapter 12. The Lord willing, Tuesday
night I will try to Seek a message if the Lord will give me one.
Preparing us for the Thanksgiving time on Thursday with our families.
My son-in-law often says, this is my favorite holiday. I'm inclined
to agree. Probably not a few ladies, y'all
got a lot of work to do, but it's a delightful time to visit
with family and to remember with thanksgiving God's great goodness
to us. Isaiah chapter 21. Verses 11
and 12 will be my text. The burden of Duma, he calleth
to me out of seer. Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, the morning
cometh, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire
ye. Return, come. The burden of Duma. Now I have read all the commentaries
I have and consulted with all the authorities at my disposal.
And I'm convinced that no one really knows who Isaiah is addressing
when he spoke of the burden of Duma. We're just not told clearly. The only indication that's given
to us is the reference to Mount Seir, which was in Edom. So I
am compelled to assume that Duma refers to Edom or the Edomites. The Edomites are people cursed
and in darkness. in this chapter and in the ones
preceding it, Isaiah prophesied about the judgment of God upon
all those nations surrounding Judah, those people who had opposed
Judah and those people who had opposed God throughout their
history. The prophecies literally came
to pass at God's appointed time. But as Judah represented the
church of God's elect, All the nations surrounding Judah were
but representative of the world in which we live. A world in
spiritual darkness, a world under the curse of God, a world full
of religious superstition. Brother Jimmy read back in the
back when Paul was at Mars Hill in the book of Acts chapter 17,
he watched those brilliant, brilliant Greeks. They had inscriptions
to every idol imaginable, just in case they missed one, they
had an inscription to the unknown God. You see, our Gentile forefathers
in the Gentile world were superstitious, pagan idolatries, as bad as any
group of heathen ever found in history. And the world is well
represented by these nations surrounding Judah, the church
of God. In the first 10 verses of this
21st chapter, God's prophet foretold of the fall of Babylon. And while
certainly that refers to that ancient city in a literal sense,
And his prophecy looked upon that city as under the judgment
of God and foretold the time when God would bring judgment
and destruction to Babylon. Isaiah looked through the ages
of time with the eye of the prophet and spoke of the destruction
of a far greater Babylon, spiritual Babylon. Babylon representing
all the confusion of religion in the world. Babylon representing
all the darkness of religious superstition, all the corruption
of free will works religion of every kind by which the nations
of the world are deceived. Babylon is the religion that
encompasses the whole world. It encompasses the whole world.
It doesn't matter whether you're talking about Buddhists, or Moabitans,
or Jews, or Methodists, or Baptists, or Puritans, or New Age folks. It doesn't matter who you're
talking about. It encompasses the whole religious world that
says salvation is up to you. Salvation depends on you. The ultimate determining factor
is you, not God. God has an elect people, however,
in these nations of the world, whom he calls out of Babylon.
And he will call every one of them out of Babylon by his grace. Babylon represents all false
religion. God never says stay there and
do what you can to reform Babylon. God never says you pray for Babylon
and help Babylon all you can. God's word is come out of her. Now hold your hands here in Isaiah
and turn to 2 Corinthians chapter six. I want you to see this. I'm gonna spend just a few minutes
on this because I see a great need here. 2 Corinthians chapter
six and verse 14. be ye not unequally yoked together
with unbelievers. For what fellowship hath righteousness
with unrighteousness? That does not principally refer
to believers being in the same clubs that unbelievers are in,
or believers going to the same school that believers go to,
or believers joined with unbelievers and other things. It doesn't
even principally refer to believers marrying unbelievers, though
all those things are unwise. All those things are, I would
counsel you against them, but that's not what this is talking
about. Paul is talking about religious unrighteousness and
religious darkness. He says, be not unequally yoked
together with unbelievers. For what fellowship hath righteousness
with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light
with darkness? Verse 15. And what concord hath
Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth
with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple
of God with idols? You see where he's going? What
are you doing here worshiping God in this house full of idols?
What are you doing here among folks who despise God and you
embracing them as your brother and sister? What agreement is
there? For ye, you who believe, are the temple of the living
God. As God has said, I will dwell in them and walk in them
and I will be their God and they shall be my people. Wherefore
come out from among them and be you separate, saith the Lord,
and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you. You come
out of Babylon, you come out from the unclean, the filthy,
the barbaric, the heathen, the vile, the base, we'll worship
a religion of this world, and I'll receive you. And I will
be a father unto you, and you shall be my sons and daughters,
saith the Almighty. I can't tell you how many people
I know, I've known all of my life as a believer, ever since
I started in college, and I have folks, I still hear from them,
some of them will probably hear this message and take great offense
at it, who have stayed in various forms of Arminian freewill works
religion, particularly men who think of themselves as pastor
material, They think of themselves as gifted to teach and preach,
and they've never been able to do it, but they stay in the Babylonian
synagogue of Satan, and they pretend that they're serving
God there. No, you're not doing any such thing. You're not doing
any such thing. Every time one of them tells
me, well, they let me teach there, if I get another word out, I'll
say to them, you're not teaching anything, or they wouldn't. They'd
throw you out on your ear if you preach the gospel of God's
grace. That's not gonna happen All you're doing is compromising
God and the gospel of God's free grace read verse 1 chapter 7
Having therefore these promises dearly beloved What promises
I'll receive you I'll be a father to you. You should be my sons
and daughters and Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness
of the flesh and spirit. Wash your hands once and for
all forever of free will, works, Arminian idolatry. Cross the
bridge and set it on fire. Get out so there's no going back.
So there's no going back. Every now and then it's good
to have a crotchety old man around much inclined to bend to the
whims of young fellows. I remember years ago I was attending
a preacher's meeting in Roanoke, Virginia, a bunch of us young
fellows and the fellows who started up thought they were brilliant
theologians and they were discussing, debating the thing with regard
to the tongues movement and the charismatic nonsense that was
beginning to seize the world back in the 60's. And I They
were bending over backwards. I mean, when religious folks
start to bend, they'll bend over and kiss their heels backwards
trying to get along with folks who hate God. And they were just
bending over backwards trying to get along with these folks
who hate God. And my old friend, Brother Harry
Graham, he was about my age then, he was an old man, and he was
kind of, he was still. I mean, he was still. Nobody
much liked him. He was just still. He was called
on to speak at that meeting. And he said, now you fellows
talk a lot about loving our brethren and our dear Pentecostal brethren
and our Arminian brethren. He said, I'm gonna tell you something.
Keep it up and you'll love yourself right out of the kingdom of God.
And he was exactly right. Come out and I'll be a father
to you. Now watch what he says. Having
therefore these promises, dearly beloved, Let us cleanse ourselves
from that Baptist church your mama's been in all her life,
that Presbyterian church your daddy's been in all his life,
that papist church your grandma was in, that Mohammadan place,
that Mohammadan church where your ancestors went, that Buddhist
place where you learned to worship. Cleanse yourself from all filthiness
of the flesh and spirit. Perfecting holiness in the fear
of God. Perfecting holiness in the fear
of God. Some of you were present some
years ago, I was preaching in Louisville at Presbyterian Church
and I had been asked to go up there and preach in a meeting,
help them get things started. Redeemer Church at that time
was meeting with the Presbyterian Church in Louisville. The Presbyterian
Church had the building and Redeemer Church supplied the pulpit. and
there were a bunch of legalists just, I mean, well, the result
was Redeemer Church had to find them another place to worship,
but I had gotten done preaching and some fellow got up and he
started to jump on this thing of perfecting holiness. And most
everybody thinks that means that you, God saves you and then you
You know, you read enough, and pray enough, and you quit drinking
this, and quit smoking that, and quit chewing this, and quit
eating that, and you don't go dancing, you don't watch TV,
and you dress right, and you look right, then you perfect
holiness. You just get so good, you're
right for heaven. What blasphemous stupidity. What blasphemous stupidity. We're
cleansed from all filthiness of flesh and spirit by the washing
of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. We cleanse
ourselves, yes, we cleanse ourselves by bathing ourselves in the blood
of Christ by faith, abandoning all hope of salvation by our
own works, abandoning the religion of Babylon, the perfecting of
holiness, is no more and no less than faith in Jesus Christ. Isn't it amazing how your flesh
always wants more? Isn't that amazing? You want
a deeper feeling. You want a more emotional experience.
You wanna, well, what about the tongues? What about the visions?
Oh, what about that exciting feeling? Faith in Christ. Faith in Christ is the perfecting
of holiness in us. The Lord Jesus established righteousness
for us, brought in everlasting righteousness for us. And when
he gives us life and faith by his spirit, he puts holiness
in us. And now that holiness without
which no man shall see the Lord is ours perfectly. Perfect holiness
given us in the new birth. We were made partakers of the
divine nature. And this perfecting of holiness
is evidenced by just one thing, faith in the Savior. And let's
go back to Isaiah 21. Here the prophet of God tells
us of one among the cursed sons of Edom, or Duma, who upon hearing
of the night of judgment and destruction the prophet spoke
of, cries out for help and direction. Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?
I readily acknowledge my inability to explain the detailed prophetic
significance of the burden of Duma. I will leave that to men
who are smarter than me or dumber than me and think they can explain
it. I'm confident, however, I've got God's message from these
two verses. God's servants. all of God's
servants. Faithful gospel preachers are
watchmen. Watchmen set by God upon the
walls of Zion, responsible to keep their watchtower and watch
over the souls of men and women committed to their care as men
responsible for their souls. I can't tell you how that weighs
on this man's heart incessantly. I labor as your pastor, as a
man responsible for your souls, responsible to tell you what
God speaks in His Word plainly and faithfully. to warn you of
that which you must avoid and direct you to that which you
must have. Now let's look at this passage
of scripture three or four ways. First, the watchman himself is
addressed. Who is he? Who is the watchman? Some say the watchman, because
it's in the singular, is speaking of God himself. And certainly,
I have no objection to that. Daniel describes the three persons
of the Holy Trinity in Daniel four as watchers. The Lord God
Almighty watches over men. He watches over the sins of men
that he may bring them to account in the day of judgment. He watches
over his elect to be gracious to them and to bless them. He
watches for opportunity to do us good and makes the opportunity.
He watches over all things for the saving of his people and
the glory of his own great name. In fact, the Hebrew word translated
watchman is applied to the Lord God in Psalm 121. Turn there
if you will. Turn back to Psalm 121. Very
familiar text of scripture, Psalm 121. Here the word that's translated
watchman is translated keeper, keeper. God is a watchman over
his people in that he is our keeper. Oh, how safe and secure
are they who are kept by God. I will lift up mine eyes unto
the hills from which cometh my help. My help cometh from the
Lord which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to
be moved. He that keepeth thee will not
slumber. Behold, he that keepeth, he who
watches over you, Israel, shall neither slumber nor sleep. The
Lord is thy keeper, thy watchman. The Lord is thy shade upon thy
right hand. The sun shall not smite thee
by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee
from all evil. Did you read that right? The
Lord shall preserve thee from all evil. No evil is gonna come
near you. No evil is gonna touch you. No
evil is gonna harm you. No evil is gonna come to you.
He shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going
out and thy coming in from this time forth and even forevermore. He keeps us by his grace. He keeps us in his providence. He sends his angels as ministering
spirits sent forth to minister to those who shall be the heirs
of salvation. Others, because this word is
in the singular, it suggests that the watchman is our Lord
Jesus Christ, our Messiah, the Redeemer. And again, I rejoice
in that. He who is our surety, our almighty
shepherd, is Christ our watchman. Like a shepherd, he watches his
sheep, watches over them, watches out for them, takes care of them,
guards them, protects them, and defends them. We're preserved
and kept in his hands. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall
not walk. We rejoice in the fact that the
Lord God watches over us and keeps us. We're under our Father's
tender eye, the apple of his eye, and secure in our Savior's
arms, his omnipotent arms. But I'm confident that Isaiah
here is referring to God's prophets, the gospel preacher, Isaiah in
his day, and many others. Isaiah was a watchman. He said, I set in my watchtower
night and day. I never leave my post. Jeremiah was chosen, ordained
of God, a watchman in Israel, a watchman set by God in his
place to pull down and destroy, to throw down and then to build
and to plant. Ezekiel. The Lord God said to
him, I've set you a watchman upon the walls of Zion. And when
you hear the word at my mouth, you declare it to my people.
You tell my people, you tell everybody who'll hear you, any
man, any sinner who repents of his sin, his iniquity will never
be remembered against him. If he hears the word, You've
delivered his soul. If he refuses to hear you, you're
free of his blood. And tell the righteous man, those
who dream that they are righteous, those who think they are good,
you tell the righteous man, I'll save him for his righteousness
sake. But in the day he sins, And the day he's in first transgression,
none of his righteousness will be remembered. He'll perish in
his sins. Tell the people who hear you,
there's one way to come to God. You come to God by faith in Christ
his Son, no other way. Every true gospel preacher is
a watchman, set for the salvation of God's elect. Turn over a few
pages to Isaiah 52, Isaiah 52 verse 8. The prophet says, thy
watchman shall lift up the voice. With the voice together shall
they see. For they shall see eye to eye. All of them do, all of them do. They see eye to eye, every watchman
in Zion. You mean they agree on everything?
No, they agree on everything important. They agree on everything
meaningful. They agree on everything God
teaches them. They shall see eye to eye, believe in the gospel
of God's free grace and preaching it freely when the Lord shall
bring again Zion. The word watchman is an allusion
to a shepherd, one responsible for a flock. It also refers to
one who stands and watch over a city. or over a garrison in
time of war. God's servants are men whose
business and responsibility it is to watch over the souls of
men as they that must give account. To incessantly warn immortal
souls of the danger you're in. to incessantly warn immortal
souls of the impending wrath of God. God's watchmen are set on the
walls of Zion and walk the walls of Zion to arouse and awaken
and reprove sleeping saints, to take away the veil of excuses
from them. They are to protect God's flock.
from grievous wolves sure to rise up in their midst. It's
a sad, sad day when those who pretend to be set by God as watchmen
in Zion are blind and sleepy, ignorant and greedy. But throughout
her history, that has usually been the case with those who
profess to be the church of God. Her watchmen are blind, they're
all ignorant. They're dumb dogs, so dumb they
can't bark. Sleeping, lying down, loving
to slumber, greedy dogs. That's a pretty good description
of most preachers you've ever met, heard tell of, read about,
or who live next door to you. Just greedy, dumb, sleeping dogs. God places the watchman, his
watchman, where he would have them. And the watchman is responsible
before God for the souls under his care. Another part of the
watchman's night work is to give the time of night so that God's
people may know what's past and what's to come. The watchman
addressed in our text is God's preacher. whose responsibility
it is to discern the times and seasons, to instruct men and
women in the knowledge of the Lord. So let's look at a second
thing. Let's look at the question asked
of the watchman. Someone in Seir, one of those
Edomites who heard the burden of Duma being aroused, being
awakened by the warning of God's impending wrath, cried out to
the watchman, watchman, what of the night? What of the night?
You tell us judgment's coming. What of the night? What can you
tell us? To paraphrase the question, he's saying what's happened since
nightfall? Have you observed any movement?
Is the enemy near? Is danger at hand? What can you
tell me about the night of darkness and affliction which has come
upon us? When will it be over? How much of our night is gone?
What is there yet to come? Watchmen, what news do you have?
There was a night of darkness that preceded the incarnation
of our Lord Jesus. Darkness, gross darkness, as
is described in Isaiah 60. Darkness in Israel and darkness
in all the Gentile world. If you care to read just a little
bit of the history of things that transpired during the time
of the heathen idolatry of the Gentile world, during the days
of the Roman Empire, the time when our Lord Jesus came into
this world and His early church existed in this world, you would
hardly believe the things that went on in the name of religion. You would hardly believe it.
And Israel was no better. All the prophecies given in places
like Daniel, Daniel's 70th week, all of them had been marching
in precise chronological order right up to the time when Messiah
came. And when Messiah came, there
were just a few. A few here and there like Simeon who looked
for the consolation of Israel, just a few. For the most part,
they saw no value in anything except religious ritualism. The
Spirit of God tells us plainly that there shall be a night of
great darkness that will precede our Lord's second coming. Second
Thessalonians chapter two, The apostle tells us that before
Christ comes, there's going to come an apostasy, a falling away. Men and women will set man in
the house of God, demanding that man be worshiped as God. Lindsay, that's just about the
best way I know to describe what goes on in churches all over
this town. Men set man up in the house of
God and ascribe to man power that belongs only to God, all
the while pretending to worship God. How does this happen? Because they would not receive
the love of the truth, God says he'll send them a strong delusion
that they should believe a lie. that they might be damned because
they would not receive the love of the truth. Darkness, darkness,
what darkness we see. But these things are not accidental.
Do not imagine that God has lost control. Heresies must come among
you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. Only, only those who don't know God
follow the path of the heretic. Only those who don't know God
follow the path of the heretic. And certainly there is a night
of darkness in the soul that always precedes Christ's
delight coming in saving power. God's elect are such as sit in
darkness and the shadow of death when the Spirit of God comes
to work among them and to work in them. Holy Spirit conviction
is a knot of darkness in a man's soul. Oh, what darkness precedes light. Darkness in which no man can help you. But the night of darkness is
just the forerunner of light. The question is asked, watchman,
what are the nights? Watchman, what are the nights?
Look at the answer. It's honest and straightforward.
The watchman said, The morning cometh and also the night. I like what John Gill said concerning
this. He said, there is a morning at hand and a night will follow. A morning of prosperity and a
night of adversity. And as sure as the one comes,
so will the other. There will be a constant succession
and revolution of these until the end of time. What does all
that mean? You can be sure that night will
follow morning. And you can be sure that morning
will come after the night. The morning of youth and health
quickly yields to the night of sickness and old age. The morning
of prosperity will be followed by the night of need. The morning
of opportunity will be followed by the night of report. And the
morning of labor will be followed by the night of rest. For you who are yet in the darkness
of sin and unbelief, the morning cometh. The morning of opportunity
is now risen for you today. If you'll hear his voice, harden
not your hearts. And when the morning of opportunity
is over, the awful night of darkness will seize your soul. And yet
God doesn't promise his people a bed of roses filled with ease.
People have talked into religion and told everything will be smooth
sailing from now on. They're not God's servants, not
God's watchman. Gospel preachers will tell you
the truth. If you trust the Lord Jesus, the son of righteousness
will shine in your soul. But you can be sure of this,
you will have night seasons like you never dreamed of before.
temptations, falls, vanquishings, unbelief, the night comes. For you who
are God's saints in the night of darkness, the morning cometh. When the night of trial is over,
the morning of comfort will come. I think of Abraham After these
things, the Lord tempted Abraham, we're told in Genesis. What a
strange language. After all he'd been through,
after these things, the Lord tempted Abraham. He said, Abraham,
take your son Isaac, whom you dearly love, and go up to a mount
that I'll point out for you, and there offer him as a sacrifice
to me. But don't do it right now. Think
about it for three days. In three days, Abraham goes with
Isaac toward Mount Moriah. For three days, he thinks about
the sacrifice and the morning has come and he brings Isaac
and says to his servants, they wait here, I and the lad will
go yonder and worship and we'll return to you. And he puts the
wood and the fire in Isaac's hands and up the mountain they
go. And Abraham lays Isaac on the altar and he stretches out
his knife to kill his boy. Fully believing that God would
raise him from the dead. Merle, that is some faith. He said, I'm gonna go yonder
and worship God. He didn't tell Eliezer, I'm gonna
go up there and kill my boy. And after I kill him, we will
return to you. He stretches out his knife, getting
ready to kill him. And the Lord said, Abraham, I
see you've not withheld him. Don't touch your boy. There's
a substitute for him. And Abraham, can you imagine,
can you imagine the joy with which Abraham went over and cut
that ram out of the thicket and sacrificed him in Isaac's dead?
He said, boy, learn something. Our God's name is Jehovah Jireh.
When your night of languishing is over, there will be a morning
of revival and refreshment. But as long as we're in this
world, night will follow morning as surely as morning follows
night. Most people read the book of
Ecclesiastes particularly and the song of Solomon and can never
quite get it. They just can't get it. I heard
a preacher, I should have known better, he said, Ecclesiastes
was written by a man suffering from what we would call manic
depression. It was a depressed preacher.
I thought, poor soul, you hadn't got it. It was written by inspiration.
What does Ecclesiastes talk about? What does the Song of Solomon
talk about? It is an expression of the constant day-by-day experience
of God's church in this world. And the day-by-day experience
of Bill Raleigh and Don Fortner in this world. A constant succession
of night and morning. Of languishing and reviving.
Of coldness and refreshing. of the Lord reminding us continually
what we are and reminding us relentlessly of his great mercy
and grace in Christ our Redeemer. The morning cometh and also the
night. But blessed be God, there is
a morning coming which shall last forever. And the Lord God
says he will put an end to sighing. Look back up in verse two. All
the sighing thereof, that is all the sighing of my people
living here in Babylon have I made to cease. I saw no temple therein. For
the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And
the city had no need of the sun, neither the moon to shine in
it. For the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the
light thereof. And the nations of them which
are saved shall walk in the light of it. And the kings of the earth
do bring their glory and honor to it. And the gates of it shall
not be shut at all by day. for there shall be no night there. And one more thing, back here
in Isaiah 21, verse 12. Look at the counsel given by
the watchman. If you will inquire, inquire
ye, return, come. There's no time for trifling. I preach to you in dead earnest. all the time, because God is
in dead earnest in everything he commands, and you should be. The watchman's answer to the
sinner who is alarmed by God's impending wrath upon his sin
is threefold. He says, inquire ye, that is,
seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while
he is near. Return. Return. Repent. Repent. Confess your sin. He's faithful and just to forgive
us our sin. I said to Shelby sometime yesterday when I was
working on this message, I just saw something I don't think I've
ever grasped before. It's so simple and so plain. The counsel is the same. from
God's watchman, no matter who you are, no matter what your
need is, no matter what your circumstances are. What do I
do? Return, seek the Lord. What do I do? Confess your sin.
Come, come to Christ. Oh, come today, the Father, Son,
and Spirit say. The Spirit and the bride say,
come. whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely. And let me quickly show you three
passages of scripture that I hope you will take home with you as you carry your pastor, your
watchman before God. Hebrews 13, verse 7, Remember them which have the
rule over you. Who are they? Those men who have
spoken unto you the word of God, whose faith follow, follow their
doctrine of faith, the gospel of God's grace, considering the
end of their conversation, everlasting life. Verse 17, obey them. Obey them that had the rule over
you. Obey the message they preach. Oh, God help you to obey what
you've heard tonight. Return. Confess. Come. Seek the Lord. Acknowledge
your sin. Come to Christ. Obey them that
had the rule over you and submit yourselves. Submit not to this
man, my soul, This man not worth spit, but submit to the word
God gives you by this man, his word, submit. How come? For they watch for your souls
as they that must give account. They watch for your souls as
they who must give account to God for you. whether you obey or refuse to
obey, that they may do it with joy
and not with grief, for that is unprofitable for you. Now
turn back just a few pages to I Thessalonians 5, verse 12, And we beseech you, brethren,
to know them which labor among you, and are over you in the
Lord and admonish you. And to highly esteem them, very
highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves. Hear the word of the watchman.
Obey the word of the watchman, the gospel of God's grace. and
you will find peace for yourselves as you walk with God, turning
to the Savior, confessing your sin, coming to Christ. When it's dark, come to Him,
and when it's light, come to Him. In the morning, come to
Him, and in the evening, When you can't find help from
anybody, come to Him. That's the watchman's message.
Amen.