The path he chose for me will all be understood. In heaven's clearer light, I'll see all things worked out for good. What a blessed, blessed revelation of Holy Scripture.

Turn with me, if you will, to the last chapter of Isaiah for our text this evening. Isaiah chapter 66.

Believers, men and women who are born of God, see the hand of God everywhere. In creation, in providence, and especially in grace, we see the finger of our God. We do not always see it clearly. In fact, we do not always see it. The sad fact is, we are so sinful that we do not always even look for his hand. And yet, in our limited capacity upon this earth, believers are many women who do see the hand of God in everything. He is our creator, and we confess, it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves. We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

In Revelation chapters 4, 5, and 6, we see how that the Lord God revealed himself to John, and made clear to him how that God rules in all creation in chapter four. He rules in salvation and grace in chapter five, and in chapter six he displays how that God rules in providence as well. And so we acknowledge that the Lord our God is our sovereign creator, ruler of all creation, sovereign over all things. And this great God who created us is our savior.

Truly my soul waiteth upon God. From him cometh my salvation. Salvation is of the Lord. He only is my lock and my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not be greatly moved." The psalmist doesn't say, I shall not be moved. He says, I shall not be greatly moved. In this world, we are shaken, we are troubled, we are distressed by many things, but not greatly, not overwhelmingly, because God is our salvation. And we recognize that God, our Savior, is sovereign in the disposition of all things in providence. The most high ruler. Our God rules all things, everywhere, at all times, and he does so absolutely.

Listen to what he says. Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is none else. I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning." I love that revelation. He says, I declare the end of a thing from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand. and I will do all my pleasure." So that before the word began, the Lord God Almighty tells us exactly how everything shall turn out, and his counsel will stand, he will do all his pleasure, no matter how things may appear to be in our eyes turned upside down and inside out and in a tangled mess, God says, I will do all my pleasure, saying my counsel shall stand. I will do all my pleasure calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executed my counsel from a far country. Yea, I have spoken it. I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it. I will also do it."

Now I acknowledge we see through a glass darkly, but we do see these things and we do rejoice in them as we are able while we live in this world. All true believers do. But in the last chapter of Isaiah, the prophet of God speaks to us, actually the Lord God speaks to us by his prophet, of a time when everyone, everywhere, all men, all angels, both the righteous and the wicked, both the elect and the reprobate, every rational creature, shall see the hand of God in all things, and acknowledge that his hand has been in all things. It shall be seen and known that in all things the hand of God was at work throughout all the ages of time, actively accomplishing his purpose in the saving of his people for the glory of his name. Look at verse 14 here in Isaiah 66. And when you see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb, and the hand of the Lord shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies. The hand of the Lord shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies. So that in everything God is doing, has done or shall have to do, the hand of the Lord shall be known to be accomplishing grace for his servants, and his indignation against his enemies for the glory of his name.

Now this is what I want to talk about this evening. The hand of the Lord shall be known. Hold your Bibles open here to Isaiah 66. And I want to give you a general overview of this entire chapter. Tonight we're going to glance just at the highlights. The Lord willing, we will look at the chapter in more detail in coming weeks. The theme of this chapter is the new creation, promised in chapter 65. And as we saw in that chapter, this passage also speaks of God's works of grace which consummate and bring us into the new creation. So that God's object, God's purpose, is ultimately to bring about this final, perfect new creation where we shall wear with him in perfect righteousness. But along the way, his works of grace are bringing it to pass. This is what God purposed from the beginning, and this is what God has been doing throughout the ages of time. When the Lord God has finished all his works, it shall be seen by all that the hand of God sovereignly brought all things to pass, ruled them, and disposed of them for the everlasting salvation of his people, to the praise of the glory of his grace.

Now in order to make it easier for you to follow me through the chapter, if you're taking notes, to take notes a little more easily and orderly, let me divide the chapter into four parts. First, in verses 1 through 4, we will look at the proclamation of our God. In verses 5 through 17, the promise to generations to come. In verses 18 through 23, the permanence of grace. And then in the last verse, the punishment of guilt.

First reading verses 1 through 4, we're given this proclamation of our God. Now we know that the opening verses of this chapter refer specifically to the destruction of Jerusalem, to the destruction of Judaism as a form of worship acceptable to God, and the destruction of Jerusalem as a city, and the destruction of Israel as a nation.

We know that because Stephen, God's servant who was stoned to death in Acts chapter 7, speaks specifically, quoting from these verses, of the destruction of Jerusalem, the coming of Christ, and the spiritual nature of God's kingdom from that time forward. The Jews who were standing by became so enraged at what Stephen declared. They became so enraged at the message that he proclaimed, the message that is here revealed, that they, like a mob of madmen, rushed upon him with stones in their hands and stoned him to death. And Saul of Tarsus, that young man, was standing there consenting to his death, and gathering, holding the clothes of those who stoned God's servants.

Now, this is a message that is plainly revealed in the scriptures, and yet few, few, few people seem to understand the message. People today talk about Judeo-Christian ethics, and Judeo-Christian religion, and Judeo-Christian this, that, and the other thing. Will you understand something? Anything connected with Judaism is not Christian. Anything that connects Judaism and Christianity is not Christian.

The Lord God has forever, permanently, done away with Old Testament carnal ordinances of worship. The Church of God is no longer made up of a race of men, but rather made up of a spiritual kingdom of all races, nationalities, and peoples on the earth. The Lord God Almighty holds legal ceremonial, carnal ordinances of religious ritualism in utter contempt.

Now I want you to get this. God Almighty holds all legal, carnal ordinances of religious ritualism and ceremonialism in utter contempt. I don't mean that he looks at those things and says, well now, this is not exactly right, but it's all right. I don't mean that God looks at those things that men do and call it worship, they're outwards ceremonies, and they're popped in pageantry, and he looks at it and he says, well, that's not exactly the order which I had intended, but that's all right. And yet that's the attitude of men in our day. Just as long as we don't see something positively, clearly forbidden by God, we sort of wink at it and say, that's all right. David found out it's not all right. Either we will worship God according to due order, according to the revelation of Holy Scripture, or we won't worship him.

Now look what he says here in verses 1, 2, and 3. Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, the earth is my footstool, Do you understand what he's saying? I'm a little bigger than you think. I'm not some little peanut God that you set on the shelf and bow down to before you go to bed at night. I'm not some God you carry around in your pocket. The heaven is my throne. The earth is my footstool. My footstool. I have a chair and a footstool over at the house there. You've seen it, most of you have. Pretty good sized footstool, even for my big feet. But the earth is an insignificant little place for God to rest his feet. He's the infinite, sovereign, almighty God whom the heavens cannot contain. And therefore he says, where is the house that you built for me? Where's the house you built for me? And where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord.

But to this man will I look, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man. He that sacrifices a lamb is as if he cut off a dog's neck. He that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood. He that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and they're so delighted, look at what he says now, in their abominations. I can't imagine stronger language can you? And yet God required the building of the temple. God ordained the worship that was represented in the sacrifices of the ox, and the oblations, and the incense, and the offering of blood upon the altar. God ordained those things. And yet, even in the practice of those outward forms of worship that God ordained in the Old Testament, where they were not performed with faith in Jesus Christ who was represented in them, they were looked upon by God as an abomination. How much more in this day, when all these types and ceremonies have been fulfilled, when all the outward forms of legal worship have been perfectly fulfilled by Jesus Christ, to return to the carnal ordinances, to return to those carnal ceremonies, to return to mere outward religious ritualism is utter idolatry, and therefore it's prohibited by our God. He declares that which is highly esteemed among men. is an abomination in the sight of God.

We build church houses, and we sometimes refer to this building as the church. I try to be careful not to do that. This isn't the church. This is just the house where we meet. That's all. This is not a sanctuary. I go places and preach and folks say, sign what's in the sanctuary. This is not a sanctuary. It just isn't. I'm sorry to burst your bubble. This is not a holy place. It is dedicated for holy service, for holy worship, but this is just a dealer, nothing else.

We don't wear priestly vestments. You're not going to catch me walking around in a robe and a collar turned around backwards. You're not going to catch me wearing some kind of religious beanie on my head. You're not going to find me engaged in any kind of priest crap, because to do so is idolatry, and it doesn't matter how much you cry and say, oh no, no, no, we're not worshipping these things. To engage in these things is utter idolatry, and God forbids it.

God Almighty is the sovereign, infinite spirit who made all things. He does not dwell in temples made with hands. He dwells in the hearts of believing sinners, in the hearts of poor, contrite men and women who know, acknowledge, and confess their sin, and have reverence for his word, tremble at his word.

Here we are. What will God say? What will God say? What will God say? You men frequently ask, as I do, God speak to us. Well, we ought to weigh those words, because when God speaks, we're responsible to obey. Trembleth at my word. Trembleth at my word. To this man will I look. center, acknowledging his sin before me, bowing to my word with reverence, seeking to do my will.

In sovereign and just wrath, this same holy God who holds the religious world's ideas of Christianity in utter contempt, he chooses the delusion By which unbelieving rebels who will not tremble at his word. By which unbelieving rebels who will not submit to his word. God chooses the delusions by which they shall be deceived and damned.

Look at verse 4. He says, I also will choose their delusions. Do you know what he's talking about? Do you know what he's talking about? He's talking about their He's talking about the religious refuges of lies which they build for themselves. I will choose their delusions and will bring their fears upon them. And here's the reason. When I called, none did answer. When I spake, they did not hear. They did evil before mine eyes and chose that in which I delighted not.

What a solemn word. This is what God says. For this cause, God shall send them a strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, that they might be damned to believe not the truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness. Oh, what a salvation! Men and women hear the Word of God, and they see the message of God, and the counsel of God, and the instruction of God's Word, and they sit back and they hear it, and they obey what God plainly reveals. God says, all right, have it your way. I'll give you delusions that'll make you walk and think and live as though you were indeed the children of God Almighty. There shall be delusions dimming to your souls. I'll give you religion without Christ, I'll give you religion without God, I'll give you a way of righteousness that will satisfy you, but will turn your soul into hell, a way of your own self-righteousness.

And then in the following verses, we see this promise, the promise to generations yet to come. We often fret concerning the generations that are yet to come. How often, as we begin to approach midlife, we begin to be concerned about the generations yet to come. It would be far better if we were more concerned when our children were bouncing on our knees than when they're about to bounce their own children on their knees. But we fret about the generations to come as though somehow the Church of God, the Kingdom of God, the Cause of God may be in jeopardy.

In these next verses, as well as in many other passages of scripture, the Lord God promises that he will save his elect, protect his church, and avenge his people of their persecutors. Those who are set for our destruction, who oppose us, and oppose us in the name of God, he says, I'll take care of them. I'll take care of them.

I can't tell you. in my life as a believer, twenty-nine years now, most of the opposition I faced, most of the opposition I faced in high school, in college, in Bible college, most of the opposition I faced throughout the days of my ministry has come from men and women who said they were doing what they were doing in the name of God. In the name of God. And that's always been the case. The greatest persecutions throughout history against God's people have come by people who came to say, we represent God! And now, in our representation of God, we'll see if we can't put you out of business, and put you out of business forever.

Look what the Lord says in verse 5. Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at his word. Ye who reverence God's word and seek to obey and worship God according to his word. your brethren that seated you, that cast you out for my name's sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified, let the Lord be honored, the Lord be praised now. But he shall appear to you, or to your joy, and they shall be ashamed a voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the Lord that rendereth recompense to his enemies. Oh, perhaps not today, maybe not tomorrow, but in God's time, God will avenge his people. He will avenge his people.

Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 4 for a moment. Hold your hands there and look at this one passage. The Apostle Paul, you remember, after preaching the gospel at Corinth, after being used of God as an instrument by which these Corinthians were brought to faith in Jesus Christ, after he left many of those within the city of Corinth, many false brethren, accusing Paul of deceit and treachery, accusing Paul of being a false witness of God, accusing Paul of not being, as he claimed, an apostle of Jesus Christ. And the apostle seems to have just gotten weary of constantly, constantly having to answer such accusations. And this is what he says in verse 3. With me, it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment. Yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself, yet am I not hereby justified. That is, I don't even justify myself in making that statement. But he that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts. And then shall every man have his praise of God.

I tell you, the best way to respond, best way for me is a picture of the gospel, the best way for you who seek the glory of God. Now listen carefully. If you seek honestly, with integrity of heart, to do the will of God, to walk in uprightness of faith, if you seek honestly the glory of God in this world, and men and women against you, and they speak evil against you, and they set themselves in opposition to you, best way to handle them is just like this.

It doesn't matter to me what your opinion is. There's a day coming. There's a day coming when God Almighty will make yet known who He is. I'll wait and meet you at the judgment seat. I'll wait and meet you at the judgment seat. That's exactly what Paul says in that passage.

God's church indeed, he tells us next, shall be fully inhabited. Jerusalem was destroyed. And while the ancient city and nation lay in a smoldering heap of rubbish, many might look at Jerusalem, the nation of Israel, that which had been for so many years the kingdom of God, that which had been for so many years the light of the gospel in this world. They looked at that city and that nation as a smoldering heap of rubbish and said to themselves, what now shall become of God's cause? What now shall become of God's kingdom? What now shall become of the gospel and the church of the Lord God?

In verses 7 through 14, the Lord God makes us to understand that nothing hinders his purpose. He promises abundant grace and salvation to the church which is Jerusalem above, the Israel of God, that holy nation that is made up of Jews and Gentiles as well. You see, that physical city, Jerusalem, that literal nation, Jerusalem, never was intended by God to be the whole of his body, the whole of his church, the whole of his kingdom. Oh no! Never! It was only a type of representation, a picture of Jerusalem which is above, the church and kingdom of our God.

Read with me verses 7 through 14.

Before she prevailed, she brought forth. But who ever heard tell of such a thing as that? Before her king came, she was delivered of a man-child. Who hath heard such a thing? Who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day, or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as time prevailed, she brought forth her children. Shall I bring to the birth and not calls to bring forth, saith the Lord. Shall I call to bring forth and shut the room, saith thy God?

Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her. Rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her, that ye may suck and be satisfied with the breast of her consolation. that ye may milk out and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream. Then shall ye suck, ye shall be born upon her sides, and be dangled upon her knees. As one whom his mother comforted, so will I comfort you. shall be comforted in Jerusalem. And when you see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb, and the hand of the Lord shall be known toward His servants, and His indignation toward His enemies." Now this is what he says. The spiritual birth of God's is brought to pass without the aid or assistance or work of a man. He says, I bring forth. This holy nation was born by the hand and power of God. It was born in one day. Born in one day when Christ came into the earth, the man-child. Born in one day when Christ, the Lord Jesus, arose from the dead for our justification. Born in one day when Christ poured out for all of us his Holy Spirit. At the veil of her children.

In this passage here, I'll deal with it in a little more detail later, but this passage here, as soon as Zion prevailed, she brought forth her children, having been so terribly abused and twisted and mangled. Our travail in prayer is not the cause, but only the result and the effect and the sign of God's work in our midst. As soon as Zion prevailed, she brought forth her children. You have in the previous verses concerning this one delivered before Cain came, she was delivered of a man-child. In other words, the travail of Zion, the travail of our souls are crying out to God that he may give us children, comes as soon as birth is on its way. In other words, this is God's work, not your work. There's no suffering of travail by which we are able somehow to manage to lay hold of the heavens and cause God to do what he's not willing to do. Oh no. Our Savior deals with suffering. We only enjoy the results of his work. That's the only part we have in this whole thing. We enjoy in the work of our God.

The Church's best of consolation for her children, obviously, is an allegorical term used here. Jerusalem's breast of consolation, the breast of consolation for the children of God, are the ministry of the gospel and the ordinances of the gospel. The Word of God gives us the milk by which we live in this world. The ordinances, baptism and the Lord's Supper, these are breasts of consolation by which we are banded upon the knees of our mother and caused to find comfort in our God.

The brightness and abundance of our glory, described in verse 11, is Jesus Christ himself. And then in verses 12 through 14, the Lord speaks of peace. Peace like a mighty flowing, peace coming by the gathering of the Gentiles into Zion with a great flood of stream. It is the peace of righteousness, forgiveness, justification, eternal life, and acceptance with God Almighty in Jesus Christ the Lord.

And yet, even as he is serving his chosen, even as he is in the process of gathering together his wheat into his barn, even as he is in the process of gathering his sheep out of the world, the Lord God is binding the tares for the burning. and reigning judgment upon the wicked and the reprobate. By the fire of His holy wrath, and the sword of His holiest spirit, the word of God, the Lord God destroys the wicked who will not bow before Him. As they choose their abominations, and as they choose their refuges of lies, they choose their destruction.

Look at verse 15, For behold, the Lord will with fire and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his redemption with flames of fire. For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh, and with the slain of the Lord shall be many." They that sanctify themselves and purify themselves in gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh and the abomination and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the Lord. That is, those who refuse to find refuge in Christ, but rather they choose their abomination, now hide from you, and you choose your destruction. And then thirdly, This passage of scripture declares the permanence of grace.

In verses 18 through 23, the Lord assures us that every blessing of grace, or the blessedness of his people, is everlasting. He says, I know their works and their thoughts. It shall come that I will gather all nations in tongues, and they shall come and see my glory. And I will set aside among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarsus, and Pearl, and Lod, that draw the bull to Tubal and Javan, and to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither has seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles," verse 20, and they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord. out of all nations, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord. And I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the Lord. For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your team remain. And it shall come to pass that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord."

Now I can only scratch the surface a little bit now. But look at these seven things that are promised in these verses. In verse 18 it is promised that God's elect shall come from every corner of the earth. Every nation, every tongue, every people. It is admirable to me how that God in his providence has through the ages opened doors to the preaching of the gospel in one nation after another. How that he often uses the works of pagan unbelieving men to open a door for the progress of the gospel. When time came for the gospel to go from Jerusalem into all the earth, the Lord God raised up a nation of pagans called the Roman Empire, and they built the most intricate highway system any nation had ever built in the world, so that the gospel was easily carried into all the nations of the earth. Today we have such electronic devices as God Almighty seems to be opening door after door after door after door for the utterance of the gospel to literally go into all the world, and go right now. I mean, right now! Right now! The word goes into all the world, and God gathers his elect out of every nation, every kingdom, every tribe, and every people.

Then in verse 18 it is promised that these to whom God grants his grace and his salvation, is glory. The glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ is revealed in the gospel. We see God's glory in the revelation of how the God in justice is able now fully, without compromising his holiness in the least, he is able to justify the ungodly through the sacrifice of Christ. And then we're told that God will set a sign among them. So that wherever they are found, verse 19, this sign shall be established among them. Now I looked at that a good bit, and I thought, well, what is this sign? What sign is he talking about? Perhaps he's talking about the incarnation of Christ. Maybe that's the case. But I think not. I think Simeon gives us the answer in Luke 2. 34. Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be spoken against." The sign, then, is Jesus Christ and the gospel of his grace. So that wherever God comes in saving power, he establishes Jesus Christ in the gospel of his grace.

And then we're told in verse 19, they shall declare by glory among the Gendiles. shall be witnesses unto me." That's what he put us in this earth to do, to declare his glory, the glory of his saving grace in Jesus Christ among the Gentiles. And these chosen ones, you and I, are made and accepted of God, in Jesus Christ our Lord, as a holy nation, as a royal priesthood of people who worship him in spirit and in truth.

He said, they shall be to me for Levites and priests. What does that mean? That simply means that we are now perfectly accepted of God in Jesus Christ, and we enter as believer priests into the presence of God himself with constant acceptance because of Christ our Redeemer.

I've read a good many articles in our newspapers over the years, and a good many articles in religious periodicals on the priesthood of the believer. Most people have no understanding of what it means. It doesn't mean we have the right to do the thing we want to do. That's utter nonsense. It doesn't mean we have the right to choose whatever way we want to worship. That is utter nonsense. It means that we as believers have immediate access to God through our priest, Jesus Christ, and we need no sacrifice. We need no mediator, we need no intercessor except Jesus Christ the Lord.

And then in verse 22 we're told that this generation, this generation of God's elect, this generation chosen of God, called by God, this generation gathered out of every nation, kindred, tribe, and tongue throughout the ages of history, this generation shall never pass away because God's grace lasts and lasts forever. your sin and your name shall remain, he says.

And then in verse 23, all who are born of God worship him perpetually. Look at the verse again. It shall come to pass that from one new moon to another, from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh, Jew and Gentile, out of every nation, kindred, tribe, and tongue, all flesh shall come and worship before me, saith the Lord." This is exactly what that means.

We observe no Sabbath days. We observe no new moons. We observe no holy days or holy seasons. We observe none of the feasts set forth in the Old Testament, because we are strictly forbidden to do so. I recognize that during that period of transition from the Jewish church to the Gentile age, the age of the gospel in which we live, there was a time when the people of God moved gradually out of their Old Testament ceremonies and Sabbath-keeping and so forth, into the glorious liberty that we now possess.

But the apostle Paul, writing Colossians 2 verses 9 through 17, forbids, because we're complete in Christ, he forbids us to observe any kind of such ceremonies in holy days and times and seasons. Why is that? Because we worship God all the time. Our Sabbath day is not one day in seven, it's seven days in seven. 365 days a year. We worship God in our daily activities. We serve him continually night and day. The Lord Jesus Christ is our Sabbath forever. Heaven's glory, when we have dropped this flesh, when we've entered into the perfection of righteousness, heaven's glory will be nothing more and nothing less than the continuation of grace in the perfection of righteousness and holiness.

What are we going to do in heaven? What are we going to do in that new creation? We're going to do exactly what we're doing right now, except sin. Except sin.

Forgive me, let me speculate for a moment. In the new creation, I have no doubt whatsoever, I have no doubt whatsoever that there will be building of houses and governing of lands and governing of nations. I have no doubt whatsoever that there will be a continuation of life in perfection without sin. And that means that while we worship and serve God, I can picture sometimes in his shop when things are pressed a little bit, kind of hard to worship God while you're doing it. And when your conveyor systems don't work out like you drew them on your plans, Marcus, it gets a little frustrating, kind of hard to worship God while you're going about your work in this world.

Now, I recognize that may be a little bit of an excessive illustration, but I'm confident that whatever our employment is in the new creation, We will continue in all things as we do now, worshiping and serving our God with one exception. No sin. No frustration. No aggravation. No turning of our minds away from him, who is God our Savior, to just the thing we're working with. You understand what I'm saying? Heaven will be the continuation of grace. only without seeing perfection in righteousness.

But some will never experience God's grace. Maybe some of you. I shudder at that thought. But you who refuse Christ, who will not bow to the Son of God, who will not worship at You shall perish forever under the wrath of God Almighty because of your guilt. And so in verse 24, the Lord declares to us the punishment of guilt. And they shall go forth, that is, God's saints, shall go forth and look upon the carcasses of men that have transgressed against me. For their worms shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched. And they shall be an abhorrent unto all flesh."

Now this last verse tells us two things. First, the righteous shall look upon the carcasses of the wicked in hell. And they shall look upon the carcasses of the wicked with abhorrence. gratitude. Upholding them because they have sinned against God, refused to bow to Him, and would wreak havoc in His holy kingdom forever if God did not cast them into hell. And with gratitude. Because we shall never forget that were it not for God's sovereign intervention, that would be our portion. Oh, bless his name, who snatched me from the pit of corruption and eternal damnation.

But as they look upon the carcasses of the wicked, God's saints will look upon them without sorrow and without pity to any degree. But we shall see things then as God sees them. What about my sons and daughters? The time will come when we will see things as God sees them. And if mother and father, brother and sister, husband or wife, son and daughter, should live and die without Jesus Christ while our hearts break at the prospect of that now, the day will come when we will look upon the carcasses of the wicked with no sorrow and no pity, because we will see things as God sees them, and we will see that to be his justice for the glory of his name. And the text declares that the torments of the damned, whatever they are. Somebody said, do you believe in literal fire and hell? I believe in more than that. Fire doesn't come close to describing the fires of hell. A worm, a gnawing worm of conscience shall never die. The burning fires of wrath flowing in your soul and encompassing your being shall not be quenched. The torments of the damned, whatever they are, are relentless and neverlasting.

Let no man deceive you. God has not changed. He has always punished sin, and he always will. Do not be fooled into thinking that God won't punish you, or God won't punish your sin. Somehow a God will reach at your sin. Oh no. Unless you turn to him and take refuge in him. Unless you flee away to Jesus Christ and seek mercy and grace through the blood of his death at Calvary, you shall forever be the object of God's relentless, tormenting wrath.

And therefore, as we read this closing, solemn word in Isaiah, I must issue once more that blessed, blessed word of grace issued in the opening of the book. where the Lord God says, come now. Let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you be willing and obedient, you shall enter the good of the land. But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured with the for the mouth of the Lord and spoke of it.