Isaiah 32. Let's read this text
one more time. Verse 1. I like the way it starts. Behold. Behold. Behold a king. If God would be blessed to give
us eyes to behold the Lord Jesus Christ. Hold your place there
for just a minute. Look over here to Isaiah 42 verse
1. Isaiah 42 verse 1 starts out
the same way. Behold. Behold The king, but here it says, the
king who is God's servant, Isaiah 42, 1. Behold my servant whom
I uphold, my elect, and whom my soul delighteth. I put my
spirit upon him, he shall bring forth judgment, salvation to
sinners, Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up,
nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed
shall he not break. A broken flax shall he not quench. He shall bring forth the judgment,
Unto truth he shall not fail, verse 4, nor be discouraged till
he has set judgment in the earth and all the isles wait for his
word. Behold, my servant, my elect. Here in Isaiah 32, verse 1, behold
a king, a king shall reign in righteousness This is talking
about the king of kings, the Lord Jesus Christ. He shall reign. He does reign. He always reigned. And he reigned in absolute holiness,
absolute righteousness, absolute justice. And the king shall reign
and the prince shall rule in judgment, justice. And a man, or that man, that
man who was the king, who was the prince, who's a king who
reigns in righteousness and that man, now who is that man? That's
the God man, the Lord Jesus Christ. And that man shall be our hiding
place. He is our refuge in a time of
trouble. He's our refuge in the storm,
a hiding place from the wind, a covering from the tempest,
rivers, rivers, of water in a dry place. Abundance of refreshment
in Christ and he's the shadow. He's a shadow of a great rock
in this weary land. We rest under the shade of his
wing. Christ our hiding place, that's
the title of the message. Christ our hiding place. Now
how can a man be our hiding place? How can a man, the God-man, the
Lord Jesus Christ, how can this man from Nazareth be our hiding
place? How can a man be our place of
refuge? A refuge from a storm is because
of who this man is. He's not just merely a man, although
he is a real man. But rather this man is the God's
man. This man and this king who reigns
in righteousness is God our Savior. The text here is talking about
none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. To him give all the prophets
witness. Isaiah, Jeremiah, all the way
to the last Old Testament prophet being John, they all bear witness
to the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. This text
is talking about God our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
what the book of Isaiah is all about. And all the Old Testament
tells us about the Lord Jesus Christ who is coming. He's the
only one from all eternity designed, decreed, and purposed to be our
salvation, to be our hiding place, to be our refuge. He's not a
refuge of lies, as we read about in Isaiah 28. He's a refuge of
truth. He's a refuge in the storm, in
the storms of life, And from the storms of God's holy wrath
against our sin, where would you hide but in the hiding place,
the refuge that God has provided? Wouldn't it be a wise thing to
hide and find refuge in that place that God has provided for
us? And he has, in himself, the Lord
Jesus Christ. God's people, God's elect, are
not free from trouble, heartaches, sorrows, and heartaches in this
life. This text talks about much trouble that we endure. It talks about the wind, the
tempest or the storm, talks about the dry place, talks about the
weary land. God's people in this life suffer
trial and heartache just like everyone else does. The Apostle
Paul writing this to the church there in Lystra confirming the souls of
the disciples and exhorting them to continue in the faith that
we must, through much tribulation, enter into the kingdom of God.
Peter, writing about those trials, he called them precious trials
in 1 Peter chapter 1. And then over in chapter 4, he
said, don't think it strange concerning the fiery trials that
is to try you as though some strange thing happened. Trials
that God sends our way, they come by his purpose. They come
by his decree. But let us never despair. Our
God is on the throne of absolute sovereignty and brings things
to pass in our life for our eternal good. All things happen to believers,
not by chance. not by blind fate, certainly
not by lady luck or mother nature, but rather by the eternal purpose
and decree of God. These light afflictions that
God sends our way are for our eternal good. All things work
together for good to them who love God, to them who are the
called according to God's purpose. He worketh all things after the
counsel of his own will. So God's people are not exempt
from trial, heartache, and trouble, tears, and pain, and suffering.
Someone said, God had just one Son without sin, that is the
Lord Jesus Christ, none without sorrow. Our Lord Jesus Christ
over here in Isaiah 53 is called what? The man of sorrows, acquainted
with grief. And the grief that he's suffering
and the sorrow he is suffering is for our sin. bearing our sin
in his own body on the tree. Now, let's take a look at Isaiah
32 verse 1 and 2. Behold this king. Oh, that we
might have an eye of faith to behold this king, this king who
is king, the king, the king shall, what does a king do? A king shall
reign. Reign, that's the root word of
sovereignty. You know, we often use that word
sovereignty. If you try to find the word sovereignty
in the Bible, you won't find it. The root cause, the root
word is reign. God reigned. His sovereign purpose. His sovereign purpose. God reigns
everywhere. You don't find the word of sovereign,
but you find the truth of it. God does rule and reign over
all things, in all places. May God give us eyes to behold
the King, Christ our King. He is, as we studied in the Revelation,
remember, He's called King of Kings. He's called Lord of Lords. In Psalm 2, we studied I've set
my king upon my holy hill, my holy hill Zion. Zion. Look right across the page in
Isaiah 33 verse 17. Thine eyes shall see the king
and his beauty. He's altogether lovely. You see
it, Isaiah 33, 17. The king and his beauty, they
shall behold the land that is very far off. Another reference here in Isaiah
33, but down to verse 22. For the Lord is our judge, the
Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king. You see that? Isaiah
33, verse 22. The Lord is our king. He will
save us. No one else can. He reigns in
righteousness. May we be blessed to see the
king who is altogether lovely. May he give us a heart to look
to him and to trust him. Pilate said to that vicious,
bloodthirsty crowd, when they arrested the Lord Jesus Christ
and brought him to trial, you remember what Pilate said? He
said to the people, behold your king. Remember? Behold your king. Remember what they said? Away
with him. Crucify him. We have no king
but Caesar. Man by nature will not have the
lordship of Christ. They will not have him as king
over all things in their life. But the believer rests and we're
glad that he is king. and that he rules and reigns
in everything we go through. The same religious crowd, the
self-righteous crowd who that day said to Pilate, we have no
king but Caesar, the same religious crowd in our day had the same
opinion of the Lord Jesus Christ who is our king, for he's king
in salvation. God is king in salvation. He is king in salvation. And
the same religious crowd says we don't want him to be king
in salvation. When a sinner who is an unbeliever is faced with
the sovereignty of God in salvation, that he will have mercy on whom
he will have mercy, the response of a sinner apart from God's
saving grace is away with them. We don't want anything to do
with the king who is king in salvation. When faced with the
fact that Christ is king in providence, they say, away with him. We want
to be the captain of our own ship, a master of our own fate.
Away with him. We don't need a king. When faced
with the fact that Christ is king in redemption, that he is
the redeemer who redeems his people from their sin. The same
religious crowd says, away with him. We don't need this one who
is just a redeemer of God's elect, God's people. I think I've told
you this story before, but one time Pastor Mahan was preaching
in a certain church, and he preached a series of messages in that
church. And of course, he preached the effectual atonement of the
Lord Jesus Christ, a particular redemption of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Well, after Brother Mahan left
town, the preacher of that congregation, or the pastor of that congregation,
stood up and made this statement. He said, if Christ only died
for the elect, he's no savior of mine. Now, what a terrible
statement. Brother Mahan said Christ died
for his people. He came for his people. He loved
his people. He died for his people. He called
his people. And that old guy, because he
had no eyes to see the beauty of the king, he said, if Christ
only died for the elect, he's not my savior. Oh, what a mission. What a mission. Away with him.
We don't need him. We want to be our own savior.
Our blessed savior is known by many names in scripture. You
remember in the study in Revelation chapter 5, he's called the Lamb,
the Lamb of God. He's the Lion of the tribe of
Judah. He's called many times our Lord.
He's called the Good Shepherd, the Chief Shepherd, the Great
Shepherd. He's called the Captain of our
salvation. But one of the best descriptive
titles is that of King. He is King. He's the King who
shall reign in righteousness. Look over here at Isaiah chapter
6 for just a minute. You remember when Isaiah had
that vision of the Lord Jesus Christ high and lifted up? Isaiah
chapter 6, Then said I, verse 5, Woe is
me, I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips. I dwell
in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for mine eyes have seen
the King. Oh, if you see the king lifted
up high and holy, your opinion of yourself is, woe is me. Woe
is me. I'm undone. I'm undone. I'm a man of unclean lips. May
God give us eyes to see the beauty of our king and the necessity
of our king. In the book of Revelation, he's
called King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Let's turn back to
the book of Psalms and look at Psalm 44. Psalm 44. Psalm 44, talking about our King. Psalm 44, verse 4. Psalm 44, 4. Thou art my King,
O God, command deliverances for Jacob. He is our King. Psalm 47, turn over there a couple
pages. Psalm 47, verse 7. For God is the King of all the
earth. Psalm 47, verse 7, sing praises
with understanding. God reigneth over the heathen. God sits upon the throne of his
holiness. The princes of the people are
gathered together. Even the people of the God of
Abraham, for the shields of the earth belong unto God. He is
greatly exalted. He is the king of all the earth. He is the one who commands deliverances
for us. He is our deliverer. The Lord
Jesus Christ, the God-man mediator, when he was manifested in the
flesh, being born of that virgin, remember the wise men came that
day looking for the one who was born, And they said, where is
he that is born king? In his life, he ministered among
men. He demonstrated in his life that
he is king. No man ever spake like that man.
His words were with power. They said, Hosanna, blessed is
the king of Israel when he came into Jerusalem. And in his death,
even in his death, Pilate wrote, In three languages, the Greek,
the Hebrew, and the Latin, over above his cross, this is the
king of the Jews. In every language so people could
read it. They educated the religious or
the Gentile. He is the king of the Jews. Remember
what the Pharisee said? They got upset. Don't write that
he is the king. Write that he said he was. No,
Pilate said, what I've written, I've written. It's done. He came
as king. He was king when he got here.
He's born king. In his life he demonstrated that
he was king. He raised the dead. He raised
the dead. He stilled the waters. He fed
the multitudes with just a handful of fish and bread. And in his
death. He demonstrated that he is king
in life and in death. His resurrection declared that
he's king over death as well. He said, I'm he that liveth and
was dead, behold, I'm alive forevermore. Because he lives, we shall live
in him. And now the second thing is this,
behold the king, this king shall reign And He does reign. From everlasting to everlasting,
He is God. He has always reigned as the
absolute sovereign in heaven and in earth. Whatsoever the
Lord please, that's what He does. But His reign is a reign in righteousness. in righteousness because God
is holy. Isaiah talks about the king of
righteousness, but so does Jeremiah. Jeremiah said this, Behold, the
day has come, saith the Lord, that I raised unto David a righteous
branch, and a king shall reign and prosper. and shall execute
judgment and justice in the earth. He is the King who reigns in
absolute justice. Shall not the God of all the
earth do right? And he does. Whatever he does
is right. The Lord Jesus Christ who accomplished
our salvation did so in a just way. and holy way. Sin had to be paid for. The guilty must die. God just
can't take away our sin without his justice being satisfied. The Lord Jesus Christ, our righteous
King, saves us in a way that honors God's holy law His righteous
justice. That's why in Isaiah 45, we read
about Him as the just God and Savior. In this same chapter,
Isaiah 32, look over at verse 17. Isaiah 32, 17, and the work of
righteousness shall be peace. You see, he brought in righteousness
for us. He established righteousness
for us. The work of righteousness shall
be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. And my people shall dwell in
a peaceable habitation and in a sure dwelling place in a quiet
resting place. Turn back again to Isaiah 42.
Let me show you something over here again. Isaiah 42. The king shall reign in righteousness
and the prince shall rule in judgment. Isaiah 42. Look down
here at verse 21. Isaiah 42, 21. The Lord is well
pleased for His righteousness sake. Talking about Christ, who honored
the law of God for us. For His righteousness sake, He
will magnify the law and make it honorable. Remember Galatians
chapter 3, He redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made
a curse for us. He's the King who reigns in absolute
righteousness. And He is the Prince. He is the
Prince. that shall rule in justice and
judgment. He is that prince, the prince. In Revelation 1, 5, he is called,
he is the prince of the kings of the earth. He's the prince
of the kings of the earth. He's not only king of righteousness,
but he's also called king of peace, king of peace. Remember,
turn back to Isaiah 9. Isaiah 9. He's the king of peace
and the king of righteousness. The Prince of Peace, Isaiah 9,
verse 6. For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his
shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Now, how did he make peace? He
made peace for us with his own blood. He reconciled us unto
God with his own blood. So, behold this one who is the
king, this king that shall reign in absolute sovereignty, and
he reigns in absolute righteousness. He saves his people in such a
just and holy way to magnify his own law. And the prince shall
rule. He rules in heaven. Remember
what Nebuchadnezzar said? He rules in heaven among the
armies of heaven, among the habitants of this earth, and none can stay
his hand or say unto him, what doest thou? Now look at verse
two. Verse two. This is the one, the king, the prince, And it
says in verse two, and amen, and a better reading of that,
some of the older manuscripts read it, and that man, that man
shall be the hiding place from the wind. Now, if you have that
man, who is the king, who is the prince, and it's all talking
about the same person, and that man shall be a hiding place.
He's our hiding place from the storm, from the wind, The one
that is God has provided for our salvation and shelter. And
he is not only God, but he's also the God-man mediator. Remember we studied in 1 Timothy
chapter 2, there's but one God and one mediator between God
and man, the man, the Lord Jesus Christ. We take great comfort
in his deity, don't we? We take great comfort that He's
God, our Savior. When we talk about His deity,
we're talking about that He is God. Who is the Lord Jesus Christ? He's God. The eternal Son of
God. God the eternal Son. He is truly
God. And we take great comfort in
that. If He's not God, He could not save us from our sin. It
takes the King to demand deliverance for us. If He's not God, He could
not save us from our sin. But the scripture said, He's
able to save us to the uttermost, all that come to God by Him.
But He is equally, not only fully and totally God, but He is fully
and totally a real man. You remember John chapter 1?
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God, all capital W, Word, the Eternal Word, the
Eternal Son. And the Word was made flesh and
dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the
only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Only as the God-man mediator
could he establish righteousness for us. He said, I didn't come
to destroy the law and the prophets. I came to honor the law of God. We read that in Isaiah 42 verse
21. He magnified the law of God for
us. Only as a man could he suffer for our sins and die under the
wrath of God. He bare our sin in his own body
on the tree. Only as a man could he be our
mediator between God and men. God alone cannot suffer. Man alone could not satisfy. But the God-man, the Lord Jesus
Christ, did both. He suffered for our sin according
to the scripture. And in his suffering, he put
away our sin and he satisfied God's holy law and justice. As a substitutionary sacrifice,
the Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man mediator, is our hiding place
from the storm of God's wrath against our sin. Where are you
going to hide? You can't hide in a false refuge.
The only refuge that a sinner can hide in is the one that God
has provided, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. God
made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be
made the righteousness of God in Him. Substitution and satisfaction,
those two words. Brother Henry used to say, learn
those two words and you'll learn the gospel. Substitution, satisfaction. Our substitute died for our sin,
according to scripture, and he made complete satisfaction to
God's law and justice. As the ever-living man, he intercedes
for us right now before the throne of God. He interceded for us,
the God-man mediator. When He by Himself purged our
sin, He sat down on the right hand of God. The resurrected
God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ, walked out of that tomb on the
third day, delivered for our offenses, raised again for our
justification. Forty days later, the God-man,
the real man, the resurrected man, ascended to glory and is
enthroned right now. There He ever lived to intercede
for us right now. The God-man upon the throne,
that's our hiding place. That's our refuge. That's our
righteousness before God. He ever lived to intercede for
us. Our Lord said to His disciples,
He said, because I live, you shall live also. Look back just
a page. This is our foundation, a couple
of pages, Isaiah 28. Remember this? Isaiah 28, 16. Here's the refuge. Here's our
hiding place. Therefore, thus saith the Lord
God, behold, I lay in Zion for foundation of stone, Isaiah 28,
16. There's that word again, behold.
Behold, you know what it means? Take a good look at this. Stop
and take a good look at this. Stop and consider for a moment.
God said, I lay in Zion for foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious
cornerstone, a sure foundation. He that believeth on him shall
not make haste. Never be forced out. Never be
forced out of this hiding place, this refuge that God has provided
for us. Now, let's look at, for just
a moment here, these things that he mentions in verse 2. This
man, the hiding place, the hiding place. The Lord Jesus Christ
is our refuge alone. It says there that he's the covering
from the tempest. A covering from the tempest.
Christ is our covering, and we can put it this way, Christ is
our righteousness before God. He's our righteousness before
God. Let's turn to Isaiah 61. Turn over there. He's our covering. That is, He's the provided righteousness,
the provided shelter and refuge for us. Isaiah 61, look at verse
10. I will greatly rejoice in the
Lord, for my soul shall be joyful in my God. He has clothed me
with the garments of salvation. He covered me. He covered me. He's covered me. with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decorates himself with ornaments, as a bride adorns
herself with jewels. He is our hiding place. He is
our refuge from the storm. No longer do we go about to establish
a righteousness, but rather we rest in the one that God has
provided for us. Remember Genesis 22, the Lord
will provide. He provided everything for us
that we need. He's our hiding place. He's our
covering from the tempest. And then secondly, he said rivers,
rivers of water. Now, this is just not a creek.
Back where I grew up, they say creek. In the hills of Kentucky,
they say creek. Sometimes I get a little bit
of both. But the Lord Jesus Christ is no little creek or ditch. He's a river, rivers of water. in a dry place, a river, a mighty
flowing river. Rivers of water in a dry place. Our sinful nature is like a dried
part desert. No spiritual life, no spiritual
water, or like the dry bones bleached, barren, and dead in
Ezekiel's valley. You remember the valley of dry
bones. Can these bones live? Lord, you
know. You know. Preach to those dry
bones. Are you sure? Preach to those
bones. And the Lord gave life. You have
to be quick until we're dead. Our sinful nature does not hinder
Christ from coming into our soul and giving us the abundance of
the river of life. Rivers of water. He is the water
of life. He is the water of life. I've
got a couple of scriptures here. Isaiah 41, he's the rivers, rivers
of water. He's a smitten rock out of which
that water flows. Isaiah 41, 17. I've got written
down here. Isaiah 41, 17. When the poor
and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth
for thirst, I, the Lord, will hear them. I, the God of Israel,
will not forsake them. I will open rivers in high places
and fountains in the midst of valleys. I will make the wilderness
a pool of water, and the dry land springs. He's a water of
life. Isaiah 44, turn over there, Isaiah
44 verse 1. Isaiah 44 verse 1. Yet now hear, O Jacob, my servant,
and Israel, whom I've chosen, Isaiah 44, verse 2. Thus saith
the Lord that made thee and formed thee from the womb, which will
help thee, fear not, O Jacob, my servant, thou Jeshurun, another
name for Israel, whom I've chosen, for I will pour water upon him
that is thirsty. Floods upon the dry ground, I'll
pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring,
and they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the
water courses. You know this one, turn over
to Isaiah 55. I quote this all the time. We've
studied it several times. Isaiah 55, verse 1. Oh, everyone
that's thirsty, come ye to the waters. He that hath no money,
come ye buy and eat. Come buy wine and milk without
money and without price. The water's free. We can get
a water bill here every month. You do too at your house. This
water that the Lord provides is abundant and free and eternal. Our Lord said this in John 7.
If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth
on me, as the scripture had said, out of his belly shall flow rivers
Rivers of living water, rivers of living water. And then thirdly,
he says this, rivers of water in a dry place. What is the dry,
thirsty ground need? Water, water, water. And then a shadow of a great rock in this weary,
weary land. The Lord is that. shade, that
rock. Lead me to the rock. Turn back
here to Psalm 61. Psalm 61. He is the rock. David said, lead me to the rock. Isaiah 61. Look at verse 1. Isaiah, excuse me, Psalm 61. Psalm 61. Verse 1. Hear my prayer, O God. Attend
to my prayer. From the end of the earth will
I cry unto thee. When my heart is overwhelmed,
lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a
shelter for me and a strong tower from the enemy. Lead me to that
rock, that great rock in a weary land. Christ is that rock. He's
a rock of ages. that clefts for us. In many ways,
this life can be considered a weary land, for we endure heartaches,
sickness of body, troubles, and when sin is finished with this
body, back to the dust. But in the midst of our weariness,
Christ is our rest. Remember he said, come unto me
and rest, all you who labor and heavy laden. In the midst of
troubles, Christ is our peace. Being justified by faith, we
have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. In the midst
of our sickness, Christ is our healer. He's a wise physician. In the midst of death, Christ
is our resurrection and the life. He said to Martha and Mary, he
that believeth in me, though he were dead, he said, I'm the
resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth
in me shall never die. Do you believe this? I do. Christ
alone is the foundation upon which we rest. Isaiah 32, look
at verse 1. Behold, a king shall reign. He's
the king. He reigns in righteousness, he's
the prince that rules in judgment and justice, and he's the man,
that man, that man ordained of God, the God-man mediator, and
he's our hiding place. Would you hide anywhere else?
You can't, you remember those in Revelation 6 where those people,
They try to hide in the rocks and the mountains, hide us from
the wrath of the Lamb. You can't hide from Him, except
as you hide in Him. A man shall be a hiding place.
That man, a hiding place from the wind, from the storm, a covering
from the tempest. He's the river of life in this
dry, thirsty land. He's a shadow. He's our resting
place, that rock of ages, the Lord Jesus Christ.