success of our Lord's sufferings. He shall see his seed, he shall
prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in
his hand. For he shall see of the travail
of his soul and shall be satisfied. And by his knowledge shall my
righteous servant justify many, many, many. because he shall
bear their iniquities. Verse 11 is the glory to follow,
his glory and that of his church. Therefore, because the above
is true, I will divide him a portion with the great, he shall divide
the spoiled with the strong. Because he had poured out his
soul unto death, he was numbered with the transgressors And he
bared the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
Now, chapter 54 is a prophecy of that glory which shall come
to and relates to his church. Chapter 54 is the fruit of his
sufferings and his death. His church shall be a multitude
which no man can number, from every tribe, kindred, nation,
tongue unto heaven. His church is loved and called
and comforted and kept." And chapter 54 declares the heritage
of the servants of the Lord. Look at the last verse, chapter
54, the last verse, summing up what we're going to talk about
tonight. is formed against thee, my church shall prosper. Every
tongue that shall rise up against my church in judgment I shall
condemn. This is the heritage of the servants
of the Lord." That's the title of this message. This is the
heritage of the elect. And their righteousness is of
me, saith the Lord. All right, let's go back to verse
1. Verse 1 says, Thou that didst not bear. You're
going to break forth into singing, cry aloud. Thou that didst not
prevail with child. You haven't children. More the
children of the desolate than the children of the married wife,
saith the Lord. What this is saying is at the
time when our Lord came and at the time of the above death,
when our Lord suffered, before Pentecost, The church was like
a barren woman, no children, few believed. Simeon over here,
Zacharias over here, Mary over here, John over here, there's
so few. The names of the disciples when
our Lord ascended to the Father was just 120. So he's talking
here about the church. Sing, O barren, you won't be
barren long. You that did not bear, break
forth into singing, cry aloud. You did not prevail with children,
you have no children, but you're going to. For verse 2 says, enlarge
the place of your tent, build a bigger house. We're going to
fill it up. That's what it's, enlarge your
tent. Let them stretch forth the curtains of your habitation.
You know what these curtains and tents is where people lived.
Abraham dwelt in tents with Isaac and Jacob. So enlarge the place
of your tent. The church is going to be enlarged. Make room for many believers. The Lord of glory hath bested
this earth to call out a people for his name, and he'll call
them out, and they'll believe. For thou shalt break forth on
the right hand, on the left, to the right hand, to the left,
your seed shall include the Gentiles. See that? Break forth on the
right hand, on the left, the gospel of Christ shall be carried
by the apostles and other men to all the world, and many shall
believe, even Gentiles. And make the desolate cities,
desolate cities, pagan cities, heathen cities, we'll have churches,
Galatia, Corinth, Philippi, all these heathen, pagan, military
outposts. They're going to be places where
the Lord God will have a people for his glory. And fear not,
you'll not be ashamed. You're robed in his holiness
and righteousness, and you'll not be ashamed now or ever. He
that believeth will not be ashamed. Neither shalt thou be confounded. You'll never be depressed again
or distressed ever again. Thou shalt not be put to shame,
for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth. What is that? The
foolishness of youth. You're not going to remember
your idols anymore, what you were, Gentiles, pagans, aliens
from the commonwealth of Israel, worshippers of idols, but just
forget it. No more. You'll forget the shame
of your youth, your pagan idols, and shall not remember the reproach
of your widowhood anymore. You'll not remember the reproach
of the past, because in the Lord's church, there's neither Jew nor
Gentile. There's neither bond nor free.
There's neither male nor female. There are no inferior children.
There are no black sheep. There are no second-class citizens.
The youngest, newest child of God is as welcome and received
as the old veteran that's been there ever since the walls have
been raised. A young man said to me not too
long ago, I'm coming back over to 13th Street Baptist Church.
When they received me, I said, like you've never been away.
That's right. I speak for all of you, like
you've never been away. That's right. That's the spirit
of God's church. There's no second class citizen.
You just forget your widowhood, your idol worship, and all the
shame of your youth. Just forget it, and come on and
worship with the children of God. You know why? Verse 5, because
the maker, thy maker, is your husband. thy maker is your husband." To the Lord God, now listen to
me, there's no closer relationship on earth than a true marriage, husband
and wife. There is no closer relationship. Not son and daughter,
not brother or sister, not even parents, because the man leaves
his parents, at least as well. There's no closer relationship.
Because the Lord said that two shall be one. You follow what
I'm saying? That is the... I know today in
today's society, it's not honored, it's not hallowed, vows are not
kept, people are breaking them up. But it wasn't intended that
way. It's the closest relationship
there is on this earth. A man and his wife, they're one.
They're one. And that's the way Christ describes
His church. That's right. Husbands love your
wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. And
they're one. The Savior said, Lord, they're
one even as we're one. Just one. So this is all true
because your maker is your husband. The Lord God is your husband.
He who made you a creature made you a new creation. Your maker is your husband. He
that made you a creature. made you a new creation and made
you his bride. You know who he is? He says the
Lord of hosts is his name. What's the word host mean? Many.
The Lord of many. The Lord of glory and the Lord
of many. That's his name. What's his other
name? And thy Redeemer is thy husband,
the Holy One of Israel. He redeemed you by his blood
out of every tribe, kindred, nation, tongue of the earth.
The God of the whole earth. is your husband. You're the bride
of the God of the whole earth. You know, I think about how these
ladies who have famous husbands, like the President of the United
States, or the King of some great country, and they see him, that
wife sees their husband exalted and honored and revered, and
she's got to look with great satisfaction. That's my husband. I'm one with him. They honor
him, they honor me. And that's the way it is with Christ. Your
maker is your husband. The Lord of hosts is his name.
That's the name of your husband, the Lord of hosts. Your Redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel, the God of the whole earth. And one day,
one day, every knee's going to bow, and every tongue's going
to confess that he's Lord. to the glory of God the Father,
and when they do, we'll be honored with them. The glory which thou
hast given me, thou hast given them, because they are one. All
right, verse 3 and verse 6. For the Lord hath called thee.
He hath called thee. He crossed your path. He crossed
your path. One day he met you, like our
Lord met the woman at the well. She wasn't looking for him, she
wasn't seeking him. She came to that well to draw
water. And I think of her when I see
this scripture. The Lord had called thee as a
woman forsaken. Forsaken five times, been married
five times, cast aside five times. A woman grieved in spirit, lonely
and broken. A wife of youth, one day she
married her first husband, and he refused her. She'd been
cast aside again and again and again, but he crossed her path.
She heard his voice. He made known his grace and mercy
to her. She laid hold of it. And that's,
this represents you and me. We like this woman at the well.
Forsaken and grieved in spirit, lonely, deserted, and guilty
like her. We've worn many names. People in religion. You read
Brother Jim Slye's article in the Bulletin. He wore many names.
Made many religious vows, professions, promises. We gave ourselves to
many propositions that sounded good at the time, but just didn't
work out, did they? nonsense. We joined many causes. We aligned ourselves with many
comrades. And all of them proved to be
of no use. We never knew joy or peace or
happiness in spiritual life. That's the way we were. A woman,
God, the Lord called thee as a woman forsaken, grieved in
spirit, a wife of youth, who was refused. Our first husband,
Boy, he was a carter. He was the law. That was our
first husband, the law. The law. Oh, how tough he was.
Religious work, self-righteousness. We couldn't please him at any
time. So he cast us aside. And then
we tried different ones. But then along came the Lord
Jesus Christ. And he called. And what a sweet,
beautiful relationship we have with him. And then verse 7, here's another
picture of his bride. He says, for a small moment,
I forsaken you, I left you out there. I left you in this trouble,
and in this sorrow, and in this rejection, and in this grief. I left you there. Not for long,
it seemed long to you, but it's never long with God. A thousand
years is a day, and a day's a thousand years, you know. But for a small
moment I forsook you, but with great mercy, when it was time,
in season. My time was your time, and I
gathered you." And then he says, in a little wrath, it seems like
that the wrath of God was upon you. I hid my face from you for a moment, not for long. It
was long to you, but not to me. Because with everlasting kindness
will I have mercy on you. My sheep's always been my sheep.
My bride's always been my bride. My church's always been my church.
But for the accomplishment of redemption, and for the molding
and shaping of the bride, and for the conviction and experience
and relationship. I had to leave you out there.
I had to forsake you for a moment. And I had to leave you under
my judgment for a moment. Who do you think of? All right,
I think of the woman in Luke 7. Look over there with me a
moment. Luke chapter 7. This is the one
I think of that fits this description. In Luke chapter 7. Verse 36,
this is it. Now listen, listen to me. One of the Pharisees desired
him to eat with him. He would eat with him, Christ
would eat with him. So he went into the Pharisee's house and
sat down to eat. And behold a woman in the city
which was a sinner, which was a sinner, forsaken When she knew Jesus sat at meat
in the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster box of precious
ointment and stood at his feet behind him weeping, grieving,
crushed, broken-hearted, began to wash his feet with tears,
and wiped them with the hair of her head, kissed his feet,
and anointed them with the ointment. When the Pharisee which had bidden
him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, Now if this man, if he
were a prophet, He would have known who and what manner of
woman this is that touches him. She's a sinner. He knew. She's
his. She's his. But right now she's
under his frown. Forsaken in a moment. For a moment. Hit his face. And Jesus answered
him and said, Simon, I have somewhat to say to thee. And he said,
Master, say on. He said there was a certain creditor
which had two debtors. One owed him 500 pence. The other
50. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them
both. Tell me, which of them will love him most? Which of
them will love him most? And Simon answered and said,
well, I suppose that he to whom he forgave the most. Our Lord
said, you've rightly judged. He turned to the woman and said,
Simon, see this woman. I entered into your house and
you gave me no water to wash my feet. She washed my feet with
tears, wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave me no kiss. This woman, since the time I
came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head withal, you
did not anoint, but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.
Wherefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven. She loved much, to whom little
is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said to the woman,
sins be forgiven you. You know, the prodigal had to
leave home to find out what home was really like, what coming
back was really like. This woman had to be out there
in this condition, seemingly forsaken under wrath and judgment
and sin, and the Lord lovingly and mercifully opened her heart
like Lydian brought her back. This woman will love him, oh
how she'll love him, how grateful, how thankful. Never leave him,
because to her much was forgiven. But the Pharisee never experienced
this. So what I'm saying is this, you
have to be lost to be found. You have to be stripped to be
clothed. You have to be broken to be healed. You've got to be slain to be
made alive. And that's what he's doing when
he says, over here in our text, that's what he's doing when he
says this, for a small moment I've forsaken you, but with great,
with great mercies I'll gather you. And when I gather you, you're
going to recognize their mercies. And you're going to hold them
and cherish them and never let them go. If you buy the truth,
you'll never sell it. That's right. And that's how
you've got to experience this little wrath for a moment. I
hide my face in wrath. But with everlasting love and
kindness, I've drawn you, and this is for your good. This is
to accomplish my purpose. If you miss conviction, you miss
repentance. If you miss repentance, you miss
Christ. If you miss Christ, you miss
life. If you miss life, you miss glory. It goes back to conviction. And God's got to put us through
this experience. When I stand before thy throne
dressed in beauty not my own, When I see thee as thou art and
love thee with an unsinning heart, then I'm going to know just how
much I owe. Chosen not for good in me, wakened
up from wrath to flee, hidden in my Savior's side by the Holy
Spirit, sanctified, blessed Savior, bid me show by my love how much
I owe. A person who has experienced
this can preach it. A person has experienced this,
for a small moment I've forsaken you, but with great mercies I've
drawn you. Knows what great mercies are?
You don't know what great mercies are unless you've been forsaken.
You don't know what everlasting kindness is unless you've known
something of everlasting wrath. That's when you know everlasting
kindness. Isn't that right? Here's the third illustration
of this relationship between Christ and his Church. Look at verse 9. For this is
as the waters of Noah unto me. For as I have sworn that the
waters of Noah shall no more go over the earth, so have I
sworn that I'll not be angry, wrath with thee, nor rebuke thee
any more. You have my guaranteed love just
like Noah had my guaranteed covenant that the world will never again
be destroyed by water. That's my promise. Let's turn
over there and look at that in Genesis 9. Genesis chapter 9
verse 12. See, covenant. God made a covenant
with Abraham, a covenant with Noah, and there's the everlasting
covenant he's made with Christ on our behalf. And he says in
chapter 9 of Genesis, God said, this is the token of the covenant
I make between me and you and every living creature that's
with you for a perpetual generation. I've set my bow, it's called
a bow because of the shape of it. It's called a rainbow because
it comes after a rain. And I'll set it in the cloud,
and it shall be a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And
it shall come to pass when I bring a cloud. There's going to be
clouds. There's going to be storms. There's going to be rain. Sometimes
you'll think it's all going to wash us all away. But I promise
you, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bowl will
be seen in the cloud. And I'll remember my covenant,
which is between me and you and every living creature. And the
waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh, and the
bow shall be in the cloud, and I'll look upon it, that I may
remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living
creature of all the flesh that's upon the earth." And God said,
No, this is a token, this bow, this rainbow, which I have established
between me and all flesh that's upon the earth, and I'll remember
my covenant. And he's promising the church
here in verse 9, this is unto me. the same language that I
spoke to Noah. As I have sworn that the waters
of Noah shall no more grow over the earth, I have sworn in Christ
that I'll never again be angry with you, my church." That's
your writer. Just look for the bow. It's there. In every cloud, there's a bow. In every storm. All right, verse 10. The mountains
shall depart, and the hills are going to be removed. This whole
world is going to be destroyed. God's got it earmarked for destruction.
But my kindness shall not depart from you, neither shall the covenant
of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.
This is the promise of our God. I'll never forsake you, and you'll
never leave me. That's the promise. That's a
promise. Who promises it? The Lord that
had mercy on you. His mercy is everlasting. So
here's the conclusion now. Let me give you these last verses.
O thou afflicted, tossed with the tempest, and not comforted.
Is there somebody here that's not comforted? Some believer. He's saying here, are you still
afflicted? Are you still doubtful? Are you
still tossed? with the tempest and the waves,
are you still not comforted? Look to your foundation. Look
to your foundation. What is my foundation? I will
lay thy stones with fire colors and lay thy foundations with
sapphires. Your foundation is a foundation
of precious stones, Jesus Christ himself, the chief of That's
your foundation. That's my foundation. Look to
your foundation. Are you still afflicted? Are
you still troubled? Are you still tossed with the
tempest, not comforted? Look to your foundation. Don't
look at the clouds. Look to your foundation. It's
not going to give way. We're built on the rock Christ
Jesus. It's not going to give way. Then he says in verse 12,
and I want verse 12 and 13. Now, before I read this, remember
that this is the church he's talking about, and it's his building.
He said, I'll build my church, and I'm going to build it out
of precious stones. Listen. I'll make you windows as agates. What is an agate? It's a hard,
precious stone of color. You fellows will remember that
a little ball made out of this stone It's what you shoot at
the rest of the marbles in the circle, agates. It's a firm,
hard, precious stone of color, all different colors, all different
types of folks, short and tall, old and young, but they're all
stones, living stones. And he said, I'll make you gates
of carbuncles. What's a carbuncle? Well, it
comes from carbo, has to do with coal. But this carbuncle is a
certain deep red garnet, a smooth, firm, valuable stone. I'll make you gates of carbuncles,
and the borders, the walls of this temple of the living God,
this church, of all pleasant stones. And thy children, Well, we know
something about this, don't we, right here? Your children will
be taught of the Lord. I think sometimes I see these
young people on Sunday morning and Sunday evening and I just
think, I believe we've got the best bunch of children I've ever
seen in my life. They're children of grace. They're
children of parents of grace. They're taught in the Lord. Taught
in the Lord. They are. You ask them sometimes.
Our kids know the gospel. These ladies and And Bob and
others, and Ronnie that teach these young people, they know,
they're taught of God. They're taught of you fellas,
but they're taught of God. Your children shall be taught
of God. And they're not taught foolishness,
they're taught the word of the living God. These children know
the gospel. They know the doctrines of God's
grace. One time I was preaching on television
years ago, and it was one of our Children, that was about
five at that time, or six. And I was preaching on election.
And they stayed home from church that Sunday because the little
girl was sick, I believe. And she was sitting there watching
my television program, and I said, I want to ask you three questions.
Did you choose God or did He choose you? She said, well, anybody
knows that. He chose her. What's he asking that for? Anybody
knows that. She knew it. But I guarantee
you, anybody doesn't know it. He taught of God. I can give
you illustration after illustration after illustration. One of our children was in school
and the teacher wanted to know the three R's and called on somebody
else. And the child came home from
school and said, the teacher wanted to know if we knew the
three R's. I thought it was ruin, redemption, regeneration. She
said, reading, writing, arithmetic. I'll make you windows of agates,
precious stones, gates, carbuncles, your walls of pleasant stones,
and your children will be taught of the Lord, and great shall
be the peace of your household. Know something about that, don't
you? I watch them grow up, marry, and I tell you, it's a blessing. Blessing. In verse 14, in righteousness
shalt thou be established. Whose righteousness? His. We don't have a problem with
that. Thou shalt be far from oppression, for thou shalt not
fear, and from terror. It won't come near you. I'm not
going to permit my church to be destroyed. Behold, they'll
gather together, but not by me. not accomplishing my purpose.
They'll gather against you. You'll have enemies, no question
about that. But whosoever shall gather together against you,
they'll fall for your sake. He names three persons here.
He said, Behold, I've created the blacksmith that bloweth the
coals in the fire. I've created the blacksmith,
he prepares the flames for the whatever is going to be made,
instruments of destruction, weapons. And also the man that bringeth
forth an instrument for his work, the fellow that makes the sword. I made the blacksmith that built
the fire. I made the artist that shaped
and built the sword. And I made the fellow that used
it. for whatever purpose he used
to. He made all three of them. So no weapon that's put in his
fire will prosper against you. And every tongue that diviseth
these things, that riseth up against thee in judgment, you
shall condemn. And everybody that wields the
sword of wrath, I'll deal with him, because you're mine. Your maker is your husband. You
men think about what your wife means to you and how you'd die
for her, defend her in whatever way." Well, he said, this is
the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness
is of me, saith the Lord. Your maker is your husband. The
Lord of hosts is his name. He's the Redeemer. He's the Holy
One of Israel. He's the Lord God of the whole
earth. And his globe is your globe. That's the church of the
Lord Jesus Christ.