for a diadem of beauty unto the
residue of his people, but also for a spirit of judgment to him
that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn
the battle to the gate. But they also have erred through
wine And through strong drink are out of the way, departed
from the way of the Lord. The priest and the prophet have
erred through strong drink. They're swallowed up. They're
swallowed up. They're overcome of wine. They're out of the way. through strong drink. They err
in vision, they stumble in judgment. Now listen, for all tables, all
tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so there's no place
clean. What is the prophet saying? What
is the Lord saying there? But if you'll turn to Romans
9 for a moment, and let me deal with it in this manner. The nation
Israel was blessed above all nations. Blessed above all nations. Not a nation on the face of the
earth blessed like Israel. And here's a resume. Here's a inventory of their mercies
and blessings. Chapter 9 of Romans, I say the
truth in Christ. I lie not, my conscience also
bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness
and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself
were a curse from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen, according
to the flesh, who are Israelites. who are Israelites, the nation
Israel. Now watch this. Number one, to
whom pertaineth the adoption? God's nation. He made them his
nation. He put a difference between them
and other nations. He said, the Lord God loved you.
You weren't the greatest or the most in number. You were the
fewest of all. Started with Abraham. When they
went down into Egypt, there were just 70 of them. Few in number. But the Lord loved you. To them
pertaineth the adoption and the glory. What's that talking about? That's talking about the very
glory of God. Dwelt in their tabernacle. Right
in the midst of the camp of Israel was the tabernacle. And in the
tabernacle, the holy of holies. And in the Holy of Holies, the
mercy seat, and over the mercy seat, the glory. The Shekinah
glory of God was in Israel. In Israel. Dwelt with them everywhere
they went. Led them by day with a cloud,
by night with a pillar of fire. To them pertained the covenants.
Covenant with Abraham. covenant with Moses, covenant
with David, sure mercies of David. To them the giving of the law,
no other nation, no other nation had the law. God gave the law
from Sinai through Moses to Israel. The services of God, the holy
days, the feast, the day of atonement, All of these were given to Israel,
the washings and the promises. Whose are the fathers? Isaiah
was a Jew, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, David, Moses, and of whom as concerning the
flesh, Christ came. He was born of the tribe of Judah,
of a direct descendant, Mary, of David. And his foster father,
Joseph, was a direct descendant of David. They were a blessed people. And
yet, even with all these advantages, all these revelations, all these
blessings, they departed from God. He says, they're gone out
of the way. They've erred. They err in vision,
they stumble in judgment. They've gone out of the way.
Now here's a key, verse 7. The word wine here is used, but
it's just a figurative speech. It's just a figure. The word
wine here stands for wariliness. And here's what he's saying in
verse 7. They've erred through being taken
up with worldliness, with the world. Give us a king like the
other nations. Give us this like the other nations. They followed the other nations.
Through strong drink, they're out of the way. The priest and
the prophet have erred through strong drink. They're swallowed
up in worldliness. They've departed from God. And
they're just like the other nations. Paganism, heathenism, worldliness. Swallowed up! Swallowed up in
worldliness. It's like King Solomon turned
to Ecclesiastes 1. He tells us about it here in
Ecclesiastes 1. Listen to it. It says here in verse 1 of Ecclesiastes,
I said in my heart I said in my heart, go to now, prove thee
with mirth. Underscore these words that I
bring out here. Therefore enjoy pleasure. Pleasure. Behold, this also is vanity.
And I said of laughter, gave myself to pleasure, mirth, laughter. I said, finally, it's mad. And
of mirth, what doeth it? I sought in my heart to give
myself to wine. to drink food, the best food,
the best one. Read sometime Solomon's table
and what was on that table every day. I gave myself to drinking
and eating. Eat, drink, and be merry. That
was his philosophy. I acquainted my heart with wisdom.
delved into the mysteries and the intellect and all these things,
gave myself to wisdom, and to lay hold on folly till I might
see what was good for the souls of men, which they should do
under the heaven all the days of their lives. What shall we
do? What shall we give ourselves to? I made me great works. I built me houses. I planted
me vineyards. I made me gardens, orchards. I planted trees in them of all
kinds of fruit. I made pools of water to water
therewith the woods that bringeth forth the trees. I got me servants
and maidens and had servants born in my house. I had great
possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in
Jerusalem before me. I gathered me, saved up silver
and gold and the peculiar treasures of kings and the provinces. I
got me men singers and women singers and the delights of the
sons of men, musical instruments of all sorts. And I was great.
Swallowed up. Worldliness. And I increased
more and more. And all that were before me in
Jerusalem, also my wisdom remained with me, and whatsoever my eyes
desired, I took. I kept that back not from them.
I withheld not my heart from any joy, for my heart rejoiced
in all my labor, and this was the portion of all my labor.
Then I looked at all the works that my hands had wrought, and
on the labor I labored to do. All was vanity and vexation of
spirit, and there's no prophet under the sun. And that's what
he's saying here about Israel. In verse 7 of Isaiah 28, they're
swallowed up. They're swallowed up with worldliness.
And here's the result. Now listen. Verse 8. And all
their tables are full of vomit. filthiness, so there's no place
clean. In other words, what they took
in is what they threw up. What they took in through the
ear gate and the eye gate, that's what they threw up. It was vomit
and filthiness, polluted all the tables. What are the tables
here? What are the tables? Well, there's a table, there's
a table of government. Have you ever heard them say,
now, if we can get this nation to come to the table? You've
heard that, haven't you? Come to the table. What's it
talking about? The table of compromise and decision and planning and
discussing the direction. If we can get them to the table.
But here, when they came to the table, there was no wisdom on
it. no vomit and filthiness. All
they had to serve was what they had in them, what they'd taken
in, they threw up on the table. Another table is the family table. If you read back here in the
Old Testament scriptures, families were gathered about a table when
they had their meals. And when they came to the table,
they The father taught the children. They discussed values and principles
and scripture and the things of God. And the children would
talk and taught and the Lord was praised and thanked. There
was a gathering of the family around the table. But here, their
table was covered with their vomit. The junk from the world. That's what they discussed. The
trash filthiness. They lived in this. They moved
in this. They existed in this trash, and
that's all they knew. That's what they talked about
around the table. No cleanliness, no joy, no praising God, no freshness
and refreshing, just vomit, filthy, wearily filthiness. Where's the
table? Thirdly, there's the Passover
table. And he said to the priest, The
priest has swallowed up. And even the table of the Lord
is unclean. And what they're serving the
people is not the blood and the blessed hope. It's what they
think. It's what they've studied. It's
what they've considered. It's what they've contemplated.
It's the world in which they live. And when they come to the
table, that's what's on the table. There, what they've taken in
is what they throw up. And that's what our people are
listening to the priest to fed on. And then the fourth table
is the table of the prophet. That's where the children's bread
is supposed to be served. Clean bread. Joyful bread. Bread from heaven. I'm the bread,
God said. Moses gave you not that but underbread. But when the children come to
the table to be fed, it's the vomit and the filthiness. It's all the prophet's got in
him is what he's taken in for. He swallowed up with the world.
He got no time to study and prepare. He got no communication with
God. He's left God. And all of it
is No clean place. That's where they were. Swallowed
up in worldliness and all their tables of government, of homes,
of priests and prophets. Nothing on the table but what they've taken into themselves
and threw up. The tables were defiled. What
was on the table came from the bellies of human thought. It
came from the filthiness of false doctrine. No place was wholesome
and godly and honoring to Him. It came from the table of human
will and human wisdom and human ways. And you know, when I read that,
I thought, Is not this our country? This country, America, no nation. Now think about it a minute.
As I saw this, I saw us. As I saw Israel and how they
were blessed, the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the gospel,
the services, the Passover. No nation on earth has been blessed
with the word of God like this nation, with the gospel in the
past, with the revelations of God, with revival. And now here
we are, and we're swallowed up in worldliness. Are we not? Isn't that true? We've departed
from God, from the way of the Lord. And our tables, government, tables of most family circles, God's
never discussed, the scriptures are never discussed, the things
of God are never presented, the worldliness, and the table of
the Passover and the priest and the prophet, and we're not only
ourselves, we're corrupt in the whole world. What's being exported out of
this country, it's movies going all over this world, it's television
programs, it's music, it's religion, is nothing but
vomit and foolishness. It didn't come from God. It didn't
come from heaven. It didn't come by revelation.
It's coming out of our mouths, the world. And what's coming
out of our mouths is what we've taken in, what this nation has
given itself to so very long. Greed and vanity and corruption
and foolishness. We're serving the world from
our tables. especially religion, and what
they're coming to the table and finding is vomit, filthiness,
no clean place. That's sad, isn't it? That's
what he said about Israel, and unfortunately that's what he
says about America. Well, verse 9, not everybody
God's got a people. All right. Verse 9. Whom shall
he teach knowledge? True knowledge. Whom shall he
teach the knowledge of God? The true God, the living God.
God of mercy and grace, sovereignty. Whom shall he teach the knowledge
of Christ? The glorious gospel of his mercy
and his grace and his love. Whom shall he teach the knowledge
of divine truth? gospel of salvation. Who is desirous
to receive such knowledge? Who wants to leave the table
of filthy, fleshly, corrupt, worldly, vomit, filthiness, come
to the table of the Lord? Who? Look at the next question. And whom shall he make to understand
doctrine? The word doctrine there is hearing,
hearing of the word. Not what some men think of the
Word, the Word. Whom shall he teach knowledge? And to whom shall he give an
understanding of the Word? Isaiah asked that. He said, Lord,
what a day. Who hath believed our report?
Is anybody going to believe it? To whom is the arm, the power
of God revealed? Anybody? Anybody? In this whole
nation, is there anybody interested in true knowledge and hearing
of the Word? Yes, them that are weaned from
the milk and drawn from the breast. There's some babies. There's some babies. Our Lord rebuked the cities of
Chorazin and Bethsaida and Capernaum, and He said, Oh, if the mighty
works which are done in you had been done in Sodom, they would
have repented. But it would be better for Sodom
in the day of judgment than for you. And then He stopped and
looked with His eyes to heaven and said, Father, I thank Thee,
Lord of heaven and earth, You've hid these things from the wise
and the prudent, and the worldly minded, and the intellectuals,
and the human will and wisdom and ways people. And you've revealed
it to babes. Them that are weaned from the
milk, them that are drawn from the breast, you've revealed it
to babes. They'll receive knowledge of
Christ. They'll receive the hearing of
the Word. The Word will be heard, because
he said in the next verse, we're going to put it out, we're going
to put it out like children have to have it. Precept upon precept,
precept upon precept. See the repetition? That's where
you have to teach children. A, A, B, B, C, C, A, B, C. Tomorrow, A, B, C. Don't you have to teach them
that one. Repetition. Over and over. Same thing. Simple. Clear. Plain. Precept upon precept. Precept upon precept. Line upon
line. Here it is again. Line upon line. Here a little. There a little.
Learn a little today. And a little tomorrow. And a
little in the next day, this is the way children must be taught,
babes must be taught. One rule, then another rule,
until they've gone over all the rules. One line, then another
line, one little lesson, then another little lesson, one day
and then another day. Paul said over here in Philippians,
talking to that church, he says to them in Philippians 3, he
said, My brethren, rejoice in the Lord, Philippians
3, to write the same things to you, precept upon precept, line
upon line, here a little later, the same things, Christ's glory,
Christ's deity, Christ's incarnation, Christ's righteousness, Christ's
blood, Christ's death. That's not grievous. That's no
burden. For you it's safe. And that's
the way he says we give the word here to babes, to children. In verse 11, with stammering
lips, and another tongue will he speak to this people. I know
he's talking about he's going to speak to the Jews by men of
other nations. and other tongues, but I'm telling
you this, every little child of God to whom he speaks, he
sends him a teacher with stammering lips. That's right. Earthen vessel. A voice in the
wilderness. Who are you, John? I'm just a
boy. Don't amount to anything. Just
a voice. Turn to 2 Corinthians 4 and listen
to Paul here talking about himself. He says here in 2 Corinthians
4 verse 5, we don't preach ourselves. I determine to know nothing among
you. Jesus Christ the Lord. We don't preach ourselves but
Christ Jesus the Lord. Verse 5, 2 Corinthians 4. And
ourselves your servants for God who commanded the light to shine
out of darkness has shined in our hearts to give the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in
earthen vessels. We just stammering tongues and
trembling lips and weak vessels clay pots, that the excellence
of the power might be of God, not of us. Go back to the text,
Isaiah 28, and these Jews heard this gospel. In verse 12, he said, to whom
he said, to the Jews he said, this is the rest wherewith you
may cause the weary to rest, that's Christ. This is the refreshing. This is the bread from heaven.
This is the water of life. But they wouldn't hear. They wouldn't hear. Our Lord
said about them, let me read it to you. Over here in John
5, He said about them, He said, you search the scriptures, For
in them you think you have life, and they are they which testify
of me, and you will not come to me, but you might have life. He said to them, this is the
rest. This is the refreshing, it's
Christ. But they wouldn't come. He said,
let another come in his own name, and him you'll receive, him you'll
follow. With his vomit and filthiness
that comes out of his own bowels. But I come from my Father, and
you won't receive. They come with their message,
like a dog returning to his vomit, or a pig to the walleye. You
follow it. But I come from God, and you
won't hear me. They won't hear you. The message was despised. Look
at verse 13. But the word of the Lord was
unto them Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, making
fun of it now, they are. You just preach the same thing.
It's too plain, too simple, too repetitious. Give us something
else. Give us some cleverness. Give
us something to challenge us. Give us something to do. Give
us something to hold to. Give us something to see and
to feel and to touch and to hear, make a noise. All you do is precept
upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line,
hear a little, bear a little, and they might go and fall backwards
and be broken and snared and taken. Won't hear the gospel. Won't hear the gospel, but I'll
tell you, Ezekiel told us something over here. The message was despised
by these people. Ezekiel. Listen to what he said
in chapter 33 of Ezekiel. They refused the rest of God. Israel refused the rest, the
refreshing. They went the way of the swallowed
up with worldliness. Ezekiel 33, verse 30. I want
you to listen to this. Ezekiel 33, 30. Also thy son of man, and I might
add earthen vessels and stammering lips, the children of thy people
still are talking about thee. That's that word there, of thee.
by the walls and in the doors of the houses, they speak one
to another and every one to his brother, and they say, come,
I pray you, let's go to the house of God. Let's hear what is the
word that cometh forth from the Lord. Let's go hear what the
preacher's got to say. And they come unto thee as the
people cometh. And they sit before thee as my
people, and they hear your words. But they won't do them. They won't do them. That's what
he says about Israel. Ah, let's don't fall in this
category. With their mouths they show much
love, but their heart goes after covetousness. They're swallowed
up with it. And lo, you are unto them a very
pleasant, very lovely song, one that has a pleasant voice. play
well on the instrument, and they hear the words, but they don't
do them. But when this comes to pass,
and he's talking about this judgment, spirit of judgment, when this
comes to pass, and, lo, it'll come, then shall they know that a prophet
has been among them. God did speak. He did speak. He says here, whom shall he teach
knowledge? Little children. Those that hunger
and thirst for the word, hunger and thirst for the milk, those
that want to hear from him, they'll understand. But these religious
folks, all you do is preach the gospel. Line upon line, precept
upon precept. We want to hear it. The Jews
seek a sign. Show us the sign. The Greeks
seek out the wisdom. All right, verse 14. Now hear
the word of the Lord. These folks he's talking to now,
These religious leaders, you scornful men that rule, these
are the people that ruled and directed religion in that day
in Jerusalem, the capital of religion. These are the religious
leaders all around this world today, scornful men that rule
this people which is in religion. Now listen carefully, see if
you catch this. Behold, you have said, we have
made a covenant. with death. We made a covenant. That's backward,
isn't it? We have made a covenant. We have
made our decision. We have adopted our direction. And with hell are we at agreement? We're not afraid of hell. We've made a covenant with death
and with hell, and when the overflowing scourge of judgment shall pass
through, it won't come unto us. We have made lies our refuge. They wouldn't call it lies, but
God says it's lies. Anything that's not according
to His Word is a lie. Anything that didn't come from
His Word or from heaven is a lie. We have a refuge. Under falsehood
have we hid ourselves. They said, we have made a covenant. And we have made a covenant with
death and hell. We're not afraid to die. And
we're not afraid of the judgment. And when it comes, we're going
to be hiding in a refuge and in religion. Verse 16. Therefore
thus saith the Lord, Behold, I have made a covenant. I, behold,
I'll lay in Zion, Zion's the church, Zion's the elect, for
a foundation. Turn with me to Jeremiah, Jeremiah
32. Listen to the difference here
now. These people said, We're not afraid to die. We're not
afraid of hell. We're not afraid of judgment.
We've made a covenant. But now here's the difference.
The Lord God said in Jeremiah 32, verse 38, And they shall be my people,
and I'll be their God. Jeremiah 32, 38. And I'll give
them one heart and one way that they may fear me forever. for
the good of them and of their children after them. And I'll
make an everlasting covenant with them." That's different
language, isn't it? I'll make a covenant with them.
I will not turn away from them to do them good. I will put my
fear in their hearts. These people said they weren't
afraid. We made a covenant. We're not afraid. These people are. God said, I'll make a covenant
with them, and I'll put awe and reverence and fear in their eyes.
Oh, it's not a slavish fear, but it's a fear of sonship, and
it's a fear of the Lord. It's a fear of the Lord. Respect
for the Lord, honor and glory for the Lord. That's the difference. Now read
on, get back to my text here, Isaiah 28. A lot of difference
here. He said in verse 16, Behold,
thus saith the Lord, Behold, I lay in Zion for a refuge, for
a foundation, a stone, a rock. There is a rock in a weary land.
It's not sand, it's a rock. It's Christ Jesus. The Lord is
my rock and my salvation. Upon this rock I'll build my
church. A stone, a tried stone. He's been tried by Satan, defeated
him. He'd been tried by the law, lived
perfectly. He was tried by men, they said,
find no fault with him. He was tried by the Father and
he said, I'm well pleased. That's what you said in your
prayer, well pleased. He tried. He delivered Noah from the flood. He delivered Isaac from the altar. He delivered his people all down
through the years. He's a tried stone. He's never
failed. Listen, he's a precious cornerstone. To build, he's a rock of a fence,
a stumbling stone. But to you that believe, precious. He's precious to the Father who
delights in him. He's precious to the angels who
worship him. He's precious to the Old Testament
saints who loved him and looked to him. He's precious to believers
who embrace him. And he's precious for value and
durability. He's my rock and my salvation. And he says here, he's a sure
foundation. He'll never fail. I give unto
my sheep eternal life and they'll never perish. And he that believeth
on him. will not make haste, will not
be confounded here or ashamed on the world to come. That's the difference. And that's
not vomit and filthiness from a human belly. That's the bread
from heaven. That's clean, and that's pure,
and that's life. And he said in verse 17, and
I'm going to close, judgment's coming. And this judgment will
allay to the lion and righteousness to the plummet. In other words, I use this illustration often
because I learned it building houses. Don't trust your eye. Don't trust your eye. You can
look down a line and you think that's straight. But I tell you
what you better do, you better put a line on it. And you can
see a wall, and that thing could look plumb, but you better not
trust your eye, you better put a plummet, hang it down. That's
right. And God is saying my judgment
is not going to be by human eye. I think we'll be alright, don't
trust it. I believe I'll hold up in the
judgment, don't you believe it? He's going to put the lion in
the plummet, and that's Christ's righteousness. And mine won't
match it, but His will. And I'm going to rest in Him.
He said, I'm going to, judgment, I'm going to lay it to the lion,
straight. It won't bear either way. God's
not going to cut any slack for anybody. He can't do it and be
God. Righteousness to the plummet,
I can't be God. pass by your iniquity. You've
got to have a perfect righteousness, straight as God. And then the
hail is going to sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters
are going to overflow the hiding place, but I'll tell you there's
one hiding place they're not going to overflow. And there's
one refuge that they're not going to rout us out of, and that's
Christ. He's the rock. He's the foundation. All right. May God bless that to our hearts.
Our Father, we thank you for your word. Thank you you haven't left us
to this human wisdom. Thankful you haven't left us
here in this congregation to what men think and what they
believe and what they suppose. and the filthiness that comes
out of the human mouth that goes by the name of religion. But
you've given us the clean and wholesome bread from heaven and
water from the rock, Christ Jesus, pure, refreshing and clean and
wholesome and satisfies our souls. Thank you for your word. May
it ever be preached. May this table never be covered
with that which comes out of human wisdom and human will and
human ways. But may the table always be spread
with the goodness of God, bread from heaven, the children's bread,
that we may feed and feast upon our Lord Jesus Christ, that our
souls might be hid in him, our refuge, and built upon him, our
rock. In His name we pray, Amen.