Let's turn again to Isaiah chapter 8. Continuing where we left off this morning, Isaiah chapter 8. And we shall read from verse 11 to the close of the chapter. For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying, Say ye not a confederacy or conspiracy? To all them to whom this people shall say a confederacy, neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself, and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he shall be for a sanctuary, but for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, for a jinn, and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken. Bind up the testimony. Seal the law among my disciples. And I will wait upon the Lord that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him. Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in Mount Zion. And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits and wizards that peep and that mutter, should not a people seek unto their God for the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony, if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. and they shall pass through it hardly bestead and hungry and it shall come to pass that when they shall be hungry they shall fret themselves and curse their king and their God and look upward and they shall look unto the earth and behold trouble and darkness dimness of anguish and they shall be driven to darkness. Amen. Let's begin by seeking the Lord's help in prayer. O Lord, most high and most holy, Lord God, we bow before you this evening and before your most holy word, and Father, we recognize that the preaching of your word is the high point of worship, and we would not want to bring to you a blemished sacrifice this evening. So, Father, we ask that you would help us to clear away all distractions and confusions and worries and cares from this world and help us, Lord, to meditate upon the Scriptures. We pray, O Lord, that you would enable us to hear your word, that you would stir in us a desire to implement your word. We pray, Father, that you would come and have dealings with us this evening and that we would go from this place changed with a renewed desire to live for Jesus Christ and for his praise. We ask this in His name, Amen. I read a story about a businessman, this was an event that happened a few years ago and his company built a landing craft for the military and his company was being visited by a young government inspector and he early on let the businessman know that it was common practice for him to receive a payment under the table. The businessman then told him, son, I can't do that. I fear God. That's not right. But the inspector persisted and pointed out to the businessman that if he would, that the inspector would allow the boats to be built much more cheaply if he were simply to make that payment. But the businessman persisted and he would not be moved. So the outcome was a few days later the inspector rejected the entire batch of the man's boats and he told the businessman that he could make life very difficult for him. In fact his company could be destroyed if he did not make that payment. To which the businessman replied, son I fear God and that means I don't fear you. What was the result? Well, the company was almost pushed to the point of liquidation. The company did almost go out of business, but you know what happened? At the last minute, an order came in from another company who'd seen some of the man's rejected boats at a surplus sale and was so impressed by the quality of them, he ordered a whole consignment. The point is, when you trust in God, you don't need to worry about man. When you trust in God, you don't need to make man your help. And that's the message of Isaiah throughout this prophecy, but especially here in chapters 7 and 8. In chapter 7, it was the message that came to King Ahaz when he was tempted by the threat of Syria and Israel to go and seek help from Assyria. Isaiah came to him and said, no, no Ahaz, don't do that, wait, trust in the Lord. And now in chapter 8, it's the same kind of message that comes to the nation as a whole. Don't look to Assyria. Don't be impressed by the Euphrates-like power of Assyria. The outcome will be devastation. Instead, trust in the Lord. Lean upon Emmanuel. Make Him your trust. Now, as we move into the second half of chapter 8, we find this message being reinforced by a comparison. a contrast between those two ways, trusting in man and trusting in the Lord. We will see that if we are faithless and we do not trust in the Lord and in his word, then this has very harmful effects, but if we trust in the Lord, if we have true faith, then this will also have certain effects, very blessed effects in this life and beyond. So then, as we conclude this sermon that we began this morning, looking the whole of chapter 8 in one day, we're going to conclude with our final point. Perhaps you remember from this morning we have three points. The first was two signs for Judah. The second point was two rivers for Jerusalem. And now our final point that we're going to spend the rest of our time on this evening is two paths to choose from. two paths to choose from. There is the way of the remnant and there is the way of the faithless and we're gonna see how these two ways are brought out in three areas of life. Fear of God, reverence for God and thirdly with regard to the Word of God. So I hope that's not too confusing. We're gonna see two ways of life brought out in three areas of life. And the first is in the fear of the Lord. Who do we fear? Do we fear the Lord or do we live in fear of something else? This is verse 11. For the Lord spake thus to me, that's to Isaiah, with a strong hand and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying, Say ye not a confederacy to all them to whom this people say a confederacy? Neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. These verses, as you can see, are dealing with the whole matter of fear. And it's a word about fear that has come to Isaiah himself. Look what he says there. He says, The Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand. This is a message that has come to Isaiah himself. He came with a strong hand. That's a phrase that the prophets used to refer to a strong sense of burden and compulsion that came upon him through this message that he was not to walk in the ways of this people. And it's a word then concerning separation. Not to be conformed to the lifestyle of this people. Not to be seduced by the thinking patterns of the people, the mindset, the worldview. Don't imbibe all of their philosophies. Don't imbibe their priorities. Don't buy into that whole value system that they have. Be separate from all of that. Even Isaiah himself, the prophet, needs to have a warning about this. That shows how extensive and pervasive was the godlessness of society in those days, that even Isaiah has to have a strong warning from the Lord. Perhaps it's like Paul's exhortation to Timothy, wasn't it? To take heed to his life and to the doctrine. Other people are going by the by, other people are falling into error, but you, Timothy, make sure you don't take heed to your life, he said. Strong warning. Isaiah here seems to receive the same thing as well. But then the exaltation is broadened out somewhat and the charge is extended to compass all of the faithful in the land. Verse 12, say ye, that's the plural form for you, say ye not a confederacy or conspiracy to all them to whom this people shall say a confederacy, neither fear ye their fear nor be afraid. This is a message that's intended for all the truly God fearing in the land and the message is basically don't fear what they fear, don't call a conspiracy what they are calling a conspiracy. Now what does that refer to? Well we need to remember something in the context of the time here Jerusalem is a real bubbling pot of all kinds of thoughts and speculations that are going on this is 735 BC there is the prospect of a Assyrian Ephraimite coalition to the north threatening to sweep down into Judah and to overthrow Ahaz the king, you've also got of course the Assyrians the mighty superpower and their rumblings. What are the Assyrians going to do next? Where will they go? What's going to happen? And this is big conversation. This is the talking point of the day. Everybody's got a view on this. You know, the newspapers of the day, if they had them, they would have been full of this. The Bill Bennett show of the day, or the equivalent, whatever they had, you know, the guests would all have been talking about this kind of thing. Everyone would have known something about this, or what should be done, and what should we do in this situation. It's a simmering, seething, volatile, panicky atmosphere and into this the Lord says, don't fear. Don't fear what they fear. Don't call a conspiracy what they call a conspiracy. What is this conspiracy? Is it some specific form of conspiracy theory? that was going around related to Isaiah and his disciples that really they were the problem in the country because they would not align themselves with Ahaz and his pro-Assyrian policy that really Isaiah and his disciples and the remnants that they are unpatriotic. They're not faithful. They are traitorous and treasonous. These are the conspirators in the land. Is that what the conspiracy was? Could be, couldn't it? It was the same kind of thing was said about some of the prophets. Jeremiah, for example, that by being faithful to the Lord they were being enemies of the nation and the people as a whole. Those kind of things were said about prophets. Or it could be more general than that. It could be that God is saying, don't get too wrapped up. Don't get too caught up in this panicky, faithless, man-centered, conspiracy-obsessed mindset. Don't fear what they fear. This fretful, panic-driven, panic-inducing worldview that always says, well, there's danger coming, we're about to be destroyed, we need to make an alliance, we need to do something. Panicky mindset. It sounds kind of familiar today, doesn't it? I was looking at a copy of Newsweek a few weeks ago. They did a Newsweek special and it was called 100 Places to See Before They Disappear. And I was intrigued by this so I picked it up and I was expecting to open it up and see the picture of the withering rainforest and the forlorn looking polar bear sitting on his melting ice cap and all of that kind of thing. So I picked it up and I opened it up and there was Tokyo and Paris, Chicago. These places are in imminent danger. They're about to disappear from the face of the earth. We need to do something. We need to make some plans. We need to form alliances. The whole media is driven by this kind of thing. Panic, scares about health, the economic crisis, terrorist attacks, global warming, all of these kind of things. The media is driven by this. And all of their reports are given the icy tinge of fear with every presentation. And the reason is because they don't fear God. They've pushed God out of the equation. They have no time for God, no place for God in their worldview. Do you ever see news reports about gods? Do you ever see any news reports about the progress of the gospel in this world? No, you don't see those things because they don't believe in God. They've got no place for God. They've created a world in which there is no God. Man is the prime mover. Man is the prime shaker. And so when you discount God in that way, then you open yourself up to all kinds of fears. And you have to start panicking and fretting and saying, well we need to do something. We need to form some alliances here. And it can even begin creeping into the church. Evangelicalism, it's in crisis. The church is in crisis. The gospel, it doesn't seem to work. Preaching doesn't seem to work. Church doesn't seem to work. We've got to change. We've got to form alliances. We need to go to the world. We need to get help from the world, otherwise we're going to be destroyed. We need to do something. But here the Lord is saying to Isaiah, and to us through Isaiah, don't go that way. Don't fear what they fear, just fear me. fear me and you will have no one else to fear." Isn't there a hymn that says something like that? Don't be gripped by their fears, you'll have a more peaceful life, a more joyful life, a much more fruitful life as well. John Wesley once said, give me a hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God and I care not whether they be clergymen or laymen, they alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven here on earth. So then two ways when it comes to fear. Fear God and you'll fear nothing else. Don't fear God, you will fear everything else. Secondly, the reverence of God. There are two ways to approach this as well, the reverence of God. This is verse 13 where it says, sanctify the Lord of hosts himself and let him be your fear and let him be your dread. So these two aspects are closely related, fearing the Lord and also reverencing the Lord. The word we have here in verse 13 is sanctify, which means to set apart, to view God as someone totally different, exalted, holy, high above us, far superior to us, above anything that we can know or that we can be. And as part of that, of course, there is fear. To rightly sanctify God, you have to fear Him. Because if you don't fear God, if you don't fear using His name as a profanity, if you don't fear trampling upon His laws, then you haven't really sanctified Him, have you? You haven't treated Him as someone who is special and unique. No. If you don't fear God, then you are saying He's just something ordinary and common. You cheapen God. And so then, fear of God and sanctifying God are two very closely related terms. You have to do one in order to rightly do the other. Now notice what else he says here, sanctify the Lord of hosts himself. That's very significant isn't it? The Lord of hosts. What does hosts mean? I'm sure you know this, it means armies. and of course that's very important in this context you know that armies are a big deal to these people they're all talking about armies, the army of Israel, the army of Syria, the army of Assyria they're all very worried about armies but here he says don't fear those things fear the Lord of hosts Fear Yahweh, the one who rules among the armies of the heaven. Daniel chapter 4, let him be your fear. Again, he's building on what he's already said. If you fear God, you need fear no one else. If you fear God, he will shelter you from everyone else. Verse 14, sanctify the Lord of hosts himself, let him be your fear, and he shall be for you a sanctuary. A sanctuary, that's a place of refuge, a place of shelter. Particularly in the Old Testament, the temple, the altar was a place of sanctuary, was a place of safety. 1 Kings chapter 1 verse 50, Adonijah feared because of Solomon and arose and went into the temple and caught hold of the horns of the altar. As long as you were there in the sanctuary, you were safe from all outside forms of threat. And this is what the Lord is promising to those who will fear Him and reverence Him that He will be to them a sanctuary, a safe place, a refuge. The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run to it and they are safe. This is the blessing then that is held out to the faithful remnants. When they themselves sanctify God, He will be a sanctuary for them. When they reverence God, He will be a refuge for them. On the other hand, for those who don't sanctify Him, they don't fear Him, they don't reverence Him, then God is going to be something altogether different for them. In verse 14 He says that He will be to them a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence. That means a stone that will strike them and also will be a stone to stumble them as well. Both houses. the southern house of Judah and the northern house of Israel, both of them, because both behaved essentially in the same way. And so he says of both of them, because they have not sanctified the Lord, then he will be a stone upon which they will stumble, as well as a trap in which they will be ensnared. Two ways again coming through in these verses. There's the remnant way, reverence the Lord, He'll be a refuge. And then there is the rebel way, the faithless way, reject the Lord, He will be a rock, a rock of stumbling. Sanctify the Lord, He'll be a sanctuary. Spurn the Lord, He'll be a snare that entraps you. So instead of being a place of safety, He becomes a place of entrapment. See these two ways, two paths being brought out here. Peter also says the same thing in the second chapter of his first epistle, verses 7 and 8, speaking of the way that those two paths come out in the first century there. He says, unto you therefore which believe, he is precious. He's precious to you. You've sanctified him, you reverence him, you exalt him. But, he says, there's another type of person as well who didn't do that. They didn't reverence him and they didn't esteem him. They were the disobedient, he says, and so the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence even to them which stumble at the word being disobedient whereunto also they were appointed. So Peter here, he's saying really the same thing, isn't he? Reverence God, He will be a rock for you to build on. Disobey Him, lightly esteem Him, He will be a rock for you to stumble over and to trip over. It's unavoidable. You can't get round it. You will encounter God in this life one way or the other. That's absolutely inevitable. That's the nature of God. But we're told, aren't we, in this chapter that He is Emmanuel. He is God with us. God is with us in this world, whether you like that or not. And you will encounter Him in one of these two ways. Either He will be a rock for you to build your life upon, or else He will be a rock upon which you stumble. And you keep on stumbling throughout your life. And you see, men and women today, they don't seem to realize that. They don't want God in their life. They don't want any of God's ways at all. They just want to get on, live their life without God. But there is no ultimate happiness for them in that life. I came across a book in a bookstore the other day and I just began to read some of the opening pages. It was called The Happiness Project. It was about this woman who decided to dedicate a whole year of her life trying to make herself happy. And I just began to read the first few pages and basically this is what she was saying. She said, I had so much to be happy about. I had a wonderful husband and two beautiful daughters aged seven and one. I was a writer after having started out as a lawyer. I was living in my favorite city, New York. I had close relationships with my parents, my sister, and in-laws. And yet, she says, I lost my temper easily. I suffered bouts of melancholy, insecurity, listlessness, and free-floating guilt. And she went on, she said, I wasn't as happy as I could be. So I decided to dedicate a year trying to be happier. Now, I didn't read the rest of the book, so I don't know if she ever did make herself any happier, but if her method was to do so by building her life, without Jesus Christ at the center then she would quickly discover that that is an impossibility. That's what this text is telling us. Either you build your life upon Him or you'll find that the very thought of Him and the contemplation of Him becomes a stumbling block and trips you up throughout your life. One of the commentators has written this, God will be a force in our lives in one way or another. He will either be a positive force or a negative one. He cannot be avoided. Either he will be the sanctuary we rest in, secure from everything the world can throw at us, or he will be the thing which we keep stumbling over. When he's left out of life, life does not work right. Relationships do not work. Laughter does not work. Work does not work. Life was made to function with God at the center. When we take him out and put ourselves at the center, life simply does not work. What about you this evening? Are you seeking to build your life upon the foundation of Christ and his word? Or are you stumbling, tripping, continually annoyed even by the very thought of Jesus Christ? And maybe it's time you started your own happiness project by building your life upon Jesus Christ and upon His Word. That's the only way to find true happiness in this life. Happy is the people who have the Lord as their God. Now let's just consider a final point. Two paths we have considered this evening that you can take with regard to the fear of God, the reverence of God. Finally, consider two paths with regard to the Word of God. And that's in verse 16. where he says, bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. And this has been thought by some to mean that Isaiah wants to keep the words of prophecy secret, that he's training his followers in some kind of school of discipleship until society is more amenable to what they have to say. But that isn't what's being said here at all. It really means to seal up the testimony in his disciples. among His disciples, in their hearts, affirm in them their faith in the Word of God. Deepen, strengthen, encourage their faith in God's Word. You see, it's the Word of the Lord that gives stability to people in a time of crisis. It's the Word of the Lord that gives them comfort in a time of crisis that's the emphasis in this chapter, chapter 8 you notice there when the Lord speaks to Isaiah verse 11 the emphasis, this is the word of the Lord, for the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of these people saying this is the spoken word of the Lord coming through to Isaiah the emphasis is on the word and that's where the remnant find comfort in a time of crisis it is in the word of God And so here the Lord is saying to them, bind up that word, cling to my word, hope in my word, put your trust in my word, don't worry about what the others are saying, don't fear what those spin doctors in Jerusalem are saying, don't fear their words, fear me, fear my word. This is the man to whom I will look, to him who is of a humble and contrite spirit and who trembles at my word. This is the person to whom I will look. Tremble at my word is what he is saying. And here Isaiah responds very positively. Verse 17, this is Isaiah speaking. He says, I will wait for the Lord. I will look for him. That's his own testimony. I myself will wait. I will trust. I will hope in the Lord. Even in these days when it seems as if God is hiding his face, yet I will continue to trust and hope in the Lord. Even my whole family, he says. Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts. What's he referring to here, his children? Is this his spiritual children? Some have said that, that this is his followers, his disciples. but I think probably more likely he's actually referring to his own children, his two sons, Shir Jashub and Mahir Shalal Hashbas, because they really are literally for signs, aren't they? Their names, all three of them, Isaiah as well, all three of their names were for signs for the people of Israel, confirming the truth of God's Word to the land. What was it they said to them? Mahir shall al-hashbas. Judgment is coming. But, shir jashab. A remnant shall return. Why? Isaiah. Salvation is of the Lord. All three of them, by their names, were confirming the truth of God's message to that land. I and the children whom the Lord hath given me. I and my children, our names are a very testimony to the truth of God's Word. And by our lives, we're going to live in a way that confirms the truth of God's Word to this nation. And that's a challenging thing as well, isn't it? Do you live in that way? Do I live in that way? Do we live in such a way as we demonstrate our faith, our trust, our confidence in God and in His words? Do we bring up our children to live in that way, trusting in the Lord, believing in Him and in His word? Because if we don't, we see here the alternative is really very fearful, isn't it? Look at verse 19 and see what happens when a people turn away from God's word. and when they shall say unto you seek unto them that have familiar spirits and unto wizards that peep and that mutter should not a people seek unto their God for the living to the dead Isaiah here is describing the situation in the land at the time that the people having turned away from the Lord and his word they are now embracing many of these mysterious religions from the East and the occult and mediums and spiritists and all those kind of things. This kind of thing was strictly forbidden in Israel. Very strong punishments for those who engaged in those kind of activities. But now they have turned from the Lord and they're embracing these religions and this dark, dark form of the occult. And is it not the same today in our own society? And as people throw their Bibles out of the window, they open the front door to what? Or to whom? to gurus, don't they, and to mediums, and to fortune tellers, and to palm readers, and to mystic Meg, and psychic Sam, and the spiritists, and the tarot cards, and the tea leaves, and the seances, and voices which whisper and mutter, as Isaiah would say. That's what happens when you turn away from the light of God's Word. You find yourself engulfed in darkness. I think about my own country here and what has happened in recent years. I read a statistic this week that in England now there are twice as many people reading horoscopes as read the Bible. The new age in the UK now, it's fashionable. It's fashionable to consult with crystals. Even one of our former Prime Ministers had crystals in 10 Downing Street and practiced Feng Shui. This is fashionable for these people who are supposedly enlightened and educated, far too clever for the Bible and that old-fashioned religion, and yet they're embracing these kind of things. GK Chesterton once said, when people stop believing in God, they don't believe in nothing, they believe in anything. One commentator also says this, a strange thing has happened to us superior Westerners. We have discovered that incredible physical and material wealth has not made us more happier or contented people. Instead, we have found something strangely missing. Of course, that something is God, but we have not turned back to the old-fashioned biblical God of our ancestors. No, we've turned to something much more modern and scientific. the horoscope, the occult, and the new age. Much too educated to believe in miracles, we swallow with alacrity the most amazing hodgepodge of superstitions and paganism. When people stop believing in God, they will believe in anything. To the law and to the testimony, says Isaiah, if they speak not according to this, it's because there's no light in them. back to the book, back to the scriptures. This is the only true source of light. All of those other things are from utter darkness. They're from the very pit of darkness, from hell itself. But this book, all this book is a lamp to our feet. It's a light unto our path. The entrance of God's Word, it brings wonderful, glorious light. This is where we must turn if we want comfort and guidance and instruction and encouragement. We go back to this book. This is where I find help and strength. This is where I find Christ himself, isn't it? Erasmus says that in the preface to his Greek New Testament. On these pages you will find the living Christ and you'll see him more fully than if he stood before you, before your very eyes. Christ is here on every single page. and so then when we hear for example people will say well the Lord has told me this and I've had this word and the Lord told me to go and do this we say well to the law and to the testament or even if a man stands in this pulpit and says this or that we must always say well to the law and to the testament check what that man says by the Bible is he faithful to the Word of God no matter who he is no matter how famous he is check everything by the Word of God Spurgeon tells a story of a young person who was going out of his church and said to her friend as she went out, I don't like Mr. Spurgeon at all, he's so high in his doctrine and besides he said a bad thing. He spoke about the potter and the clay and the friend turned and said to her, the Apostle Paul said that, not Mr. Spurgeon. Oh, well the Apostle Paul, he's too high in his doctrine as well. Well, Spurgeon said, I'm quite happy to incur that kind of censure, and I will go with Paul wherever he goes. But, he said, I do beseech you, never rest upon the fact that I've said something just that it is so. Turn to your Bible and see whether it is so. So Spurgeon is saying the same thing to the law and to the testimony. We must go back to the Scriptures as the infallible rule. Test everything by the Word of God. Because if we don't do that, if we turn away from this truth then we will only go down deeper into darkness. Look again there at verse 21. And they shall pass through it hard pressed and hungry and it shall come to pass when they shall be hungry they shall fret themselves and curse their king and their God and look upward and they shall look unto the earth and behold trouble and darkness dimness of anguish and they shall be driven to darkness. So this here is a picture of famine. Spiritual famine. Restless roaming. Having rejected the word of God, they are hard pressed. They are angry. Having rejected the spiritual nourishment of God's word, they are hungry. They're roaming around. It says, they shall pass through it. Now we don't know exactly where it is, but it seems to be referring to some kind of a wilderness where they are roaming around and wandering around. This is demonic. Imagery, isn't it? That's what demons do, they wander around. Matthew chapter 12, when the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, then it says he walketh through dry places seeking rest and he finds none. Satan did the same kind of thing. Job chapter 1, God said to him, Satan, where have you been? I've been roaming to and fro, up and down the earth. And this is what happens to human beings when they spurn the Word of God. They're given over to a roaming, restless, wandering, searching for anything that would give them some kind of thrill or some kind of kick. but they find no satisfaction for their souls and so they become angry, angry with God and angry with men and they slip down further and further into darkness. Verse 22, they shall look unto the earth and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish, they shall be driven to darkness. Three times references there to darkness, an intensification of darkness. This is the effect of rejecting the light of God's truth. You go down deeper and deeper into darkness. until ultimately when you come before Jesus Christ on judgment day and you've rejected him and his word you'll be cast into outer darkness away from me they shall be driven to darkness the text says Jesus will do that away he will thrust them away into outer darkness so these are solemn words aren't they but you can see how this is preparing us for chapter 9 and the wonderful prediction of the coming of the Savior chapter 9 verse 2 says the people that walked in darkness have seen a great light the wonderful promise of a son who's going to be born, a son who is given, wonderful, counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. He comes to dispel the darkness. He comes to bring light. He is light. He's the light of men. He's the light of the world. He came to deliver us from darkness so that we may walk in the light of life. We shall consider that next time, God willing, in chapter 9. But I want to just close this evening by reminding you of these two paths, these two ways that we have set out before us here in this passage. The path of the remnant and then the path of the rebels. The path of the faithful and the path of the faithless. And what we have seen in these verses, in fact what you see as you work your way through the prophecy of Isaiah is that the character and the qualities, the distinguishing traits of the remnant are brought out more and more. Through these events that are taking place in the land, we begin to see more and more of the character of the remnants. This has the effect of purging and purifying and sanctifying them more and more, deepening their faith, strengthening their convictions in God and in His Word. Whereas at the same time, you find an altogether different effect upon the faithless. Upon them it has the opposite effect. The things that are taking place in Judah have the effect of hardening them. Isaiah chapter 6. so the things that are taking place only serve to entrench them further in their unbelief so that they don't fear him they don't reverence him they don't want his word and as a result they find God to be a stumbling block a snare and they end up going down deeper and deeper into darkness this is the two-fold effect of God's judgments and his providential dealings upon that land makes us think doesn't it of what took place at Calvary Because there, on either side of the Lord Jesus, there were two thieves. And as God's judgment came upon them, it had the same effect. One of them found his faith in Christ growing all the more, while at the same time the other was being hardened in his unbelief. So let me ask you this evening, as we close, where are you right now? What is your relationship to Jesus Christ? On which path are you on right now? Are you on the path of the remnant? Loving the Lord, cleaving to the Lord, trusting in his word? Or are you on the path of the rebel? Spurning the Lord, turning the Lord, and not trusting in the Lord and in his word. Which one are you? The faithful or the faithless? The remnant or the rebel? Which one? One path leads to a life of peace and joyful confidence. The other life leads to anger, sorrow, despair, and ultimately darkness, outer darkness. Which path are you on this evening? Dear friend, dear unconverted friend, I urge you, turn to the Lord. Trust in the Lord. Ask the Lord to change your hard hearts. And then you can look forward to that day when Jesus Christ will be there with all of his own blood-bought people and he will come before his Heavenly Father and say to him, Behold, I am the children, I am the faithful remnant whom thou hast given me. Let's close in prayer. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for the revelation of your word. We are humbled and challenged by the thought of these two paths. We pray, O Lord, that you would set us on the path of the faithful, that you would cause us to believe in Jesus Christ, to trust in him, that we would truly reverence him and sanctify him, that we would love his word, and that, Lord, as we pass through life, these convictions would be deepened more and more so that we may be able to reach out to others Call then to faith in Christ as well. We pray in Jesus name. Amen