[0:00] I'm quoting the scripture which we read, and you'll find our text in the 63rd chapter, and verse 1, let us read the verse.
[0:11] Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bosnia, this that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength? I, that speak in righteousness, might be to save.
[0:30] A lofty vision of spiritual blessing and spiritual prosperity. That is the prophetic vision that we have in the preceding chapter.
[0:48] Isaiah is given a vision from God of times when his people will have great prosperity.
[1:03] One or two verses, indeed one or two words in that chapter, speak of that prosperity.
[1:15] Verse 1, the Lord has formed by his like hand and by the arm of his strength. Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies. The sons of the strangers shall not drink thy wine for which thou hast labored.
[1:31] It ends up with a holy people and a redeemed city. A city no longer forsaken, but a city in which God dwells.
[1:46] And then immediately Isaiah has this other lofty prophetic vision. When he sees a stranger come down across the valley of Jordan.
[2:04] Coming down out of the height of Edom. He is coming down to the valley of Jordan. And it naturally arises a question in his mind. Because the stranger is unusual.
[2:17] He is coming out of desert mountains. And yet he is strikingly apparel. He is a figure that attracts attention.
[2:29] Heroic. Confident. Assured. Swift steps.
[2:43] Traveling in the greatness of his strength. And leaving Edom and Bosnia behind them. On the very brightness of his clothes.
[2:55] That which first attracts. The eye of the prophet. Is a brightness that is there because of a dear vengeance.
[3:09] His garments are crimson. And the crimson is the blood of his enemies. What does all this mean?
[3:20] Well let us remember before we go further. One or two simple things. First of all. Edom.
[3:31] Who is this that cometh from Edom? Who or what was Edom? Well Edom. Edom. Was the country inhabited and held.
[3:44] By the descendants of Edom. And Edom. Was the most difficult. Of all the people.
[3:57] That Israel had to contend with. Edom was the inveterate enemy. Of the Israeli people. They did all in their power.
[4:13] To keep Israel out of the promised land. And almost every mention. In scriptures. In prophecy. Or in history. Or in form that we have of Edom.
[4:25] Speaks. Of. What an harassing. And dangerous. Neighbors aware.
[4:37] To the people of God in Israel. And Bosra. Bosra was the capital of Edom. Bosra was the very heart and citadel.
[4:48] Of that which. Spoke of enmity. Against the people of God. And against the God of his people.
[5:00] The fortress. Of evil. As far as Israel was concerned. And this one. This man. Traveling in the greatness of his strength.
[5:11] Is coming out of Edom. He has visited. And he has left his capital. And his visits. Are still in his garments.
[5:24] With blood. Now I don't need to. Spend any time. In telling you who this one is. He is one who.
[5:37] Speaks in righteousness. He is one who is mighty to save. He is the very one. That Isaiah has spoken of formerly.
[5:51] In chapter 53. Of being wounded. And whose garments bear his own blood. He is God's Messiah.
[6:01] Messiah. We can allow New Testament life. To illumine this prophecy. Even more clearly for us.
[6:14] We know who Messiah is. He is Jesus of Nazareth. And we know that he has triumphed. Through the blood of his cross. He has made peace.
[6:27] And we know that he reigns until. He shall have put all things. Under his feet. He is that king. That was short of catechism. Tells us.
[6:37] In order. To subdue all him. And all our enemies. And the day. That the prophet sees.
[6:48] In prophetic vision he is. Of Christ traveling. In the greatness of his strength. And bearing still. The marks. Of his conflict.
[7:01] That day. What is it? Is it the day of Calvary? Or is it. Some other day? Well I believe the day of Calvary.
[7:11] Is certainly. Within the prophetic picture. But also another day. Not as the day of judgment. When. The judge of all the earth.
[7:24] Shall do rightly. And when he shall. Execute. The vengeance. Of God. The preceding chapters. Seem to me.
[7:36] To be pointing. In such a direction. That we have to. Bring judgment. Into this. Whole picture. With which.
[7:47] 63. Chapter 63. Open. The day of Calvary. Is in the picture. But it's a day. Which is now behind. I have prodded. In the winepress.
[7:57] Alone. And of the people. There was none with me. Yet. He says. The day of vengeance. Is in my heart. The day of righteous retribution.
[8:10] And of judgment. The day of which. The Bible. So solemnly. Speaks. When it says. The wicked. Shall be cast. Into hell.
[8:22] And all. Them. That forget. God. And yet. You see. As well as that day. And as well as it are.
[8:32] Of judgment. There is another day. A year. The year. Of my redeemed. Has come. It's a picture.
[8:46] A prophetic picture. That includes. Two of them. The first. And the second. Advent. In the first.
[8:57] Advent. He came. Meek. And lowly. He came. With a fervent. He came. In order. To suffer. The job.
[9:08] In the room. Of the angel. And in the second. Advent. He comes. The second time. Without sin. As he does. Or apart.
[9:19] From sin. To judgment. And it's as though. Looking through. Prophetic vision.
[9:31] Isaiah sees. These two days. And verge. Until they become one. And of course. When we.
[9:42] Remember. What Christ said. As he went. To the suffering. Of the cross. We see how. Closely. The day of redemption. And the day of judgment.
[9:54] Are linked together. In his own eye. And in his own. Prophetic vision. As he went to the cross. What was it he said? He said. Now. Is the judgment.
[10:05] Of this world. That leads to this. Further thought. That salvation.
[10:18] Carries along. In its bosom. The necessity. Of judgment. What is the final. Guarantee.
[10:28] That man. That man. That man. Will be judged. And that they will be judged. By the man. Whom God. Has appointed. The final guarantee.
[10:39] Is the death. Of that man. For his people. On the cross. The cross. The cross. Speaks to us. Of the lamb.
[10:51] The lamb. Who takes away sin. But let us remember. That the same lamb. Is not merely to adorn our cross.
[11:07] He is to adorn. The throne. Of God. Righteous judgment. Though he is spoken of as the lamb.
[11:18] He is spoken of also. As the lamb. Who was wroth. On that day. So the two things come together here. In Isaiah's vision.
[11:30] Redemption. Salvation. Salvation. Through his death on the cross. But carrying along. In his very bosom. The judgment.
[11:42] I say. You cannot sever judgment. For salvation. Promise. Are you here tonight. And you have been faced. So frequently faced.
[11:55] With the gospel offer. Of full. Free salvation. Redemption. From sin. And from its guilt. And from its power. If you believe.
[12:07] On the Lord Jesus Christ. And every time you say. With the gracious invitation. Of God. To believe. You have faced also.
[12:23] With the judgment of God. When you refuse to believe. Let's look at our text.
[12:35] A little more closely. Keeping these things. In the background. Still. Keeping them in our minds. Here is one. Here is one.
[12:47] Coming out of Eden. Coming out of this. The land. That of all lands. Epitomized. Enmity to God.
[12:57] And his people. Coming from this very capital. And he's coming. As a victor. A conqueror. And his coming.
[13:10] And his coming. Speaks. Of the destruction of evil. The destruction of evil. Is not to be two events. It's one. And it's an event.
[13:21] Which begins. With the death. Of Christ in Calvary. Then. Was the prince. Of this world. Judge. And it goes on.
[13:36] Until it. Culminates. Before the great. White throne. One. Whose conquering. Speaks of the destruction of evil.
[13:47] But speaks of something else. It speaks of the establishment. Of righteousness. Good and evil. Those two in conflict.
[14:01] And in Christ. The son of God. The triumph of good. Of righteousness. Over evil. That's the picture of our text.
[14:12] And isn't it a picture. Of the world. It's a picture of the world at large. And then my Christian friend. It's a picture.
[14:23] Of the world of your life. And of mine. Let's look at. That twofold picture. For a few moments.
[14:35] The picture of the world at large. What is it? The history of the world. It is Eden. And Israel. It is Jacob. And Israel.
[14:48] Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin.
[15:07] Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin.
[15:18] Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. It. a continual threat to the peace the internal peace and welfare of Israel get an Israelite get a Jew wandering over the border just a few yards and he'll be pounced upon by an Edomite and he would not escape with his life get a man going out after his flock or his beasts if they had strayed into the land that belonged to Eden man and beast would be made captive sometimes it's recorded that in its festival of praises Judah slackened its continual watch and guard in this border and it would be during its festivals and its religious ceremonies that Eden would swoop down when Israel was engaged in its most spiritual exercise then the enemy would strike or when Israel was harvesting when the men were employed in cutting the fruit of the fruitful land then the Edomites would come swooping down too and kill and run off for the harvest what a picture that is of the the whole wide world what a picture it gives us of the history of Christ's church what is the history of the church we can sum it up just like this
[17:10] Edom on the borders of Judah Edom coming when the church seems to be at its brightest and best Edom coming on bringing its destructive power to bear how long were the apostles gone the apostles when men had already lost purity of doctrine and began to worship idols how long had the great sub-apostolic fathers been off the sin when clouds of spiritual darkness began to fall so much so that by the time of Augustine a man that preached the pure gospel and the word of God stood out like a mountain peak or an island and a sea what had happened Edom and there in Judah all was dwelling on its borders where was Judah how dark was Judah by the time of the reformation and how dark ever since recurring all the time my friends one great thought from our text is this that there is a deliverer who saves
[18:32] God's people as a people the church of Christ is safe because Christ is strong and his garments are stained with blood and his arm has brought salvation all too often perhaps in our free church popets we concentrate on individual salvation and of course that's necessary we must do that but isn't it good for us now and then to broaden our view and see that God is redeeming not only individuals he is redeeming his church and I'm not just talking about the free church of Scotland God forbid he is redeeming he is redeeming a church which men cannot see or delineate with the eye he is redeeming a church which is born again of the Holy Ghost and washed in the blood and is born by the arm of one mighty to save and that one said this he will build it he will build it from foundation up until he puts the cobstone on on the gate all the combined wisdom of hell and of Eden shall not prevail against it are you in the church of Jesus
[19:53] Christ spiritual oh my friend your redeemer is mighty and he travels in the greatness of his strength look out has he lost any yes Eden has come in and no doubt Eden has inflicted wounds but Jesus said this no man shall pluck them out of my hand go back to the psalm we were singing I will throw my shoe over Eden I'll take Eden and I'll destroy its enmity and its iniquity and I'll make it a place in which my people will dwell safely David back to our sermons on David 2nd
[20:53] Samuel do you know what we read there that David for a time conquered Eden and he set up garrisons all over Eden and this is what we read the Edomites became his servants that's the kind of God we have and yet the concrete is there we see it in secular history we see it in the history of God's church the concrete between righteousness and sin we come down to the world of the human heart the goodness of God the righteousness of Christ comes into every believer when Christ himself comes that you would think would bring peace to the whole land the Judah of the individual life but does it no because on the fringes on the borders
[22:14] Eden is still there and when the graces that inhabit the land seem to grow strong out come the Edomites take purity how when we found Christ at first how we felt cleansed and clean and we longed to hold on to that purity and then all of a sudden we found that the purity was besmirched out down from the hills of Eden had come that which murdered and ravaged and we had to go back to the one whose garments are trims who was blood that cleanses one could go through it all truth love we think the harvest is at last right and then we lose the
[23:24] Edomites dealings or the burnings remember how we can read in our own Scottish church history of our covenanders who in order to worship God in God's way and there's no other way to worship them went out to the moors to worship do you remember what happened they had to pull sentries with swords and guns around the sanctuaries that God gave them in the hills and the moors of our land why because not only would their worship be disturbed but their lives were endangered Edom and Judah and Edom was invading
[24:26] Judah very closely then that's just a picture of what's in the mind of the prophet and in the eye of truth here in this text what do we do when we become aware of the power of Edom within our own heart when we find there the very same conflict that we see in the broader church yes and in the field of the world itself what do we do well don't we in our helplessness turn just to this one red in his apparel traveling in the greatness of his strength and he comes he comes out of the land of our enemy and he has signs insignia not of defeat but of victory as he comes let's remember how closely that speaks to us of Christ in his saving work he came into this world he said himself to seek and to save that which was lost my friend that is the great reason forever having been in the world how if I came into this
[26:01] Eden of our world that he might work out redemption for people like you and people like me and that he might destroy the evil of the enemy of God on all his evil purposes when it comes to personal salvation we see here the prophet putting questions getting answers what does it all mean what is the gospel all about that you've been listening to for so long well we have the answers here questions and answers who is this I that come in righteousness there is the beginning of his answers and the beginning is good righteousness that's good reasoning at the very outset of his answers righteousness is the foundation of all his work righteousness is something that surely must work thoroughly if anything does a thorough work then it's righteousness what does righteousness mean in accord with right in accord with truth he when he comes to destroy evil and to establish holiness will do it in accord with truth everything that he did harmonized with all that God the God of truth says there's no blemish in any one part of his work take any part of it my friend and over it you can write these words
[28:11] I that speak in righteousness when he laid the foundation of the salvation of sinners he laid the foundation of it in righteousness that my friend vindicates a holy God and enables him to be just and the justifier of the ungodly who believes in Jesus and that does something it assures the heart of the sinner who comes to Jesus that he can be saved in a way that will glorify the name of God for all eternity not only can he save sinners but my friend he can save them to the glory of God and then if it's a work that's done in righteousness when it touches you life and mine it means that it will be thorough going again it will not leave anything uncovered that has to be opened up it will deal with us as we really are sinners offensive to God enemies to God it will take into its dealings all that we are in the sight of a holy
[29:38] God not just what we are in our own eyes ah yes God opens our eyes and he gives us glimpses but only glimpses of the corruption of our own hearts and our own natures no man has ever yet seen his heart as it is seen by the holy eye of God and we should be thankful for that but Christ's dealing in righteousness deals with us as God knows us to be so there will be no excusing no extenuation there will be a thorough dealing there had to be that with the Edomites you couldn't give them an inch or they would try to steal the mile Christ doesn't give sin an in my friend Christ will not compromise with sin he'll not compromise with sin and he'll not compromise with mine he will deal with it slight justly no cover up continually in our papers we're seeing boards of inquiries government committees set up to investigate this and look into that and then as sure as sure can be when the reports are out what will you find you'll find these various boards and committee being accused of covering up and I suppose it does happen man being what man is even if he's working for the government he's still a man but when
[31:35] Christ comes to deal with us and thou sin he does it righteous no cover up nothing hidden everything brought out and I found that can be a store process and yet how wonderful how necessary that Christ takes us and saves us and redeems us and if I can put it way back puts us back into the arms of the family of God and there will soon have been thatched out and dealt with to the uttermost Edom must be destroyed this is the day of vengeance and now Eden has to meet its just desert there can be no temporal rising there can be no covering up in any area at all no compromise but there must be complete utter dealing and when
[32:52] Christ comes to us he comes as one who has dealt with our sins completely and utterly wherefore after I have read in my apparel I am read in my apparel because mighty to save I am read in my apparel because I have trodden a wine pass alone there's a uniqueness about Christ it was there all through his life a kind of loneliness a circle of his life and experience into which no other man can enter we're conscious of that when we read the gospel aren't we there are places which no one can share with him yes his father shares many places right down to the end we see
[33:55] Christ finding fulfillment and fellowship in clear with God the father because ultimately he's the only one with whom he can fellowship on equal terms and yet there comes a time in the Christ's experience when even the fellowship of God can no longer be his when he has to enter into that which his father cannot enter into with him he must go into the wine breath alone and you see it outwardly first of all Judith goes out and leaves and and Judith enters into a terrible loneliness of his own and then another of his disciples denies him until there's only
[35:00] John left by the side of the cross and then he goes into a place where John can no longer be with him of agony and suffering and then he's in a darkness into which the light of the fellowship of God does not penetrate and cannot penetrate and he cries out of thy darkness from the place where he is utterly and completely alone my God my God why hast thou forsaken me where was thee you was treading the wine bread he was dealing with Eden and he was dealing with Eden for the salvation of Judah he was dealing with satanic power and force my friend for the salvation of his church or to bring it down to a personal individual level he was bearing your sins and my sins in his own body and tree he was standing in the place of
[36:21] God's curse he was made a curse for us God is read in his upon I have trodden the wine press alone and of the people there was none with me none were able to be with him none could stand with him in that dark place and when he comes to deal with us as individuals to apply his salvation to us when he comes and lets us know as people that he is mighty to save he comes alone and too others can help us they can explain the gospel to us
[37:34] Christian friends can encourage us to look to our saviour the preaching of the gospel can touch our minds and our hearts but when it comes to closing in with Christ freely offered to us in the gospel we have to deal with him and with him alone then too and he comes in that uniqueness and singularity and aloneness to each one of us and he comes in order to give to give what he has won for peace and blessing and freedom from all the power and the hatred of Eden to free us that's what runs right down through this passage freedom for
[38:38] Judah and when he comes to us as individuals and comes to give what is ours to do what is ours to do oh my friend only this it is ours merely to take and to take us freely as he offers he comes still traveling in the greatness of his strength every Christian believer in this church tonight would tell you perhaps in different words in varied words they would tell you how the very darkest moment of their life experience when they felt the power of Eden was in us they had never felt it before that then they too saw one coming out up out of Bosra with blood stained garments and they saw the grandeur and the stature and the strength and they found out that he was mighty to say traveling still you see the scars and scars and the scars and the scars and the wounds of his conflict are on him but they have not weakened him all his and our enemies the conflict has not weakened him he travels still to our Lord Jesus in the greatness of his strength and he's able to save unto the uttermost all that come unto God by him all who come to know the stance of his arms share not his conflict none can share that but they share the peace that is victory as one and they enter into it more and more the apostle Paul said we are more than conquerors through him that loved us will you win out to heaven my friend ah yes if you're in Christ you will you'll be there be sure of it or you say the Edomites this fellow that rises up with my mind and my heart on Monday mornings when I go out to work or that other fellow that grips me at night and I think he's going to choke me yes the Edomites the fear but my friend
[41:53] Jesus the Christ is traveling still in the greatness of his strength and he can tumble every Edomite with his strength and overcome them and make you a sharer and a conqueror in his victory will you win out to heaven yes if you trust him and no if you don't oh my friend if you haven't got one who is mighty to save tonight how lost you are and how lost you're going to be for all eternity for there is only one who has trodden a winepress alone and come out of it having lost none of his strength therefore what is your wisdom to trust him believe him to look to him for he speaks still in righteousness and tonight he is mighty to save let's pray we thank you oh lord our god that there is a saviour a saviour and we can look back from this spot this evening through the perspective of realized prophecy we can look back to a historical event to to the god man laying down his life a ransom for many we thank thee that also there were those who long ago could look forward and see through the same prophetic perspective the very same saviour we bless thee that he saves all who trust in him and that no one who trusts in him shall ever perish give us that faith and trust which reposes all on him hear us oh lord and bless us be with each one of us through the days of this week may we know the one who is mighty to save journeying with us through the pilgrimage days of this life we ask it for our salvation and his glory amen