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A hiding place in a troublesome time

“And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land,” Isaiah 32:2

Preached by Rev. Ivan Foster in Walsham Le Willows Congregational church

Lord’s Day morning, 24th June 2018.

Stream or download A hiding place in a troublesome time

This prophecy refers, in the first instance, to a good king such as Hezekiah. It is to be noted just how beneficial godly leadership is for a country. The cost of its absence is all too clear for us in Ulster.  “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn,” Proverbs 29:2.

God’s woe is pronounced against our leaders, Isaiah 10:1-2. They have released upon us the very elements that they should have sheltered us from.

The full application of this verse can only refer to Christ and His work of saving sinners.

Consider:—

I. THE MULTITUDE OF DANGERS AND DISTRESSES THAT BESET MEN IN THIS WORLD

Wind, flood, drought and heat. These four troubles encompass all the distresses that befall sinful man.
1. The wind. — The devil, Eph 2:2. The restless spirit that constantly buffets man.
2. The tempest/Flood. — Sin, Isaiah 59:19. It floods the land, changing its appearance and destroying the comforts of men and women.
3. Drought. — A shutting of heaven. Heaven is closed against the sinner because of his disobedience, Eph 2:12, 4:18.
4. Heat. — The burning sun speaking of the wrath of God that abides upon the sinner. John 3:36.

II. THE ONE WHO CAN SAVE FROM SUCH A MULTITUDE OF TROUBLES IS NO ORDINARY PERSON

The Lord Jesus is no ordinary person.
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace,” Isaiah 9:6. He has infinite wisdom, immeasurable power, unfathomable compassion.
“For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily,” Col 2:9.
* He is God manifest in the flesh. He is mighty to save, Isaiah 63:1.
* He is able to save to the uttermost, Hebs 7:25.
The Lord Jesus has many titles because of His all-glorious person.

III. IT IS PLAIN FROM OUR TEXT HOW THE LORD JESUS SAVES THE SINNER

1. In all the metaphors there is a similarity. He comes between the sinner and his trouble. The cross is here pictured.
Wind cannot reach you in a hiding place.
Flood cannot reach you in a covert.
Drought cannot reach you by a river.
Heat of sun cannot reach you in the shadow.
2. The help is available to you now. Will you not enter the shelter and comfort of Christ’s salvation?
“Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast,” Psalms 57:1.
“For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall,” Isaiah 25:4.
“And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people,” Isaiah 51:16.
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” Matthew 23:37.
Let these words be your testimony from this day.
“As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste,” Song of Solomon 2:3.

Calling to remembrance the former times

Scripture: Hebrews 10:32-39

Stream or download Calling to remembrance the former times

Looking back upon former days in our lives is a divine injunction. While it behoves us to be ever “Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?” 2 Peter 3:12. (Matt 25:5.) We are also called upon to look back. It is something that God constantly calls His people to do. Of course, we have need of such calls for we are so forgetful. This is especially true of the good and the blessed things we have experienced. Matt 16:5-10.

What is it God would have us remember? “And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no,” Deuteronomy 8:2. All of God’s dealings with us are worthy of recall.

Here in the passage before us, it is a call to remember the days at the beginning of the pilgrimage of the Hebrew Christians.

Remembering the former days will serve to:—

I. EMPHASIS THE NEED SINNERS HAVE OF ILLUMINATION

Often we are puzzled by the opposition of sinners. If we recall what we were like we will not.

1. Remember your own darkness and ignorance.  The eyes of our soul dwelt under the blackest curtain of ignorance. “For ye were sometimes darkness,” Eph 5:8. “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son,” Colossians 1:13.

2. Illumination was the first grace bestowed.  Verse 16 lists the blessings of the covenant. Illumination is first.

3. It was an illumination in the knowledge of Christ. The word means to light up, Rev 18:1. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, II Corinthians 4:6. In the light of Christ’s glory, like Saul, we saw our own sins clearly.
Remembering the former days will serve to:—

II.  SHOW THAT AFFLICTION IS PART OF BEING A CHRISTIAN
We had no trouble from the world before we were saved. But that changed very swiftly upon our conversion. Affliction and trouble are an integral part of the Christian’s journey. “Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God,” Acts 14:22.  “That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto,” 1 Thessalonians 3:3. “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution,” 2 Timothy 3:12.

1. The character of their affliction. “A great fight of afflictions.”  The word fight comes from athleo, a Greek word meaning  participation in public games.

2. The precise nature of their affliction.  “Gazing stock,” (brought upon a stage). “Spoiling of their goods.” These are two very heavy burdens to bear.

3. The reason why they were made to suffer.  They became companions of the despised servants of God who were the companions of the despised Jesus, verse 33. It is His reproach the child of God is required to bear. Hebs 13:13. No reproach — no affliction. Something modern Christianity is most anxious to avoid!!
Remembering the former days will serve to:

III. REMIND US OF THE  SECRET OF SUCH VICTORIOUS LIVING
Those who lived in victory in the past may not be doing so now. People who achieved much for Christ in the past may not be doing so now. Looking back may mean the recovery of that victory which has been lost. Look at verse 32. They had endured a great fight. Look at verse 34. There was a “joyful acceptance” of the “spoiling of their goods.” This joyful endurance of affliction sprang from a “knowing in themselves “that they had “in heaven a better and an enduring substance,”  v 34.

1. The secret was the abiding and real sense of heaven’s glory. From day to day they lived with a greater sense of heaven than of the earth. Do you remember days like that?

2. To them heaven’s glory was enduring  while earth’s was passing away.  Heaven was “an enduring, lasting substance.”

3. To them heaven was substantial. The word means wealth, goods, property.  The only other place this word occurs is in Acts 2:45. “And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.” They had no real attachment to them anyway. This is what enabled them to rejoice as they had their earthly goods taken from them. They had that which none could ever take from them.
Remembering what we once were like arouses desire for a return to that spirit.
May God be pleased to send an awakening against to us like there was in former times amongst God’s people.