ISAIAH 63-642008 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Isaiah 63-64

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2008.

Well, this evening we're looking at Isaiah chapter 63, and Lord willing, we'll also be looking at chapter 64. And as we come towards the end of the book of Isaiah, we're looking at the subject of end times. And the quick outline of the end times, there's a great detail that we could go into, but just the quick summary. Right now, you and I are living in the last days. The Bible teaches that very clearly.

We're living in such a time that at any moment, Jesus Christ could come back for his church. At any moment, the rapture of the church could take place. It's not being prevented by anything else. There's nothing that needs to take place in order for the rapture to happen. There's no other element of prophecy that has to happen. Some things may happen, they may or may not take place, but...

as far as the outline is concerned, God has left it kind of in the open to be a surprise that he would come kind of as a thief in the night in order to take this world by surprise. And he says, I'm coming at an hour you do not expect. And so there's a little bit of a mystery about the return of Jesus Christ. When exactly is it going to happen? When is the rapture going to take place? We don't know exactly, but what we do know is

is it could happen at any moment. And that's the way God intended it to be, that we would have this hope, that we would purify ourselves, that we would be walking with Him and be prepared to meet with Him. Well, after the rapture of the church takes place, then the world is going to go into...

A time, a period known as the Tribulation. And it's a seven-year period which is going to be the pouring out of God's wrath upon the earth. It's going to be a devastating time upon the world. It's going to be worse trouble, worse cataclysmic events than the world has ever seen. It's going to be seven years of hell, literally.

being poured out upon the earth as God pours out his judgment during that seven-year period. During that seven-year period, you know, the Antichrist will rise up and he will try to unite the world in peace and there will be fake peace for a while, but there will be war that breaks out, especially in the middle and then all the way to the end of that seven-year period. Well, that seven-year period ends, the tribulation period ends with the return of Jesus Christ.

The rapture of the church happens when Jesus comes and we meet him in the air. We meet him in the clouds. And then we will forever be with the Lord. But the second coming of Jesus Christ is not just him coming in the clouds, but he actually descends and sets foot on the Mount of Olives. And it's at that time that the tribulation period will be complete. The seven years will be over. It will happen on the exact day after the seven years of tribulation.

And as he comes back and sets foot on the Mount of Olives, he's going to establish his kingdom here upon the earth for 1,000 years. The Millennial Kingdom, we call it. And so Isaiah, as he's looking forward to these things, he's been talking sometimes about the Millennium, sometimes about the Tribulation, sometimes about different periods of time in these last days. And as we look at Isaiah chapter 63 and 64, we're looking specifically at the Tribulation period.

At the time of this seven years of God pouring out his wrath, his judgment upon the earth. And you can read a great detail about what's going to happen in the book of Revelation, chapter 6, all the way through chapter 19. You have really that seven year period of great judgment that is going to be poured out.

So Isaiah is referencing, he's looking at, he's prophesying and speaking about this seven-year tribulation period, and he's looking at the remnant, the Jewish people that have survived, the Jewish people that are alive during this time, and some things that will be going on in their heart as the tribulation is going on around them. And so we pick it up here in chapter 63, starting in verse 1, it says, "...who is this who comes from Edom?"

And then the answer to the question, he says, I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.

Chapter 63 begins with a question, and it's the remnant, the few of those Jewish believers that have survived, those Jewish people that have survived and are enduring this tribulation period, are asking, who is this one who comes from Edom? The question is answered by the person saying, I who speak in righteousness and mighty to save.

Now, very simply, without getting any details or anything, we can clearly understand that this is Jesus Christ. They say, who is this that's coming with dyed garments from Basra? Now, Edom was a neighboring nation to the nation of Israel.

And it's where the nation of Jordan is today, right next to Israel, but it's a little bit south of Israel. And Basra was the capital of that. And so there's this one coming. His garments are dyed, but we'll see it's dyed with blood. It's dyed red. And he's coming in the greatness of his strength. And it's Jesus Christ. He says, I who speak in righteousness and am mighty to save. It's Jesus Christ who speaks righteousness and is mighty to save.

And so then they ask another question in verse 2 as we go on. They say, So now they ask, okay, who's this coming? He says, it's me. It's the Messiah, the one who has come and is mighty to save. And they say, okay, great. Now, why is your apparel red? What's the meaning of this red cloak that you're wearing? Why are your garments like one who treads the winepress?

Now, if you can picture in the olden days how they would make wine, they would put all of the grapes in a big vat and then they would go and they would tread on those grapes to squish them and bring out the juices to make wine.

I think everybody, if you've seen I Love Lucy, have a clear picture of that. You know, you see Lucy stomping around, right? And her garments are all drenched with the juice because it's squirting. And then, of course, they get a little bit crazy and start fighting and stuff. But that's the appearance of this one who's coming is like the appearance of one who's tread the winepress. There's this juice. There's this dripping. There's this red all over his garments. Right?

And so he answers in verse 3. This is Jesus Christ answering. He says,

Verse 5, I looked, but there was no one to help, and I wondered that there was no one to uphold. Therefore, my own arm brought salvation for me, and my own fury, it sustained me. I have trodden down the peoples in my anger, made them drunk in my fury, and brought down their strength to the earth. Here in this tribulation period, as I shared, it's going to be

The outpouring of God's wrath upon the earth for judgment as a result of sin. And you can see very clearly in the book of Revelation that it's a judgment for sin. And the people refuse, even in the midst of this great judgment taking place, even though the world is falling apart around them and it's clear to them,

that it's as a result of judgment, the people refuse. They say, no, we will not repent. We won't turn from our deeds. We're going to continue on in our ways. And so the judgment of God that is brought is something that is completely just.

As we look at judgment in the Bible, a lot of times it's very difficult for us, knowing that God is a God of love. How do we reconcile that with all of these passages, with Him saying, I have trodden the winepress alone. The winepress, it's the symbol of judgment. He's stomping His feet, He's going around and He's bringing this judgment upon, so much so that His cloaks are covered with the blood that is shed. He's

He says, I've trodden them in my anger and trampled them in my fury. He says in verse 4, the day of vengeance is in my heart. And so he's talking about this judgment that he alone has brought. And how do we reconcile that with God who is a God of love? But I want to share with you that when we have trouble understanding the judgment of God, it's because we are not understanding the greatness and severity of sin.

We have trouble understanding the judgment of God because we water down what sin is and we water down the seriousness of sin. We downplay it and try to make like it's no big thing in our own heads and our own hearts. And then we have trouble.

And so we'll see here in this passage as well as chapter 64, there's great reason for judgment and it's just and it's right and it's exactly what is necessary. And even in the midst of it, the people are able to say that God is merciful and loving and kind. God's justice, his judgment is perfect. It's just and it's due because of God.

The severity of sin and the rebellion in the hearts of man. And so Jesus says, I have trodden the winepress alone. It's something he does on his own because in John chapter 5 verse 22, Jesus announces there, the Father judges no one but has committed all judgment to the Son. God has committed all judgment to the Son. He alone provides atonement and he alone brings judgment.

Notice in verse 4, for the day of vengeance is in my heart and the year of my redeemed has come. The day of judgment, it's the appropriate time and it's a day as opposed to, in contrast to, the year of my redeemed.

Notice the contrast between a day and a year. God is waiting for the appropriate time. He's waiting for the perfect time for this judgment to be brought so that it can be done, so that it can come once and for all, take care and pour out His wrath upon the earth so that it is all taken care of in a day so that the year of the redeemed may come.

It's the perfect time so that then he can enter on into the millennial kingdom, establishing his kingdom. Then we can forever be with the Lord. There's great promises that go along with that. We should be thankful that it's not the other way around. The year of his judgment and the day of his redeemed. No, he judges, yes. He deals with sin, but justly and rightly and mercifully so that the year of the redeemed may come. Going on in verse 7.

We see now the remnant speaking again, and they say, I will mention the loving kindness of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord has bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he has bestowed on them according to his mercies, according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses. Verse 8, For he said, Surely they are my people, children who will not lie. So he became their Savior. Verse 9,

Verse 9,

They ask who this guy was. He says, it's me. I'm the Messiah. I'm the one mighty to save. They say, well, how come you're all red? He said, well, because I've been taking care of business and pouring out judgments and dealing with those who are in rebellion against me. And so then the remnant responds. The people's response is to talk about, he says, I will mention the loving kindness of the Lord.

And in verses 7 through 10 here, we see many of these type of words, the loving kindness, and they'll be declaring his praises, and they'll be talking about his great goodness and his mercies and his multitude of loving kindness. In verse 8, he's our savior, they go on to say. In verse 9, it was in his love and in his pity, he redeemed us and bore us and carried us.

And so the response of the people is the loving kindness to talk about and praise God for his loving kindness, his love, to speak of God's goodness. But the key really to understanding Isaiah 63 and 64 is there in verse 10. But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit.

See, here's the thing. God is all these things. He's loving kindness. He's got this great goodness and mercy and the multitudes of loving kindness. He's our Savior. He loves us. He has pity on us. He redeems us. He bears us and carries us. But the problem was, not that God was unable to save or not that God failed in some way, but they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit. And so in their rebellion and in their grieving of the Holy Spirit, He turned Himself away and fought against them as an enemy.

The judgment that is brought is in response to their rebellion, their refusal to hear God, to walk with Him, and to receive Him the way that He has asked to be received, receive Him for the truth of who He is.

Now there's also some other pretty cool nuggets in here as we look, because in verse 7, we're talking about, I will mention the loving kindness of the Lord, the praises of the Lord. We're talking about God the Father. Then in verse 9, he says, in all their affliction, he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them. A reference to the angel of the Lord that we see throughout the scriptures, which is Jesus Christ. And so we have the Father, we have the Son, and then in verse 10, they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit.

And so we see all three persons of the Godhead involved here in the redemption of God's people and ministering to his people and working with his nation of Israel. Also, another side note, another thing that you could spend some time meditating on is there in verse 9, in all their affliction, he was afflicted. Sometimes we feel like God doesn't really understand what I'm going through.

He really doesn't understand the difficulties. Doesn't he know how hard this is for me? Doesn't he know how difficult and how painful this is? And yet we see here in all their affliction, he, that is Jesus, was afflicted. He experienced and he endured affliction in the same way. He is afflicted when they are afflicted, when you and I are afflicted.

Remember when Jesus appeared to the Apostle Paul, although at that time he was Saul of Tarsus, and he was on the road to Damascus to go and beat up Christians and cause them to blaspheme the name of Christ. And Jesus appears to Saul and he says, why are you persecuting me?

Why are you persecuting me? Now Saul was persecuting the church. He's beating up the church and Jesus says, why are you persecuting me? Why? Because in all of their affliction, he was afflicted. He feels it. He knows exactly what we're going through. He hasn't abandoned you. He hasn't left you in the dust and has forgotten about you. No, he feels it. He knows exactly where you're at.

Remember when Jesus, he was telling a parable and sharing with them that phrase that we're probably familiar with, when you've done it to the least of these, my brethren, you've done it unto me.

When you visited them in jail, when you've clothed them, when you fed them when they were hungry and gave them drink when they were thirsty, when you do that to the least of these, my brethren, Jesus says, you've done it unto me. But the other side of that coin is, he says, when you haven't done that to the least of these, my brethren, when you haven't done that, visiting them, feeding them, taking care of them, clothing them, you've also not done that unto me. He's afflicted

With their affliction. He goes through it as well. He's afflicted and feels and knows the pain that we're going through. So it's comforting to know that God is with us. He hasn't forgotten about us. But as we are afflicted, as we're feeling these pains, these difficulties, He is afflicted as well. Verse 11 says,

Then he remembered the days of old, Moses and his people saying, Where is he who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? Where is he who put his Holy Spirit within them, who led them by the right hand of Moses, with his glorious arm dividing the water before them, to make for himself an everlasting name, who led them through the deep as a horse in the wilderness, that they might not stumble.

Here now, the remnants, the people that are going through this tribulation period, as they're considering these things, now they remember the days of old. And they're looking back at, specifically, the time when Moses led the people out of Egypt and through the Red Sea. And they're remembering this time where God led his people. They're remembering the Lord's leading time.

Where God used Moses to bring his people out. He says there in verse 11, he brought them out of the sea. And he put his Holy Spirit within them. In verse 12, who led them by the right hand of Moses. Verse 13, who led them through the deep as a horse in the wilderness that they might not stumble. He led them

across dry land. He led them and prepared the way for them so that the way would be not full of stumbling blocks and not full of things that would trip them up, but he prepared the way that they'd be able to go across on smooth land. As they're going through this time, they begin to remember the leading of the Lord.

And as we continue on this evening, I want to encourage you in this, that as we look at these things that are going to take place with the nation of Israel, we also see here for our own selves the path to repentance. We experience the chastening of the Lord. We experience the judgment of God, although not like what is going to be poured out upon the world during that tribulation period, but we do experience the chastening of God.

As we rebel against Him, as we turn from Him, we experience God dealing with our hearts. And there's a path here as we look at the nation of Israel and what is going to take place within them during that tribulation period, we can find some important elements for us. First of all, going again at verses 7 through 10, we can speak of God's goodness and His lovingkindness.

If you're in a place right now where you need to get back on the right path, if you need to be on the path of repentance, first things first, remember the goodness of God. Remember His loving kindness. It's His kindness that brings us to repentance, the scripture says. It's His kindness that turns our hearts, that draws us and attracts us to Him. And so first things first, we speak of the goodness of God.

Second, we can look at verses 11 through 14 and remember the leading of the Lord. Those days in your past, in your life, where you had those experiences where God has brought you out. Perhaps He delivered you from addictions or delivered you from these things. Or He did this work and He brought you down this right path. And you can remember, and it's important to remember, the work that God has done and what He has set you free from and what He is able to do in your life.

The fact that He is a personal God and He speaks to you and leads you, He doesn't just leave you to figure out life on your own with your own understanding. And so you can speak of the loving kindness of God. Remember His great mercy. Remember His leading in your life and His working in your life. And then in verses 15 and 16, we can begin to pray to the Lord. Verse 15 says...

Verse 16. Verse 16.

Here the people now begin to cry out to the Lord. And they ask God to look down from heaven and see. They say, see your habitation, holy and glorious. And they begin to ask the question, and maybe you've asked this question before. Where are you, Lord? Where's your zeal?

Where's your strength? Where's the yearning of your heart? Now, at this time during the tribulation, Jerusalem is under great distress. Because of this judgment, because of the Antichrist that's at work, there's this war that is taking place and Jerusalem is in great distress. And they're calling on God and saying, look, this is your habitation. This is the place where you've chosen to put your name. Where is your zeal? Where are you, Lord? Where are you?

Why are you allowing this to happen? What's going on? And so they tell him in verse 15 to look down from heaven. Essentially, they're saying it doesn't seem like you see, Lord. It doesn't seem like you're paying attention. God, it doesn't seem like you're looking at all, like you even know what's going on. It seems like you've kind of turned your head and you've got your back towards Jerusalem and you don't even know what's going on. And so they're crying out to God to look to his habitation.

In the same way, we ask the question, where are you, Lord? Because we feel like God's not there. We feel like God doesn't know. We feel like God's not paying attention. And we ask the question, where are you, Lord? They go on in verse 16 to say, we know you're our Father, but where are you? Where are you? They begin to seek the Lord. They begin to pray to God. And they don't have everything figured out yet. And that's something very important when it comes to the path of repentance.

The path of repentance is not something where when you have everything figured out, then you're ready. But it's something you start on right now. It's something you do right now. You begin to seek God, to pray to God, to look to Him, even if you don't understand. Even if it's to say, it doesn't seem like you're even paying attention, Lord. It doesn't seem like you even know where I'm at and what I'm going through. Lord, where are you? We know you're our Father, and yet...

Abraham is ignorant of us and Israel, the land of Israel doesn't acknowledge us. Lord, you're our father. You're our redeemer from everlasting. That's your name. But Lord, where are you? You ever feel that way? You know God's God, but it just seems like he's so distant in your life.

They continue that train of thought in verse 17, saying, O Lord, why have you made us stray from your ways and hardened our heart from your fear? Return for your servants' sake, the tribes of your inheritance. Your holy people have possessed it but a little while. Our adversaries have trodden down your sanctuary. We have become like those of old over whom you never ruled, those who were never called by your name.

And so here the remnant cries out to God. They continue to pray to God, saying, the place that you've given to us, we only had it for a little while. The enemy has trodden down the sanctuary, the temple there in Jerusalem. They say, we've become like those of old who you never ruled. We're becoming like as if you never worked in our lives. We've become like as if you never called us to be your people. And so they ask the question,

Why have you made us stray from your ways? Why have you made us stray from your ways? They're reasoning within themselves. It's God who made us stray. But they're confused. As they're asking, where are you, Lord? Again, going back to verse 10. Here's the key. But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit. God didn't make them stray. God's not the one who caused them to turn. They rebelled. They rebelled.

They said, why did you make us straight? And why did you harden our hearts? The hardening of the heart is something that's an important subject throughout Scripture. And we see it, I think, probably for the first time in the person of the Pharaoh, who hardened his heart and would not let God's people go. He hardened his heart over and over again. And then, as he keeps hardening his heart, then the Scripture changes a little bit and it begins to alternate. And then it says, the Lord hardened his heart.

And then Pharaoh hardened his heart. And then the Lord hardened his heart. And then Pharaoh hardened his heart. And the moral of the story, the point is that God strengthens your decision. He strengthens you in the choice that you make. He gives you the freedom of choice. And then He enables you to carry out that choice. And so they rebelled and grieved the Holy Spirit. They turned themselves against God. And so God said, okay. He honored their choice. He helped them in that choice.

If you choose to follow God, God will help you in that choice. If you choose to turn away from God and you say, God, I don't want you in my life, then He will say, okay. He'll speak to you. He won't let you go super easy and say, okay, we'll forget you then. He hounds us. He speaks to us, but He doesn't force Himself upon us. God did not cause them to stray. God did not harden their hearts, but He gave them the choice to do so. And it's what they chose to do.

They rebelled. They strayed. They hardened. And the result was that they became like those that God had never ruled. And this is something to watch out for in our lives. Because in the same way, you and I as Christians, when we rebel, when we grieve the Holy Spirit, when we turn from the things of God, we become like those whom God never ruled. We go back. It's often said, you know, there's no neutral. You're either drawing close to God or

or you're running away. You don't just kind of sit there in neutral. Well, I'm just kind of on break. My relationship with God stays the same. My spirituality stays the same. Now you begin to be like those whom God never ruled. The blindness begins to keep you from understanding the things of God. Those things that you once knew because of carnality are no longer understood.

Because the natural man cannot understand the things of the Spirit, Paul said. They're spiritually discerned. And so unless there's spiritual life and spiritual growth, those things will not be understood. And so the path to repentance, as we look, we begin first of all by speaking of God's goodness, by remembering His loving kindness, by knowing who He is, the goodness of Him, and recognizing, hey, it was me who rebelled. It wasn't God who failed.

We can look back and remember the Lord's leading and begin now to cry out to the Lord. To cry out to the Lord. To pray to Him. To seek Him. Even if we're confused. Even though we don't have it all figured out. Even if we don't even know at what point we strayed and what it was that caused all of this. We can begin to call out to the Lord to pray.

For Him to work. And they continue that prayer in chapter 64, starting in verse 1, it says, "...O that you would rend the heavens, that you would come down, that the mountains might shake at your presence, as fire burns brushwood, as fire causes water to boil, to make your name known to your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at your presence."

When you did awesome things for which we did not look, you came down. The mountains shook at your presence. Now as they continue on in prayer, they say to the Lord, Oh, that you would rend the heavens. Anybody know what the word rend means? It's okay, you can say audible. Torn. They're saying, Oh, that you would tear back the heavens. How many times have you heard people say that? Oh man, if only God would just, you know,

He pulled back the heavens so that we could see Him. That's what they're saying. Oh, that you would rend the heavens, that you would come down, that you'd break through the atmosphere. Oh, Lord, that you would penetrate my situation and come and make yourself real. And they look now, they're looking at it and are reminded of what took place at Mount Sinai.

There, as you remember, God is giving the Ten Commandments to Moses, and there's this great dark cloud that comes upon the mountain, and the mountain shakes, and God says, tell the people not to touch the mountain, and put a border around the mountain so that people don't touch it, and the people are fearful, and they say, oh, we can't look at this, we can't hear this, we don't want to have anything to do with this, because He's...

He's a fearful God. He's too big for us. Moses, you go. You find out what he says and come back and we'll listen to you. But we don't want to have these dealings with God because it's scary. But now the people are saying, oh, that you would do that. That you would do that again. That you would just come down and break through and make the mountains shake at your presence.

He says, as fire causes water to boil, the presence of fire next to water upon water causes it to boil. The presence of the Lord would cause the nations to tremble, would cause them to boil and shake. They said, oh, if only when you did awesome things, if only you would do that again. When the mountains shook at your presence, they began to pray for the presence of God. Oh, that we could have that experience again. Oh, if only we had...

paid attention then. If only we would allow you to work in us then. Lord, if only you would come down. In the book of Acts, the disciples were gathered together, being threatened by the Jewish leaders not to speak in the name of Jesus. And the disciples, the church, they gathered together, they prayed, Oh Lord, this is what they've said. Oh Lord, help us to be bold, to speak your word, to preach the gospel in the name of Jesus.

And it tells us that the Holy Spirit came upon them and the place where they met was shaken. God has in our lives those times that he's caused the mountains to tremble. Has God ever rocked your world? God had rocked their world and they're looking and they're going, Oh Lord, would you do that again? Would you do that? Would you come and rock our world? Would you come and just make your presence known? Would the building shake? Would our life be just shaken up?

They're crying out to God, Lord, would you rend the heavens? Would you come down? They're calling out for the presence of God. As we're talking about the path to repentance, this is so important. Because what we need is the presence of God. What we need is to be in his presence. And we're dealing with this on Sunday morning as we continue on in Hebrews chapter 10. Entering into the presence of God can transform our lives and change us.

Having a relationship, a real relationship with God. And so they're recognizing their lack. They're recognizing they need His presence. They're desiring for Him to come and turn things around. To shake things up. To do awesome things in their midst. Verse 4. For since the beginning of the world, men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has I seen any God besides you who acts for the one who waits for Him.

You meet Him who rejoices and does righteousness, who remembers you in your ways. You are indeed angry, for we have sinned. In these ways we continue and we need to be saved. Now as they continue on, they recognize their need for salvation. They recognize their need for salvation. So important for us. The path to repentance. To recognize our need. To recognize our failure. To recognize our weakness and frailty.

He starts out in verse 4 saying, there's no one like our God. He says, look, since the beginning of the world, man has not heard, nor perceived, nor seen, man has not had any experience with a God who acts for the one who waits for him. There's no one like our God. There's no other true and living God. There's no other God that will act on behalf of those who seek him, of those who wait upon him, of those who surrender to him.

This lesson has been learned many times throughout the scripture. The prophets of Baal learned this on Mount Carmel when the prophet Elijah challenged them. Whichever God answers by fire, that's the God we're going to serve. And the prophets of Baal called out all day and cried out all day and cut themselves and tried to get their God's attention and there was no response. Their God could not act for those who waited upon him. But the God of Elijah acted.

answered by fire. Remember in Daniel chapter 3, the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And there they refused to bow before God. Nebuchadnezzar says, I'm going to throw you in the furnace. They refused to bow. He heats it seven times hotter than normal. And they said, we're not going to bow, king. If you throw us in, God's able to save us. But even if he doesn't save us, we're not going to bow. We're going to be faithful to him.

Nebuchadnezzar throws him in. The fire is so hot, the people who throw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in are burned up. And then Nebuchadnezzar looks in the furnace and there those three guys are, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, walking around, cruising around. Fire's not hurting them, they're just chilling. Chilling in the furnace, can you imagine? And then he sees the fourth, the one, the son of God. And so he calls him out and he makes this proclamation.

In Daniel chapter 3 verse 29, he makes this proclamation that no one is to speak against their God. No one is ever to say anything against their God. He says there in verse 29 of Daniel 3, because there is no other God who can deliver like this. Nebuchadnezzar learned that lesson. There's no one like our God. There's no one, there's no other God who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. There's no one like our God.

Our God works on our behalf. But they recognize their problem. In verse 5, they continue on. You meet Him who rejoices and does righteousness, who remembers you in your ways. But He says, here's our problem. You were indeed angry, for we have sinned. And in these ways, we continue and need to be saved. Here's our problem. We've sinned. And we continue in our ways. He says, you meet, you remember. I'm sorry, you meet with those who remember you in your ways, Lord.

Those who remember the Lord's ways. Now, this is really the purpose of the law. This is the purpose for God's ways. His commands. His purpose is effective here. They look at His ways and they recognize we're not following that. The law is given in order for us to recognize the need of salvation. And they recognize you meet with those who follow your ways, but we have sinned.

And we continue on in our ways. We continue on in these ways. We continue on in our rebellion. And so as they're seeking God, they're seeking for God to do a work, they're recognizing there's no one like our God, but they also recognize their need for salvation because they continue on in rebellion against God. They continue on in their own ways and not following the ways of the Lord. Verse 6 says,

But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags. We all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. Verse 7. And there is no one who calls on your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of you, for you have hidden your face from us and have consumed us because of our iniquities. Verse 8.

They recognize their need for salvation in verses 4 and 5. And here in verse 6 and 7, they recognize their sin. As I shared before, if we do not understand the judgment of God, we do not understand the seriousness of sin. And here they begin to recognize. They say, we are an unclean thing. Here's the problem. We are unclean. We are in rebellion against God. Now,

they begin to recognize the extent of their uncleanness. Because then they say, all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags. All of our righteousnesses. That's the best that we can do. Our goodness. The best good works that we can do. Everything that we can do. All of the goodness that we have. All of the righteousness that is in us are compared here to filthy rags.

Filthy rags. Maybe you could understand it if instead of a wedding dress, the bride wore sewn together rags from the garage. That's the idea. The standard is righteousness, pure white. But all of our righteousness, it's the oily stained rags that are there in the garage. It doesn't compare. It's not right. It's not fitting. In fact, even worse than that, the word filthy rags here is

literally menstrual rags. And if you don't know what that is, you can ask someone after the service. This is the extent of our depravity, of our failure. They're recognizing their sin. They say our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. They've torn us apart. And the best that we can do is, it's a filthy rag. How can you offer to God this filthy rag and say, here's my good works?

The best that we can do doesn't even come close. I like what Charles Spurgeon has to say. He says, brethren, if our righteousnesses are so bad, what must our unrighteousnesses be? If the best that we can do is filthy rags, how much worse? How much worse is our unrighteousness, is our sin? Again, if we do not understand the judgment of God, it's because we do not understand the seriousness, the severity of sin.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.