Isaiah 25, verse 10. “For in this mountain shall the hand of the Lord rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill.”
We have brought before us in the chapter the Lord granting victory to His Church. It is evident from the experience of such as are the Lord’s that such a time is a time of strengthening to the Church of God, and such a time is a time for glorying in her Lord as the One who has given her the victory. If the Lord is going to give us in any little measure to see and to hope for a victory over our enemies, in the very giving of that victory there is a humbling of those who receive it, before the Lord. And that is true here. The Church could say of this victory, “Thou” (speaking of her Lord and her God) “hast done wonderful things” — wonderful to her that the Lord was giving her the victory, and wonderful it will be to all those who will be given the victory, that the Lord has done that for them. We find there is a strengthening of all the graces at such a time as this. There is great encouragement given of the Lord when she could draw nigh to Him in holy boldness and say, “O Lord, Thou art my God, I will exalt Thee; I will praise Thy name.” The Church, although she would desire to make this confession at all times, and although it is the confession of the true Church of God in the desire of her heart, may be often afraid to make such a confession. Now although it is such a very high profession, will anything short of this suffice? Surely the living God must be our God if we are to escape from our enemies. He must be our God and the Church is not built on anything lower than this. All the other hopes have been taken away. She found out that all the hope she had during the days of her ignorance was the hope built upon the sand and the Lord in His mercy revealed to her that the house built upon the sand could not stand. But God revealed to her Christ as the Crucified One — The Crucified Saviour — as the only foundation, and He made known that the gates of hell should not prevail against that.
1. In considering the passage before us then, we would desire to notice in the FIRST place the way that He speaks concerning His own Church — “This mountain”.
We find in the chapter the Church referred to a few times in this way. He speaks of her as the mountain where the feast is made of fat things full of marrow, and of the mountain where the Lord is at work in taking away the covering cast over the face of all people.
2. And SECONDLY the nearness of her Lord.
We believe there is nearness in the natural ties of life. There was great nearness we believe between Abraham and Sarah his beloved wife, but however near they were to one another they were not as near as the Lord is to His own people. However strong natural ties may be they are ties that are to be broken — they are not to continue — but here is nearness for evermore. Nothing will ever separate the love of God from His people, and that is a wonder to them here when they get a glimpse of it, but how much more wonderful will it be in heaven when they remember what they did against the Lord and that the Lord did not forsake them — did not leave them in the wilderness journey. And the THIRD matter is the Lord’s promise to them concerning victory, “Moab shall be trodden down under him even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill.” “And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim. And he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands.”
1. In regard to the first matter — the Church being brought before us as a mountain — that appears to us to bring before us the Church in the greatness that belongs to her.
The Lord has raised her up as the highest part of His creation here in this world. But is it not true concerning mountains that they had a beginning in the creation of God? They did not exist always, and how true this is concerning the Church of God. She had a beginning. You can never separate that beginning from God himself as the Creator. Although He created this world there is another creation that is to be more lasting than the creation of this world. In the third chapter of the book of Revelation in connection with the letter to the Church of the Laodiceans He is called “The beginning of the creation of God”. He has created for Himself a people who were to show forth His praise here on earth and to show forth His praise throughout the endless ages of eternity. Is it not also true concerning the Church of God that she is raised up by Him above all else in this world as a witness? “Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God”, and we find the Saviour speaking to His own, saying, “a city built upon a hill cannot be hid”. They were to show forth their light among men in this world; they were to show forth the name of the Lord, to make known His praise among their fellow creatures. They themselves are the glory of the Lord in this world. And “upon all the glory shall be a defence”. (Is. 4, 5). Is it not also true concerning mountains that more can be seen from their top than from lower ground? Thus many are keen on climbing mountains to obtain a view — a view they would not get standing on lower ground. And when the Lord has raised up His own Church He gives to her to see these things that the world never see — heaven and hell — time and eternity — death and life — according to the revelation of God’s Holy Word. Is it not also true that there is something very majestic about a mountain and is not this true concerning the Church of God? You have only to read Psalm 48 and also Psalm 46 to see this. All this glory and excellency that belongs to her she has received from the God who created her and made her what she is. Mountains continue, as a rule, without any change. There is no change as far as the true Church of God is concerned. There are many changes as to her numbers at times but no change as far as her doctrine is concerned and as far as her faith is concerned; the faith Abel had is the faith that the Church of God has today — the faith that Noah had, the faith that Enoch had and so on. And that is true concerning the other graces of the Holy Spirit as well. Her God changes not but is to continue without any change down to the end of time as He has promised — even while sun and moon endure. And when they (that is the people of God) are not there we know what is going to happen. The creation of God will not be here. God will burn up all His creation, the work of His hands. It is for the sake of the Church that He has kept this world in being and He will keep it in being until He will gather the last of His jewels home to glory. Then there will be no further need of this world. The Lord will have fulfilled His purpose of gathering His Church from beneath to the mansions above.
2. The second matter is the Lord’s nearness to His people.
That is brought before us in this way, “The hand of the Lord shall rest” in this mountain. The hand of the Lord may be taken to mean the Lord Himself. You cannot separate the hand of the Lord from Himself. “God in the midst of her doth dwell.” It is He who is going to work and He is going to make use of her. There can be no hindrance as far as the work of the Lord is concerned. “I will work and who shall let it?” Who will hinder the Lord in His work? Is not that cause for thankfulness not only for the work He is to perform within her but the work He is to perform outside connected with her to the glory of His great name. For the Lord is going to bless to the Church His dealings in providence as well as in grace. He is bringing before us how impossible it is to separate God from His people in connection with the work He has purposed to do. No doubt the aim of Satan is to separate God and His people from each other as he will try to separate the Lord’s people from each other. Satan is the accuser of the brethren and we find that time over and over again in the Word of God — take, for example, Job. But God in the midst of His Church doth dwell and nothing shall her remove. If He were going to leave her what an easy prey she would be to the enemy, but He has come to dwell here and to rest here, which means that God is satisfied with His Church and the Church is satisfied with God. God is not looking for another Church and she is not looking for another Saviour. Those who have found the living God as their God surely this is given to them, “This is our God and He is our God for ever and ever, the One that will guide us even unto death.” The hand of the Lord is here with them and resting here to guide them. The Lord knows the need His people have of guidance and that there is in them that which is ever ready to go astray and unless He will keep them they cannot keep themselves. They have not the wisdom and knowledge necessary in connection with their own guidance. Although we should be thankful to the Lord for His people and His Church you are not going to leave your guidance in the hands of any creature but you need the Lord Himself. However great Moses was and however great Aaron was, the Lord did not leave the children of Israel with Moses or with Aaron to bring them out of the land of Goshen through the wilderness to the promised land. He was guiding them by the hand of Moses and by the hand of Aaron, but it was the Lord who was guiding and He was there manifesting His gracious countenance in the pillar of cloud and in the pillar of fire. God, in this way, was giving them a revelation concerning His own mind as to when they were to go forward and when they were to rest. God has given us His own Word and that is what we have to look to. He has as a special interest in His people connected with His own glory. You find Moses when He was interceding on behalf of the children of Israel using this plea with God — asking God what He was going to do with His own glory if the people were to be destroyed. What would the enemy have to say concerning that matter and concerning their God? There is no doubt that the enmity of the heart is against God more than against any creature. The enmity of hell is more against God than against you. Now have we not much in the Word of God making known to us His guidance? There is there what is far beyond man to understand until the light from heaven be given to know these things. You have Asaph in Psalm 77 speaking of the great trial he himself went through but he is brought to this at last even that he could not understand the ways of the Lord in guiding him. “Thy way is in the sea, and in the waters great Thy path; yet are Thy footsteps hid O Lord, none knowledge thereof hath.” (v. 19). It required the light from heaven shining upon the work of the Lord that it might be known. It would be good to take notice of many things that are revealed in the Word of God. Take the case of Joseph himself and you have the Lord revealing to Joseph what He was going to do for him. Joseph was not asking great things for himself. It was the Lord in His sovereignty making this known to Joseph and when He is doing that He gives a humble spirit to such as know His secret. “The secret of the Lord is with such as do fear His name; and He His Holy covenant will manifest to them.” (Ps. 25, 14). The Lord made known to Joseph that He was going to raise him up above all his father’s house. We are inclined to think that when the Lord makes anything known to us it is just at our door. It is going to be fulfilled almost at once, so we think. But that is not the wisdom of God. He could have raised Joseph up there and then as the ruler over his father’s house but that was not according to His purpose and Joseph was to be sorely tried in connection with this matter and the trial is the trial of faith. The Word of the Lord tried Joseph. That was the greatest trial in the life of Joseph. This was true too in the case of Jacob the father of Joseph. He treasured up in his own soul what Joseph had said. Now if Jacob had a hope that Joseph was alive, whatever difficulties or mountains would appear, the trial would not be so great. But when his sons came home with Joseph’s coat and Jacob concluded that Joseph was indeed dead, how great was the trial of his faith in connection with what he had stored up in his mind and in his heart. The Lord is working in this way as pleases Himself and as is good for His people. That is difficult to see when to our way of thinking the Word of God and His providential dealings are going right against each other. But that is the wisdom of God, that all our earthly wisdom may be taken away and that we might be emptied of ourselves, and that we might see that there is in Christ Jesus Himself the fulness that we stand in need of. “Who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption.” The hand of the Lord is resting for protection — to protect the worm Jacob who would be consumed in a moment although there would be no power at work but the power of the carnal mind within himself. But God is here to protect from what is within as well as from what is without. He has a special interest in His Church and He is not going to give her over to her enemies’ desire. “Witnesses that lie rise up against her and there are many that say ‘Where is your God now?'” Has God an interest in you? You thought that He had, but you are deceived. God will make known His wisdom by protecting her from all her enemies that rise up against her. Where would the protection be at the Red Sea with Pharaoh and all the power of Egypt coming on behind — the mountains on one side and the Red Sea on the other side — where was the protection of the Church of God unless God had been there in the midst of her, unless the hand of the Lord had been there to give protection? Pharaoh knew the wilderness better than they did but he did not know their God and that is where the mistake was on the part of Pharaoh. He was looking upon them in the light of nature and he knew by nature that no people would dare come to this part of the Red Sea unless they were lost in the wilderness. This is what he says — “I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoils; my lust shall be satisfied upon them, I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.” (Exodus 15: 9). But when I think of these things I think of the words “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision.” (Psalm 2: 4). The Lord knew what He was doing and that He was to be glorified in giving protection to His Church. He is getting that glory from her; from this very Church here at this present time — the glory that it is the Lord that protects her from the power of the destroyer. But where is the power of the oppressor when God makes His power known? Christ is engaged to destroy the power of His and her enemies. He has engaged Himself to His own Father and to the Church that He will present her before the throne on high. Many a time some of us were thinking solely of the Lord bringing His people out of darkness to light — out of the spiritual bondage they were in to the liberty of the gospel, but we have come to see that Christ’s engagement is not only His bringing them out of that but in presenting them without fault before the throne on high — bringing them back to the Father. He received them from the Father in their lostness; they were to perish for ever and ever as the Father gave them to the Son but He has bought them by His own precious blood, He has set them free by His precious blood, He has cleansed them by His precious blood and He will present them at last to the glory of the One who gave them to Him. The hand of the Lord is in the midst of His people to feed them. How readily children are spoiled. A child may receive a piece of bread and instead of eating it he asks for another. God is not going to give us a piece of bread that we are going to throw away. “He to the hungry giveth food; God sets the prisoners free.” He gives according to their need. He gives in the right season. He gives them what will uphold them; that which will enable them to persevere and that which will strengthen them. We would take all the manna as sure as the children of Israel took of it and store it up for the morrow. But it was not there for the morrow, except on the day of preparation. How ready we are to take all the good things of God that we may have them for the morrow, but that is not going to be allowed, and you have found out by experience that God has given this petition in His prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread.” His people are to live by faith upon the Lord from day to day and there is enough in His storehouse. The hand of the Lord is not an empty hand but a hand that is always full and He will give that which will uphold them. They will have to say that He is the Wonderful One. How often when they thought that the hand of God was turned against them and that they would receive nothing more, God opened His hand liberally; — sometimes dreading the morrow and the morrow was the very opposite of what they thought it was going to be. God is the all-wise God.
3. The promise of victory that the Lord was giving them.
Moab here represents the enemies of the Church and the Lord is promising to His Church that He is going to get the victory over all her enemies. That is the future of the Church. She is receiving an earnest from Him of that now and again in the wilderness journey lest she should be weary and faint in her mind. But the day of final victory is going to come when the Lord will deliver them and their enemies will be trodden under their feet. “He shall spread forth his hands as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim.” The one who is swimming does not with one stroke come to the end of the distance he is covering — it is stroke after stroke. Still the victory is there. The Lord is calling upon His people to be patient with regard to the victory, assuring them that the victory is sure and that He is in the midst to give the victory. The Lord has a wise purpose in the delay of it. The just shall live by faith. They are going to have a sure victory because it is the Lord who is here and it is He who is going to give them the victory and none else but the Lord. Pride is one thing that they will get the victory over. We have not a greater enemy than pride. The angels were cast down from glory because of pride. They would have everything in their own hands! They would rule over God! And is it not true of the fall of man himself in the garden of Eden?; he swallowed the poison of Satan; he came to be of the same mind as Satan with regard to this, even to be a god himself, to be above God. The mystery of the fall of man is not so great as the mystery of the fall of angels. In the fall of man you can see the work of the enemy, the temptation and all that, but in the fall of angels you cannot see anything of any outside force brought to bear on them. The fall is this that man rose up in his own opinion above God and would have God under foot. Is there not in us this hellish pride? Is your heart and my heart today altogether free from that? But we believe that the Lord is working in the souls of His own people and making this a grievous matter to them that they would take the place to themselves that does not belong to them, and not give to God the place that belongs to God. There is no such thing in heaven, but hell is full of pride and therefore hell is full of misery. In heaven, we say, there is no such thing as pride and that is because the Lord delivers every one of His children from it and the day they are delivered from pride they are not far from heaven. Although this deliverance began in the day of regeneration, it is not altogether overcome, and God has a very wise purpose for that. I have been thinking much of the trouble that pride brings. You can trace much of the trouble, whether in Church or in State, as arising out of this one thing — pride! Pride is at the root of much trouble in this world. But the Lord is going to deliver His people, and His people alone are going to get deliverance from this monster that is in their hearts and that will be to the glory of His great name. May He bless His Word.