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Isa 57:15-21 I Dwell… With Him… That Is of a Contrite and Humble Spirit

Isa 57:15  For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.  
Isa 57:16  For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made.  
Isa 57:17  For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart.  
Isa 57:18  I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.  
Isa 57:19  I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the LORD; and I will heal him.  
Isa 57:20  But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.  
Isa 57:21  There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked. 

Before we begin our study of today’s verses, let’s review the final two verses of last week’s study:

Isa 57:13  When thou criest, let thy companies deliver thee; but the wind shall carry them all away; vanity shall take them: but he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain; 
Isa 57:14  And shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of the way of my people. 

In those two verses, our old man’s infidelity and the curses of his adulterous ways are contrasted with the blessings that come upon our new man who “puts his trust in [the Lord]”. Our new man, as the bride of Christ, is faithful to her Husband and prepares His way before His coming. 

Our study today continues with this thought beginning with our Husband, Christ, revealing to us just how close to us He is:

Isa 57:15  For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. 

The Lord “inhabits eternity”. This word ‘eternity’ is the Hebrew word H5703, ‘ad’. It has the same meaning of the Hebrew word ‘olam’ and, as is the habit of the writers of the Old Testament to state the same thing twice, we find the phrase “olam and ad” translated into English as “for ever and ever”:

Exo 15:18  The LORD shall reign for ever [H5769: olam] and ever [H5703: ad]. 

Psa 9:5  Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever [H5769: olam] and ever [H5703: ad]. 

Psa 10:16  The LORD is King for ever [H5769: olam] and ever [H5703: ad]: the heathen are perished out of his land.

Psa 45:17  I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever [H5769: olam] and ever [H5703: ad].

What we are being told in Isaiah 57:15 is that the Lord is working all things, during these times of the ages, “after the counsel of His own will”. The Greek phrase for this statement is “chronos aionios”… times “aionios”. Here is how the Lord “inhabits eternity (Hebrew: ‘ad’ H5703):

Dan 4:17  This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.

2Ti 1:9  Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world  [G166: aionios] began, [G5550: chronos, ‘times’…Before chronos aionios]

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

The phrase ‘chronos aionios’ is repeated in:

Tit 1:2  In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world [G166:aionios] began, [G5550: chronos, ‘times’…Before chronos aionios];

Where does God dwell?

Now let’s examine closely this statement: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit.” These words are the foundation of this New Testament revelation:

Rom 8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

The ‘holy place’ is within the temple, and you and I are that “temple of God” where Christ and His Father “dwell”. This is not Paul’s doctrine; it is the doctrine of Christ which He made clear back here in Isaiah 57. Paul repeats this revelation in:

2Co 6:16  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 

And in:

2Ti 1:14  That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.

This verse, Isaiah 57:15, also reveals that the heavens are within us. If indeed “Ye are the temple of God”,and if indeed the Lord “dwell[s] in the high and holy place”, and since we are told in:

Psa 11:4  The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD’S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.

What other conclusion can we draw but that “the heavens… His holy temple, the Lord’s throne” is the spiritual realm where the Lord dwells within our hearts and minds and therefore the Lord “dwell[s] in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit”?

Now we can understand how Paul could say, boldly and with great authority:

Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 
Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

Heb 9:23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.  
Heb 9:24  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

Where exactly is “heaven itself”? Where do Christ and His Father dwell?

Joh 14:23  Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

 On the other hand, the Lord’s wrath could very easily destroy us:

Psa 2:12  Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

Isa 13:5  They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the LORD, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land. 

Isa 13:9  Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.

This “evil spirit from the Lord”, which had paralyzed the whole world, has “come… from a far country, from the end of heaven” and has terrorized all men inwardly, but He has predestined that only His elect will understand that they are being judged through His wrath in this age:

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 
1Pe 4:18  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? 
1Pe 4:19  Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

If we “commit the keeping of our soul to [God] in well doing”, then we have been given the faith to believe these words:

Isa 57:16  For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made. 

If the Lord’s wrath was not limited, “no flesh would be saved alive. But for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened [in] this present time.” Look at and consider what we are twice told:

Mat 24:21  For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 
Mat 24:22  And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.

Mar 13:19  For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be. 
Mar 13:20  And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.

Revelation 9 reveals that the torment of that day will make us wish we were dead:

Rev 9:3  And there came out of the smoke [of the “bottomless pit”] locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 
Rev 9:4  And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. 
Rev 9:5  And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. 
Rev 9:6  And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. 

The words “tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” here in Matthew and Mark, are referring to the same trials mentioned in Revelation 14:6-12 and all the seven last plagues filling up the Lord’s wrath, alluded to in Revelation 15 and then enumerated in the entire 16th chapter of Revelation:

Rev 14:6  And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
Rev 14:7  Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
Rev 14:8  And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. 
Rev 14:9  And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 
Rev 14:10  The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 
Rev 14:11  And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. 
Rev 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Rev 15:1  And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.

These words in Matthew 24 and in here in Revelation 14 refer to “the saints… that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” in every generation. They applied to the generation in which Christ was in an “earthen vessel” 2,000 years ago, as well as “this generation”:

Mat 24:33  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 
Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

Babylon tells us that the statement in 1Thessalonians 5:9 which tells us… “we are not appointed unto wrath, but unto salvation”  means that we will never ever experience the Lord’s wrath: 

1Th 5:9  For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

Nothing is further from the Truth. This statement does not in any way contradict this fact:

Rev 15:7  And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. 
Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

Here is the Lord’s ominous warning to all who think they can somehow avoid “keeping the sayings of the prophecy of [Rev 16]” (Rev 1:3):

Jer 25:15  For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it. 
Jer 25:16  And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them. 
Jer 25:17  Then took I the cup at the LORD’S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me: 
Jer 25:18  To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day; 
Jer 25:19  Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people; 
Jer 25:20  And all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod,
Jer 25:21  Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon,
Jer 25:22  And all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea, 
Jer 25:23  Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that are in the utmost corners, 
Jer 25:24  And all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert, 
Jer 25:25  And all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes,
Jer 25:26  And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them. 
Jer 25:27  Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you. 
Jer 25:28  And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink. 
Jer 25:29  For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.

“No man is able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels are fulfilled”, and yet we are told:

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

“The scriptures cannot be broken”, and the Word of God does not contradict itself when it is properly understood.

Joh 10:35  If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;

Therefore, the meaning of “not appointed to wrath”, in light of the fact that “no man can enter the temple till the seven plagues… which fill up the wrath of God… is fulfilled”, is that Christ delivers us out of His wrath… not that we never experience the seven plagues of the seven angels. In like manner when we read:

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Not receiving the mark of the beast does not mean we have never received his mark, number, and name, and ‘not being appointed to wrath’ does not mean we never experienced His wrath.

This is the truth about the mark, number and name of the beast as it relates to all mankind:

Rev 13:16  And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

There is no one who has ever lived who does not fit into at least one of those six categories. Everyone is either small or great, rich or poor, free or bond, and He causes all… to receive His mark.

The fact is that the number of the beast “is the number of mankind”, and it is only those who overcome his mark, number and name who stand with Christ on the sea of glass mingled with fire:

1Jn 2:13  I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. 
1Jn 2:14  I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.

Rev 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has a mind calculate the number of the wild beast, for it is the number of mankind [Greek: ‘anthropos’], and its number is six hundred sixty-six. (CLV)

All the promises to all the churches of Revelation 2-3 are offered only to “he that overcomes…”:

Rev 2:7  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. 

Rev 2:11  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. 

Rev 2:17  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. 

Rev 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: 

Rev 3:5  He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. 

Rev 3:12  Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. 

This promise is repeated in the 21st chapter:

Rev  21:7  He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 

Revelation 15 tells us what Isaiah is telling us. The Lord’s wrath does not last forever, and those who experience His wrath, in “this present time” (Rom 8:18), stand on a “sea of glass, mingled with fire”:

Rev 15:2  And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.

It is “a sea of glass” because “the sand of the sea”, from which we all “rise up”, has been “mingled with fire” and has now been purified by fire and is become “glass”.

Rev 13:1  And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

Now we will no longer be tossed about by every wind of doctrine, because through the fire of His Word we are settled and stablished in Christ and His doctrine:

Col 1:23  If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;

Col 2:7  Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

Some few are given by the purging, fiery Word of God to “overcome the wicked one” in this life. Some few are given by the power of Christ within them to “fulfill the seven plagues of the seven angels” in this life. When that is accomplished, Christ and His fiery Word remains right here with us to keep purging us to cause us to bear even more fruit. 

Joh 15:1  I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 
Joh 15:2  Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 
Joh 15:3  Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 
Joh 15:4  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

However, there is no more “hurt” from the fire of the Lord’s Words because we have come to be at one with Christ and His doctrines. 

Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego typify us when we “are crucified with Christ, [and] yet live” (Gal 2:20).

Dan 3:25  He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

If Christ is living His life within us, then like Him, we now say “Not my will but thine be done” (Mat 26:39). None of this changes the fact that we are all born as this ‘beast’. There are no exceptions, other than Christ who even Himself was “made sin” (2Co 5:21)

Psa 51:5  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Ecc 3:18  I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.

It is only those who “get the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark and over the number of his name, in this life, who stand on the sea of glass…” of Revelation 15:1-2:

Rev 15:1  And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. 
Rev 15:2  And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.

What we are being told, both here in Isaiah and in the book of the Revelation, is that the Lord first pours out the seven bowls which “fill up His wrath” upon His elect, who, through this “great tribulation”, are being prepared to administer the same earthquakes, fiery trials and much tribulation upon all the rest of mankind at the great white throne judgment. The “great white throne… judgment” is just that; it is ‘judgment’, and this is the fruit of all the Lord’s chastening grace upon all of His children:

Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. 
Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

All the Lord’s judgments make “the inhabitants of the world [to] learn righteousness”. That is true for the “judgment [which is now on] the house of God”, and it is true of the “great white throne judgment”. The doctrine of eternal torment denies this Truth:

1Co 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

The “condemned with the world” are to be condemned to the great white throne judgment, which is simply being condemned to a later chastening judgment. God’s judgments always chasten us for the purpose of bringing us to Himself. His judgments are never simply for the purpose of torment with no end and no purpose in sight. ‘Chastening’ is the very function of grace. Both ‘grace’ and the judgments of God are designed to cause us to forsake ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live godly lives in this present age/aion, this present time, “in this present world”:

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 
Tit 2:12  Teaching [G3811, paideuo, chastening], us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

There are no exceptions to the Lord’s chastening grace. He will lose no man, and death will not claim one soul:

1Co 15:54  So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 
1Co 15:55  O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

Even the flesh of our Lord “who knew no sin” is judged and found unfit for the kingdom of God:

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Yes, this principle applies even to the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ. For that reason, we are told:

2Co 5:16  Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more [“after the flesh”]. 
2Co 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

“He made Him to be sin, who knew no sin” so He could die for our sins, and so we could be judged with Him in “this present time… this present age… this present world… die with Christ… for His body’s sake, which is the church”:

Rom 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 
Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

2Co 5:21  For the man who knew no sin was made sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. (ACV)

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Christ did all of this for us while we were yet in our sins:

Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

That is the message of our next verse:

Isa 57:17  For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart. 

“His covetousness” is speaking of our covetousness, “and he went on forwardly in the way of his heart” is also speaking of us continuing in our own sins, returning to our own vomit and to our own wallow in the mire. It is a repetition of the words of last week’s study in this same chapter condemning our self–willed adulterous ways:

Isa 57:9  And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell. 
Isa 57:10  Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; yet saidst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the life of thine hand; therefore thou wast not grieved.

We all ‘lose our first love… we suffer that woman Jezebel to teach us… we tolerate the Nicolaitans who lord it over us as the Lord’s flock, and we think we are rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing, while the truth is that we are spiritually wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked’ (Rev 2-3).

Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 
Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. 
Rev 3:19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

It is because the Lord does love us that He is putting us through all our trials in this age… in this present time… this age/aion, and not in the great white throne judgment, lake of fire… second death.  All of our sins provide the Lord with the occasion He is seeking to pour out His wrath upon the kingdom of our old man, “the throne of the beast”, which He must pour out upon the kingdom of our old man, “the beast” within us, before we can enter into His temple. Let’s notice closely how we are dragged of the Lord to our “wits’ end” before the Lord brings us “into His rest” and into “[our] desired haven” into Christ:

Psa 107:25  For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. 
Psa 107:26  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. 
Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end. 
Psa 107:28  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. 
Psa 107:29  He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. 
Psa 107:30  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. 
Psa 107:31  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! 
Psa 107:32  Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

It is given to very few indeed to be able to receive and live out the Lord’s judgments upon the kingdom of our old man in “this present time”, and this is what is promised to those chosen few:

Isa 57:18  I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.

The Lord’s way throughout scripture is to use the few to deliver the many, as He used Noah, as He used Abraham to save Lot and all of Sodom, as He used Moses and Aaron to deliver Israel from Egypt, as He used Gideon’s 300 men to deliver Israel from Midian, and as He is using Christ and His Christ to drag all men to Himself. 

Another Biblical principle is that the Lord rejects the first old man, and He always accepts the later new man. This principle is demonstrated with the first man Adam, who is being replaced by “the last Adam”. Cain is replaced by Abel and then Seth, who typify Christ and His Christ. Leah is first, but Rachel is beloved, Ishmael is first, but Isaac is preferred. Jacob supplants Esau, and David supplants King Saul. It all points to the replacing of the first man, Adam, with “the Last Adam”, Christ. It all serves to establish this principle: 

Mat 20:16  So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

Mat 22:14  For many are called, but few are chosen.

Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time [the great tribulation… the fiery trials, and the seven last plagues] are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 
Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature [the many] waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God [the “few… chosen”, Greek: elecktos… the few elect].

From Genesis to Revelation, ‘the seed of the woman’ is preferred and protected over ‘the seed of the serpent’. Throughout the scriptures it is the seed of the serpent who bruises the heel of the seed of the woman. Cain kills Abel, who is replaced by Seth. Pharaoh kills the man–child of Israel, King Saul seeks to kill David, and Christ is killed by His own people, and He is now in His Christ, His church, which is filling up what is lacking of His afflictions:

(Col 1:24)  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

It is through “the afflictions of the Christ” that the ‘manifest… sons of God’ are birthed. It is out of the darkness of this world they are called. It is out of their own sins they are all delivered, and their sins are the sins of the whole world. 

So, we are told of the Lord’s elect:

Isa 57:18  I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners. 

“[Our] ways” certainly need to be “healed” because:

Isa 53:6  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Why is the Lord so merciful? It certainly is true that “God is love…”:

Zep 3:17  The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.

1Jn 4:8  He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

1Jn 4:16  And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

There is much more to our salvation than simply being loved of God. There can be no love where there is no justice, and God is also a just God:

Deu 32:4  He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

Isa 45:21  Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.

There is no justice in creating corrupt creatures of flesh and blood and failing to provide means by which such banished creatures “be not expelled from Him”.

2Sa 14:14  For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

It was the Lord Himself who created “the first man Adam” as a “marred… vessel of clay”.

Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

Every verb in that verse is in the Qal stem. What that means is that it is stated without regard to any tense. In other words, it is all a process which is presently taking place, and will continue taking place until the aions have performed their service of bringing the whole creation into perfection with God being made “all in all”:

1Co 15:28  And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

It is the Lord Himself who has “created evil”, and He wants us to know that His sovereignty extends over both the good and the evil:

Isa 45:6  That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else. 
Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

That is the message of our next verse:

Isa 57:19  I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the LORD; and I will heal him. 

“I create the fruit of the lips…” is the same as:

  Pro 16:1  The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.

Since  “the preparations of [our] hearts… is from the Lord”, it follows that of course “[He also] knows our thoughts”:

Psa 139:23  Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:

Isa 66:18  For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory. 

Mat 12:25  And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:

The Lord declares, “Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near” because the “marred… vessel of clay” was deliberately “marred in the hand of The Potter” for the very purpose of destroying that marred vessel and making it again; a new spiritual vessel having neither spot nor wrinkle:

Eph 5:27  That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

Isa 57:20  But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. 
Isa 57:21  There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.

“The wicked” are the “marred… vessel of clay… [our] old… first man Adam… made to be taken and destroyed”:

2Pe 2:12  But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;

Then the principle of 1Co 15:46 replaces our corruptible old man, our “marred… vessel of clay”, with a new spotless spiritual vessel so the Lord can declare… “Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the LORD; and I will heal him”. 

1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

That is our study for today. We will begin chapter 58 in our next study where we will learn what is a true fast, the fast which the Lord has ordained.

Isa 58:1  Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. 
Isa 58:2  Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God. 
Isa 58:3  Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. 
Isa 58:4  Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. 
Isa 58:5  Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD? 
Isa 58:6  Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? 
Isa 58:7  Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?