Isa 22:9-14 The Lord...Did...Call To Weeping...and Behold Gladness...Let Us Eat and Drink; For Tomorrow We Shall Die

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Isa 22:9-14 The Lord... Did... Call To Weeping... And Behold Gladness... Let Us Eat And Drink; For Tomorrow We Shall Die.

Isa 22:9  Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool.
Isa 22:10  And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall.
Isa 22:11  Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago.
Isa 22:12  And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:
Isa 22:13  And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die.
Isa 22:14  And it was revealed in mine ears by the LORD of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

Remember that the Lord's punishments are always given to us freely out of His love for us.

Heb 12:5  And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth [Greek, paideuo], and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Heb 12:7  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

You and I are blessed to know that the channel for God's chastening and scourging is His grace:

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

Like any loving father, the Lord does not charge us for the discipline and chastening when He takes the time to administer His chastening grace:

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.
Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the [free] gift of God:

This principle had been in the Lord's heart from the very beginning of His work with mankind. Notice why and how Adam was punished for eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil:

Gen 3:17  And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Gen 3:18  Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
Gen 3:19  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

If we are "taken... out of... the ground", then we are the "earth, earth, earth" of:

Jer 22:29  O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

Eve symbolizes the church, and Adam was, in effect, more interested in church doctrine than the Word of God. For Adam's sake the Lord cursed the ground.  "Whom the Lord loves He chastens and scourges..."

What this tells us is that we are the ground which is "cursed for [our] sake". The 'bread' which we eat is the fruit of the thorns and thistles, which we produce by the sweat of our face, symbolizes the fruit of the false doctrines, which are the idols of our own hearts (Eze 14:1-9). It is by these lies and false doctrines that we are spiritually fed, all the while living in rebellion against our Lord. "The sweat of [our] face" symbolizes our own efforts. We think we are responsible for both our own sins and our own righteousness. However, the Truth is that "all things are of God", whether they are good or evil:

Pro 16:4  The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

2Co 4:15  For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

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:

Therefore, the "ground" of which we are composed is cursed "for [our] sake" because "the Lord... chastens... every son He receives."  We are being shown in this burden against Jerusalem, how Jerusalem, the Old Testament type of us as we live out our part as the great harlot of Revelation 17-18, having witnessed the wrath of the Lord on her neighbors, inexplicably continues on in her unfaithful harlotry against her own marriage covenant with Her husband, our Lord.

Isa 1:8  And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.
Isa 1:9  Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
Isa 1:10  Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.

Isa 1:21  How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

I say "inexplicably" because that is the way it seems to us at that time. While the faithful city has become an harlot, we are being fed with the thorns and thistles produced by the sweat of our face. Thorns and thistles are not the fruit of the true Words of Christ. "Thorns and thistles" certainly include the false doctrine of "free moral agency".

Isa 42:22  But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore.
Isa 42:23  Who among you will give ear to this? who will hearken and hear for the time to come?
Isa 42:24  Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not the LORD, he against whom we have sinned? for they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his law.
Isa 42:25  Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.

Look at those words: "[The Lord] poured out upon him the fury of His anger and the strength of battle: and it has set him on fire round about, yet he knew it not; and it burned him yet he laid it not to heart." Which of us has not done just that? We knew we were doing wrong, just as Eve knew she was disobeying the Lord's commandment, and she did it anyway because she was tempted by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life (1Jo 2:16).

We have seen that all these words are words which each of us must "live by", and we must acknowledge these words as an excellent description of what we as this harlot do against our husband, Christ. This 'harlot' is our own rebellious old man whom we all eventually come to see in his full blossom, just before his utter destruction at the merciful, but painful, coming of Christ into our lives:

2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
2Th 2:5  Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
2Th 2:6  And now ye know what withholdeth [Greek: restrains] that he might be revealed in his time.
2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let [Greek: restrains], until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
2Th 2:9  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
2Th 2:10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they [we] received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2Th 2:11  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
2Th 2:12  That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Today we will continue to see this revelation of the love of our loving heavenly Father as He punishes and destroys the kingdom of our old man, and the essential part this "scourging" plays in bringing us to know the mind of Christ.  What we are learning is that it is the destruction of the kingdom of our old man within us which is expedient to bring forth the birth of our new man who, Lord willing, we are becoming "day by day".

2Co 4:16  For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

Eph 4:22  That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
Eph 4:23  And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
Eph 4:24  And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

This is what is required to "put off... the old man", and in so doing brings forth and "put[s] on the new man" within us:

Isa 22:9  Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool.
Isa 22:10  And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall.

Oh yes, we have seen the breaches of the city of David, and our city has been breached many times by our own wickedness which we, as any harlot, have caused to be breached. Yet we refuse to acknowledge our unfaithful, rebellious and adulterous ways:

Pro 30:20  Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.

But the fact still remains that we will reap what we sow:

Gal 6:7  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Gal 6:8  For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

Jeremiah says the same thing in another way:

Jer 2:19  Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

The doctrine of the great whore is "the doctrine of that woman Jezebel". Her doctrine is "things sacrificed to idols", which seduces us and convinces us to disobey our Lord and break our marriage covenant.

Rev 2:20  Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.

Our fornication against our Lord brings His chastening upon us in many and various ways, but as we have seen we don't even realize or acknowledge it, and we carry on in our own strength in our own wicked ways, unable to change our own marred heart and our own rebellious, carnal mind, until "a great falling away" occurs in our lives. Only then are we made to see our old man as the dying creature he is:

Isa 22:11  Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago.

King Hezekiah had gone to great lengths to bring water through a tunnel into the city and at the same time deprive any invaders of easily accessible water.

2Ch 32:1  After these things, and the establishment thereof, Sennacherib king of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fenced cities, and thought to win them for himself.
2Ch 32:2  And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem,
2Ch 32:3  He took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were without the city: and they did help him.
2Ch 32:4  So there was gathered much people together, who stopped all the fountains, and the brook that ran through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water?
2Ch 32:5  Also he strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised it up to the towers, and another wall without, and repaired Millo in the city of David, and made darts and shields in abundance.

2Ch 32:30  This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works.
2Ch 32:31  Howbeit in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to enquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart.

What was in Hezekiah's heart?

We struggle to internalize words like:

2Ch 32:4  So there was gathered much people together, who stopped all the fountains, and the brook that ran through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water?

The next verse should help us to apply these words personally:

2Ch 32:5  Also he strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised it up to the towers, and another wall without, and repaired Millo in the city of David, and made darts and shields in abundance.

The spiritual lesson is that we do all in our own power and in our own strength to prepare fortifications against God's judgment upon our old man and his rebellious ways. We can do all that is in our power to "gather much people together" to provide life-giving water to ourselves, but when we work in our own strength, this is what the Lord tells us of the effectiveness of depending upon ourselves and our own ways, including our own righteousnesses:

Psa 127:1  A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

Rom 1:21  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

"They" is speaking of us! It is we who work hard to preserve our kingdom, and the Lord gives us to prosper in this world. We may even be given, like Job, to be a benefactor to many others in this life. It seems the Lord is smiling on all we do, when in reality He is simply answering us according to the idols of our heart.

Eze 14:2  And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 14:3  Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?
Eze 14:4  Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;
Eze 14:5  That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.

As the story of Job demonstrates for us, one of the most insidious 'idols of [our] hearts' is self-righteously seeing ourselves as God's gift to mankind. That was the point of verse 11. Just like Hezekiah, we celebrate our own self-righteousness accomplishments and our productivity under our own power:

Isa 22:11  Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago.

When we do this, the Lord calls us to repentance:

Isa 22:12  And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:

Like King Hezekiah we mistake believing that the Lord answering us according to the idols of our hearts is proof of the Lord blessing our self-righteousness.

Isa 22:9  Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool.
Isa 22:10  And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall.

We have made great sacrifices to fortify the wall of our city and to  provide water for our kingdom "but [we] have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago." So we celebrate our carnal blessings instead of obeying the Lord's commandment to "weep [and] mourn". Instead:

Isa 22:13  And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die.

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a God who gives us over to our own desires, even as we know the penalty of our sinful ways. When that is made to happen there is but one solution to that state of our old man and His kingdom, and this is that one solution:

Isa 22:14  And it was revealed in mine ears by the LORD of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

Now we know why the Lord destroys our old man with the brightness of His coming:

2Th 2:5  Remember ye not, that, while I was yet with you, these very things, I was telling you?
2Th 2:6  And, what now restraineth, ye know, to the end he may be revealed in his own fitting time;
2Th 2:7  For, the secret, of lawlessness, already, is inwardly working itself, only, until, he that restraineth at present, shall be gone, out of the midst:
2Th 2:8  And, then, shall be revealed the lawless one, whom, the Lord Jesus, will slay with the Spirit of his mouth, and paralyse with the forthshining of his Presence: (REV)

Against our own carnal will, the Lord will show us what we are in these clay vessels, and He will bring us to true repentance, and in doing so He will slay our old man with the spirit of His mouth, which tells us this about our old man and His kingdom:

Heb 6:4  For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
Heb 6:5  And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
Heb 6:6  If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
Heb 6:7  For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:
Heb 6:8  But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.
Heb 6:9  But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.

There are "those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, [who] fall away, [and] crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame" in this age. We have witnessed this time and again as the apostles did themselves:

1Ti 1:19  Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:
1Ti 1:20  Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

2Ti 1:15  This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.

2Ti 4:14  Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works:
2Ti 4:15  Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words.
2Ti 4:16  At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.

3Jn 1:9  I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.
3Jn 1:10  Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.

It is the end of our old man "to be burned" by the "fire", and that 'fire' is the Word of God which will judge us in that day:

Joh 12:47  And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
Joh 12:48  He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

1Co 3:13  Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

What separated King David from King Saul is that when David was judged for his sins, he threw himself on the Lord's mercy, and he was willing to accept the Lord's judgment. This is what King David was well aware had been written:

Lev 26:40  If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me;
Lev 26:41  And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:
Lev 26:42  Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.
Lev 26:43  The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes.

The almost universally accepted false doctrine of a "substitutionary atonement", which teaches that Christ died in our stead, flies in the face of all the scriptures which teach that Christ died to sin so He could repeat that process within each of us, and we can now be "crucified with Him, [and] die daily [with Him, and] suffer with Him":

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.

1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

Rom 8:17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

2Ti 2:12  If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

Because "Christ lives in me" when I "suffer with Him", I am filling up in my body what is behind of His afflictions, "for His body's sake, which is the church". Here now is a verse of scripture which is avoided like the plague by all those who teach the false doctrine of a substitutionary atonement:

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:
Col 1:25  Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
Col 1:26  Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Isaiah tells us:

Isa 22:12  And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:
Isa 22:13  And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die.
Isa 22:14  And it was revealed in mine ears by the LORD of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

It is obvious to those who have been given the mind of Christ, that if "Christ [is] in [you]", you are being "crucified with [Him], and filling up in [your] flesh the afflictions of [the] Christ for His body's sake, which is the church." There is no greater calling, and in that we all rejoice, and if that is our joy, then "this iniquity [is being] purged [because we are blessed to be given to "die daily... [now] for His body's sake which is the church".

Next week, if the Lord wills, we will cover these verses here in Isaiah 22:

Isa 22:15  Thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, which is over the house, and say,
Isa 22:16  What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock?
Isa 22:17  Behold, the LORD will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee.
Isa 22:18  He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord's house.
Isa 22:19  And I will drive thee from thy station, and from thy state shall he pull thee down.

Psa 104:16  The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted; 
Psa 104:17  Where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir trees are her house. 
Psa 104:18  The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the conies. 

God uses the physical creation, “the early and latter rain” as an example, to explain to us how He is in the process of saving all of mankind, each man in His order (1Co 15:23).

Jas 5:7  Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.

1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

In the next couple of studies with Psalm 104, particularly with verses 18 to 23, we will look at other physical realities (“birds”, “goats”, “conies”, “beasts”, the “moon”, the “sun”, to name a few) that are written down for our sakes, “that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.” When we are blessed to learn how all these things are for our sakes, “the thanksgiving of many [will] redound to the glory of God.”

2Co 4:15  For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

We grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ, or the mind of Christ, by comparing “spiritual things with spiritual”, as we use the natural creation around us to do that. With that mind of Christ, we can lay up treasure in heaven and “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice” (Php 4:4) and declare “I will be glad in the Lord“.

1Co 2:13  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1Co 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Part of what we will look at in this study relates to that spiritual purpose behind parables which are meant to both blind on one side of the pillar and give light on the other side. This is at the heart and core of why we can rejoice today as His children and be glad in the Lord as we come to see how the “exceeding great and precious promises” which God gives us in His word reveal how we can “be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

Luk 8:10  And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.

Exo 13:21  And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:
Exo 13:22  He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people. [Christ is that pillar— and “he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Php 1:6). Christ will never leave or forsake us “by day” or “by night” (Heb 13:5).

Exo 14:20  And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night. [“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” (Rom 8:35)]

Col 1:15  Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Eph 1:21   Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:

2Pe 1:4  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

This psalm’s main focus is on the spirit of God which created all the physical creation through Christ. The physical creation reveals to us, if God gives us eyes to see today, that the process of maturing in the Lord has many stages which all of mankind will eventually go through in order to become mature sons (2Pe 3:18, Eph 4:13). We are reassured through the physical creation which Christ created, that he can and will be the author and finisher of our faith (Heb 12:2) who will fulfill these verses which say He “hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart (1Jn 2:16), so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end” (Ecc 3:1-11).

1Co 8:6  But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
1Co 8:7  Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. [not knowing, not believing that there is “one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him” is how we make an idol of our flesh, and that is what we do until we’re given to acknowledge God’s sovereignty in all things, working all things according to the counsel of His will (Eph 1:11)].

Joh 1:3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Rom 1:21  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

Ecc 3:11  He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world (1Jn 2:16) in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. [we can’t find that work out because of the idols which God allows to be in our flesh, and we are blinded until those idols are destroyed by Christ – “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life”].

Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

As we labour in God’s word and are given the eyes to see and ears to hear the words of spirit that quicken us (Mat 13:11, Joh 6:63), we are reassured through our Father of all comfort  that His workmanship that is being formed through Christ, that is going from glory to glory (Eph 2:10, Php 1:6, 2Co 3:17-18) will be finished, just as surely as the physical creation was made manifest and done so decently and in order, in what has been called the creation week or the days of creation.

2Co 1:3  Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;

2Co 3:17  Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
2Co 3:18  But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into  the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Heb 11:3  Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Col 1:16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Exo 20:11  For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

To set the stage a little more, before we get into the verses of our study, I want to point to a verse that was discussed during Steven Crook’s last study, which has a correlation to the word Lebanon that is in this Psalm. The word Nehushtan^H5180 was the word which was discussed that parallels with the ‘cedars of Lebanon‘.

2Ki 18:4  He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan^H5180.

H5180  nechûshtân   nekh-oosh-tawn’

From H5178; something made of copper, that is, the copper serpent of the Desert: – Nehushtan.

Psa 29:5  The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.

Just as the Lord must “break the cedars, even the cedars of Lebanon”, He will also break our religious pride or the second beast out of which we make an idol in the church in the wilderness.

Nehushtan^H5180 represents that idol or second beast very well (Rev 13:15, 1Co 4:7), as do the “cedars of Lebanon” which God gives us for our good, and that we naturally take and make an idol out of, adorning the temple of God, that has not yet been cleansed of the Lord to become the risen Jerusalem above (Eph 2:6) that can bear spiritual fruit, unlike these Cedar trees (Gal 4:26).

Zerubbabel’s temple, on the other hand, is the temple which God uses to typify those who have been raised in heavenly places, where we can worship God in spirit and in truth, because of the judgment of His word upon us like a plumb line which is making the ways of the Lord straight and enabling us to come out her my people.

Joh 4:23   But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Joh 4:24   God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Isa 28:17  Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

Christ’s body is raised in these temples built with cedar like the serpent in the wilderness (Nehushtan^H5180), but that raising of the wood to build the temple which we are (1Co 3:16) just as the serpent in the wilderness, is only going to bring about the physical healing or burning up of the wood hay and stubble that does not change our hearts [miracles in other words do not convert and change our heart but the cleansing of the temple through judgement so that we can be “true worshippers” who “must worship him in spirit and in truth“. That relationship is made possible through the sanctification process that God blesses the church to go through today].

Luk 16:31  And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

Joh 3:14  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
Joh 3:15  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Joh 17:17   Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

These examples of the cedars of Lebannon and Nehushtan^H5180 show us God’s provision in our journey and should give us reason to rejoice and “be glad in the Lord” for how he makes a way for us to endure through sin. He is the one who is making that provision and causing the sun to shine on the evil and the good within us bringing us to see our continual need for His deliverance in this life. Coming to see this reality of the process of growing in grace and knowledge is a joyful burden for us in the spirit, and is likened unto sparks that fly upward for our flesh, sparks that typify the fiery trials we are promised as God’s children (Ecc 3:18 Nehushtan^H5180, Ecc 1:13 joyful burden, Neh 8:10 joyful burden, Job 5:7, 1Pe 4:12).

Isa 43:16  Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea<, and a path in the mighty waters;

Mat 5:45  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Jer 13:23  Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.

Eze 36:26  A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

[Excerpt from Psa 29 study]

“Lebanon has a close association in scripture with the wilderness which we are called out of (Deu 11:24, Jos 1:4), and the cedars of Lebanon were used both within the temple of Solomon and Zerubbabel (1Ki 5:8-18, Ezr 3:7) and within the ships of Tyre (Eze 27:3-5, Eze 27:25).

What we are being told is that these cedars of Lebanon which are not fruit bearing trees will serve God both  in the court and in the temple. Initially those ships of Tyre ply the waters of the Euphrates in our life (Isa 23:1), bringing many people, nations, languages and tongues to Christ, as this exercise of buying the truth and selling it causes the merchants of the world of Babylon within us to become rich and increased with goods (Rev 3:17). All these riches are tainted because they are yet wrapped around the idols of our hearts at this point (2Ch 4:18-22, Rev 18:12, Eze 14:4, Isa 3:1), and it is only after a lifetime of being redeemed from every nation language tongue and people that we can be counted worthy to inherit eternal life (Rev 5:9). We’re not worthy, but the process that God allows us to go through makes it possible for us to understand in that day what we really are, as we inherit those promises which we are striving for (Luk 17:10, Php 3:14).

Luk 17:10  So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

Php 3:14  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

The harlot sits on those waters, which are the many nations of mankind’s heart and accomplishes this first part of gathering peoples and  nations and tongues into the court which is expressed in these verses of 2 King (2Ki 24:13-20). It is only when the proud and lofty trees of Babylon are cut down and turned into lumber for the temple of God within us that a remnant can then remain “of the poorest sort of the people of the land” (2Ki 24:14, 1Co 1:26).

2Ki 24:14  And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land.

1Co 1:26  For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

The tree must be cut down, and rightly divided and measured by the body of Christ (Act 2:37-38, Eph 4:16) in order to be of service to God’s people and the entire world in time. Initially however we all go into this spiritual captivity in Babylon where those cedars of Lebanon grow and then at their appointed time are cut down or broken by the spirit of God (1Co 15:23, Isa 66:2) to be used in the new temple of Zerubbabel, where we worship God in spirit and in truth (Joh 4:23).”

[Excerpt end]

With the stage set a little more, now we can look at the few verses in this Psalm study which we hope will have us saying in our spirits, “I will be glad in the Lord.”

Psa 104:16  The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;

The word “of sap” is not in the original context of this verse, so our focus is that these “trees of the Lord” or “cedars of Lebanon” “which he hath planted” “are full”. We are “full” in Babylon, in the world, not with the stay and bread and water of God, but with the cares of this world, as the sparks fly upward.

Isa 3:1  For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water,

Joh 2:7  Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.

2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

Joh 17:16  They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Joh 17:17  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Joh 2:9  When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew [speaking of the body of Christ a kind of first fruits Gen 24:20, Mar 9:35]); the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,

We can take great comfort in knowing that it is God who planted these “Cedars of Lebanon” and that he has already declared the end from the beginning for each tree.

Psa 139:16  Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them.

Jer 29:11  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith Jehovah, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope in your latter end.

Psa 104:17  Where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir trees^H1265 are her house.

We are told we won’t realize the plans that God has for us in their entirety (Mat 6:34), or the provision that He has predetermined for us, but that does not change the fact that God does provide, and that he is a good Father, who we can trust and cast all our cares upon so that we can stop being anxious concerning raiment or what we shall eat (physically or spiritually).

Php 4:19  And my God shall supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Mat 6:28  And why are ye anxious concerning raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
Mat 6:29  yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Mat 6:30  But if God doth so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Mat 6:31  Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Mat 6:32  For after all these things do the Gentiles seek; for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
Mat 6:33  But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Mat 7:11  If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
Mat 7:12  All things therefore whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them: for this is the law and the prophets. [the golden rule as it is called (vs 12), is found in the context of “Enter ye in by the narrow gate” because it is when we are able to love our enemies through God’s holy spirit (Zec 4:6), and when we are convicted of our debt unto God, which is all the sin of the world within us, described as “ten thousand talents” owed (Mat 18:33), and we are convicted that there is no good thing within ourselves (Mar 10:18), then we can truly say that God is granting us the power to “Enter ye in by the narrow gate” where “few there be that find it” (Mat 7:14, Psa 107:2)
Mat 7:13  Enter ye in by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many are they that enter in thereby (Mat 22:14).

1Pe 5:6  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God (Rom 11:20), that he may exalt you in due time (Jas 5:7);
1Pe 5:7   casting all your anxiety upon him, because he careth for you.
1Pe 5:8  Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour,