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th e voice of man. L isten to th e voice of God. We are a g reat nation, but th e seeds of disintegration are widely sown. There is bu t one sure place of refuge (Matt. 11:28) “ Come unto me a ll y e that labour and are h e av y laden, and I w ill g ive you rest.” There is b u t one unfailing source of wisdom, (1 Cor. 2:5, 12, 13, 14) “ T h at you r fa ith should not stand in the w isdom of men, but in the pow er of God. * * * Now w e have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit w h ich is of God; that w e m ight know the things that are fre e ly given to us of God. “W h ich things also w e speak, not in the w ords w hich m an’s w isdom teacheth, but w h ich the H oly Ghost teach eth; com p arin g sp iritu al things w ith spiritual. B u t the n atu ral m an receiveth not the th in gs o f the Spirit of God; fo r they are foolishness unto him ; neither can he kn ow them , because they are sp iritu ally discerned.” PRACTICAL POINTS (1 ) The h ea rt beat of th e prophet is heard in his prophecy. (2) The tru e prophet tells the people God’s truths.* (3 ) Words of warning are seldom welcome words, bu t they are wise words. (4) Every crown of pride must be crushed to pieces. (5) The state of a people is deter mined by th eir standard of righteous ness. (6) The downfall of nations is m ark ed by th e denial of tru th , decay of faith, degeneration of morals, disintegration and destruction. (7 ) The self-appointed prophets and preachers are appointed of Satan. (8) Our national salvation depends upon our searching the Scriptures, seek ing th e old paths and standing by th e old Book.
( 4 ) In stru ction and Indifference. In vs. 9 and 10 we have th e question of th e priests and prophets regarding Isaiah’s message: “Whom do you th in k you are teaching? Babies, ju st weaned? You come w ith your little injunctions ‘line upon line’.’’ The peo ple were expected to receive th e ir in struction from th è priests and prophets, and they ask “Who is th is Isaiah any how?” Do you know of any sim ilar condi tion now? Do you ever hear these latter-day, self-appointed prophets and preachers saying: “You come w ith your little verses of Scripture, ‘line upon lin e ;’ your little ‘Thus saith the Lord.’ We are tired of it. We are th e scholars. We have the intellects. We know. The Bible is obsolete.” But poor E phraim paid th e penalty for th e ir rejection of God’s Word, and p riest and people went down in th e judgm ent of God. Read its descrip tion: “Tempest of h a il;” “ destroy ing sto rm ;” “ flooding of w aters.” They were snared in th e refuge of lies, trap ped and captured, carried away into captivity. So must it ever be w ith those who make ligh t of God’s Word; who reject His words of w arning; who make ligh t of His pleadings and H is warnings. W hat is th e practical lesson? God had a plan for Israel. Read it, (Deut. 28 :1 -14 ), b u t Israel would not have God’s plan (Isa. 30:15) “ F o r thus saith the Lord God, the H oly One o f Isra e l: In returning 1 and rest sh all y e be saved ; in quietness and in confidence sh all be you r stren gth ; and ye would not.” W hat are th e words of. warning to us? (Micah 2:10) “ A rise y e and d epart; fo r this is not you r re st; because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even w ith a sore d estruc tion.” (Jer. 6:16) “ T h u s saith the Lord, Stand y e in the w a y s , and see, and a sk for the old paths, w h ere is the good w a y , and w a lk therein, and ye sh all find rest to yo u r souls. B u t th e y said, W e w ill not w a lk therein.” D epart from sin. Shut your ears to ’
v. 1. Woe to th e crown of pride. Meaning th e city of Samaria (1 Kings 16 :24 ). It is compared to a chaplet of flowers on a d ru n k ard ’s brow. This
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