As our Lord Jesus rode down from the Mount of Olives into Jerusalem, the crowds went wild with enthusiasm -Luke 19-37-38-. Their shouts came from Psalm 118-26.--Several days later, the Lord quoted from Psalm 118-22-23, as he warns the hard-hearted of impending judgment -Luke 20-17-18-.--This Psalm is part of the Great Hallel and is the -hymn- that the disciples sang as the concluded the last Passover and first Lord's Supper.--The middle portion of this Psalm points us to an event in the life of David, when King Saul demanded 100 foreskins from the Philistines as the bride-price for his daughter Michal -1 Samuel 18-20-29-.--Mitchell Dahood translates verses 10-12--All nations surrounded me,-but in Yahweh's name indeed I cut off their foreskins.-They surrounded me, surrounded me completely,-but in Yahweh's name indeed I cut off their foreskins.-They surrounded me like bees,-they crackled like a fire of thorns,-but in Yahweh's name indeed I cut off their foreskins.--The whole of this Psalm points to the Suffering Servant who is also the Reigning King.

In Isaiah 37-6-7, we read God's response to the blasphemous communications from the Assyrian king, Sennacherib -Isaiah 36-13-20-.----God did several things to deliver his people out of the hands of Sennacherib.----He sent the Angel of the LORD to slaughter 180,000 of Sennacherib's soldiers -Isaiah 37-36-.----He sent a demonic spirit to cause him to return home -Isaiah 37-7-. This is similar to what God did to the godless Ahab of Israel -1 Kings 22-19-23-.----This supernatural action is called putting a hook in his nose -Isaiah 37-29-, reflecting the cruelty of the Neo-Assyrian-Babylonian conquerors, who put rings through the noses of their captives, and tied the naked and humiliated captives together with cords connected to these nose rings.----Lastly, in utter mockery of Sennacherib and his god, Hezekiah's God engineered Sennacherib's assassination by two of his sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer, while he is worshipping his demonic idol -Isaiah 37-38-.----Pray and trust God. Do NOT fear -Isaiah 37-5-7, 14-16, 33-35-.

We began with an explanation of recapitulation, pointing out that before the three Charles- Charles Lyell, Charles Darwin, and Karl Marx, most educated people accepted the Bible's accounts of Creation and the Flood as literally true.----Charles Darwin came up with the idea that a human embryo -recapitulates- the earlier life forms going back to the first life, long before humans.----We also pointed out that modern secularist scholars reject the concept of miracles altogether, and therefore reject God's having revealed future events to Isaiah.----That is why many modern scholars divide the book into First and Second Isaiah.----But comparing chapter 39 with chapter 40 can be understood in light of the truth that the Neo-Assyrian Empire dealt with Babylon similarly to Queen Elizabeth and her son, Charles. Charles is the Prince of Wales, and the next in line to the Assyrian crown, was the King of Babylon.----We then looked at the warning omen of Deuteronomy 28-49-50, as cited in Isaiah 28-9-13, and saw how the Apostle Paul applied it in 1 Corinthians 14-20-25, as he affirmed the superiority of known languages in public worship.----We saw how this curse omen took place during the days of Elisha, as well as at the conquest of Samaria in 722 B.C., Jerusalem in 586, and in A.D. 70 when Jerusalem fell to the Romans.----We speculated about its possible connection with the establishment of Israel on May 14, 1948.

The historical context of Isaiah is the Neo-Assyrian Empire of the eighth and seventh centuries before Christ.----In keeping with the prophecies regarding the threats out of Samaria and Damascus in Isaiah chapters 7 and 8, the Assyrian Empire had invaded Syria and Israel, destroying Israel's capital, Samaria in 722, under King Sargon II.----Now, the ungodly king of Judah, Ahaz, has been succeeded by his godly son, Hezekiah, and the new ruler of Assyria, Sennacherib was on the move against Judah.----When Sennacherib's representatives communicate with the representatives of Hezekiah, they shout out in Hebrew to the men on the wall in order to terrorize them -Isaiah 36-11-20-.----In keeping with the curse section in Deuteronomy, whenever God's people had been surrounded by enemy armies, they experienced the omen that the curses recorded there were about to happen- -The LORD will bring a nation against you from far away . . . a nation whose language you will not understand- -Deuteronomy 28-49-.----Isaiah has this in mind as he responds to the unbelievers in Jerusalem by repeating infantile gibberish twice- -Sav lasav, sav lasav, Kav lakav, kav lakav, Ze' er sham, ze' er sham- -Isaiah 28-10, 13-. As with his earlier words to King Ahaz, Isaiah is warning the unbelievers they were about to hear people speaking in languages they could not understand, languages that sounded like baby-talk.----Reading what follows this omen is chilling -Deuteronomy 28-53-57-.

Peter informs us that the Old Testament authors did not always fully comprehend their prophecies -1 Peter 1-10-13-.----As I read through the Psalms, I often identify with the Psalmists' experiences. Then in the course of reading further, I realize that the Psalm is Messianic. Some Psalms, such as 22 and 110, so clearly point to the events in Jesus' life that we cannot miss that the Psalm was about Jesus. Others clearly are about David but contain Messianic elements embedded within them -Psalm 40-6-7, 12-.----So, the Psalms point to the original authors' experiences. But all Scripture is written by the Spirit of Christ -1 Peter 1-11-, and so we discover the Lord Jesus throughout. And because you and I are -in Christ,- we find 2 Corinthians 1-20 to be true for us- They are about us, too.----Isaiah had at least two sons, Shear-jashub and Maher-shalal-hash-baz. Both these boys' names had symbolic value -Isaiah 8-18-. Shear-jashub roughly translates as -A remnant will return- -Isaiah 7-3-, while Maher-shalal-hash-baz's name is -Swift is the spoil, speedy is the plunder- -Isaiah 8-3-.----These sons were given to Isaiah as object lessons to the apostate king of Israel, Ahaz, who didn't trust in the Lord but in the king of Assyria to rescue him from Rezin and Pekah. The boys' early childhood pointed to the very short span of time until these kings were removed.----Maher-shalal-hash-baz is also called Immanuel by Isaiah's new virgin wife -Isaiah 7-14- 8-8-, an event of great significance -Isaiah 8-1-5-.----However, Matthew makes absolutely clear that Isaiah's second child points beyond himself to the Lord Jesus Christ as the ultimate fulfillment of the prophecy -Matthew 1-18-25-.

As we compare Scripture with Scripture, we observe that prophecies often have multiple fulfillments.----Notice the events of Revelation 6-14 and Revelation 16-20- It is very clear that the islands and mountains that have been removed in chapter six are removed again in chapter 16. That is to say, these chapters are describing the same events.----We also note the use of the number seven in Revelation. Why-----Leviticus 26-18, 21, 24, 28 give us part of the answer. It has to do with Israel's failure to observe the Sabbath system and the resulting curse sanctions with increasing severity leading to the 70 year captivity under Babylon.----Note, in particular, Leviticus 26-28-29, and how that curse is repeated in Deuteronomy 28-53-57.----That curse was fulfilled many times in the history of Israel. Take the incident of the two women who ate a child in 2 Kings 6-24-31, or how this was repeated in the events leading up to 722 B.C., when the Assyrians conquered Israel, and in what preceded 586, when Babylon conquered Jerusalem, as well as A.D. 70 when the Romans destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem.

Numbers contains lots of lists, one of the most -boring- of which is chapter 7 because of its 12 repetitious, identical lists, recording what each tribe gave. --As I read this chapter on Saturday morning and meditated on it, I concluded that God not only records the acts of individuals but also of groups. God was recording the contributions of each of the tribes. --In a New Testament application, the Lord is taking note of congregations as they contribute to his work in the world.--Inasmuch as I am turning 75 and some of you are older than I, what can Trinity Presbyterian do about the conflict between Russia and the Ukraine---Pray- --But that is the last thing most Christians do- instead, they pontificate on social media about what they know virtually nothing. Then they get angry and afraid and are unable to pray with faith and a pure heart.--We must consider Satan's greatest weapon- FEAR -Hebrews 2-14-15-.--Satan uses other people to drive us into fear, especially civil governments, and the media--commercial and particularly social media. He distracts us and divides us and causes us to hunker down at home instead of assembling together in the only place where we can do something about the world -Hebrews 10-19-27-.--Where do we begin---Jesus shows us in Luke 13-1-5. Repent and remember until he returns, every disaster is a signpost of his soon return.

Having looked at 2 Corinthians 3-16-18, we saw that sanctification is progressive and not complete in this life. This truth is brought home absolutely in 1 John 1-8-10. People who believe they no sin are insane to some decree.--When is sanctification completed- It is at death for the individual, as Hebrews 12-23 makes clear. 2 Corinthians 4-16-18 teaches that life is difficult and a struggle, but for those who look to Jesus our struggles are brief and sweet.--Final sanctification for the whole church takes place when the Lord returns, as 2 Corinthians 5-1-10 makes clear. Until then, there are no perfect churches.

When we look in a mirror, we have a mental image of how we want to look. We use that idea to shape what we will eventually see in the mirror as we brush our hair and groom ourselves.--That is the image Paul gives us in 2 Corinthians 3-18. With no veil over our eyes, we can see the Lord Jesus as we read the Bible and listen to preaching. --The Bible is God's inerrant, infallible Word, but without the liberating work of the Holy Spirit enabling us to find Jesus, the living Word, in the written Word, it will do us not Spiritual good. That's what Jesus himself taught in John 5-39-41.--When we come to Jesus and are saved, it isn't because we said a prayer- Everyone who is truly saved sought the Lord Jesus until he found him.--What is true of the written Word is also true of the Visible Word, the Lord's Supper. Eating the bread and drinking from the cup do not do us good in and of themselves- We must find the Lord Jesus there.