Thursday, August 31, 2017, 9:42 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus.” Speak,
Lord, your words to my heart. I read Isaiah
43 (quoting select vv. NASB).
Do Not Fear (vv.
1-4)
But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel,
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are Mine!
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be
scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
“For I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I have given Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your place.
“Since you are precious in My sight,
Since you are honored and I love you,
I will give other men in your place and other peoples
in exchange for your life.
When we believe in Jesus
Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, and his Holy Spirit comes to live
within us, we come into a personal intimate relationship with God Almighty. We
are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we are resurrected with Christ
to newness of life, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
We no longer walk (live our lives) according to the sinful passions of our
flesh, but we now walk (in lifestyle) in accord (agreement) with the Spirit of
God.
By the Spirit we are now
putting to death the deeds of the flesh so that we can now live to Christ and to
his righteousness. We who are now being led by the Spirit are the children of
God, fellow heirs with Jesus Christ, and bondservants of our Lord Jesus. And,
he is our Lord (owner-master), for we were bought back for God with his blood
shed on a cross for our sins, so we might be free from slavery to sin.
The waters and the fire are
figurative for troubles, hardships, persecutions, danger and sword, threats
from the enemy of our souls, and/or judgment. Whatever we go through in this
life, if we are in Christ Jesus, by faith in him, our Lord is with us, and he
will carry us through. So, we are never to fear what humans may do to us, or
our circumstances, or hardships or dangers. If our trust is in the Lord, we
will not be overcome by all these things, but we will remain steadfast in our
faith, sure of His promises to us, and hopeful of what we know is our future
inheritance.
One day our enemies will be
no more, though we should pray for their salvation, and hope that God will
transform their hearts and lives as he has done with us. We should pray that
they may know Jesus Christ, too, who gave his life up for us on that cross so
that we might die to sin and live to him and to his righteousness.
A Summons (vv.
8-13)
Bring out the people who are blind, even though they
have eyes,
And the deaf, even though they have ears.
All the nations have gathered together
So that the peoples may be assembled.
Who among them can declare this
And proclaim to us the former things?
Let them present their witnesses that they may be
justified,
Or let them hear and say, “It is true.”
“You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“And My servant whom I have chosen,
So that you may know and believe Me
And understand that I am He.
Before Me there was no God formed,
And there will be none after Me.
“I, even I, am the Lord,
And there is no savior besides Me.
“It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed,
And there was no strange god among you;
So you are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“And I am God.
“Even from eternity I am He,
And there is none who can deliver out of My hand;
I act and who can reverse it?”
This is a summons by God
Almighty to all the people of the world, including to his children who are
living in idolatry and spiritual adultery against him, i.e. who have ears and
eyes to hear and to see, but who are not listening to God, but who are closing
their ears to his Words. They know the truth, but they are not walking in the
truth. Even the ungodly people of this world have the knowledge of God within
them, because God has revealed himself to them through his created works, so
that they, too, are without excuse (See: Ro. 1:18-32). It isn’t that they lack
knowledge, but that they choose to reject what they know and to make their own
way, and to create their own gods and religions which allow them to continue to
live sinful lifestyles.
But, none of their gods,
idols, beliefs, religions or chosen lifestyles are able to help them, or to
bring them salvation from sin and peace with God. They cannot hear God or know
his will for their lives, because they are not listening, and they are not
obeying his commands. They lack sensitivity to God’s Holy Spirit speaking to
their hearts, so they are totally unaware of the times in which we live, and of
the dangers lurking around the corner, and so they continue on as though God
will do nothing, and that life will continue as it always has, not realizing or
not willing to recognize the truths in God’s Word concerning sin, judgment and
our eternal destiny.
So, the summons here is to
open their eyes and ears to see and to hear that God Almighty and Jesus Christ,
God the Son, maker of heaven and earth, is the ONLY true God, and the ONLY
savior of mankind, and in no one else will they ever find freedom, peace, joy,
salvation, eternal life and heaven as their eternal destiny. Their idols may be
able to bring them some temporary satisfaction in this life, but they are no
good for promising them eternal life with God or true heavenly peace and joy.
Only through faith in Jesus Christ, in death to sin and resurrection to new
life in Christ, of the Spirit of God, can we be in relationship with God and
have the hope of eternal life with God.
In the Wilderness (vv. 16-21)
Thus says the Lord,
Who makes a way through the sea
And a path through the mighty waters,
Who brings forth the chariot and the horse,
The army and the mighty man
(They will lie down together and not rise again;
They have been quenched and extinguished like a wick):
“Do not call to mind the former things,
Or ponder things of the past.
“Behold, I will do something new,
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.
“The beasts of the field will glorify Me,
The jackals and the ostriches,
Because I have given waters in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert,
To give drink to My chosen people.
“The people whom I formed for Myself
Will declare My praise.
God does not promise any of
us, saved or unsaved, that we will never have troubles, hardships, sorrow or
pain. In fact, he promised his followers that they would be hated, persecuted
and even put to death for his sake, and for the sake of his gospel of salvation,
and because of their testimonies for Christ. He also does not promise us that,
if we follow him wherever he leads us, that all will go smoothly and that we
won’t face roadblocks along the way. But, he does promise us that he will go
before us, that he will prepare the way, and that he will make a way for us
through these difficult times.
When we believe in Jesus
Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, and we are crucified with Christ in
death to sin, and we are resurrected with him to newness of life, we leave our
old lives of sin behind us, and we move ahead (forward) in the direction our
Lord now has for our lives. We are not to look back and yearn for the lives we
had before, or to continue to dabble in sinful pleasures, but our desire should
now be for our Lord, to please him in every way. We should understand that
faith in Jesus is not a religion, but a relationship. It is not merely an
escape from hell and the promise of heaven when we die, but it is a life given
over to God to be lived for him and for him alone. Jesus doesn’t just slightly
clean up our old lives, but he radically transforms our lives and he makes us
new in him. Praise God!
Well, when God calls us to go
with him somewhere, and he asks us to leave behind houses, lands, family
members, friends, possessions, etc., we should also not look back and yearn for
what we had before, but we must see that he is making things new for us, and
that what he has for us now is not like what we had before, but it is actually
better. Although we may not yet see it, we should trust him, believe him, and
follow him, and rest in him and in his perfect timing. He can make a way where
there seems to be no way.
Lastly, I believe this
passage is a picture of revival and of the salvation of human lives out from
the darkness, who are being brought into God’s wonderful light. God will often
allow difficulties in our lives as a way to get us to see him for who he is and
to get us to follow him wherever he leads us, and to remove us from all which
is drawing us away from him and our pure devotion to him. Yet, we are not to
fear these times, because God has good he intends for us, to make us holy, to
purify and prune us, and to mature us in him. All that he allows into our lives
is under his control, and he has a plan and a purpose, to bring glory to his
name, and for us to give him all the praise, worship and devotion he has for us
to give to him.
‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus
Louisa M.R. Stead / William J.
Kirkpatrick
’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just
to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise, just to
know, “Thus saith the Lord!”
O how sweet to trust in Jesus, just to
trust His cleansing blood;
And in simple faith to plunge me ’neath
the healing, cleansing flood!
Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus, just
from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking life, and
rest, and joy, and peace.
I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee, precious
Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me, will
be with me to the end.
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Thee! How
I’ve proved Thee o’er and o’er
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus! O for
grace to trust Thee more!
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