Daily Bible Encouragement

Isaiah 53:11-12 After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. As we saw yesterday, so much of God's salvation plan has already been accomplished that we can be confident that what still needs to happen will also be fulfilled. And here, in our final verses, we find out what that final stage of the salvation plan, which we are still waiting for, looks like. Because we know that our eternal future is already secure, we might not think very much about what will happen when Jesus returns to judge. Perhaps we're so used to the idea that the cross and resurrection of Jesus are the high point of history (which they are!) that we assume that everything that is still to come is going to be a bit of an anti-climax (which it isn't!)  The victory of Jesus over sin and death is already won. But we can still look forward to the victory parade, where we get to join in the rejoicing as Jesus is displayed as victorious king over all of creation. I'm not much of a football fan, but even I know that when a team wins a really significant victory, there is often a celebratory parade in their hometown. Open top busses, cheering crowds lining the streets, the cup held high for everyone to see. The victory is won on the pitch, but the celebrations aren't complete until everyone has welcomed their heroes home to receive the praise of their fans. Jesus' victory was won at the cross, but the victory parade will reach his climax when he gathers his people from every tribe and language and nation to sing his praises and declare his glory. On that day, he will get to show off ‘the spoils' which he has snatched from the hands of his enemies – that is, his people who he has rescued from the grip of sin and death and the devil. So great is the glory due to Jesus that it will take all eternity to adequately praise him for what he has done for us. We live in a world that wants us to believe that we are the heroes, that the spotlight of my life should be firmly fixed on ME. But the victory on which my whole life depends is not mine, but Jesus'.  The whole purpose of my life, now and forever, is to sing HIS praises and declare HIS greatness. So, as we reach the end of our time in Isaiah, let's do that today. And let's ask for God's help to be people who continue to sing his praises and live for his glory every single day, both in this world and in the life to come, which he has won for us.

Isaiah 53:10 Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. For the past 6 and a half weeks, we've listened to Isaiah, and God himself, introducing us to the figure of the Servant. We've seen that the Servant will come to rescue wayward people, reconciling them to their loving, holy Lord. We've seen that this rescue will be achieved through the willing suffering of the Servant. And we've seen how all these promises are fulfilled in the coming of Jesus, who fleshes out and makes real what the people of Isaiah's time must have been longing and hoping for. There was a tension for Isaiah and his generation. Even as they trusted in the promises of the Servant to come, they still had to live through the experience of the coming exile which Isaiah also foretold. Similarly, we who live after the coming of Jesus have a much clearer understanding of the life and work of this promised Servant. Much of what was ‘future' for Isaiah is now ‘history' for us. We have seen (in the pages of the gospels, if not with our own eyes) Jesus be born, live, die and rise again. But we are still caught in the tension between the ‘now' of life in a fallen world, where sin still entangles us, and the ‘not yet' of the heavenly kingdom which we are still waiting to experience. And so today and tomorrow, as we end our time together in this book, these verses turn our attention to what is still to come. The Servant who suffered and died is already alive again – he is already ‘seeing his offspring' (those who are born into God's family because of him) and ‘prolonging his days' in the present. Today and every day stretching on into eternity, the will of the Lord continues to prosper in his hand. And so, even as we continue to battle with our sin, and struggle with our brokenness, we can do it with hope. So much of what God promised through Isaiah has already been fulfilled that we can trust he will finish what he has started. The Lord Jesus, who suffered and died and is now risen and reigning in glory, WILL come back and take us to be with him forever. The ‘will of the Lord' will continue to be done, on earth as it is in heaven, every day of our lives and beyond. Let's pray that we would continue to trust in that great promise today.

Isaiah 53:9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. There's a lot of talk about ‘identity' in our society at the moment. Whilst we might take issue with where some people now draw the line between which aspects of identity are fixed and which can be chosen, we all recognise the frustration that comes from being wrongly-identified. The passionate football supporter doesn't take kindly to being thought of as supporting an opposing team. If someone makes a wrong assumption about our political affiliations, we may well be offended. From time to time I get emails intended for a woman in America who must have an email address that's easily confused with mine. I find it easy to ignore the marketing emails from companies that she has signed up to, giving my email address by mistake. But I mind much more when I get email reminders in her name from a debt management company. I feel like I've been wrongly assigned to the category ‘debtor' and I don't like it. At least until I remember that it isn't really me that they're talking to. So imagine how it felt for Jesus to be wrongly assigned to the category ‘wicked'.  There could be no greater miscarriage of justice than to identify the perfect and holy Son of God as belonging ‘with the wicked'.  In our society, we might think that being identified with ‘the rich' was a compliment, but from the context of these verses it's clear that being buried with the rich somehow implies an involvement with violence and deceit. His grave ought rightly to have been labelled ‘Here lies the best man who ever lived'. But instead it's in the section marked ‘Here lie the criminals'. Yet this wasn't the first time in his life Jesus had been wrongly-labelled. Throughout his earthly ministry, the Pharisees repeatedly assigned him to an incorrect category. As Jesus himself put it, “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, “Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.”” The implication is clear – to be a ‘friend of sinners' must mean that he himself is a sinner.  Yet they are only half-wrong. He is certainly not a glutton, nor a drunkard, nor a sinner. But he is the ultimate ‘friend of sinners'. The Servant was willing to be mislabelled, misunderstood and misrepresented, in order that we might be assigned to a category we could never have expected to belong to. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) Let's praise him for that today.

Isaiah 53:8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. I rather like this phrase ‘the land of the living'. It's got a much more poetic ring to it than simply saying ‘life'. And the idea of being ‘cut off from the land of the living' is much more striking than if this verse simply said ‘he was killed'.  The whole verse seems to underline the separation that took place between Jesus and everyone else. He was ‘taken away' and ‘cut off'. The lonely figure of Jesus walks to his death whilst the whole of the rest of his generation stand idly by, doing nothing and saying nothing to stop it.  He was cut off from the land of the living. Cut off from fellowship with others. Cut off from all that is good, enjoyable, nourishing and happy. That would be bad enough. But we know that it was, in fact, even worse. When he was punished for our transgressions, Jesus was also cut off from his heavenly Father. Cut off from the very source of life itself. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” he cried out on the cross. But why? Surely God, who sent him to the cross, could at least have hung around to comfort and encourage the Servant during his darkest hour? Why all this loneliness and abandonment? Sin is the ultimate separating force. It cuts us off from a Holy God, and from the life which he gives. And it also cuts us off from fellowship with one another, undermining love and trust and loyalty. Abandoned by his followers and his friends, alienated from his father as he had never been before or since, Jesus was experiencing the separating power of our sin.  It's hard to imagine the strength of a force that could turn the Father's face away from his beloved son in the moment of his greatest suffering. And yet, there is an even stronger force at work in the world. The gracious, forgiving, redeeming love of God, expressed in the Servant's sacrificial death, reconciles us with a power much greater than the separating power of sin. Because he was cut off, we have been brought near. Because he was excluded from the land of the living, we have been welcomed into an abundant and eternal life that is better than anything this world can even begin to imagine. Let's praise him for that today.

Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. One of the things I find most remarkable about the behaviour of Jesus during his arrest and trial is the fact that he remains silent when facing unjust accusations. I realise that his physical suffering and the experience of being separated from his Father on the cross, are in many ways worse things to experience. But they feel very far removed from our everyday lives, whereas the experience of being falsely accused, or misrepresented, or wrongly blamed is something that we probably all know a little of. And I know how much I hate it when it happens to me. I might, perhaps, be willing to bear some small consequence for something that wasn't actually my fault. But when that does happen, I want to make very sure that everyone knows how undeserved it is! I can't really imagine being able to bear it silently. Letting go of the opportunity to vindicate myself. I want it clearly on the record that I am innocent. If I have to experience unjust suffering, I want the injustice to be publically noted!  The arguments spring easily to mind: “Justice matters. Injustice isn't OK. It would reflect badly on God if a Christian was thought to have said this or done that.” When really I'm motivated by the desire to vindicate myself. I care much less about justice, or God's honour, than I care about what people think of me.  And in any case, even if I am largely innocent of the particular thing of which I am accused, I can never claim to be totally blameless. Yet Jesus was. If ever anyone had the right to protest against injustice, it was him. Yet he remains silent.  Why? Doesn't he care about injustice? Doesn't he care that God was mocked because of the verdict of ‘guilty' which his Servant received?  Of course he does. But he was motivated by a deeper concern for justice and God's honour than I will ever be.  His desire to see justice done, whilst justly forgiving sinners was what kept him quiet. His concern for God to be glorified as the one who defeats sin and evil and death at the cross is what sustained his silence. Let's praise him for that today.

Isaiah 53:6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. When our girls were younger we were all great fans of the Australian Christian musician, Colin Buchanan. A significant number of the Bible verses I know by heart are cemented in my memory because of his catchy tunes. So much so that I can't read or think about today's verse without mentally adding in the ‘Bah Bah Doo Bah Bah's at the end of every clause! (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, stick Colin Buchanan Isaiah 53:6 into your search engine of choice and have a listen) Sheep noises aside, this is a verse that deserves to be in the mind and heart of every Christian. If you were only ever going to learn half a dozen Bible verses in your whole life, I'd suggest that this ought to be one of them. In this one sentence we have the heart of the gospel. We have each chosen to wander away from the Lord. And what has he done in response? Sent a sheepdog to fetch us back to face our punishment? Turned us loose to fend for ourselves in a world of thorns and wolves? No. He laid all our wrongdoing on the Servant, Jesus, so that we don't have to live under the penalty it rightly deserves. How could this be anything other than wonderful news? Yet it is only good news for those who know themselves to be wandering sheep. Perhaps for city-dwellers, being considered a sheep doesn't seem so bad. If our ideas about sheep are drawn from children's picture books and model farms, we might not mind the comparison. Surely they are cute, clean, cuddly and harmless? But if you've had dealings with real live sheep, you may feel differently. My grandparents were farmers on the Welsh border. I remember when we visited, my brother and I having to join in when sheep were being moved from place to place. Stationed in a gateway or on the yard, we would shout and wave our arms around, attempting to head the sheep towards where they ought to go, and deflect them from where they wanted to go … which was generally anywhere other than the direction intended!  Clean, cute and cuddly they were not! In fact, they were often muddy, infuriating and apparently very stupid. Why would you want to go and wedge yourself between a Land Rover and a gatepost, when we're offering you a huge field full of grass to enjoy? If that's your experience of sheep, this verse is not so flattering. We all, like mucky, stubborn sheep who have no idea what is good for us, have gone astray. So how wonderfully surprising that the Lord has provided a way for our punishment to fall not on us but on the Servant instead. However familiar these words are, let's thank him again for that today, and pray that in our gratitude we would increasingly learn to follow the good shepherd instead of turning away from him.

Isaiah 53:4-5 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. Yesterday we saw that the Servant was ‘a man of suffering and familiar with pain'.  Today we discover that this wasn't simply a description of what happened to occur in his life. He wasn't just a bit unfortunate, someone who attracted more than his share of bad luck. He willingly chose this path. He took up the pain and bore the suffering. Much of the time we endure pain and suffering because we have no other choice. We didn't ask for the chronic illness, or the depression, or the accident that leaves us in plaster for months. But sometimes our suffering is chosen willingly – the discomfort of recovering from an operation to donate a kidney to a loved one, choosing to marry someone who already lives with suffering, knowing that something of their pain will become ours, too, or giving up comfort and security to move to a deprived area on a low salary to care for the needy. In those cases, the sacrifice will – we hope – be worth it, because it eases someone else's pain. We share their sufferings with them, lightening their load. But I can't think of a single example of a way in which any of us could bear someone else's pain and suffering so completely that it was totally taken away from the other person. Only the Servant has ever done that. He has completely taken the pain and suffering that our transgressions deserved. Yes, we still experience the pain and suffering that come from living in a broken world (until he takes us to be with him in the place where there will be no more tears). But those of us who are united to Jesus by faith are completely spared all of the pain of the judgement of our sin. Jesus hasn't just shared it with us. He has taken it from us. Fully and completely. In place of punishment we have peace with God. And this was no mere transaction on a balance sheet. Not a nice, neat, clean solution to a theoretical problem. It was real, and physical and brutal. He was punished, stricken, pierced, crushed and wounded.  And he did it willingly. For us. Let's thank him for that today.

Isaiah 53:2b-3 He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.  He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. When we were reading Chapter 49 I said that the Servant was visually unimpressive – if you'd walked past him in the street in 1st Century Palestine you wouldn't have given him a second look. But actually, it's worse than that. Today's verse tells us that rather than being merely ignored, the Servant would be despised and looked down on. Why? Two reasons. Firstly, because he was not beautiful, and secondly, because he suffered pain. Both of those things made him uncomfortable to be around, in his own day. And both of those things are still, at the very least, awkward today. We live in a society that worships physical beauty.    Yes, there's a lot of talk about loving yourself and your body, whatever your shape or size, but that doesn't stop us being bombarded by messages encouraging us to pursue greater physical beauty. There's the occasional marketing campaign that features ‘real women' rather than airbrushed models, or models which a visible disability, but they're still treated as revolutionary, rather than being the norm. Even though we know it's not really true, we're still shaped by the assumption that physical beauty matters. That life would be better if I was more attractive.    And we easily assume that the effective, successful life, is marked by health and wholeness, rather than pain and suffering. So, if we were in charge of selecting a man for this role of Servant, wouldn't be want to pick someone who looks … well, attractive? Yet God very deliberately doesn't do that. Jesus' conception was utterly miraculous, so his appearance can't have been the inevitable consequence of the combination of Mary and Joseph's genes. However God did it, he created Jesus' body deliberately and intentionally. If he'd wanted to make Jesus the most handsome man ever born, he could have done. Similarly, when preparing the way for the Servant, surely God would want to remove every obstacle and difficulty that might interfere with his mission? Yet it turns out that the suffering and pain are essential to his mission. The coming of this Servant makes clear that - God's eyes at least - physical beauty doesn't count for much. And pain and suffering can accomplish things that health, wealth and happiness can't.  God values the obedience of the Servant more than his physique. The suffering and death of the Servant bring more lasting good into the world than the exams he might have passed, the certificates he might have received, or his contribution to his country's GDP. What a complete reversal of the values of our world! How wrong must our value judgements be, for us to look at the Servant and despise him. Let's pray that God would be teaching us more and more to value what he values, and to worship and honour the Servant who so many looked down on.

Isaiah 53:1-2a Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. In yesterday's verse, we read the promise of a day to come when all people will see and understand who Jesus is and why he came. But in the meantime - in Isaiah's time and today – the message of a suffering, saving servant, sent by God to rescue his people, will not be widely believed. Isaiah knows that this message is true, but hardly anyone is listening. He knows that God's arm is active, accomplishing his plans, but hardly anyone can see it. Why not? Because what God is doing is - at first glance – very small and insignificant. The Servant didn't come in a flash of blinding lights, surrounded by fireworks and serenaded by angels everywhere he went. Rather, he grew up like a tender shoot. Slowly, gradually, unimpressively. Weak and vulnerable. Not a precious sapling that's been given a good dose of fertiliser, surrounded by protective fencing and watered regularly. But a seedling that's appeared against all the odds, in a harsh climate. More like the stray flower that emerges from a crack in the pavement than the plant that flourishes in a well-kept garden. It's so small. So ordinary. So unimpressive. For a people who were facing the prospect of being overrun by their hostile neighbours, this wouldn't have seemed like the great salvation they needed. It certainly doesn't seem like a plan that could defeat sin, death, the world and even the devil himself. But, as the Servant himself would one day explain, the Kingdom of God doesn't look impressive on the outside. Rather, it's like a mustard seed. The smallest of all seeds that – remarkably - grows into something big and strong and flourishing, out of all proportion to what you would have expected. “God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong”, Paul writes, in 1 Corinthians. And so we can be confident that God's purposes WILL succeed, however unlikely that might seem. Even when others ridicule our faith, and write Jesus off as irrelevant or ineffective. Even when we look at ourselves and wonder how on earth God could possibly use us to bring others to Jesus. Even when we look at our world, and wonder if there is any power great enough to mend everything that is broken. Let's praise God that this tender shoot is stronger and more powerful than we can imagine, and ask for his help to keep believing in Jesus while we wait for the full extent of his glory and greatness to be finally revealed.

Isaiah 52:15b For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand. The ‘they' in this verse are the kings we thought about yesterday – those people who will stand silent as they face the final judgement, realising that the Servant who they rejected as worthless is in fact the exalted ruler and judge. At that moment, everything that wasn't obvious about the Servant during his lifetime will become clear. He may have looked unimpressive but he is in fact the Lord of all creation. He may have seemed powerless in the face of an unjust trial, but he is in fact the righteous judge of all people. This final day judgement is not just about the punishing of wrongdoing. It's about the putting right of everything that is wrong or broken, everywhere in the universe. Everything will be made as it should be. And so truth will be clear, hidden things will be revealed, foolishness will be replaced by understanding. This is a complete contrast to the world we find ourselves in right now. We still live in a fallen world, where we can't even trust our own thinking because it has been warped by sin. Left to our own devices, we don't just prefer darkness, we actually think it is light. We not only think and act foolishly, but we pride ourselves on how clever we are.  The people of Isaiah's time were just the same. When God commissions Isaiah to be a prophet, back in Chapter 6, he warns him that the people will “be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.” They have proved so determined to ignore what God has said to them that God himself will harden their hearts so that they cannot see or hear or understand. “How long will this last?” Isaiah asks. And God explains that it will continue until the promised judgement is complete. But there's a glimmer of hope that when the Servant comes, things might change. Here, we see that glimmer become clearer. Here we are promised that there will be a day when people WILL see and hear and understand what is really true – about God, and themselves, and the salvation which Jesus offers. In God's kindness, we don't need to wait until the final judgement for those things to become clear. All of us who have put our faith in Jesus have only done so because he has already opened our blind eyes and softened our hard hearts so that we could hear and understand and believe the good news of the gospel. Let's thank him for that today, and let's pray that his Spirit would continue to be at work in the lives of those who don't yet know him, so that they too might see, understand, repent, believe and be saved, before it is too late.

Isaiah 52:14-15a Just as there were many who were appalled at him - his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness – so he will sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him. Have you ever found yourself in a situation where whatever you say is only going to make things worse? Any excuse, or attempt to explain yourself will only underline your guilt and foolishness, and so you realise that the best thing to say is nothing at all. Today's verse reminds me of the scene in John's gospel where Jesus appears before Pilate in John. Jesus is helpless and Pilate holds all the cards. In that moment, many were appalled by Jesus. He was literally marred and disfigured by the intensity of the beating and whipping he received at the hands of the soldiers. And he was, as we will see next week, in v.7, silent in the face of Pilate's questioning. The last time Pilate set eyes on Jesus, it was pretty clear that Pilate was the powerful one, and Jesus' time was up. But that won't be the last Pilate ever sees of him. There will come a day when he – and every other human ruler who has ever opposed God's plans or mistreated God's people – will again find themselves face to face with Jesus. But next time, the tables will be turned. Jesus will then be lifted up and exalted, glorious in splendor and majesty. And Pilate will be the silent one. His mouth will be shut because there will be nothing he can possibly say in his own defence. What valid excuse is there for sentencing your creator to death? What do you say when you have presided over a miscarriage of justice, designed to get rid of the one who judges justly? This verse tells us that kings will shut their mouths on that final day when they face Jesus. But they won't be the only ones. All of us have, in our own ways, tried to silence Jesus' voice in our lives and live as our own rulers instead. All of us ought to stand silent before God on the day of judgement, without defence or excuse. Our only hope is in the sprinkled blood of the Servant who suffered and died in our place. Because of him, we – and those from many nations – will face that final day not silenced by guilt and terror, but singing the praises of our savior. Let open our mouths to praise him for our great salvation today.

Isaiah 52:13 See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. Last week, in Isaiah 50, we saw that the Servant was utterly obedient to his Lord, even when that led to painful suffering. In contrast to God's people, who are facing his judgement because of their rebellious disobedience. Now, in chapters 52-53 we get much more detail about the suffering which the Servant will experience, and why he is willing to endure it. But before we get into the details, we are given a quick glimpse of the end of the story. My mum has a habit of reading the final chapter of a book first, before starting again at the beginning. I don't really understand it(!) but I think at least part of the reason is to check whether the book is worth investing time in – if the ending's unsatisfactory, why bother reading the rest?! If any of Isaiah's readers were tempted to do the same thing, this verse saves them the trouble. We don't need to wait for the end of the story to find out what happens – the outcome of the Servant's work is guaranteed before it begins. He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. But that ending will be a great contrast to the rest of the story. For the next few days, our verses will be long on suffering and short on victory. Perhaps that's why we're told the ending in advance. We will need some hope to sustain us through the suffering. And if we – as readers - need that, how much more did the Servant need it himself, to endure what we only read about. Hebrews tells that that ‘for the joy that was set before him he endured the cross'. He, too, knew the ending before he began.  The one who set aside the glory of heaven to be born as a human baby knew that one day he would be returned to his rightful place, ruling at his Father's right hand.  There were plenty of moments in his life when that looked – humanly speaking – impossible. We may have days now when it seems impossible that we will ever keep going till the day when we get to join him there. But the ending is certain. He has already been raised and lifted up and highly exalted, and one day we will see that with our own eyes. Let's praise him for that today, and ask for his help to persevere through the suffering and struggles of this world, until we join him in glory.

Isaiah 50:8-9 He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me! It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me. Who will condemn me? They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up. In October 1987, at the age of 15, I was baptised as a Christian believer, alongside 6 of my friends. Each of us chose a short Bible passage to read, as we explained how we had come to put our faith in Jesus. My reading was from Romans 8: “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one.” Thirty-three years later, I'm every bit as grateful now as I was then that this is true. I was, and still am, a sinner who deserved nothing but condemnation from God. Yet he has acted graciously to justify me because of Jesus' death in my place. Therefore, all charges against me are dismissed. If God says I'm acceptable to him, who can possibly argue? No one. If the one who I have wronged declares me forgiven, what right does anyone else have to disagree? Absolutely none. What I've only just discovered is that the Apostle Paul wasn't the first Bible-writer to use this argument. Centuries earlier, the Servant says pretty much the same thing …. “Who will bring charges against me? ... It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me … Who will condemn me?” He's expecting the same answer. No one. No one can condemn the one who God has chosen. No one can accuse the one whom God declares innocent. The Servant doesn't fear anyone else's verdict. Not even the verdict of those who condemned him to death. God's decision is the only one that matters. And because of this Servant's sacrificial life and death, all of us who trust in him can confidently say along with him “Who will bring charges against me? No one.”  As my reading from Romans 8 concluded …. “I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Let's thank and praise him for that today.

Isaiah 50:7 Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint,     and I know I will not be put to shame. This is a strange verse, isn't it? Over the past couple of weeks, I've been using words like ‘humiliated' to describe the Servant. God himself has said that the Servant will be ‘despised' and ‘abhorred'. So how can the Servant say here ‘I will not be disgraced' and ‘I will not be put to shame'? It makes more sense when we realise that this idea of ‘being put to shame' has appeared before, earlier in the book of Isaiah. In chapters 20-45 there are 7 verses where we read of people being put to shame. Each time, the people who face disgrace are the ones who are opposing God. The people who put their trust in other nations, instead of relying on God's promises to them. The people who make and worship idols instead of worshipping the one true God. The wicked. Those who do evil. Those who blaspheme against the Lord. In those chapters, God makes it clear that those who oppose him will ultimately be put to shame. But he also promises that the people who he saves will never be put to shame. It's clear which group the Servant belongs in, isn't it? He is perfectly obedient to the Lord. He has never rebelled. And so he knows what God's verdict on him will be. He will never be put to shame. Yes, he will be despised and rejected and humiliated by men, but that will only be temporary. When it comes to God's final, lasting verdict, the only one that counts, he will be vindicated and honoured. Knowing that, he is able to set his face firmly in the direction of costly obedience, not deflected by any human opinion. So let's praise him today for his steadfast obedience, and give him the honour and glory that he rightly deserves.

Isaiah 50:6 I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. Yesterday we thought about the Servant's obedience to the Lord, and how he alone of all people could truthfully say “I have not been rebellious”.  Which is a remarkable thing under any circumstances, but is even more amazing when we remember what obedience to the Lord's will involved for him. The instructions which he was given didn't lead him down a path of comfortable satisfaction. Instead, they set him on a collision course with the religious leaders of his day which ended in a shameful, agonising public death. Today's verse is not just a metaphor, to tell us that his obedience would be painful. It's a literal account of the physical pain and humiliation which Jesus endured at the hands of the soldiers who tortured him before his crucifixion. Yet even then, he did not turn away. He didn't shrink back from the cost of his God-given mission. He does more than simply endure it, like someone resigned to their fate because they have no option to escape. His is a willing, active obedience. He offers his back, his cheeks, his whole body, when he could have escaped in the blink of an eye.  As he took his dying breaths he was taunted by the crowd – “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” He stayed where he was, not because he had no choice, but because we willingly accepted his role as our sacrificial substitute. This is how we know that the cross is not just a tragic accident. An unfortunate end to a promising life. Jesus knew exactly what he was doing when we went to his death in our place. It was all agreed within the Trinity long before anyone laid a hand on Jesus's body. Long before he even had a body. From before the creation of the world, God knew exactly, to the last blow, what our redemption would cost. And so we get given just a glimpse of it here, written on Isaiah's scroll, to reassure us of both the Lord's complete sovereignty and the Servant's complete, willing obedience. Let's give thanks for those things today.

Isaiah 50:5b I have not been rebellious, I have not turned away. Yesterday, we saw how the Lord speaks daily to the Servant. Today, we see how the Servant responds to those words. They are not merely background noise to him, or one voice among many others, which he can pick and choose between. Rather, the Lord's voice is what the Servant listens to AND obeys. When he hears God's instructions, he is obedient rather than rebellious. This is particularly striking when we remember that Isaiah's ministry is all about warning God's people of the judgement that is coming because they have been disobedient. Everywhere we look, in the earlier chapters of the book, we see a people turning their backs on God's words and doing their own thing instead. And so the obedience of the Servant stands out in complete contrast. But he's not just unique amongst the people of Israel in the time of Isaiah. He is uniquely obedient, compared to every person who has ever lived. From Adam and Eve onwards, human history is the story of God speaking, and people turning away. And we're no different. We too have the privilege of hearing God speak wonderful words of wisdom and grace and compassion to us daily. Indeed, we are more blessed than many previous generations, since we have these words written for us to refer to for ourselves, in a language we can understand. It's on our bookcases, and – probably – electronically in our pockets.  An ocean's-worth of ink has been used to write commentaries and devotions and bible study guides so that we can know and understand these words better. And yet none of that makes us any more obedient than those who didn't have such advantages! Only the Servant can say “I have not been rebellious. I have not turned away.” As we look at his life of perfect obedience, it highlights more clearly for us our failure to live like that. Our failure to love the Lord with all our heart and soul and mind and strength, and to love our neighbour as ourself, as Jesus did. How wonderfully gracious of Jesus, therefore, that he didn't come into the world to condemn us – “See, this is what your life ought to look like!” but to save us, by transferring his perfect obedience to us at the cross. Let's praise him for that today.

Isaiah 50:4b-5a He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed. The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears; Yesterday we heard about the Servant's well-instructed tongue. Today we find that his ears are equally well-trained! At first glance, we might not be surprised by this verse. We know that the Servant, who is speaking here, has been appointed by God to bring God's wayward people back to him. Since the Servant is working for the Lord, it makes sense that he should listen to his boss. But we know, better than Isaiah did, that this Servant is in fact Jesus, God's own son. God himself in a human body. That being so, why does he need to be quite so disciplined about listening to his Father? Doesn't he already know everything he needs to know? He has the closest relationship to God of anyone who has ever lived. Yet he still begins each day by listening to the words of the Lord. He comes to his Father humbly, seeking instruction and guidance. As we'll see tomorrow, he wants to hear and obey the Father, rather than going his own way and serving his own agenda. When the Lord wakens the Servant with his words, the Servant is alert and attentive. He doesn't want to miss any of it. No pressing snooze and going back to sleep. God's voice is not an unwelcome interruption to his day, but the thing he most wants to hear. If God's own son needed to listen to the Father, how much more do we? If we're ever tempted to think ‘I don't need to read the Bible today … I already know what God's going to say', let's remember this image of the Servant, deliberately tuning his ears to his Father's voice. And let's pray today that we would increasingly love to listen to our Father's voice, as the Servant does.

Isaiah 50:4a The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. In our household at the moment there's a lot of discussion about Christmas presents. The extended family have been asking ‘What would the girls like for Christmas?' and so lists are being prepared! As far as I know, no-one's requested ‘a well-instructed tongue' but now that I've read this verse, I think I'd quite like one! Imagine never being at a loss for what to say … Always ready with the right word in a tricky situation. Able to speak in a way that sustains the weary. Able to unravel a complicated situation so that the way-ahead is clear. Able to speak the truth gently. Imagine never having to apologise because you spoke harshly, or got the wrong end of the stick, or said the right thing in the wrong way or at the wrong time. “No human being can tame the tongue”, writes James, in his New Testament letter.  “Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect.” We all need a well-instructed tongue. Yet none of us has one, and none of us is likely to find out underneath the Christmas tree! Only Jesus can claim to speak perfectly. His is the only well-instructed tongue the world has ever heard.  And what did he do with it? He used it to announce the good news of the coming kingdom of God. To call people to repent of their sin and follow him. To pronounce forgiveness for sinners and healing for sufferers. To teach his followers how to come to the Father in prayer. We know that his words had sufficient authority to cast out demons and raise the dead. If he'd wanted to, he could absolutely have used his words to raise up a powerful following, entirely devoted to his own comfort and satisfaction. He could have used his words to serve himself, rather than serving others. But he didn't. Instead, he used his words to sustain the weary. Let's praise him for that today. And let's pray that we would be those who listen carefully to his words so that our tongues might learn more and more to speak in a way that honours him.

Isaiah 49:7c This is what the Lord says – the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel – to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: ‘Kings will see you and stand up, princes will see and bow down, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.' Are you bored of Covid yet? Or maybe it's something else that is sapping your energy and joy – a long-term medical condition, or some other difficulty that seems to have become a permanent feature of your life rather than just a temporary interruption. Many things in life are hard to experience, but I think we probably struggle most with the ones that drag on without any end in sight. Persevering when there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel is incredibly tough. That's why we need to be reminded that the Lord is faithful. He doesn't give up. He will never abandon either his purposes or his people. As we were reminded yesterday, there IS always light at the end of the tunnel. Ultimately, the story ends with Jesus exalted and victorious, and all evil and suffering done away with completely and forever. We don't know how soon that day will come, and it's entirely possible that it could be today! But if it isn't, then we may need to wait for months or years or decades or generations to see God's plans fully and finally fulfilled.  If that's the case, what can keep us waiting for it in hope, rather than giving up in despair? What was it that enabled the Servant to keep going through all the days when he was despised and rejected? This verse tells us. It's “because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you.”  If God was simply a great innovator, known for starting remarkable things, that would have been little comfort to the Servant in his suffering. His hope came from knowing that God is a completer-finisher. God's plan was that he would enjoy glory, through suffering. One day there would be a cross, but beyond that there would be a crown. God's faithfulness guaranteed that the glory, and the crown, would be given him in the end. God wasn't going to abandon the plan half-way through. But nor was he going to leave the servant to persevere alone. Faithfulness is more than a dogged commitment to finish the job, come what may. God's faithfulness is relational. He's not simply committed to his plans, he's committed in love to his people. He is faithful to his people in the way that the best imaginable husband is faithful to his wife. To be properly faithful in marriage means far more than simply not committing adultery! It means consistent, daily, self-giving, generous love.  That's what God's faithfulness to his people looks like.  Even when life is hard, God is faithful. He will bring us through it, into eternal joy and rest, as he has promised. And in the meantime he is faithfully with us, loving us, protecting us, guiding us and strengthening us to persevere. Let's thank him for that today.

Isaiah 49:7b This is what the Lord says – the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel – to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: ‘Kings will see you and stand up, princes will see and bow down, Back in verse 4, we got our first hint that even though the Servant has been called by the God who rules the universe, his work looks more energy-sapping than epically-successfully; more, well, servant-like, than kingly. In today's verse, that is spelt out even more clearly. When the Servant comes, people will not be queueing up to listen to him. They won't even politely ignore him. Instead, he will face outright hostility. He will be despised and rejected. ‘Abhorred', as it says here – which is such a strong word that I don't think I've ever used it in everyday conversation! It means, apparently, to regard something or someone with horror or loathing. It's a shocking way for someone who has been appointed by God to be treated. But that's not the worst thing. The greater surprise comes when we see just who does the loathing. It's the whole nation. Not just one or two misguided individuals, but all the people. Isn't that an accurate description of the reaction that Jesus got when he came to earth? Yes, he did have friends and followers, but he was also widely hated, despised and ridiculed. And by the end of his life, the hostility had the upper hand – his followers fled whilst his opponents delighted in his defeat.  As Jesus stands before Pontius Pilate, battered and humiliated, he's being treated far worse than a servant by both the Jewish leaders and the Roman rulers. And yet, this is not the end of the story. God himself makes a promise to the Servant that one day that picture of the Servant in the hands of human authorities will be completely turned on its head. One day, the kings and rulers who rejected Jesus will stand up to honour him. One day, the nations who saw him as abhorrent will worship him as the greatest and most beautiful man who ever lived. Whenever it seems that evil has the upper hand, we need to remember the end of the story. One day, nothing and no-one will hold any power at all, except the Lord and his Servant.  On that day, at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, either willingly as his children or unwillingly as his defeated enemies. Let's praise him for that today, and bow before him willingly while we have the chance.

Isaiah 49:7a This is what the Lord says – the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel – Did you notice what Isaiah does in this verse? Just as he's about to report to the people something that God has said to the Servant, he interrupts himself to tell them something important about who God is. That may not seem very significant on its own, but if we were to read through the whole of chapters 42-49 together, we'd see that it's not just a one-off, but something he does repeatedly. 13 times in fact. It's as if he wants to keep reminding the people why they must listen to the words of the Lord. This isn't just anyone speaking, but the Redeemer, the Holy One, the creator, the king, the rescuer, the Lord Almighty. Some of those titles are self-explanatory. But what, exactly, is a redeemer? It's not a word that we hear much outside of church and the Bible, so even if we recognise it as a description of God, we might not be very clear about what it means. The best place to look in the Bible to discover what ‘redeemer' means is in the book of Ruth. There we read the story of a widowed Israelite – Naomi. When she loses first her husband and then both of her sons, she is not just bereaved but also bereft. She has no-one to provide for her and her two daughters-in-law, no breadwinner, no safety or security. So, she returns to Israel – the land of her birth, where she will be dependent on the kindness of others. Ruth, her daughter-in-law, goes with her and keeps them both alive by going into the fields at harvest time to gather up the leftover grain. There she meets Boaz. He turns out to be a distant relative of Naomi's late husband, who wants to provide for these vulnerable women by marrying Ruth and buying back the family land. In other words, he wants to act as their ‘kinsman-Redeemer' - the guardian who bears the responsibility for safeguarding the weak and providing for the needy within the extended family. We might think that sounds like a burden, but remarkably, it turns out that Boaz doesn't even have to do it. There is a closer relative, who ought really to be the redeemer in this situation. Yet Boaz goes out of his way to take on the responsibility for meeting Naomi and Ruth's needs Boaz acts, therefore, as a picture of God's redeeming work – not only for the people of Isaiah's day but also for us, who are redeemed by the death of Jesus. Motivated entirely by his own love and goodness, God steps in to meet our needs, pay our debts and secure our safety. He isn't obligated to do this – he willingly chooses to become our Redeemer. Let's thank him for that today, and let's commit ourselves to listen carefully to what this Redeemer says when he speaks. For who wouldn't want to listen to someone who has demonstrated such sacrificial love?

Isaiah 49:6 he says: ‘It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.' As we saw in verse 5, the job of the Servant is to restore God's people back into right relationship with him. This is not going to be an easy task – it requires the servant to die, taking the judgement that the people deserved upon himself. Yet, remarkably, God says that this is ‘too small a thing'. He can't possibly mean “it's not difficult enough, I'd better give you something harder!” Nothing could be more apparently impossible than for the sinless son of the everlasting God to die bearing the penalty for sin. Nor does he say “It isn't really fair for non-Jews to miss out on this salvation. In the interests of equality, I think we'd better open this covenant up to everyone.”  I think that's what we'd expect. What we'd insist on, even. “Come on God, of course you've got to let us in. It's hardly my fault I was born into the wrong family!” Entirely forgetting that relationship with God has always been about his gracious forgiveness being extended to the undeserving, rather than about what any of us might be entitled to. No. The reason that we – the Gentiles – get to share in the benefits of being God's people is nothing to do with us! It's all about the glory of the Servant. He is so great that his light deserves to shine throughout the whole world, not just in one small corner of Palestine. His gracious love is so vast that it overflows national boundaries, to encompass all people everywhere. His sacrificial death is so precious that it saves a countless multitude. His majesty is so great that people from every tribe and language and nation will sing about it for all eternity. Why do we get to share in the promises first made to Abraham? Not because we deserve to. But because the servant deserves the glory that comes from such a great salvation. Let's praise him for that today.

Isaiah 49:5b for I am honoured in the eyes of the Lord and my God has been my strength – Whose opinion matters most to you? Some of us feel almost paralysed by the weight of other people's expectations, and our desire for them to approve of what we do, say and think. Others of us think less about other people's opinions. But for all of us, there will be some people whose opinions carry particular significance. Some person, or people, who we especially want to think well of us and praise us. Maybe they are the people we love most. Maybe they are especially gifted or successful in a particular field, and we value their expert opinion. Maybe we crave someone's approval because they're notoriously hard to please, and so a compliment from them is especially precious. The Servant is not – at first glance – someone who everyone is queueing up to praise. So far, we know that he is quiet and gentle. In future weeks we'll see that he is also despised and rejected. He's not a likely candidate for one of those annual lists of ‘The world's 100 most influential people'.  And yet, he doesn't seem to mind. “For I am honoured in the eyes of the Lord” he says. It is the Lord's verdict that matters to him. The rest of the world can hate him, reject him and mistreat him – and indeed, it did, and continues to do so – but that's not where he looks for validation. That doesn't mean that the rejection doesn't hurt him – it must have wounded him deeply to be despised by those he loves and came to rescue. The world did have the power to bruise him – physically and emotionally. But it doesn't have the power to completely strip him of his confidence and strength, because those things come from his Lord. God's verdict on him is the only one that really matters. That's what he will listen to most. Even in his final hours, when the crowd is baying for his blood, he will be honoured in the eyes of the Lord. He will know his Father's approval, as he is faithful to his calling.  I wonder if the knowledge of his calling was partly what helped him to keep his focus on pleasing God, rather than trying to please the world?  The Servant knows who is, and what his life on earth is for. God has chosen and appointed him to his task, so it is God's honour that he cares about. Although we don't have the Servant's unique role, we too have been chosen and appointed by God. Chosen to be adopted as his children and appointed to live as a holy people, declaring his praises to the world around us. So today, let's pray that we would learn from Jesus how to value God's opinion of us – as his precious, loved, forgiven children – more highly than we value the opinion of the world.

Isaiah 49:5a And now the Lord says – he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, From Genesis 12 onwards, God committed himself especially to lead and guide and bless one particular family – Abraham's descendants - that grew into one particular nation – the people of Israel. Even though God always was and continues to be the creator and sustainer of everyone, everywhere, these people enjoyed a unique relationship with him. They had both God's words – in the law – and his special presence among them – in the tabernacle (and later, the temple). Yet still they repeatedly turned their backs on him and were unfaithful, following other gods and behaving just like all the other nations around them. And so it will be the job of the Servant to bring them back. When you think about it, this pattern of turning away and restoration is the constant theme of the whole Bible. We're given many striking images of God's relationship with his people to express this same idea: He is the husband of an unfaithful wife in the book of Hosea, he is the shepherd of wandering sheep in Ezekiel 34, he is the patient father of a rebellious son (also in Hosea). This ‘bringing back' and ‘gathering to himself' is not an occasional activity on God's part. It's his constant purpose, the expression of his essential character. And so it's no surprise that this activity is characteristic of Jesus, too. When the promised Servant comes, he announces himself as the ‘good shepherd' who will restore the lost sheep once and for all. His very first miracle, at Cana, reveals him to be the bridegroom of God's people, who will purify his bride –the church – so that she can enjoy a wedding banquet with him forever. One of his most famous stories features a loving father running with his arms wide open to welcome back the son who had squandered his entire inheritance. We – the rebellious, unfaithful, wandering sheep – are so blessed to have a God like this. One who doesn't turn his back on us when we turn away from him. One who is patient to restore us, and who gave his one and only son to bring us back to himself. Let's not despise that because it is so familiar. Rather, let's thank him for it afresh today. And let's ask God to teach us to walk more and more closely with him until the day when we are finally gathered into his presence in glory.

Isaiah 49:4b Yet what is due to me is in the Lord's hand, and my reward is with my God.' As we saw yesterday, the Servant's mission to save God's people is going to cost him everything he has, and will end in pain, weakness, humiliation and death.  That's not a mission that would immediately appeal to most of us! Perhaps it's no surprise, then, that when Jesus begins his adult ministry, the Devil appears to him in the wilderness and tries to tempt him away from obedience to the job he has been given. If you remember the event, from Matthew chapter 4, you'll know that the devil offers Jesus ‘all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour' if he will turn away from trusting his Father and worship the devil instead.  The words of this verse perfectly summarise why Jesus says No. The promised Servant has complete faith in the One who has called him. He will only accept the reward that comes from the Lord's hand. He won't turn away from his calling and chase rewards that come from elsewhere, even though that would have been a much easier path. So, Jesus said No the devil's offer of earthly power. Just as he spent his whole life saying No to the constant temptation to seek comfort, satisfaction or status from going his own way instead of living the life God had called him to. This verse beautifully reveals the humility of Jesus. Instead of fighting for his ‘rights', and pursuing his own rewards, he entrusts himself entirely to his Father's will. Whatever God chooses to give him he will willingly accept. Whatever God withholds, he won't scheme to get it some other way. So today, let's praise Jesus for his perfect humility and willingness to trust himself and his future to his Father's will. And let's ask him to change our hearts so that we would increasingly do the same.

Isaiah 49:3-4a 3 He said to me, ‘You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendour.' 4 But I said, ‘I have laboured in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing at all. At first glance, today's verse appears to be an argument between God Almighty, and the promised Servant. God is confident that the Servant will be glorious – he is the one God will use to display his splendour to the world. Yet the Servant seems to disagree – “I'm exhausted” he says. “I've poured out everything I have but there's nothing to show for it.” There's nothing splendid about his experience. Yet this is not a disagreement in the heart of the Trinity. The Father and the Son are both always perfectly committed to their shared salvation plan. Rather, I think it's an example of a paradox that we find repeated time and again in the Bible: Our God is glorified in weakness. We see this most clearly at the cross. When Jesus is ‘lifted up' to be crucified we see a weak, tortured, humiliated man. His life's work seems to have come to nothing. He came to announce the coming of the Kingdom of God, yet now he has barely any energy left to speak. He is rejected by the religious establishment and deserted by his followers. What does he have to show for his life of obedience to the Father? And yet, at the same time it is the greatest display of God's splendour the world has ever seen. Never before has the extraordinary extent of God's love and grace and generosity to sinners been so clearly visible. Jesus is not only ‘lifted up' to die. He is ‘lifted up' and highly exalted, for his saving work to be seen and marvelled at by all the world. At the moment when it seems that evil and darkness have won, we see God reveal his glory. At the moment when the suffering Servant takes his last breath we see his majesty. To a world that doesn't know God, splendour and weakness seem to be irreconcilable opposites. But for those of us who know him, they should be inseparable. The God who reigns over all things is the same one who took on human flesh to live as a servant. Born in poverty, killed in pain and humiliation. Now risen and exalted and reigning in majesty for ever. So today, let's praise and worship the one who deserves all glory and honour because he so willingly poured out his life and strength so that we might be saved.

Isaiah 49:2b in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver. What's the safest place you can think of? It's not a question that often occurs to us here in the UK in 2020. If we'd lived in London during the Blitz, we'd probably have had a very good idea where the nearer Air Raid shelter was, and which furniture was sturdy enough to hide under if we couldn't get there in time. In today's verse, we discover where the Servant finds safety and security: in the shadow of the hand of God. But the Servant hasn't had to search out this hiding place for himself. Instead, God reaches out to cover him from harm. It's a beautiful picture. But it's also quite surprising, given everything else we know about this Servant. Taken on its own, this verse might mean that the person God wants to save is swept up into his hand and hidden far away from any possible risk of harm. Wouldn't that be lovely?! But that can't be exactly what he means.  The Servant has been chosen by God to be the rescuer of his people.  As we'll read later on, this will be no easy job. The Servant will be despised, rejected and eventually killed to accomplish his mission. Surely if God was serious about protecting this Servant, he'd keep him safely out of harm's way by not sending him to do this painful and difficult work in the first place! Hiding in an Air Raid shelter during the Blitz was better than nothing, but living in a country at peace would surely have been a whole lot safer. The people of Isaiah's day faced a similar puzzle. God has already warned them that they face judgement and exile because of their rejection of him. Then they hear that he will send this Servant to be their rescuer. Wouldn't it be great if the coming of the Servant meant that they were going to be spared the suffering after all? But it turns out not to work like that. Everything that God has warned of in chapters 1-39 is still going to happen. In fact, the Servant isn't even going to be born until hundreds of years later. Yet, in Chapter 51, God promises the people the exact same safety and refuge that he gives the Servant here. “I have … covered you with the shadow of my hand” he tells them.  Total safety and protection. Not the complete absence of suffering, or judgement, but protection through it. Not an immediate ceasefire, so that no bombs fall, but the provision of a strong enough shelter to withstand the damage. The Servant was held safely in the shadow of God's hand throughout his life and death, into eternal resurrection. And because we have been united to him by faith, that's where we are too. Even in the midst of all the suffering and dangers of a fallen world, we are safe in the Lord's hands throughout our life and death and into eternity. Let's thank him for that today.

Isaiah 49:2a He made my mouth like a sharpened sword As I've worked my way through Isaiah over the past few months, I've been amazed to discover how often Isaiah words are quoted – either directly, or indirectly – in the New Testament. Again and again I find myself reading a verse and thinking ‘I'm sure I've heard that somewhere before ….'  This is one of those verses! In the apostle John's vision, in the Book of Revelation, the risen and exalted Jesus is described as having ‘a sharp double-edged sword' coming out of his mouth. It's a striking image, and also an unusual one. Only Jesus' mouth contains a double-edged sword, because only Jesus' words have the power to bring judgement, to determine life or death for those who hear him. So many people underestimate Jesus … “He was just a good moral teacher” they say. From one perspective, it's easy to see why – he was, after all, a humble, gentle servant. Born in a stable, not a palace. Riding a donkey, not a war horse. Leading a small, motley band of largely poor and uneducated disciples, rather than a powerful, disciplined, victorious army.  If you'd passed him in the street you probably wouldn't have given him a second glance. ‘Nothing to see here'. Which is why we need a powerful visual image, like the one in this verse, to make us look again.  After all, if you actually met a man with a sword literally coming out of his mouth, I think you'd stop and take a second look! Jesus' physical appearance may have been unimpressive, but his words … well, that's a whole different matter! When he speaks, that's when we discover that he is like no other man who ever lived. His words make the blind see, the lame walk, and the dead return to life. “I am the way, and the truth and the life” says Jesus. As we listen to him, and trust his words, we find life and truth and a way into eternal relationship with God as our Father. But those same words bring condemnation and judgement for those who reject them. “There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day” says Jesus. A double-edged sword. Life or death, salvation or judgement. Jesus' words bring both. They have power greater than any human weapon ever devised. Let's pray today that we will be those who will trust and depend on the life-giving words of Jesus.

Isaiah 49:1b before I was born the Lord called me; from my mother's womb he has spoken my name. Even in an age when choosing your own identity is considered to be almost a basic human right, we find it hard not to project our ideas about the future onto babies and children. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” “I wonder if she'll follow in her mother's footsteps?” It's fascinating to look at a newborn baby and realise that you could be looking at a future Prime Minister, Nobel Prize winner or Under 11s table tennis champion. You just don't know! A child born today could grow up to pursue a career that doesn't even exist yet. But that wasn't the case for the Servant. From before he was even born, there was no doubt at all what his life's work would be. He was chosen and set apart by God to be the saviour of God's people. This verse just tells us that he was called before birth, but 1 Peter 1 tells us that in fact he was chosen before the creation of the world. The Servant was appointed to be the saviour before any of the people he would save had even been made, and before the sin from which we would need saving made its first messy marks on God's perfect creation.  Isn't that so reassuring? At no point in human history has God ever been caught off-guard. Never has he had to scrabble around for a Plan B because his original idea failed. His wonderful decision to send Jesus to be our rescuer has stood the test of time, accomplishing God's purposes perfectly. Even more wonderfully, we know from the rest of the Bible that this Servant is not an unwilling participant in the salvation plan, like the child who inherits a generations-old family business, but who would much rather have done something else with their life instead. This Servant is only born into a human body because he chose to leave the glory of heaven in order to save us.  He didn't have to go anywhere near a mother's womb if he didn't want to. But he chose birth, and life and death, in all their messiness and pain, for our sake. Let's thank and praise him for that today.

Isaiah 49:1a Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations:   Over the past 2 weeks, we've looked at verses from chapter 42, where God tells us, through Isaiah, about the character and work of the promised Servant. This week, in chapter 49, we get to hear the Servant himself speaking. And look who he is speaking to! ‘Islands', as we've already seen, means ‘everywhere that isn't Israel'. The Servant, when he speaks, addresses all the nations - not just those who considered themselves to be God's people.  Who does this Servant think he is?! It's one thing to the expect a hearing from the small band of people who already identify as followers of Yahweh. It's quite another to demand the attention of the entire world! Yet that is exactly what he does: "Listen to me, you islands. Hear this, you distant nations" All people, everywhere. Stop what you're doing and pay attention to me! If Isaiah was writing today, I imagine he'd be bracing himself for the backlash: "What right have you got to go foisting your religious ideas on the rest of the world?!" "By all means keep your own traditions alive, but don't expect everyone else to join in.” "Haven't you heard of cultural imperialism?!" It's still – just about – OK in our society for Christians to listen to God (providing he doesn't say anything too controversial!).  It's definitely not OK for us to suggest that what God says applies to everyone, everywhere, even those who don't call themselves his people. Most people might reluctantly agree that God's allowed to speak to his followers if they've willingly signed up to receive his emails. But they're pretty convinced that he hasn't got the right to broadcast, uninvited, across the airwaves.   Except, of course, he has. Because there isn't a person alive in the world right now who God didn't make. There isn't a single square inch of the planet that isn't his, because he created it all. So when he sends his Servant as his appointed ambassador, the Servant has every right to address all people everywhere.   Let's not be bullied into thinking that Jesus is only relevant to the few who call themselves Christians. The coming of this Servant is momentous news for the whole world - those who were waiting for him and those who've never heard of him. Those who welcome his coming and those who want to turn him away.   Let's pray today that allpeople everywhere would listen to the words of Jesus, and acknowledge his authority over them. And let that begin with us.

Isaiah 42:9 See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.' So far, we've seen that the promised Servant will be gentle, just and faithful. He will bring hope and light to all the nations, by being the one who makes possible God's covenant with his people. He will free the captives and make the blind see. Doesn't that sound exactly like the life and ministry of Jesus, as described in the pages of the New Testament? Even the people of Isaiah's time had some grounds for knowing that God keeps his promises. They have already seen all the ‘former things' that God has done for his people, from the calling of Abraham to the Exodus from Egypt and the entry into the Promised Land. Again and again, God has announced in advance his good plans for his people, and then acted mightily to make those things happen. So, when he promised ‘new things' - that the nation will be brought safely through the coming judgment and exile, and then restored by the promised Servant - they had good reason to believe that it would happen. But they didn't get to see the compete fulfilment for themselves. The return from exile wouldn't happen in their lifetime. It would be hundreds of years before the Servant would set foot in their land. How much more confident we can be of God's faithfulness, now that we have seen this Servant for ourselves. One of the things I love most about the Bible is the way that we get to see God's purposes developed, from Old Testament promises to real, flesh-and-blood historical New Testament events. It's like watching an artist sketch a rough pencil outline, lightly at first, but then building up the details and filling in the colours until we see the complete masterpiece in all its glory. So let's praise God today for faithfully keeping his promises in the past, and ask for his help to go on trusting him completely as we wait for the completion of the promises that are yet to be fulfilled.

Isaiah 42:8 I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols. Back in verse 5 we were reminded that God is the creator and sustainer of all things. He is the covenant LORD who has committed himself to care for and protect his people. As we remember those things, it would be fitting to praise him. In fact, the next section of this chapter is all about the praise and glory which a God like that deserves from all people everywhere. When human leaders court glory and chase praise, it's usually a bad sign. We're rightly sceptical of people who go out of their way to tell us how great they are, or who insist that we celebrate their successes. I think most of us would probably take being described as someone who ‘blows their own trumpet' or ‘hogs the limelight' as criticisms rather than compliments. God alone is right to direct the spotlight onto himself. God alone can draw attention to his greatness, goodness, power and wisdom without being selfish or self-obsessed.  God alone is entitled to command that all people everywhere should sing his praises. He deserves all glory and honour. And so it is right that he should guard that glory jealously. Nothing and no-one comes close to God in holiness and might, authority and wisdom, mercy and grace. So nothing and no-one should share the praise which he deserves. And yet … there is one who is entitled to sit at the Father's right hand and share the applause of his people for eternity. The Servant, who we see in Isaiah as a humble and often despised figure, is in fact the risen and exalted Lord Jesus Christ before whom every knee will one day bow. When the LORD shares his glory with the Servant, he is not giving glory to some undeserving other. When Jesus is worshipped in heaven, it is not as an idol who has stolen the praise which is due to God.  The Servant deserves to be worshipped as God because he is God. That wasn't made clear to the people of Isaiah's day, but we can look back and know that the Servant we read of here is none other than God himself in human form. And so he is fully deserving of all the praise and glory and honour and worship that we – and every creature ever created – can give him. Let's praise and worship wholeheartedly today.

Isaiah 42:7 I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness Over the past few years we've got used to retailers using our order history to target us with offers for things that they think we're likely to want. Unfortunately, it doesn't work so well for families like ours, where we share one account between us. My husband recently bought some bits for servicing his bike and so now I'm targeted with ads for all kinds of replacement bike parts, most of which I couldn't even name!  I'm never going to click on the link, or take up the special offer, because they're not things I'm remotely interested in. We only respond to the ads that get it right – the ones that offer us things we actually want, or recognise that we need. In this verse we're shown another aspect of what the Servant has come to do. He is sent to open the eyes of the blind, and release the prisoners. Is that an irresistible offer? Or just another piece of irrelevant spam to be ignored? It all depends on how we see ourselves. If we know that we are the blind, sitting in darkness, unable to clearly God, or ourselves, or the true nature of reality around us, then we'll welcome someone who comes to open our eyes. If we know that we are hopelessly trapped by our sin, held captive by the devil, then we'll welcome someone who comes to set us free. But if we see ourselves as clear-eyed, far-sighted, liberated individuals, successfully making our own choices and living life our own way, then this servant has nothing to offer us. The gospel is good news to those who know they need to be rescued, but utter foolishness to those who don't think they are lost. Which are we? So today – whether for the first time, or the millionth time – let's ask God to grant us the humility to see ourselves as we really are: blind prisoners, in need of rescue. And let's thank him for sending us the rescuer we so desperately need.

Isaiah 42:6b I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles Yesterday we remembered that God is a covenant-making, covenant-keeping God. He chose for himself a people to be his very own, and committed to blessing them. He proved himself to be faithful to that promise even when they were repeatedly unfaithful to him. So it seems natural when we read about ‘a covenant for the people' to assume that God has in mind only those people, the 12 tribes of Israel. But in fact as we read on today, we discover that the Servant has come not only for those who are already part of God's people, but also for the Gentiles. The outsiders. The other nations who weren't included by birth in the promises which God had made to Abraham. We already got a glimpse of this back in verse 4, when we read about ‘the islands' putting their hope in the promised Servant. Throughout Isaiah, ‘the islands' refers to the Gentile nations who don't yet know God. Here we see another important aspect of the Servant's mission – he comes to throw open the gates of God's kingdom to those from every tribe and tongue, every language and nation. Which is good news for all those of us without any Jewish ancestry. We were born outside the promises of God. We have no natural claim on the covenant promises which were made to Abraham and his descendants. Yet God has graciously invited us in. He has sent this Servant to shine his light into the remotest corners of his world to seek and to save us. Let's praise and thank him for his generosity in opening up his kingdom to us, who were far off, and bringing us near to him through Jesus.

Isaiah 42:6a I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people So far in this chapter, God has been speaking to the people about the Servant. It's as if he is standing on a stage in front of his people, with the Servant next to him, introducing him to them. But here in verses 6 to 7 God turns to speak to the Servant himself. It's a bit like when a service leader introduces a visiting preacher to a church and says something like, “well, Steve, I'm delighted to welcome you to speak to us today. It's been 20 years since I first met you at Bible college, and it's been so great to keep in touch and watch how God has used you in your ministry. You've been a real encouragement to me.”  Why on earth is the leader telling Steve that they've been good friends for 20 years? Surely Steve knows that already!  Of course, he's not saying it for Steve's benefit … He's speaking to Steve but he's saying it for the congregation who are listening. He wants the people to know that this is someone who he knows and trusts. Someone who has been faithful in ministry for many years and is therefore worth listening to. I think it's the same here. What God says in these verses is addressed to the Servant, but he's not speaking for the Servant's benefit. It's intended for the people, so that they will understand who the Servant is and why he has come. They, and we, need to know that this Servant is called and led and protected by God himself. He's not self-appointed. He has been chosen by the LORD for this mission. But what is his mission? He has come to be ‘a covenant for the people'. What does that mean?! A covenant is a binding promise. When God says here that he will make his Servant ‘a covenant for the people' it's not that the Servant is suddenly inventing the idea of a covenant where one ever existed before. From the time of Abraham onwards, God's relationship with his people has always been a covenant relationship in which he committed himself to be their God and to bless them.  Rather, I think it means that the Servant will be the mediator of the covenant, the basis of the covenant – the one who makes it possible. Only with the coming of Jesus do we discover how it is that a holy God can enter into binding relationship with sinful people. Only by the death of Jesus can we fully enjoy the blessings of being God's people, in God's place, living under his rule and blessing for all eternity, which God first promised to Abraham. So, today, let's thank God that we can experience the blessings of being part of his covenant people forever, because of the death of the Servant in our place.

Isaiah 42:5 This is what God the Lord says – the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it So far we've seen that the promised Servant will be just, faithful, gentle and will bring hope to the world. That sounds amazing! He's exactly what our unjust, fickle, hostile, cynical world needs. But maybe it's just too good to be true. How can we be sure? How could the people of Isaiah's day – facing the prospect of judgement and exile – be certain that God really would send them such a wonderful rescuer? Here in v.5 is God's answer. We can be confident that this Servant will come, and will be as wonderful as has been promised, because God's word is powerful and trustworthy. The God who makes this promise – to Isaiah and to us - is the creator. Everything that exists exists because he made it. He spoke, and galaxies appeared, oceans were tamed, land emerged which produced plants that produced fruit to feed the creatures that his word brought to life.  God knows how to make things happen just by speaking.  And he is not only the creator but the sustainer. He gives life and breath to his people. Generations of descendants of Adam and Eve have walked the earth since God first spoke. Each one had life and breath only because God decided that they would. He sustains and provides for his people throughout history.  If this God has a plan to rescue his people, he will certainly carry it out. If he says he will send them the Servant that they need, then he will surely do it. So today let's thank the God who has given us life and breath and all good things. And let's praise him that he alone is mighty, creating and sustaining us by the power of his words.

Isaiah 42:4b In his teaching the islands will put their hope. What are you hoping for today? This month? This year? Our hopes may be huge – an end to the pandemic, a miracle cure for us or someone we love, world peace. But we all also hope for all kinds of smaller things – making it through the day without losing our temper, finding a parking space when we're running late. Most of our hopes are pretty flimsy. They're things we WANT but we can't have any great confidence that they will really happen. So often, what we hope for is beyond our control. Sometimes, we may give up hope entirely, overwhelmed by cynicism or despair because we can't face the prospect of having our hopes raised only to be disappointed. The people of Isaiah's day were much the same as us. Squeezed on all sides by more powerful nations, they regularly faced decisions about where to put their hope – would they depend on their God to defend and deliver them, or would they trust in their own resources – military might, or political alliances with their neighbours? Into that world, God promises to send a Servant who will bring hope. His teaching will offer true and lasting hope to the islands – that is, not just to God's people but to the whole earth. This hope is more than the wishful thinking that makes us long for parking spaces and miracles cures that deep down we don't expect to get. The words of Jesus give us a hope that is steadfast and certain. The writer of the book of Hebrews describes this hope as ‘an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.'  It's a hope we can lean all our weight on. Jesus' teaching gives us unshakeable hope for the future, because Jesus' life and death have guaranteed for us a place in heaven with him forever. Not only that, but we have hope for each day in this life, because Jesus promises that he is with us to lead and protect and sustain us, as we trust in him. This is a hope we can rely on. Such good news that all the world needs to hear it.  However hopeless our circumstances feel right now, however often our other hopes have been crushed, the hope that Jesus offers will never fail us. So today, let's praise Jesus for the hope that he brings to our lives. And let's ask him to help us to put our hope and trust completely in him, for whatever today holds, and for our eternity.

Isaiah 42:3b-4a In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. If at first you don't succeed … try, try again. Why do we have a proverb for that? Presumably it's because most of us are inclined to give up rather than to persevere. Faced with a simple task, and few obstacles, we might be willing to do some hard work to achieve a goal. But throw in some setbacks, and make the task a long-term project rather than a quick and easy win, and it's much more tempting to give up. Faithfulness – a long-term commitment to someone or something, come what may, is not our natural state. We know from the earlier chapters of Isaiah that the task God has in store for his servant is definitely not going to be quick and easy! Remember, the people have rebelled against God, and are facing invasion from a foreign power. They need both physical and spiritual rescue. Their immediate, practical problems feel enormous but actually their spiritual state is worse. They have seen God commit himself to them over and over again, making a covenant with their forefathers which he has kept even as generation after generation of the people have rebelled. Redeeming a people like that is no small task. What great news, then, that this servant is going to be faithful. He is going to stick to his God-given task of bringing justice – that is, putting right the people's relationship with God that they have repeatedly broken. He shares his Father's unbreakable commitment to these rebels. However often they turn away, his righteousness will be sufficient. He will never resign from his role as their rescuer, discouraged by their repeated failures. He will never abandon his Father's salvation plan, and turn aside to some new project. He will persevere until his work is complete. That's an amazing promise, even for the people of Isaiah's day. But how much more amazed should we be by the faithfulness of Jesus to his calling, since we know what it involved.  Establishing a just means of rescuing us cost him his life. It meant bearing the weight of our sin and being separated from his eternal Father at the cross. Yet Jesus the servant was faithful in his task, for our sake. Let's praise and thank him for that today.

Isaiah 42:3a A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out. We thought yesterday about how we often associate loudness with power. In a similar way, the world often expects an effective leader to be somewhat ruthless, interested only in strength and achievement and dismissing the weak and needy. In Isaiah's time, God's people were a tiny nation, helpless in comparison with the likes of Assyria, Bablyon and Egypt. Surely they needed God to send them a mighty, victorious king to lead them, like the great King David? Someone to bring them military success, marking them out as a force to be reckoned with. But God's plan is different. He promises them a gentle, quiet leader who will protect life rather than destroy it. One who will value the weak and vulnerable rather than the strong and successful. I wonder if Isaiah's first hearers struggled to get excited about the prospect - perhaps they'd have preferred a more-impressive sounding solution to their problems. Similarly today, those who preach a message of ‘health, wealth and happiness' sound far more appealing than those who invite us to follow a crucified outcast. If we like to think we are powerful and success, a gentle leader who keeps stopping to gather up the broken won't be very attractive. We'd much rather live under a system that promises to reward our achievements and ignores those who don't make the grade. But once we admit that we ourselves are weak and helpless, it's a different story. When we know that we're more like a smouldering wick, barely flickering, than a blazing fire, ready to set the world alight, then we will welcome the one who breathes gently on us to sustain us, rather than snuffing us out. When we acknowledge that we are dead in sin we will long for a rescuer who helps the helpless, rather than one who rewards those who help themselves. There will come a day when this servant will return in blazing glory to crush his enemies forever, but how gracious of him to come first in gentleness and humility, to heal and help and forgive. Let's thank him for that today and come to him honestly, in all our frailty and need, trusting that he welcomes, not despises, those who know that they are weak.

Isaiah 42:2 He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. The World Record for the loudest shout was set in 1994 by a Belfast Primary School teacher. At 121 db, her shout of “Quiet!” was as loud as a chainsaw! We may not often hear shouts that loud. But we probably all hear – and do – more shouting than we'd like. We live in a world where gaining an audience can be less about what you are saying and more about how much noise you make. It sometimes feels as if whoever makes enough noise to drown out their opponent wins, regardless of who is actually right.  In a world like that it's hard to imagine a quiet leader. We easily associate loudness with strength and we fear that the softly-spoken will be weak and ineffective. Yet that doesn't have to be the case. The other day one of our daughters was describing a teacher at her school who never shouts ‘because she doesn't need to.'  She has such an air of authority that she is able to command the room without ever raising her voice. That's the sort of softly-spoken person that we see in this verse. It's not silence of someone who knows they will never be heard so they don't even bother trying. Here we see someone whose authority is so compelling that they don't need to shout. The promised servant will not come to throw his weight around, drowning out his opponents and bullying his way into leadership. Isn't that what we see when we look at Jesus in the pages of the New Testament? Plenty of people shout at Jesus, or about Jesus, during his life on earth. But he never shouts back at them. He very rarely raises his voice, and when he does it is never to dominate or silence others. It's only ever to call people to come to him to him for life (John 7:37, John 11:43) or to commit himself humbly to his Father's keeping as he takes his final breath. His loudest words are not spoken in anger, or self-promotion, as ours so often are, but only ever for the good of others. So today, let's thank Jesus for being the one who speaks to us in quiet, gentle, life-giving words. And let's ask him to help us tune our ears more and more to his voice, and not be swayed by the voices of the world around us who shout louder.

Isaiah 42:1b I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. Justice. We all want justice. From #MeToo to #BlackLivesMatter, we all recognise the anger that comes from injustice. The frustration of seeing wrong-doing left unpunished. We have a deep-seated instinct that tells us that justice should be done. God agrees. In Isaiah's day, injustice is one of the clear indications that God's people have turned away from him. Back in Chapter 1 God tells them “Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice.” Justice matters to God because he himself is just. Isaiah 30:18 tells us “For the Lord is a God of justice” It is an essential aspect of his character.  Again and again, throughout the book, when God describes the great future which lies ahead for his people, after they have been carried through his judgement, we're told that it will be a time of justice. So it's no surprise that when the Servant comes, he brings justice with him. In fact, it's such a characteristic of this servant that it's repeated 3 times in 4 verses! He will rule rightly. He will properly discern between right and wrong. He will ensure that righteousness is rewarded and evil is punished. He is not dependent on a committee to agree the rules, or a criminal justice system to hold trials and investigate offences. He has the Spirit of God himself, the one who alone can properly determine right from wrong. So he is uniquely able to establish justice. To put every wrong to rights. So today, let's praise Jesus for his perfect justice, and thank him that we can look forward to an eternity under his just rule, where every evil will be banished and righteousness will finally flourish.

Isaiah 42:1a Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; In Isaiah chapter 41, God addresses his people – the nation of Israel – as his servant. He reminds them that he has chosen them and is with them. He has committed himself to help them and be their God.  But they are an unfaithful people; a rebellious servant. Much of Isaiah's ministry is spent warning them of great upheaval and suffering which is to come, when they will experience God's righteous judgement for turning away from him. So, when we read this verse, at the start of chapter 42, we might expect that the servant God is talking about is still Israel. But as we read through the chapter we discover that he is actually talking about another servant. A better servant. One who is faithful and just. One in whom God the Father delights. One who will be a light in the dark world of the Gentile nations who don't yet know God. This is not just any servant. This is THE servant. He is not only faithful and obedient himself, but he is the one who will rescue and restore faithless and disobedient Israel. He is Jesus - God's chosen one. Beginning today, we will spend the next 7 weeks looking together at what God tells us, through the prophet Isaiah, about this promised servant.  We'll focus on the so-called ‘Servant Songs' – the sections of the book of Isaiah where God speaks to, or about, this promised servant, and where the servant speaks about himself. It's my hope and prayer that these passages will help us all to reflect on the character and work of Jesus. That we will appreciate afresh the suffering servant whose perfect life and death have made it possible for rebels like us to be called servants of the Most High God. So today, let's pray that as we read about Jesus, God's chosen one, we too would delight in him. And let's ask the Spirit to open our eyes in the weeks ahead, to see more clearly the beauty and majesty of Jesus, which Isaiah foretold.

Psalm 62:11-12 One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard: ‘Power belongs to you, God, and with you, Lord, is unfailing love'; and, ‘You reward everyone according to what they have done.' I don't know about you, but as I reflect on my past week I don't much like the idea of God rewarding me according to what I have done! It hasn't been as bad as it could have been. But I've still been selfish, impatient, more concerned about my own plans than serving others and more focused on my own kingdom than on listening to God and speaking to him in prayer. How wonderful, then, that our God is full of both power and unfailing love. He alone has the power to defeat our sin and the death which we rightly deserve because of it. Yet his love means that he has chosen to rescue us and forgive us, by sending Jesus to die on the cross in our place. We can enjoy the reward of an eternity in God's presence because of what Jesus has done. Praise God for his great power and his unfailing love. And let's pray that we would keep trusting in him, rather than in ourselves, today and every day.

Psalm 62:10 Do not trust in extortion or put vain hope in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them. Back in verse 5, we thought about some of the things that we might put our hope in. I doubt that 'stolen goods' were top of your list! But riches (or, at least, 'things') probably come quite near the top for most of us. Are we confident because the cupboard and the fridge and the bank account feel full enough? Or are we anxious because they are not?  These things are good gifts from God for which we can be thankful. But David warns us not to 'set our hearts' on them. Not to let them be the things that we long for and cling to, that determine our happiness. Why? Because, though they seem solid and lasting, they – like us - are only a 'breath'. However much we hope or work for material things, we're not guaranteed to get them. And if we do get them, they probably won't last. They will rust or rot, get lost or stolen, or be eaten up by inflation. And even if we keep them and our riches increase in this life, they will never fully satisfy people who were designed to find our ultimate joy in relationship with God. The only thing secure enough to set our hearts on and not be disappointed by is God himself, our rock and refuge. Let's pray that we will set our hearts on him.

Psalm 62:9 Surely the lowborn are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie. If weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath. Who do you rely on? When the going gets tough, who do you look to to sort things out? The government? The scientists? Or closer to home, a husband or parents? Perhaps many of us rely on ourselves. We're told that if we simply believe in ourselves we can do anything. David knows that none of us has the power that we think we have. Recently, we've been reminded that even world leaders and governments are powerless against a microscopic virus. All their apparent power is 'a lie'. And all of us are but 'a breath' - not the powerful, substantial, world-changing people we aspire to be. But fleeting, temporary, weak mortals. Let's not put our confidence in ourselves, or in others. Why would we want to lean on 'a breath' when could lean on the rock that is God? It may be hard to admit that we're less powerful than we think we are. But it makes it all the more amazing that God would love fleeting, insubstantial 'breaths' enough to give us solid, everlasting resurrection bodies in which to spend forever with him. Let's praise him for that today!

Psalm 62:8 Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Do you ever 'pour out your heart to God'?  We often come to God with our lists of requests, or our thanks. We praise him. We confess our sins.  But do we pour out our hearts? Just telling him what we're thinking and how we're feeling. Unedited. Unpolished. Even when we're too upset or ashamed or confused to pray ‘properly', and have to blurt it all out in one big rambling incoherent mess.  Are we even allowed to talk to God like that? David says Yes! Talking to God like that is a good thing. It's an expression of our trust in him. The times when we most need to pray may be the ones when we are least able to find the words. Yet we can still speak to him, even then, because he is our refuge at all times. After all, why is it that God hears and answers our prayers? Is it because of our well-crafted sentences? Of course not. It's because Jesus died so that we could call God ‘Father' and he now stands in heaven interceding for us. Our prayers are acceptable because of him, not because of the quality of the prayers themselves. Prayer is not a performance to impress God, but an expression of our intimate, personal relationship with him. So, whether we are anxious or excited, sad or celebrating, let's pour out our hearts to God, today and every day.

Psalm 62:7 My salvation and my honour depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. What does your honour depend on? It's not a word we often use, but we recognise the idea. It's like 'reputation'. What do people think of me? What am I recognised, valued, appreciated or praised for? Does my 'honour' depend on other people's opinions? Do I need ‘likes' on my social media posts in order to feel significant? Do I need the affirmation of my colleagues or the appreciation of my boss in order to feel honoured at work? Do I need someone to recognise how hard I'm working at keeping the wheels on family life? Does what I do behind closed doors even matter, if no-one sees it and honours me for it? David is the king of Israel. Surely all his honour comes from his role and status? He must have had endless people ready to tell him how great he was. But that's not where he looked for honour. His honour depends on God. He is content to place all his confidence in God's name, God's reputation, God's achievements. He doesn't want his name to be praised. He's not consumed by building his own reputation. He doesn't need his achievements to be praised. He would prefer God to get the glory. Enemies may attack him, rubbish his reputation, slander his name or dismiss him as insignificant. He trusts in God. If David's name needs to be honoured, God will do it. And if not, that's OK. He will simply depend on God. Let's pray that we would do the same.

Psalm 62:6 Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I shall not be shaken. Do these words sound familiar? They should do! Verse 6 is an exact repeat of verse 2. Why? Why does the psalmist repeat himself? I imagine it's because he is like us, and needs to keep hearing the same truths over and over again because his mind wanders. He is easily distracted. He quickly turns his attention away from the God who saves, to look at the enemies who attack. He takes his eyes off the God who is his rock and focuses on himself, the wobbly fence. That's why we need to hear God speak to us daily. A weekly sermon or Bible study is a wonderful thing. But if David needs to remind himself of the same things within the space of 4 verses we shouldn't be surprised that we reminders to focus on God more than once or twice a week! However often we feel weak, uncertain or afraid, that's how often we need to fix our eyes on God our rock. However often we face temptation to sin, or discouragement because we've failed, that's how often we need to fix our eyes on God our salvation.  And if we don't feel any of those things, and think we can live perfectly well without God, then we definitely need to fix our eyes on him again and remind ourselves just how much we need the one who made us and gives us our every breath. Let's pray that we will be people who build time with God into our daily habits so that we stay focused on the one who is our rock, salvation and fortress.

Psalm 62:5 Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. What are you hoping for right now? Back in March we were hoping to find pasta and toilet rolls in the supermarket. By May we were hoping for an end to home-schooling. In June we were hoping for the rain to stop so we could meet a friend outside. For months we've been hoping for a vaccine. What we hope for tells us something about where our confidence is. If we're praying for the things we hope for, rather than simply hoping, it's an indication that at least some of our hope and confidence is in God. If so, that's a great thing - Thank God for it! But if our hopes and prayers are only ever for better circumstances (more pasta, calmer kids, better weather or scientific breakthroughs) we are missing out on the even greater, surer, better hope that God has given to those who trust in Jesus. We have a sure hope of an eternity with him, when our current sufferings, however long they last, will feel like the blink of an eye.  We have a sure hope that today and tomorrow and every day, whatever our circumstances, God will be with us. We have a sure hope that God will complete his work of making each of us more and more like Jesus. We have a sure hope that every time we turn away from God to serve our sinful nature, he will be gracious and merciful, forgiving us for Jesus' sake when we repent and turn back to him. Let's pray that each one of us would keep hoping in God, and find the rest that comes from trusting him.

Psalm 62:3-4 How long will you assault me? Would all of you throw me down – this leaning wall, this tottering fence?  Surely they intend to topple me from my lofty place; they take delight in lies. With their mouths they bless, but in their hearts they curse. The palmist is facing enemies determined to overthrow him. They want to destroy him, perhaps not using a physical army, but certainly by using deceitful words. Our current troubles are different from David's, but they can have the same effect on us. We feel weak and vulnerable, like an unstable wall, ready to collapse at any moment. We're hanging on by our fingernails, knowing that any second now everything's going to come crashing down around us. Or maybe it already has. When he feels weak and helpless, at the end of his own resources, David reminds himself of the strength and faithfulness of God. He is our rock and salvation, our place of safety and rest. Knowing those things gives David confidence, but it doesn't turn him into an invincible superhero - he still feels wobbly! David is able to say ‘I shall never be shaken' while still describing himself as ‘a tottering fence‘.  Isn't that our experience, too? Trusting God doesn't mean we suddenly feel super-confident. Instead trusting God means turning to him daily, admitting our weakness and asking for his help. We will always be weak but we know where to look for strength – not in ourselves but in God our fortress, with whom we will be eternally safe, because of the salvation that comes through our Lord Jesus Christ. Let's thank God for that security and ask for his help to turn to him whenever we feel weak.

Psalm 62:1-2 Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.  Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I shall never be shaken. 2020 has been a year of great turmoil – our usual routines completely destroyed by Covid-19 lockdown, economies around the world decimated, huge protests challenging long-established injustice. Everything seems to be changing around us. Many of us feel restless and shaken. Unsettled by worries, disconcerted by the loss of normality, second-guessing what on earth we should do now to prepare for whatever is coming next.  Or perhaps we're grieving our own personal tragedies, or battling circumstances close to home that will never hit the headlines. Psalm 62 is one of my favourite psalms for difficult situations. Whatever our circumstances, God is our unshakeable refuge. Whatever the reason for our restlessness, our souls can find rest in him. Whatever we need saving from, salvation is found in God. In fact, he himself IS our salvation.  He is our rock and our fortress. But we can so easily look for security and rescue elsewhere, relying on hand-washing or social distancing to save us from Covid-19, or insurance policies and detailed planning to save us from an unknown future. Those things have their place. But what we need most is to do what David does here – to direct our hearts and minds back to the strength and faithfulness of God. Whatever happens, whatever changes, he will never fail us. Let's thank God for that truth and pray that we will remember it today.