Here Is Your God! [Isaiah 39-40]
Isaiah 40
9Get yourself up on a high mountain,
O Zion, bearer of good news,
Lift up your voice mightily,
O Jerusalem, bearer of good news;
Lift it up, do not fear
Say to the cities of Judah,
"Here is your God!"
10Behold, the Lord GOD will come with might,
With His arm ruling for Him
Behold, His reward is with Him
And His recompense before Him.
11Like a shepherd He will tend His flock,
In His arm He will gather the lambs
And carry them in His bosom;
He will gently lead the nursing ewes.
12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,
And marked off the heavens by the span,
And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure,
And weighed the mountains in a balance
And the hills in a pair of scales?
13Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD,
Or as His counselor has informed Him?
14With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding?
And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge
And informed Him of the way of understanding?
25"To whom then will you liken Me
That I would be his equal?" says the Holy One.
26Lift up your eyes on high
And see who has created these stars,
The One who leads forth their host by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power,
Not one of them is missing.
27Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel,
"My way is hidden from the LORD,
And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God"?
28Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired
His understanding is inscrutable.
29He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who lacks might He increases power.
30Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
31Yet those who wait for the LORD
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.
Can you tell that this is one of my favorite passages? I didn't want to leave any of the verses out - so go to Daily Reading and read the whole chapter! I still remember the first time this passage had a huge impact on my life. I was a wide-eyed college Freshman at Multnomah School of the Bible and the professor was Dr. David Needham. I was particularly taken with the thought that God knew every star by name and that because of the strength of His power not one was missing. He gave us the assignment to sit out under the stars pondering God for 20 minutes. It was an amazing new awareness of how big and strong God is.
The chapter ends telling us that He wants to give us His strength. All we need to do is wait for the Lord.
Lord, we praise You that You come to us with might. And yet, "Like a shepherd He will tend His flock" and You gather the lambs in Your arms and carry them in Your bosom. You "gently lead the nursing ewes." We don't understand such strength and such tenderness at the same time. Thank You that You carry us with eagles' wings with Your strength and Your gentleness.
Verna McCrillis, 11/19/2009