Read
1Rip the heavens apart!
Come down, Lord;
make the mountains tremble.
2Be a spark that starts a fire
causing water to boil.
Then your enemies will know
who you are;
all nations will tremble
because you are nearby.
3Your fearsome deeds
have completely amazed us;
even the mountains shake
when you come down.
4 You are the only God
ever seen or heard of
who works miracles
for his followers.
5You help all who gladly obey
and do what you want,
but sin makes you angry.
Only by your help
can we ever be saved.
6We are unfit to worship you;
each of our good deeds
is merely a filthy rag.
We dry up like leaves;
our sins are storm winds
sweeping us away.
7No one worships in your name
or remains faithful.
You have turned your back on us
and let our sins melt us away.
8You, Lord, are our Father.
We are nothing but clay,
but you are the potter
who molded us.
9Don't be so furious
or keep our sins
in your thoughts forever!
Remember that all of us
are your people.
10Every one of your towns
has turned into a desert,
especially Jerusalem.
11Zion's glorious and holy temple
where our ancestors praised you
has been destroyed by fire.
Our beautiful buildings
are now a pile of ruins.
12When you see these things,
how can you just sit there
and make us suffer more?
Reflect
Really, I don’t even remember exactly when I first heard these words but what I cannot forget is the manner in which they pierced my soul: “when others are in the wrong we demand justice but when we are wrong we seek mercy.” How true! Whether it’s my boiling reaction to extreme Islamist terrorist attacks or the antics of a false televangelist with a huge following, like Jesus’ disciples who wanted to call fire from heaven to consume those who refused to heed their message, I too often crave a thunderous response from God upon my opponents and enemies. Jesus nicknamed them ‘Sons of Thunder.’ Aren’t we all?
Even 700 years before Christ, Isaiah screams out with a similar sense of urgency in the first two verses of today’s text, expecting an instant answer, prompt action, even instant justice? He seems to have a basis for this, having seen God performing fearsome, amazing, mountain shaking deeds in the past (v 3). Simultaneously he radiates a certain calm assurance (vv 4-5) that God “works miracles for his followers” and does “help all who gladly obey and do what you want.”
Upon further reflection Isaiah seems to notice not only his own impatience in particular but his general sinful disposition as well (vv 6-7) both of which “disqualify” him from demanding and deserving the instant justice he yells for.
He calms down and “comes to his senses,” realizing the secret to all our benefits lies in who God is (our Father, our potter) and not who we are (v 8), and how God operates in mercy and not in our ways (vv 9-12).
Yes, God miraculously answers prayer and is the source of all justice but he seeks more than any of these to be known to “love to show mercy and kindness.” And [to be] “…very patient…” (Numbers 14:18).
Respond
Almighty God, whose mercies are new every morning, in all affairs, I pray for a heart that is patient and trusting even when you seem slow so that I may behold you act miraculously according to your divine timing in ways that will blow my mind. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
Yaw Perbi
Dr. Yaw Perbi is a physician, pastor and president of International Student Ministries Canada (ISMC). He is the founder and Global CEO of The HuD Group and has ministered in 45 countries on five continents. Yaw is a Fellow of the Africa Leadership Initiative and a Lausanne Movement Catalyst. Dr. Perbi currently resides in Montreal, Canada with his dear wife Anyele and six delightful children. He owes all this to Christ Jesus.