Passage: Isaiah 42:10-17
Sing to the LORD a New Song.
10 Sing to the LORD a new song,
his praise from the end of the earth,
you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it,
the coastlands and their inhabitants.
11 Let the desert and its cities lift up their voice,
the villages that Kedar inhabits;
let the habitants of Sela sing for joy,
let them shout from the top of the mountains.
12 Let them give glory to the LORD,
and declare his praise in the coastlands.
13 The LORD goes out like a mighty man,
like a man of war he stirs up his zeal;
he cries out, he shouts aloud,
he shows himself mighty against his foes.
14 For a long time I have held my peace;
I have kept still and restrained myself;
now I will cry out like a woman in labor;
I will gasp and pant.
15 I will lay waste mountains and hills,
and dry up all their vegetation;
I will turn the rivers into islands,
and dry up the pools.
16 And I will lead the blind
in a way that they do not know,
in paths that they have not known
I will guide them.
I will turn the darkness before them into light,
the rough places into level ground.
These are the things I do,
and I do not forsake them.
17 They are turned back and utterly put to shame,
who trust in carved idols,
who say to metal images,
"You are our gods."
Journal: The song of praise of verse 10 is in response to the sovereign covenant of redemption set forth in verses 5-9 {discussed yesterday}. [v. 10 -- "Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants."] God is saving His people, and this salvation has always been His one and only plan. This salvation is beyond our grasp, and yet the sovereign hand of God has reached down to us. This song of salvation is a "new song," to be sung with humble praise and thanksgiving.
Yet, there is still pride here for some. The song of humility cannot be heard from the haughty voice of pride. It is this pride, this continued rebellion, that evokes the wrath of God. [v. 13-15 -- "The LORD goes out like a mighty man, like a man of war he stirs up his zeal; he cries out, he shouts aloud, he shows himself mighty against his foes. For a long time I have held my peace; I have kept still and restrained myself; now I will cry out like a woman in labor; I will gasp and pant. I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their vegetation; I will turn the rivers into islands, and dry up the pools."] This is a deserved wrath, for God gave all of Himself and has received in return human fists raised in scornful rejection.
On the other hand, God is gentle with His children, for the regenerated heart longs for redemption. [v. 16 -- "And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them."] This is a beautiful verse. This is the Gospel. God takes us to a place that otherwise we would not seek. We think we can see, and yet what we behold is darkness without His light. We start running toward a mine field with pitfalls and hidden traps, though we perceive it to be smooth. We would fall and stumble toward the bottomless pit without His merciful hand, a hand that guides us from the "rough places into level ground." Our journey to the pit of Hell has been interrupted by His redemption. This should be the meditation of our soul. This should spring from within us a new song. The song of redemption.
Heard 'Round the House: This is the latest in Vera's [age 9; down syndrome; age 5 when adopted from Russia] never ending quest to sleep on a pallet in mommy and daddy's room, rather than in her cozy bed upstairs. She is talking on a plastic phone to NiNi [Jill's mom] in her own little language [we call it Veranese] when she hangs up the phone. Jill asks Vera what NiNi had to say, to which Vera succinctly responded, "Pallet!"
