Thus says God (Isaiah 42)
If you’re at all like me, even though we believe God’s Word sometimes we read it and wonder about what it's saying. At times I believe with my mind but it hasn’t really touched my heart yet… or sometimes it’s so familiar that I don’t appreciate how much there is in His word. Even in my own meditation I find I can get stuck with what I’m already familiar with when I seek the Lord. That’s why I love our times of ‘worship with the word’ - we linger, in song, together in his word and allow it to be written on our hearts by the spirit.
“Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.””
— Isaiah 42:5-9
In this passage God the Father addresses God the Son, the Messiah Jesus. Of course, God didn’t need to address His Son through the prophet Isaiah. He chooses to give us this glimpse into his eternal relationship with the Son for our benefit - so that we might have confidence in the designs of His heart and know how to partner with Him to fulfil them.
The first thing we hear is that the mandate of the Messiah is an eternal word, as is emphasised by the reference to God as creator. Indeed, even if the heavens and the earth pass away, my words will not pass away. The Son has been on his heart from the very beginning, and the Son is the One whom all creation awaits with eager longing. The eternal purpose of the Messiah is to establish a covenant founded on His gracious revelation and merciful deliverance - for His people and for all the nations. At the heart of His mission even today, Jesus restores a covenant relationship with His people and is making the Father’s grace and mercy known in the earth.
There are many passages throughout the scriptures that speak about the mission of the Messiah and about the identity of those who are called by His name. Often these descriptions contain elements that we have experienced fulfilled and sometimes elements that appear yet to be fulfilled. He is faithful to His word to complete it, and the things He has spoken are to prepare us for the unprecedented days yet to come. As we see this word fulfilled in the coming of Jesus the Messiah we are strengthened and emboldened for the things that He has already spoken of but are yet to be fulfilled.
Remember some of the great works of the Lord in your own life, express your thanksgiving and ask for grace to hold fast to some of the promises He may have spoken that are yet to be fulfilled.
The bible often speaks of the "new song" and we’re taking this season to meditate on a few key passages. By singing His word, we can grow together in our understanding of who God is, why worship and prayer are important to Him, and how He will use houses of prayer and praying churches across the earth to see the fullness of His plans come to fruition.