June 22, 2021 -- Isaiah 46:3-4 -- Sustained and Carried by Great Grace
/“Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
all the remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been borne by me from before your birth,
carried from the womb;
4 even to your old age I am he,
and to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
I will carry and will save.
Isaiah 46:3-4 ESV
It was a delightful, after church conversation. A young teenager chatting with a middle-aged man. She was complaining of the challenges of school math and fractions. The conversation suddenly switched to a light-hearted comparison of how old each person in this conversation was, and unfairly, the older gentleman asked the teen-ager, “Hm, how old do you think I am?” You could see her consider this question for a moment and she grasped for an age that seemed very mature, very old to her and she blurted out: “Thirty, at least!” He smiled and responded, “Bless you”. He is (nearly) 52.
Notice that the LORD of Heaven and Earth calls His people “Jacob” which means “he deceives” and “Israel” which means “he struggles, wrestles with God” The God of Mercy full-well knows our frailty and failings and from conception to the final breath we draw, He knows us, and carries us. In fact, “I will bear” refers to the carrying of a heavy load or burden”. Yet, for the LORD, we are not heavy nor burdensome. He declared the fact that He is ready, in every moment and every circumstance of our lives, to bring us to the fullness of His salvation. We can not accomplish this on our own. It is His work to save to the uttermost. Blessed be His glorious Name.
The 'Nevers' of the Gospel
O LORD,
May I never fail to come to the knowledge of the truth,
never rest in a system of doctrine, however
scriptural, that does not bring or further salvation,
or teach me to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts,
or help me to live soberly, righteously, godly;
never rely on my own convictions and resolutions,
but be strong in thee and in thy might;
never cease to find thy grace sufficient
in all my duties, trials, and conflicts;
never forget to repair to thee
in all my spiritual distresses and outward troubles,
in all the dissatisfactions experienced in creature comforts;
never fail to retreat to him who is full of grace
and truth, the friend that loveth at all times,
who is touched with feelings of my infirmities,
and can do exceeding abundantly for me;
never confine my religion to extraordinary occasions,
but acknowledge thee in all my ways;
never limit my devotions to particular seasons
but be in thy fear all the day long;
never be godly only on the Sabbath
or in thy house, but on every day abroad
and at home;
never make piety a dress but a habit,
not only a habit but a nature,
not only a nature but a life.
Do good to me by all thy dispensations,
by all means of grace,
by worship, prayers, praises,
And at last let me enter that world where is
no temple, but only thy glory
and the Lamb’s.
THE 'NEVERS' OF THE GOSPEL,
The Valley of Vision: Puritan Prayers and Devotions, page 116
https://youtu.be/936BapRFHaQ
