February 25, 2022 -- Isaiah 40:10-11 -- When the dogs of war are unleased Trust the Sovereign LORD

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power,
and he rules with a mighty arm.
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:
he gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.
Isaiah 40:10-11 NIV-UK

The juxtaposition in the passage of God’s sovereign power and
His gentle care of His sheep is striking. The arm of the Lord in Scripture
is always a symbol of His mighty power and strength; and the title shepherd,
when used of God, always indicates His tender care and constant watchfulness.
Jerry Bridges, Trusting God. Colorado Springs, CO: NAVPRESS, rpr 2018, page 142

God’s sovereignty is always to his people in wisdom and in love. This is
the difference between sovereignty in God and sovereignty in man. We
dread sovereignty in man, because we have no security of its being
exercised in mercy, or even justice: we rejoice in the sovereignty of God,
because we are sure it is always exercised for the good of his people.
Alexander Carson, as quoted in Bridges ibid. page 142

This is the comfort, that we stand at the disposal of a merciful
heavenly Father to whom we can with confidence abandon 
ourselves...He makes an eternal covenant of grace with us, adopts us
for His children and heirs, and therefore will provide us with every good 
thing and avert all evil or turn it to our profit.
Professor Berkouwer as quoted in Bridges, ibid, page 143

Sovereign LORD the nations tremble and the dogs of war are unleased. In Your great care and tender mercy, remember the people of the Ukraine and end the aggression of the Russian leadership. You Rule the nations, raising one up and casting another down and it is confusing for us and difficult to understand; all our trust is in You. In wrath, remember mercy. Good Shepherd, remember Your people in China who face terrible persecution and abuse for their devotion to You. God, wise and loving in Your sovereignty, remember the people of Canada--the missing indigenous women and children; the divisions stirred up by all the recent government actions on vaccines and the Emergency Act, the political divide, and the breaking of the will of many Christians who have been tumbled against one another by all the bewildering requirements and seemingly contradictory information given by various levels of government. In all of these explosive times, thank You once again for the clear, ringing words of affirmation found in Your word:  
If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died – more than that, who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:

‘For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:31-39 NIV-UK)

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