“For as a young man marries a young woman,
so shall your builder marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you.”
— Isaiah 62:5 (NRSV).
Vindication is the name of the
hour; and Redemption’s the name of the day.
This chapter is renowned for the
names the Prophet is heard describing the covenant nation by. They had been
called Forsaken and Desolate beforehand, and then now in the prophecy of redemption,
My Delight Is in Her and (your land) Married in verse 4. Finally, Israel is called, The Holy
People, The
Redeemed of the Lord, and Sought Out, A City Not
Forsaken in verse 12.
What was our name before we met God?
(Forsaken or Desolate?) And what is our name now, upon a saving relationship
with the Lord Jesus? (Married; Redeemed; Not Forsaken?)
Promises In Abundance
The second half of the chapter
focuses on the plea of the faithful to their God; and the process to blessing,
where marauders will no longer dominate (verses 8-9), is detailed.
The greatest promise we can know,
as we read our Bibles and remain connected with the church and to the Holy
Spirit in prayer, is the constant assurance that God is with us.
There is a hint that we are to
prepare for such abundance (verse 10), yes, and even anticipate it. This is
what we call in our day, expectant faith. Abundance in this way is not the expectation
of specific types of blessing, rather the general disposition of mood to know
that God seeks to bless those who follow the Divine path.
Abundance, it also needs to be
said, is nothing about material abundance—it’s the absolute gift of a fervent,
truth-pitched spirituality; one that feeds wisdom, promoting discernment,
understanding, and broad-cased virtue.
The Creator Rejoices Over Us
This is something that every
believer wants to read about.
We might be more apt to think it
the other way around—us in awe of God and rejoicing in the fact of our
salvation; that we are known to the Lord.
The mindset that suggests God is enamoured with us doesn’t compute for many
people. They might think, “Does
grace extend that far?”
The truth is it does. Our Father
in heaven is never more blessed than in seeing his created beings obeying in
the spirit of willing obedience. As an anthropomorphism, the repentant heart
melts God’s.
The gospel of God tells us that
humility upon truth exposes the Lord’s
heart in such a way as to procure blessing. We know the way to be blessed. Turn
back to God, now and whenever, and we redeem the spiritual salvation known to
the saved. Our Lord rejoices each
time.
© 2013 S. J. Wickham.
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