I will tell of the Lord’s unfailing love.
    I will praise the Lord for all he has done.
I will rejoice in his great goodness to Israel,
    which he has granted according to his mercy and love.
8 He said, “They are my very own people.
    Surely they will not betray me again.”
    And he became their Savior.
9 In all their suffering he also suffered,
    and he personally rescued them.
In his love and mercy he redeemed them.
    He lifted them up and carried them
    through all the years.
10 But they rebelled against him
    and grieved his Holy Spirit.
So he became their enemy
    and fought against them. (New Living Translation).

Just to put 63:7-64:12 into context, we need to see that it is a prayer. ‘And what a prayer!’ writes Barry Webb. He continues: ‘There are many fine intercessory prayers in Scripture: Abraham’s intercession for Sodom, Moses’ intercession for Israel after the incident of the golden calves, the great prayers of Ezra and Daniel, and the greatest of all, of course, our Lord’s high-priestly prayer in which he interceded for us all. The present prayer is less well known, but has the stamp of greatness on it.’ ‘Isaiah’, p.241.

Reading verses 7-10 in the NLT this morning, I was again struck by the thought in verse 9: ”…he personally rescued them”. This came off the back of hearing, on the Radio 3 breakfast programme, a lovely rendition of the Fanny Crosby hymn, ‘Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine’, played on the piano by a jazz musician. For Christians, these words in Isaiah foreshadow the incarnation in which, as Charles Wesley put it, our God was ‘contracted to a span, incomprehensibly made man.’ As a Christmas carol says, ‘He came down to earth from heaven, who is Lord and God of all’.

I was sat next to an elderly gentleman in church last Sunday evening. The closing hymn was announced as ‘Blessed Assurance’. ‘None better!’ I heard my old friend say.

‘None better.’

We have been ”personally rescued”.