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The Lord will march out like a champion,
    like a warrior he will stir up his zeal;
with a shout he will raise the battle cry
    and will triumph over his enemies.

The Lord is about to do a new thing. As He once led His people out of Egypt and through the wilderness, so there is going to be a second ‘exodus’, with Him at the Head. But although, in the short-term, the new thing is about the return of Israel from Babylon, as we saw yesterday this prophecy also has the long-term in view. It foresees the coming of Jesus, His building of an international church, and here in this verse, His conquest at the Cross. As I read verses 13, a couple of New Testament passages coming into mind:

”And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Col.2:15;

 ”Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— ¹⁵ and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” Hebrews 2:14,15.

Sing to the Lord a new song,
    his praise from the ends of the earth,
you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,
    you islands, and all who live in them.
¹¹ Let the wilderness and its towns raise their voices;
    let the settlements where Kedar lives rejoice.
Let the people of Sela sing for joy;
    let them shout from the mountaintops.
¹² Let them give glory to the Lord
    and proclaim his praise in the islands.

‘The Gentile nations shall share equally with the Jews in New-Testament blessings, and therefore shall join in New-Testament praises and acts of worship. There shall be churches set up in Gentile nations and they shall sing a new song.’ Matthew Henry.

It is surely impossible to miss the world-wide vision and reach of these verses. The new thing God is going to do will result in the singing of a new song. It concerns the coming of Gentiles into the church, on an equal footing with the Jews, and sharing in all the blessings of the Kingdom. Of course see this most clearly now, with our New Testament perspective.

”Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, ³ that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. ⁴ In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, ⁵ which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. ⁶ This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 3:2-6; see also Ephesians 2:11-22).

‘Perhaps the neighbouring countries shared in the joy of the Israelites when they returned out of Babylon and some of them came and joined with them in their praises; but we find not that it was to any such degree as might fully answer this illustrious prophecy, and must conclude that it reaches further, and was fulfilled in that which many other prophecies of the joy of the nations are said in the New-Testament to be fulfilled in, the conversion of the Gentiles to the faith of Christ. When they are brought into the church they are brought to give glory to the Lord; then they are to him for a name and a praise, and they make it their business to praise him. He is glorified in them and by them.’ Matthew Henry.

See, the former things have taken place,
    and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
    I announce them to you.’

This is a further reminder that the living God is able to do what the dead gods were incapable of doing. He can accurately foretell things to come before they take place. Fulfilled prophecy is one of the wonders of Scripture and a mark of its supernatural difference from any other book.

‘Among the many amazing evidences that confirm the Bible’s divine origin, surely the wealth of fulfilled prophecies is near the top.’ Dan Hayden.

The ”new things” the Lord is declaring here concern the restoration of Israel, and-in the more distant future-the coming of the Messiah, the Servant of the Lord’.

‘The receipt of former mercies may encourage us to hope for further mercies; for God is constant in his care for his people, and his compassions are still new.’ Matthew Henry

‘I am the Lord; that is my name!
    I will not yield my glory to another
    or my praise to idols.

It takes constant discipline, vigilance, ruthless self-examination and tenacious fight for Christian leaders and preachers – those with any kind of public profile – to remind themselves (and others) that, ‘It’s not about me!’

It is never ‘about me’; could never be ‘about me’. But if we are honest, we can easily make it about ourselves.

Let these words of God be fixed in our minds and engraved on our hearts.

May ‘Hallowed be your Name’ always be our heartbeat.

Pray today for Christian leaders who have to constantly wrestle pride to the ground, upon their knees.

”Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up” (James 4:10; see also I Peter 5:6).

Someone said that in God’s Kingdom ‘the branches that hang the lowest bear the most fruit.’

When ‘All Souls’ church, Langham Place, in London, was re-opened, following restoration, in 1977, a new pulpit was given. It bears this inscription:

‘Many friends of John Stott combined to give this pulpit and communion table out of deep gratitude for his dedicated ministry as evangelist, teacher and pastor during 25 years as Rector of All Souls (1950-1975). He taught us to make God’s Word our rule, God’s Spirit our teacher and God’s Glory our supreme concern.’

To God be all the glory!

This is what God the Lord says –
the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,
    who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,
    who gives breath to its people,
    and life to those who walk on it:
⁶ ‘I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
    I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
    to be a covenant for the people
    and a light for the Gentiles,
⁷ to open eyes that are blind,
    to free captives from prison
    and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

‘God, in giving us Christ, has with him freely given us all the blessings of the new covenant.’ Matthew Henry.

As Henry goes on to say, here are two of the great New Covenant blessings (and note they are not limited to Jews only. They are for the whole world): light and liberty. By the power of the gospel, blind eyes are opened, and captives are released. It is ”the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile” Romans 1:16. Jesus changes lives. He gives people testimonies.

With regard to light see, e,g., Mt.4:16; Jn.3:19; Acts 26:18.

We must believe that even in these increasingly secular/pagan days God can transform people. There is an irony that people want liberty to live as they choose, without any divine interference. But the very freedom they opt for actually ties them up. It puts handcuffs on them and leaves them to wallow in the darkness of their cells. Many are ignorant that they live in a dungeon, but the reality is they do. We rejoice then that ”…if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” John 8:36.

‘I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
    I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you…

While pursuing a particular branch of theological study, in college, we began to look at ‘the religious life of Jesus.’ This was a bit of an eye-opener for me, to recognise that, as a Man, as a human-being, Jesus walked with God. He prayed; He regularly spent time communing with the Father; He acted on what He was shown; He was immersed in the Scriptures; He attended the synagogue frequently. As someone put it, we see in Him regular ‘habits of devotion’.

May we, as those in Christ, also walk hand in Hand with the Father. We may not be able to call Him ”my Father” in the way Jesus could, but we certainly can say ”Our Father”.

”He promises to stand by him and strengthen him in it, to hold his hand, not only to his work, but in it, to hold his hand, that it might not shake, that it might not fail, and so to keep him. When an angel was sent from heaven to strengthen him in his agonies, and the Father himself was with him, then this promise was fulfilled. Note, Those whom God calls he will own and help, and will hold their hands.” Matthew Henry.

Jesus, the Messiah, was no imposter, no intruder into the role. He was indeed called by God:

 ”And no one takes this honour on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was.

⁵ In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him…” Hebrews 5:4,5.

Take heart. Those whom God calls He also equips.

God’s Message,
    the God who created the cosmos, stretched out the skies,
    laid out the earth and all that grows from it,
Who breathes life into earth’s people,
    makes them alive with his own life: The Message.

We only breathe because God gives us breath; we only live because He generously gives us His life.

Our Creator is also our Sustainer.

The ‘deists’ effectively believed that God wound up the universe and left it to tick like a clock. It was a case of, ‘You’re on your own now.’ God made it, but He wasn’t involved in maintaining it. But this is not the picture painted by the Bible. In the Scriptures we discover that, the Lord, having made the universe, is intimately engaged in all the fine details of running it. This includes our personal lives.

One of Matthew Henry’s points in his pattern for prayer (1.11) says:

‘I must acknowledge my dependence upon God and my obligations to him as my Creator, Preserver, and Benefactor.’

Indeed, Henry writes regarding today’s verse: ‘Now this is prefixed to God’s covenant with the Messiah, and the commission given him to show that the work of redemption was to restore man to the allegiance he owes to God as his Maker.’

”The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” Job 33:4.

Prayer: I found it helpful to use these words in forming prayers for people I know who need God’s healing. May His life in them overcome, and chase out, every manifestation of sickness and death.

This is what God the Lord says—
the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,
    who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,
    who gives breath to its people,
    and life to those who walk on it:

A day or two ago I pruned the roses in our garden at Carlton-in-Coverdale. We are situated close to 1,000 feet above sea level, and it can be quite wild and generally colder by a degree or two here. During the summer months, I have marvelled at the growth and beauty of these plants, and their resilience. But at times I have also fretted over them, even as I have continued to tend and nurture them. For the most part it’s been a wet, and extremely windy summer. But with the return of a spell of warmth and sunshine in September, they were back in strength and size and colour: fiercely and stubbornly alive, and blazing forth their startling colours.

However, I knew it was now time to cut them back. As of today, things look quite bare in places where there was a riot of bloom only a few weeks ago. But of this I feel certain, next year, at the right time, they will ‘spring’ up again.

I was captivated by the line in today’s verse which says, ”…the earth with all that springs from it…”

God has so set up this world that it is filled with abundant, teeming, raging, tenaciously reproductive life. You need look no further than your garden, with its annual cycle of death and resurrection, to wonder at the greatness of the Creator, and to catch a breath-taking glimpse of the gospel.

This is what God the Lord says—

Do you know what God is saying to you? Furthermore, if you do, what is your response? After all, if it’s ”God the Lord” speaking, ”See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks” (Hebs.12:25); ”Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebs.4:7b).

God has many ways of speaking to us, but He does so predominantly through the Scriptures. Also, by a ‘still small voice” within.

In order to hear God speak, first and foremost we must read His Word, the Bible (although, again and again we will find it is reading us).

Let’s also be alert for that prophetic word the Holy Spirit speaks into the heart. It will always ride tandem with God’s Word. It won’t veer off in another direction. This is how we can check what we think we’re hearing. God will not contradict Himself.

When I read these words from Isaiah 42:5a during a recent prayer time, it prompted me to pray for neighbours, friends and family, that they will hear God speaking to them. I very much want to pray for them, and keep on praying, but I confess there are days when when I feel weary and exhausted, and I wonder if anything will ever change. I guess you may also get to that place at times. But I remind myself that God can meet with anyone, anywhere at any time, and speak to them, and reveal Himself to them in all His majesty and greatness.

Come to think of it, isn’t that why you and I are in the Kingdom?!!

PRAYER: Lord God, as the old hymn says, ”Speak with the voice that wakes the dead, and make the people hear. Revive your work O, Lord…”