Daily Bible Encouragement

Isaiah 49:3-4a 3 He said to me, ‘You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendour.’ 4  But I said, ‘I have laboured in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing at all. At first glance, today’s verse appears to be an argument between God Almighty, and the promised Servant. God is confident that the Servant will be glorious – he is the one God will use to display his splendour to th...

Isaiah 49:2b in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver. What’s the safest place you can think of? It’s not a question that often occurs to us here in the UK in 2020. If we’d lived in London during the Blitz, we’d probably have had a very good idea where the nearer Air Raid shelter was, and which furniture was sturdy enough to hide under if...

Isaiah 49:2a He made my mouth like a sharpened sword As I’ve worked my way through Isaiah over the past few months, I’ve been amazed to discover how often Isaiah words are quoted – either directly, or indirectly – in the New Testament. Again and again I find myself reading a verse and thinking ‘I’m sure I’ve heard that somewhere before ….’  This is one of those verses! In the apostle John’s vision...

Isaiah 49:1b before I was born the Lord called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name. Even in an age when choosing your own identity is considered to be almost a basic human right, we find it hard not to project our ideas about the future onto babies and children. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” “I wonder if she’ll follow in her mother’s footsteps?” It’s fascinating to look at...

Isaiah 49:1a Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations:   Over the past 2 weeks, we've looked at verses from chapter 42, where God tells us, through Isaiah, about the character and work of the promised Servant. This week, in chapter 49, we get to hear the Servant himself speaking. And look who he is speaking to! ‘Islands’, as we’ve already seen, means ‘everywhere that isn’t Isr...

Isaiah 42:9 See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.’ So far, we’ve seen that the promised Servant will be gentle, just and faithful. He will bring hope and light to all the nations, by being the one who makes possible God’s covenant with his people. He will free the captives and make the blind see. Doesn’t that sound...

Isaiah 42:8 I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols. Back in verse 5 we were reminded that God is the creator and sustainer of all things. He is the covenant LORD who has committed himself to care for and protect his people. As we remember those things, it would be fitting to praise him. In fact, the next section of this chapter is all about the p...

Isaiah 42:7 I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness Over the past few years we’ve got used to retailers using our order history to target us with offers for things that they think we’re likely to want. Unfortunately, it doesn’t...

Isaiah 42:6b I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles Yesterday we remembered that God is a covenant-making, covenant-keeping God. He chose for himself a people to be his very own, and committed to blessing them. He proved himself to be faithful to that promise even when they were repeatedly unfaithful to him. So it seems natural when we read a...

Isaiah 42:6a 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 So far in this chapter, God has been speaking to the people about the Servant. It’s as if he is standing on a stage in front of his people, with the Servant next to him, introducing him to them. But here in verses 6 to 7 God turns to speak to...

Isaiah 42:5 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 So far we’ve seen that the promised Servant will be just, faithful, gentle and will bring hope to the world. That sounds amazing! He’s exactly what our unjust, fickle, hostile, cyni...

Isaiah 42:4b In his teaching the islands will put their hope. What are you hoping for today? This month? This year? Our hopes may be huge – an end to the pandemic, a miracle cure for us or someone we love, world peace. But we all also hope for all kinds of smaller things – making it through the day without losing our temper, finding a parking space when we’re running late. Most of our hopes are pr...

Isaiah 42:3b-4a In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. If at first you don’t succeed … try, try again. Why do we have a proverb for that? Presumably it’s because most of us are inclined to give up rather than to persevere. Faced with a simple task, and few obstacles, we might be willing to do some hard work to achieve...

Isaiah 42:3a A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out. We thought yesterday about how we often associate loudness with power. In a similar way, the world often expects an effective leader to be somewhat ruthless, interested only in strength and achievement and dismissing the weak and needy. In Isaiah’s time, God’s people were a tiny nation, helpless in compari...

Isaiah 42:2 He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. The World Record for the loudest shout was set in 1994 by a Belfast Primary School teacher. At 121 db, her shout of “Quiet!” was as loud as a chainsaw! We may not often hear shouts that loud. But we probably all hear – and do – more shouting than we’d like. We live in a world where gaining an audience can be less about wh...

Isaiah 42:1b I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. Justice. We all want justice. From #MeToo to #BlackLivesMatter, we all recognise the anger that comes from injustice. The frustration of seeing wrong-doing left unpunished. We have a deep-seated instinct that tells us that justice should be done. God agrees. In Isaiah’s day, injustice is one of the clear indication...

Isaiah 42:1a Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; In Isaiah chapter 41, God addresses his people – the nation of Israel – as his servant. He reminds them that he has chosen them and is with them. He has committed himself to help them and be their God.  But they are an unfaithful people; a rebellious servant. Much of Isaiah’s ministry is spent warning them of great up...

Psalm 62:11-12 One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard: ‘Power belongs to you, God, and with you, Lord, is unfailing love’; and, ‘You reward everyone according to what they have done.’ I don't know about you, but as I reflect on my past week I don't much like the idea of God rewarding me according to what I have done! It hasn't been as bad as it could have been. But I've...

Psalm 62:10 Do not trust in extortion or put vain hope in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them. Back in verse 5, we thought about some of the things that we might put our hope in. I doubt that 'stolen goods' were top of your list! But riches (or, at least, 'things') probably come quite near the top for most of us. Are we confident because the cup...

Psalm 62:9 Surely the lowborn are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie. If weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath. Who do you rely on? When the going gets tough, who do you look to to sort things out? The government? The scientists? Or closer to home, a husband or parents? Perhaps many of us rely on ourselves. We’re told that if we simply believe in ourselves w...

Psalm 62:8 Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Do you ever 'pour out your heart to God'?  We often come to God with our lists of requests, or our thanks. We praise him. We confess our sins.  But do we pour out our hearts? Just telling him what we’re thinking and how we’re feeling. Unedited. Unpolished. Even when we’re too upset or asha...

Psalm 62:7 My salvation and my honour depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. What does your honour depend on? It's not a word we often use, but we recognise the idea. It's like 'reputation'. What do people think of me? What am I recognised, valued, appreciated or praised for? Does my 'honour' depend on other people's opinions? Do I need ‘likes’ on my social med...

Psalm 62:6 Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I shall not be shaken. Do these words sound familiar? They should do! Verse 6 is an exact repeat of verse 2. Why? Why does the psalmist repeat himself? I imagine it's because he is like us, and needs to keep hearing the same truths over and over again because his mind wanders. He is easily distracted. He quickly turns his atte...

Psalm 62:5 Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. What are you hoping for right now? Back in March we were hoping to find pasta and toilet rolls in the supermarket. By May we were hoping for an end to home-schooling. In June we were hoping for the rain to stop so we could meet a friend outside. For months we’ve been hoping for a vaccine. What we hope for tells us something about w...

Psalm 62:3-4 How long will you assault me? Would all of you throw me down – this leaning wall, this tottering fence?  Surely they intend to topple me from my lofty place; they take delight in lies. With their mouths they bless, but in their hearts they curse. The palmist is facing enemies determined to overthrow him. They want to destroy him, perhaps not using a physical army, but certainly by usi...