Dear brothers and sisters: Prayer will be at the Brown’s barn.

Isaiah has delivered a message of comfort. He has made God great in the eyes of his hearers. He has pointed to Jehovah as the Source and Supplier of all strength. He has sought to give his people hope by declaring who God is.

This was a message delivered to a people and for a people who would soon find themselves as captives in the land of Babylon (39:6-7). Such a promise of comfort may have been ‘believable’ in the days of Hezekiah, having just been delivered from the hands of the Assyrians; but the coming days were to be difficult days. The people would soon be saying, ‘My way is hidden from the Lord, and my just claim is passed over by my God.’

But the text before us (41:1-16) declares that Jehovah is God, not just over all creation (chapter 40), but also over providence. All that happens is under His jurisdiction. He declares, ‘I, the Lord, am the first; and with the last I am He.’ The future is in His hand.

Those who face the future in their own strength (or in the strength found in fleshly alliances) and turn to their idols give way to fear. But God assures those who wait on Him that they are not forgotten; their way is not hidden from His sight. He speaks words of comfort – words rooted in who He is; who they are; and what He will do on their behalf.

How are you facing the future? With fear? or with faith? Hear the gentle words of Christ – ‘Fear not, you worm…I will help you.’

A few calendar items:

1) This is the last week of February – be sure to read the next section in A Theology of the Family, ‘A Remedy for Decaying Religion.’

2) This coming Sunday afternoon Jonathan Sides will be giving a message on the subject of ‘Courtship’.

Songs for Sunday are as follows:

Rise Up, O Church of God
Rise up, O Church of God!
Have done with lesser things
Give heart and mind and soul and strength
To serve the King of kings

Rise up, O Church of God!
His kingdom tarries long
Bring in the day of brotherhood
And end the night of wrong

Rise up, O sons of God!
The Church for you doth wait
Her strength unequal to her task
Rise up, and make her great!

Lift high the cross of Christ!
Tread where His feet have trod
As followers of the Son of Man
Rise up, O Church of God!

How Firm a Foundation
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

Fear not! I am with thee; O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply.
The flames shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

“E’en down to old age all my people shall prove
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs they shall still in my bosom be borne.

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose;
I will not, I will not desert to his foes.
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!

Hast Thou Not Known (Isaiah 40:28-31)
Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard
That firm remains on high
The everlasting throne of Him
Who formed the earth and sky?

Art thou afraid His pow’r shall fail
When comes thine evil day?
And can an all-creating arm
Grow weary or decay?

Supreme in wisdom as in pow’r
The Rock of Ages stands,
Though Him thou canst not see, nor trace
The working of His hands.

He gives the conquest to the weak,
Supports the fainting heart,
And courage in the evil hour
His heav’nly aids impart.

Mere human pow’r shall fast decay,
And youthful vigor cease,
But they who wait upon the Lord
In strength shall still increase.

They with unwearied feet shall tread
The path of life divine,
With growing ardor onward move,
With growing brightness shine.

On eagles’ wings they mount, they soar,
Their wings are faith and love –
Till, past the cloudy regions here,
They rise to heav’n above.

Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul
Dear refuge of my weary soul, on Thee, when sorrows rise,
On Thee, when waves of trouble roll, my fainting hope relies.
To Thee I tell each rising grief, for Thou alone canst heal;
Thy Word can bring a sweet relief for every pain I feel.

But oh! When gloomy doubts prevail, I fear to call Thee mine;
The springs of comfort seem to fail, and all my hopes decline.
Yet gracious God, where shall I flee? Thou art my only trust;
And still my soul would cleave to Thee, though prostrate in the dust.

Hast Thou not bid me seek Thy face, and shall I seek in vain?
And can the ear of sov’reign grace be deaf when I complain?
No, still the ear of sov’reign grace attends the mourner’s prayer;
O may I ever find access to breathe my sorrows there.

Thy mercy seat is open still, here let my soul retreat;
With humble hope attend Thy will, and wait beneath Thy feet.
Thy mercy seat is open still, here let my soul retreat;
With humble hope attend Thy will, and wait beneath Thy feet.

Standing on the Promises
Standing on the promises of Christ, my King!
Thro’ eternal ages let His praises ring
“Glory in the highest!” I will shout and sing
Standing on the promises of God

Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God my Savior
Standing, standing,
I’m standing on the promises of God

Standing on the promises that cannot fail
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail
By the living Word of God I shall prevail
Standing on the promises of God

Standing on the promises I now can see
Perfect, present cleansing in the blood for me
Standing in the liberty where Christ makes free
Standing on the promises of God

Standing on the promises, I cannot fall
List’ning every moment to the Spirit’s call
Resting in my Savior as my All in All
Standing on the promises of God

—
Michael Davenport
www.dominion-designs.com