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The Strength of the Saints.

By J.C.Metcalfe. 

 

‘In Thy strong hand I lay me down, so shall the work be done, for who can work so wondrously as the Almighty One?’

 

Isaiah 40 tells the full story of misplaced confidence and points vividly to the infinite greatness of God, in whom we are called to place implicit trust.

 

The Gift of Pardon

The first two verses tell of the certainty of pardon for sin in which God’s mercy rejoices. “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem” is the instruction given to the prophet because the truth of God is revealed to, and understood by, the heart and is not something merely grasped by the mind.

 

The custom used to be that a list of a man’s debts was pinned to the door of his house. The reason for this was that his nearest kinsman had the privilege of delivering him from the accumulated debt. He would go down the street and when he reached the distressed relative‘s house, would double over the parchment on which the debts were written, and then write his own name on the back. By doing this he was declaring that he had accepted responsibility for his kinsman and that the creditors might go to him to recoup their losses. 

 

So the prophet’s message to Jerusalem is, “that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins”. What a glorious reminder this is that no catalogue of our sins can quench the love of God. Did He not come into this world in Christ, and “being found in appearance as a man” became “obedient to death, even death on a cross”; and by that sacrifice doubled over the record of our debts, paying Himself the dreadful account of our transgressions, so that we can declare openly to the face of our accuser, “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God who justifies”. We take this so great salvation from His hand. We can look to no one and nothing else to rid us of our load. Forgiveness is never the result of human effort, nor of obedience to rites and ceremonies, nor yet even of the acceptance of the doctrines of grace. It is the free gift of God, signed over to us by the shedding of the blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ on Calvary. We have either to receive the remission of sins directly from His hand, or we have no title to the life and strength which stems from it.

 

The Failure of the Flesh 

We now move on to verses 3-8. The voice crying in the wilderness of our darkness proclaims the advent of the Saviour in whom “the glory of the Lord” has been revealed. As John puts it, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1 v14). We are subject to decay and endure for so short a time, but the Word of God alone is eternal and as generation after generation passes away and is forgotten, the Living God abides and His Word stands for ever. “Who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no-one has seen or can see. To him be honour and might for ever. Amen” (1Tim. 6 v16). 

 

All our strength and beauty is that of the grass that withers so quickly, the flower that fades. So the first lesson to be learnt in the blessed life of fellowship with God is that witnessed to by the apostle Paul, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out” (Romans 7 v18). The flesh in you and me is without strength (Romans 5 v6), it is grass.

 

The Great Shepherd

There now follows a triumphant message which must be proclaimed with strength (v9-ll). We are summoned to look away from our own weakness to the great God of battles, Who rides to our defence against the strong, and we are shown the amazing gentleness which is always the close companion of genuine strength. “He tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs with His arms and carries them close to His heart”. Seeing Him in His shepherd role, can we be afraid to commit those we love into His keeping or fail to urge them to turn away from every other object of confidence to Him alone? It is so safe to trust Him utterly.

 

Matthew Henry says of this beautiful passage, ‘He takes particular care of those that most need His care, the lambs that are weak and cannot help themselves and are unaccustomed to hardship. He will gather them in the arms of His power, His strength shall be made perfect in their weakness (2 Cor. 12 v9). He will gather them in when they wander, gather them up when they fall, gather them together when they are dispersed and gather them home to Himself at last. All this with His own arm out of which none shall be able to pluck them (John 10 v28). He will carry them close to His heart of love and cherish them there. When they tire or are weary, are sick and faint, when they meet with foul ways, He will carry them on and take care they are not left behind. He will gently lead them for “He remembers their frame” ’. Most of our failure in Christian living and ineffectiveness in ministry stems from our failure to make much of Him, and to give Him that place of absolute pre-eminence which is His alone. How wonderful is our Saviour! 

 

The Majesty of the Creator 

Straight from the gentleness we are turned to the majesty and greatness of God (v12-27). Often weakness overtakes us because we allow affairs and outward circumstances to overawe us. It is here that the evil one seems able to exaggerate problems and difficulties, he plays up the strength of our adversaries and the wisdom and opinions of this world, and then he places a finger on our weakest, most vulnerable, spots.

 

As the antidote for this working of evil we are shown a series of contrasts. The power of the Creator and the ignorance of man are seen in verses 12-14. If we give ground before the humanist and accept the wisdom of man, which is easy enough to do, we are on the high road to defeat. But when we view the wonders of Creation, of which man with all his marvellous discoveries has only touched the fringe, we are brought face to face with the Living God, and find awe and confidence welling up within us until the language of the apostle becomes ours, “0h, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His paths past finding out!” (Romans 11 v33). We can almost catch the worship of the heavenly hosts, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for You created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being” (Rev. 4 v11).

 

This mighty God is our Father and is able to do for us far more than we can possibly imagine. Our strength is not in ourselves but in His might as Creator. We have only to stand trustfully, He does the work. If we set ourselves to walk humbly and obediently in the path of salvation He provides us with the will and energy to go on (Phil. 2 v12-13).

 

The power of the nations is now set in comparison with the might of God (v15-17) and what vivid language is used! We are shown one drop of water in a bucket; dust as light as thistle-down on the scales; the islands of the sea picked up in one hand; the forests of Lebanon teeming with wild life which is insufficient to be used as an offering before the throne of the Almighty; the countless millions of our world’s population, through the ages, reckoned as less than nothing, utter emptiness. The mind fails to grasp such greatness but when we review the turmoil of our world and see the vast forces arrayed against the Church of God and are afraid, then this picture will correct our estimate of things and show us once again that strength is on our side, against which there can be no prevailing. So the highest powers of this world are insignificant when faced by the strength of God, and that strength is at the disposal of His children.

 

The Folly of Idolatry 

Next, man’s search for some visible object of worship, which he can understand and perhaps manipulate to fulfil his purposes, is shown. Think of the idols that have been made down the ages. The heathen deities, who sin and act just like us, or the tortuous philosophical theories that are so widely respected as providing the solution for our need, but which in practice are so completely ineffectual. In verses 18-26 all this is pictured in startling contrast with the gracious presence of the Creator of all things. We are summoned to look up at the galaxies hung in space. Then we are given to understand the secret of the continuance and stability of the universe, “Because He is strong in power not one fails”. Cannot He who holds the worlds in His hand keep by His power the life of a single member of the human race?

 

“Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, My way is hidden from the Lord, my cause is disregarded by my God?” (v27). Is not our real trouble blatant unbelief in His strength? In moments of doubt and depression we tend to turn in upon ourselves, aided and abetted by the devil pouring lies and bitter accusations into our minds (Rev. 12 v9-11). Our vision of the Almighty is then blurred and before we know where we are we are laying the blame for our condition on Him. We say that He has forgotten us, and try to struggle on by ourselves.

 

The Grand Finale 

This brings us to verses 28-31. The passage begins with a question which is designed once again to fix our attention on God. Do we not realise that the Almighty One is not subject to fainting or weariness? When God was manifest in the flesh He shared our human weakness so that we “do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses” (Heb. 4 v15). For this reason He fully understands our need and at the same time possesses the strength that cannot tire. He knows all things, “His understanding no-one can fathom” (v28), and this great King opens the storehouse of His power to the weak and needy. He does not just add to our flagging powers, He gives His Divine strength to those who have none of their own. “He gives power to the faint, and to . . . no might He increases strength” A.V. (v29). You will notice that I have left out the words printed in italics in the Authorised Version, “them that have”, as this seems to add force to the underlying thought. It is to complete lack that the supply is granted. Only the spiritual bankrupt (Matt. 5 v3) qualify to draw on these limitless resources. Youth with all its promise and superb powers is found wanting. As the years slip by physical strength begins to wane, mental vigour loses some of its resilience and even the early glow of spiritual life seems to grow dim. There is nothing in the life of nature, be it youthful or experienced and full of years, that is capable of living the Christian life to the glory of God. The way to victorious Christian living is to “wait on the Lord”.

 

It takes us so long to learn that prayer is more important than organization, more powerful than armies, more influential than wealth, and mightier than learning. Prevailing prayer makes us invincible. They who prevail in the secret place of the Most High cannot be beaten. All things are possible to prayer. It is the spiritual bankrupt who, when all else has failed, learns the wonder of the gracious welcome given to the helpless sinner who comes again and again to “his Father . . . in secret”, and finds the promise true that, “Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matt. 6 v6). He learns to exchange his crippling weakness for God’s strength.

 

This New Strength 

Lastly we see the full scope of this new strength. First there is the upward rush of glorious new life in Christ. Wings are given which lift the trusting one out of the old life into the beauty and wonder of the new. 

 

In “the race marked out for us” as Christians, which is to be run seeking with heart and soul to “win the prize”“an incorruptible crown”, we find that when our own strength gives out and we feel that we just cannot make the goal, then is the time when we can run with fresh strength, not to be found in ourselves but to be drawn from the inexhaustible supply of God. We find that we can “run, and not be weary”, for this exchanged strength will enable us at length to say with the apostle, “I have finished my course”. Then finally when we can no longer run as we did in His service, when bodily and mental vigour are declining and the weight of earth’s pressures seems more than we can face, and the “thorn” we carry more than we can bare, then we shall find ourselves, perhaps even to our surprise, trudging steadily along the homeward way, with His strength made perfect in our weakness. 

 

So we shall “walk and not faint”. This is perhaps the greatest triumph of all, it is the Strength of the Saints.