I AM HE WHO COMFORTS YOU

Isaiah 51:1-23 / Keywords 51:12

“I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mere mortals, human beings who are but grass,

 

Everlasting Salvation for Zion

51:1 “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness

    and who seek the Lord:

Look to the rock from which you were cut

    and to the quarry from which you were hewn;

2 look to Abraham, your father,

    and to Sarah, who gave you birth.

When I called him he was only one man,

    and I blessed him and made him many.

3 The Lord will surely comfort Zion

    and will look with compassion on all her ruins;

he will make her deserts like Eden,

    her wastelands like the garden of the Lord.

Joy and gladness will be found in her,

    thanksgiving and the sound of singing.

4 “Listen to me, my people;

    hear me, my nation:

Instruction will go out from me;

    my justice will become a light to the nations.

5 My righteousness draws near speedily,

    my salvation is on the way,

    and my arm will bring justice to the nations.

The islands will look to me

    and wait in hope for my arm.

6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,

    look at the earth beneath;

the heavens will vanish like smoke,

    the earth will wear out like a garment

    and its inhabitants die like flies.

But my salvation will last forever,

    my righteousness will never fail.

7 “Hear me, you who know what is right,

    you people who have taken my instruction to heart:

Do not fear the reproach of mere mortals

    or be terrified by their insults.

8 For the moth will eat them up like a garment;

    the worm will devour them like wool.

But my righteousness will last forever,

    my salvation through all generations.”

9 Awake, awake, arm of the Lord,

    clothe yourself with strength!

Awake, as in days gone by,

    as in generations of old.

Was it not you who cut Rahab to pieces,

    who pierced that monster through?

10 Was it not you who dried up the sea,

    the waters of the great deep,

who made a road in the depths of the sea

    so that the redeemed might cross over?

11 Those the Lord has rescued will return.

    They will enter Zion with singing;

    everlasting joy will crown their heads.

Gladness and joy will overtake them,

    and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

12 “I, even I, am he who comforts you.

    Who are you that you fear mere mortals,

    human beings who are but grass,

13 that you forget the Lord your Maker,

    who stretches out the heavens

    and who lays the foundations of the earth,

that you live in constant terror every day

    because of the wrath of the oppressor,

    who is bent on destruction?

For where is the wrath of the oppressor?

14     The cowering prisoners will soon be set free;

they will not die in their dungeon,

    nor will they lack bread.

15 For I am the Lord your God,

    who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—

    the Lord Almighty is his name.

16 I have put my words in your mouth

    and covered you with the shadow of my hand—

I who set the heavens in place,

    who laid the foundations of the earth,

    and who say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”

The Cup of the Lord’s Wrath

17 Awake, awake!

    Rise up, Jerusalem,

you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord

    the cup of his wrath,

you who have drained to its dregs

    the goblet that makes people stagger.

18 Among all the children she bore

    there was none to guide her;

among all the children she reared

    there was none to take her by the hand.

19 These double calamities have come upon you—

    who can comfort you?—

ruin and destruction, famine and sword—

    who can[a] console you?

20 Your children have fainted;

    they lie at every street corner,

    like antelope caught in a net.

They are filled with the wrath of the Lord,

    with the rebuke of your God.

21 Therefore hear this, you afflicted one,

    made drunk, but not with wine.

22 This is what your Sovereign Lord says,

    your God, who defends his people:

“See, I have taken out of your hand

    the cup that made you stagger;

from that cup, the goblet of my wrath,

    you will never drink again.

23 I will put it into the hands of your tormentors,

    who said to you,

    ‘Fall prostrate that we may walk on you.’

And you made your back like the ground,

    like a street to be walked on.”

Footnotes

Isaiah 51:19 Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Masoretic Text / how can I

 

1. It was not easy for God’s faithful remnant in exile to have hope for the restoration of Zion, which was in ruins. God calls them to remember how he brought out a whole nation from Abraham and Sarah who were as good as dead (Heb 11:12). Likewise, God would comfort Zion by bringing back the exiles to Jerusalem, making her deserts like Eden, and restoring joy and gladness in her. Nothing is too difficult for God. Not only that, God’s justice will be a light to the nations. God will bring his salvation and righteousness to all nations through the work of his servant, the coming Messiah.

 

2. The captives wondered why it took so long for God to rescue them from their oppressors. In response, the LORD reminds them who he is: He is the Creator who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundations of the earth. It is he who comforts his people. God’s people don’t need to fear mere mortals who are but grass, but they can trust God. Now, they must rise and, by faith, accept God’s promise and put their hope in him. God handed them over to their tormentors to lead them to repentance, but their punishment would be over. God would pour out the cup of his wrath on her enemies. The time for God’s deliverance and restoration was drawing near.

 

Prayer Lord, thank you for eternal salvation in Jesus. Help me not to fear mortals, but listen to your word, take it by faith, and wait in hope for you.

One Word Nothing is impossible with God