with meditations
by my mother, Poetess Gertrude Sanborn
August 9
Isaiah 52:4--Isaiah
57:19
THE
SUFFERING MESSIAH
Isaiah 53:6-b
". . .
The LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all . . ."
Today, we come to some
of the most beautiful words in the Bible: ISAIAH 53! The
Holy Spirit moved Isaiah to pen classic words of beauty!
It is the prophecy of the suffering Messiah. God's
people, the Jews, have no excuse! In their own
Scriptures, they can find Him for Whom they long to see!
Sad to say, many of
the Jewish people are ignorant of the "words" in the Old
Testament. The very oracles of God that they preserved
and guarded are like mysterious words to them. Worse
yet, many Jewish people do not know the simplest Bible
accounts of their historic ancestors.
Many people know these
"words" by heart, not realizing they know Scripture. The
gifted musician/composer named Handel wrote glorious
music with these "words" taken verbatim from this Bible
passage. Who is the "He," and the "Him" referred to in
Psalm 53? It is none other than the Lord
Jesus Christ, the very
Messiah for Whom the Jews longed. They did not recognize
Him when He came. Some believed. Those in authority did
not! This Psalm predicted the crucifixion of Jesus.
Pilot asked, "What shall I do then with Jesus which is
called Christ?" (Matthew 27:22) The answer came roaring
back to his ears, "CRUCIFY HIM!"
When I was in my high
school chorus, we sang HANDEL'S MESSIAH. Every year Mr.
Hilty led the high school in this glorious music. The
freshmen would learn it from the upper classmen. When
they became Seniors, they taught it to the new ones
coming into the group. All those students sang, "Surely
HE hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows . . ."
I can hear it now in my mind's musical ear.
Softly and slowly,
with pathos and clarity, we sang "HE WAS WOUNDED FOR OUR
TRANSGRESSIONS! Then suddenly, the singers would awaken!
We would sing–almost in tears--"THE CHASTISEMENT OF OUR
PEACE WAS UPON HIM." Then the sorrowful words were
pronounced, "AND WITH HIS STRIPES, AND WITH HIS STRIPES,
WE ARE HEALED." How can anyone read this psalm and not
see Jesus, the Messiah?
And when
they were come to the place, which is called
Calvary, there they crucified him, and the
malefactors, one on the right hand, and the
other on the left. Then said Jesus, Father,
forgive them; for they know not what they
do. And they parted his raiment, and cast
lots. And the people stood beholding. And
the rulers also with them derided him,
saying, He saved others; let him save
himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God.
And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to
him, and offering him vinegar, And saying,
If thou be the king of the Jews, save
thyself. And a superscription also was
written over him in letters of Greek, and
Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE
JEWS. (Luke 23:33-38)
YOU AND I ARE LIKE
DUMB SHEEP. It is not very flattering. But-sin is not
pretty! We have gone "astray"! We have turned to our own
sinful way! So what did GOD THE FATHER DO? John the
Baptist exclaimed of Jesus, "BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD THAT
TAKETH A WAY
THE SIN OF THE WORLD!"
(John 1:29) That is exactly what Isaiah predicted in
Isaiah 53. God the Father laid on Jesus the "iniquity"
(sin) of us all! As a dumb sheep, Jesus who took YOUR
place and MY place at Calvary
All we
like sheep have gone astray; we have turned
every one to HIS own way; and the LORD hath
laid on HIM the iniquity of us all . . .
What have you done
with Jesus, who is called the Christ? THINK ABOUT IT! (ysw)
"THE
SHEPHERD OF MY SOUL"
(I Peter 2:25)
"‘The Lord is MY
Shepherd!’"
By day He gently
leads.
By night He is
The DOOR.
He protect from
the very real perils that are round about us.
Our Shepherd
knows us individually.
He knows each
particular need, our weaknesses, our peculiarities, and
tendencies to stray.
When we are
sorely tired, He will gently lead on.
When we are
weary and wounded, He will anoint our heads
and heals our
wounds.
He refreshes us
with his tender touch and care.
We know that
whatever the trial of the day, His goodness and loving
kindness follow."
(copied by GGS,
probably from Morning & Evening, not sure.)
[I changed it
some before I knew it was a quote]
And
Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he
said, Behold, in the tent. And he said, I will certainly
return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo,
Sarah thy wife shall have a son. (Genesis 18:10)
