Isaiah 63:7–8: “I will mention the loving kindnesses of the LORD / And the praises of the LORD, / According to all that the LORD has bestowed on us, / And the great goodness toward the house of Israel, / Which He has bestowed on them / According to His mercies, according to the multitude of His loving kindnesses. / For He said, ‘Surely they are My people, / Children who will not lie.’ / So He became their Savior.”

September 26th, 2024 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Here in the middle of Isaiah 63 are three verses that stand in sharp contrast to the opening verses of this chapter. The first six verses open with Isaiah seeing a vision of the Lord returning from the Day of Judgment with His garments stained with the blood of His enemies. But these verses are a clear statement of God’s love, mercy, and kindness focused on His people. How are we to understand these seemingly contradictory pictures?

The Apostle Paul described it this way when he wrote to the Romans: “Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off” (Rom. 11:22). God’s goodness is on those who receive His gift of grace and allow Him to change them from the inside out, but His judgment is on all who reject His gift.

The English pastor Charles Spurgeon said it this way:

If you haven’t looked at Christ on the cross, you’ll have to look at Him on the throne—with great trembling. The sacrificial death of Christ will be brought before the eyes of all who refuse to accept His free gift of forgiveness and eternal life. In Bethlehem He came in mercy to forgive sin. In the future He will come on the clouds in glory to establish justice. What will we do without a Savior? On the day of judgment there is nothing we can do if we have not trusted Christ.

“LORD, we need Your gift of grace today so we can use it to walk in obedience.”