Isaiah 42:2-3
A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax, He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth. He will not fail nor be discouraged, until He has established justice in the earth.
What of Today’s Verse…
Again, the promises of God cascade forth, one upon another: “He will not break . . . He will not quench . . . He will bring forth . . . He will not fail.” This set of four promises confirms a unique King for the people of God. His uniqueness is seen in how He would deal with bruised reeds and smoking flaxes, as well as in the justice He would eventually establish upon the earth.
Many times, people are like bruised reeds. God has created humanity to be innately vulnerable, like reeds that grow by the river. “As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more” (Psa_103:15-16). At best, reeds are not strong. When they are bruised, they hang over limp and helpless. It is easy for an insensitive person to break a “human bruised reed” in half, virtually destroying that life. Jesus, the unique King, does not do that. “A bruised reed He will not break.” The Lord Jesus can take bruised reeds and turn them into mighty spiritual trees. “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted . . . to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified” (Isa_61:1, Isa_61:3).
At other times, people are like smoking flax. Their spiritual fire of hope or zeal is flickering, ready to burn out. A rough or blustering person can easily extinguish the meagre spark that remains. Once again, Jesus is unique. He can gently minister to that flickering wick, even fuelling it back into a spiritual blaze. The disillusioned disciples on the road to Emmaus experienced that. “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luk_24:32).
Ultimately, His uniqueness shall be demonstrated when He sets up His kingdom on earth. Then, after man has brought forth injustice after injustice, true justice will be established throughout this world. “He will not fail nor be discouraged, till He has established justice in all the earth.”
Let us Pray:
Lord Jesus, I honour You as my unique King. No one but You could have dealt with my heart when I was the bruised reed and the smoking flax. No one but You can properly reverse the injustices that I have both perpetrated and endured. I bow to You, asking that You make me more like You, in Your name, Amen.
Words of Wisdom
The Opened Sight
“‘To open their eyes,’ and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, ‘that they may receive’ forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.” Acts 26:18
This verse is the grandest condensation of the propaganda of a disciple of Jesus Christ in the whole of the New Testament.
The first sovereign work of grace is summed up in the word – “that they may receive remission of sins.” When a man fails in personal Christian experience, it is nearly always because he has never received anything. The only sign that a man is saved is that he has received something from Jesus Christ. Our part as workers for God is to open men’s eyes that they may turn themselves from darkness to light; but that is not salvation, that is conversion – the effort of a roused human being. I do not think it is too sweeping to say that the majority of nominal Christians are of this order; their eyes are opened, but they have received nothing. Conversion is not regeneration. This is one of the neglected factors in our preaching today. When a man is born again, he knows that it is because he has received something as a gift from Almighty God and not because of his own decision. People register their vows, and sign their pledges, and determine to go through, but none of this is salvation. Salvation means that we are brought to the place where we are able to receive something from God on the authority of Jesus Christ, viz., remission of sins.
Then there follows the second mighty work of grace – “an inheritance among them which are sanctified.” In sanctification, the regenerated soul deliberately gives up his right to himself to Jesus Christ, and identifies himself entirely with God’s interest in other men.
