Others

“O LORD, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.” (Isa 33:2 AV)

The prayer of the prophet for the disobedient is both tender and appropriate.  Isaiah is the prophet to Judah and Israel.  He knows judgment is coming.  He witnesses the adversary inflict much harm. He preaches at the time of the fall of the northern kingdom.  In verse one of this chapter, the man of God could be referring to the downfall of Samaria and the ten northern tribes.  This would give explanation to the middle of the verse above.  The preacher seeks God’s arm to be the strength of someone, not himself.  He asks that God would be ‘their’ arm every morning.  The arm of the LORD is equated to strength.  It is applied in various ways.  It could be the arm of endurance.  It could be the arm of deliverance.  It could be the arm of vindication.  How the strength of God is applied can vary.  In our context, I believe the minister is seeking the strength of God to go with the northern ten tribes as they are carried away.  He seeks strength that they might endure their correction.  For the south, it could be the prophet seeks the strength of the LORD so that revival might come.  Perhaps he is asking that revival may come, so judgment does not.  The principal thing is the tenderness and concern the prophet has for others, even though he knows the likely outcome.

I also appreciate how Isaiah includes himself in this prayer.  He associates himself with the people whom he is trying to help.  He assumes responsibility for their condition because of what he can do for them.  Isaiah testifies that those to whom he ministers have waited.  They have had some kind of relationship with the LORD.  It may not have been what the LORD wanted, but it was something.  Isaiah also states the obvious in that when trouble comes, the only hope they have is in God.  The older I get, the more I reflect on just how good God has been to me.  And us.  God has forgiven more than I can even comprehend.  He has worked to my spiritual maturity even when I didn’t respond as I should.  Last night, I was meditating on a certain prayer request and whether I should bring it before the throne, and the Spirit encouraged me to ask such a thing using one name of God I had learned.  In doing so, the Spirit revealed the thing of which I sought the LORD made no sense when placed in the context of one of His names.  How good is God?

Every minister of the gospel, whether a called individual or a person desiring to reach others, needs to place him or herself in the place of the one they are trying to affect.  They must empathize regardless of circumstances.  It doesn’t matter how far from God a soul is, their need is still real and urgent.  The tender believer who can see the need should pray for them earnestly.  There should be weeping.  There should be fasting.  There should be a broken heart regardless how far from God that soul might be.  Isaiah was the prince of Prophets for a reason.  There is a reason he authored the largest book of the prophets.  He may have been more learned than most.  But he was also very tender towards those whom God sent him.  Perhaps we are missing a great deal in our aspirations to share the gospel.  Rather than condemnation, perhaps compassion might work a bit better.