If
you’ve read my previous two posts, you’ve caught on that I’m using the Matthew
Henry Commentary this week to add some quick input to how to pray these
Scriptures. I’ve joked with the
Lord that me and Matthew Henry are praying for my kids. “Me and Mr. Henry here again,
Jesus.” Though it’s not my all-time
favorite commentary, I like that.
Something about the oldness speaks to me. Lest you look at the footnotes and think Mr. Henry wrote
this stuff in 1994, try 1708.
Yep. Three whole entire
centuries ago. He’s the guy
Charles Spurgeon and George Whitefield read. And that’s just cool.
This scripture prayer in particular is informed by him. I hope my introduction of commentary
blesses your experience of praying these passages as much as Mr. Henry has
blessed mine. Today we’ll use the
old 1611 King James Version just for fun.
Yet
now hear, O Jacob my servant;
And Israel, whom
I have chosen:
2 Thus saith the Lord that made thee,
And formed thee
from the womb, which will help thee;
Fear not, O
Jacob, my servant;
And thou,
Jesurun, whom I have chosen.
3 For I will pour
water upon him that is thirsty,
And floods upon
the dry ground:
I will pour my
spirit upon thy seed,
And my blessing
upon thine offspring:
4 And they shall spring
up as among the grass,
As willows by the
water courses.
5 One shall say, I am
the Lord’s;
And another shall
call himself by the name of Jacob;
And another shall
subscribe with his hand unto the Lord,
And surname
himself by the name of Israel. [1]
We are
Jacob, Israel, Jeshurun.
In this address, God uses three names
interchangeably: the name Jacob, carrying connotations of deceit against a
brother; the name Israel, which literally translates,
“he struggles with God;” and the name Jeshurun, which means “the upright one.” Sounds like an identity crisis waiting to happen.
In historic context, they were a people who had
made a mess of things. Screwed up.
Again and again. And
again. Couldn’t get anything right. Ornery. The s- word. (The one that ends with "tupid".) Or, as Mr. Henry more politely put it, “Jacob and Israel had been represented, in the close of the foregoing
chapter, as very provoking and obnoxious
to God’s wrath, and already given to the curse and to reproaches.”[2]
But in the very first
word of Isaiah 44 lies the answer to any crisis of identity. Herein
lies their very definition. Who
they were. Who WE are. One word. “YET…”
“Yet now, hear, O
Jacob my servant!”
My whole life is
hidden in that word.
It has made all the
difference.
And, according to
Isaiah 44.1-5, it has made all the difference for my three cutie pie kiddos as well. Ornery as they may be, on any given day.
The amazing news of
Isaiah 44.1-5 is that all this mercy, all this grace, all this happiness, all these blessings, all these
promises, belong to me AND MINE.
You AND YOURS. Yep. The kids.
This is a promise
straight from the mouth of God, straight to the ears of parents.
Mr. Henry says that
the people of Israel are a figure of us.
We are “gospel Israel.” (I like that.)
First, a promise for us…
The One who made us, chose us, and called us… helps
us. We don’t have to be afraid. Though we feel bone dry. Empty. Spent. Done. Yet…
“Those that are barren as the dry ground shall be watered
with the grace of God, with floods of
that grace, and God will himself give the increase. If the ground be ever so dry, God has floods of grace to water
it with.”[3]
Second, a promise for the world…
Galatians 3.16-29 talks about the “seed” mentioned
in Isaiah 44.3. It is Jesus Christ.
He is “the Seed to whom the promise referred… so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus
Christ, might be given to those who believe”
(Gal. 3.19, 22). What was promised
to all who believe? (Yes, it
really is true; all you have to do is
believe. a-MAZ-ing.) The HOLY SPIRIT.
Thus, finally, a promise for our children… the next generation… the rising church…
An outpouring of blessing, like water. But not just any ol’ plain ordinary everyday blessing. I’ll let Mr. Henry take over here:
“The water God will pour out is his Spirit (Jn. 7:39), which God will pour out without measure upon the seed, that is, Christ
(Gal. 3:16), and by measure upon all the
seed of the faithful, upon all the praying wrestling seed of Jacob… [that's us!]...
This gift of the Holy
Ghost is the great blessing God had reserved the plentiful effusion of for the latter days [that's now!]: I will pour my Spirit, that is, my blessing; for where God gives his Spirit he will give all other
blessings.
This is reserved for
the seed and offspring of the church [that's our kids!]; for so the covenant of grace runs: I
will be a God to thee and to thy seed. To all who are thus made to partake of the privileges of adoption God will
give the spirit of adoption.
Hereby there shall be
a great increase of the church. Thus it shall be spread to distant places. Thus it shall be propagated and
perpetuated to after-times: They shall spring up and grow as fast as willows by the watercourses, and in
every thing that is virtuous and
praiseworthy shall be eminent and excel all about them, as the willows overtop the grass among which they grow, v. 4.
Note, It is a great
happiness to the church, and a great pleasure to good men, to see the rising generation hopeful and
promising. And it will be so if God pour his Spirit
upon them, that blessing, that blessing of blessings."[4]
Let’s pray:
Lord, I thank You for calling me Your servant…
for choosing me… for making me… for forming me in the womb. I need help. Help me, Lord.
Help me to not fear, for I am Your servant,
and You’ve chosen me. Though I’m
bone dry, I pray You fill me.
Thank You for the gift of faith to believe in Your Son, Jesus
Christ. I believe. Therefore, I am Yours.
I am Yours, and so I pray Your promise for me
and mine. All _________ needs today is Your Holy Spirit. I pray for an outpouring
of Your Holy Spirit on _________ today. I pray You pour out
Your blessing on her, that blessing of blessings.
[Eugene Peterson, in The Message paraphrase of the Bible,
titles this passage, “Proud to Be Called Israel.” This isn’t some kind of mean, intolerant
“Christian” pride. But a deep-rooted,
unshakeable security in WHO THEY ARE. And THAT’S what I pray for today...]
Standing
on Your promise in Your Word, Lord…
I pray for _______, that in the
dry and thirsty land of ___________ (name of school)... today... she will know, beyond
a shadow of a fear, that
SHE IS YOURS.
That
her identity would be wrapped up, encapsulated, and found... in the YET of the
gospel. In YOU. Jesus. In
You.
Amen.
But
for now, dear servant Jacob, listen— yes, you, Israel, my personal choice.
God who
made you has something to say to you;
the God who formed you in the womb wants to help you.
Don’t be afraid, dear servant Jacob,
Jeshurun, the one I chose.
For I will pour water on the thirsty ground
and send streams coursing through the parched earth.
I will pour my Spirit into your descendants and my blessing on your children.
They shall sprout like grass on the prairie, like willows alongside creeks.
This one will say, ‘I am God’s,’ and another will go by the name Jacob;
That one will write on his hand ‘God’s property’— and be proud to be called Israel.”
(Isaiah 44.1-5, The Message)
[1]
The Holy Bible: King James Version.
2009 (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version.) (Is 44:1–5).
Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[2]
Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s
commentary on the whole Bible: Complete and unabridged in one volume (Is
44:1–8). Peabody: Hendrickson.
[3]
Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s
commentary on the whole Bible: Complete and unabridged in one volume (Is
44:1–8). Peabody: Hendrickson.
[4]
Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s
commentary on the whole Bible: Complete and unabridged in one volume (Is
44:1–8). Peabody: Hendrickson.
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