Peace through Mercy and Grace

Isaiah 54:1-10 

1 "Sing, O barren,
You who have not borne!
Break forth into singing, and cry aloud,
You who have not labored with child!
For more are the children of the desolate
Than the children of the married woman," says the LORD.

2 "Enlarge the place of your tent,
And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings;
Do not spare;
Lengthen your cords,
And strengthen your stakes.

3 For you shall expand to the right and to the left,
And your descendants will inherit the nations,
And make the desolate cities inhabited.

4 "Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed;
Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame;
For you will forget the shame of your youth,
And will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.

5 For your Maker is your husband,
The LORD of hosts is His name;
And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel;
He is called the God of the whole earth.

6 For the LORD has called you
Like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit,
Like a youthful wife when you were refused,"
Says your God.

7 "For a mere moment I have forsaken you,
But with great mercies I will gather you.
8 With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment;
But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,"
Says the LORD, your Redeemer.

9 "For this is like the waters of Noah to Me;
For as I have sworn
That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth,
So have I sworn
That I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you.

10 For the mountains shall depart
And the hills be removed,
But My kindness shall not depart from you,
Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,"
Says the LORD, who has mercy on you.

The LORD promised peace to His people through mercy according to His word of forgiveness in grace.  These promises are echoed to all in Christ as the entirety of those who He calls in that same measure of grace which was predetermined and foretold in hidden way of the prophets like Isaiah (Colossians 1:26, 2 Timothy 1:9-10, Luke 24:27, Ephesians 3:5-6).  Israel struggled with following God and yet He took them back from their sinful wandering time and again, giving us hope when we also falter and fall in following our Lord.  He told them that their des would inherit the nations, which also hints at the gospel hope through the Seed of David to the salvation of the world.  He reassured them that their shame would be taken away, that they would be forgiven, because He was their husband who made them, just as we in Christ with them are His bride.  Such symbolic words of prophecy reveal His work for all the people of God in the Servant He would send!  He has called His people out from certain rejection of judgment in that grace of forgiveness and reconciliation of love in kindness of that mercy.  He is our Redeemer.  Just as He judged the corrupt world in Noah’s day yet saved a remnant for his glory, so He still saves a remnant whom He calls out of the darkness of sin’s penalty into the redemption of the light of Christ by His marvelous grace.  Yes, the promise to keep this new covenant is as certain as the world He founded and is displayed in His great kindness of peace in Christ (Romans 5:1, Ephesians 2:14-18).  This promise cannot be taken away because it is everlasting life, not a temporary extension such as Hezekiah received (2 Kings 20:6).  His mercy of reconciling peace in the promised Messiah gives us assurance that we absolutely will endure the judgment and will be His forever in the New Jerusalem on earth.  What a cert promise of peace with God that gives hope and not a mere wish!  Our peace is through His mercy and grace and is neither earned nor kept by our performance, but by His promises and goodness acc to His word.  We can rely on that as we look back to these veiled promises and their revelation in Jesus the Christ.