Monday after Sexagesima Sunday
Posted on February 21, 2022 by under
Scripture: Isaiah 50:4-10 (NKJV)
50:4 “The Lord God has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to hear as the learned.
5 The Lord God has opened My ear; And I was not rebellious, nor did I turn away.
6 I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.
7 “For the Lord God will help Me; Therefore I will not be disgraced; Therefore I have set My face like a flint, and I know that I will not be ashamed.
8 He is near who justifies Me; Who will contend with Me? Let us stand together. Who is My adversary? Let him come near Me.
9 Surely the Lord God will help Me; Who is he who will condemn Me? Indeed they will all grow old like a garment; The moth will eat them up.
10 “Who among you fears the Lord? Who obeys the voice of His Servant? Who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely upon his God.
Devotion
The Lord Jesus always delighted to do the will of His heavenly Father. Whether hearing and studying the Holy Scriptures as a child, teaching and preaching to the multitudes, or even suffering at the hands of His enemies, Christ was not ashamed of His Father. He knew that when He had gone through His bitter Passion He would be justified before all people at the Resurrection. His face was set with divine determination to fulfill His Father’s will and accomplish our Redemption.
Likewise, if we trust in the name of the Lord, and rely upon our God and the Gospel of His love for us, we do not need to feel ashamed of our lot in life. Our spiritual enemies may ridicule us and persecute us for following God’s Word, but they cannot undo what Christ has done for us, nor overturn the victory of the cross. The fortitude of Christ is found in the faith of His people, and His vindication is the cause of our justification.
Isaiah’s words are mirrored in St. Paul’s to the Romans, “If God is for us, who can be against us? … It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.” (Rom. 8:31-34). May our ears always be open to hear the Gospel of Christ, our tongues tuned to proclaim His Word, and our hearts kindled with a bold faith!
Prayer: O Lord God, Who seest that we put not our trust in anything that we do: Mercifully grant that by Thy power we may be defended against all adversity; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
