Grapes of Wrath
 | |  | |  | |  |
Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short
to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.
But your iniquities have separated you
from your God; your sins have hidden his
face from you, so that he will not hear.
For your hands are stained with blood, your
fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken
lies, and your tongue mutters wicked things.
No one calls for justice; no one pleads his
case with integrity. They rely on empty
arguments and speak lies; they conceive
trouble and give birth to evil.
They hatch the eggs of vipers and spin a
spider's web. Whoever eats their eggs will
die, and when one is broken, an adder is
hatched.
Their cobwebs are useless for clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what
they make. Their deeds are evil deeds,
and acts of violence are in their hands.
Their feet rush into sin; they are swift to
shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are evil
thoughts; ruin and destruction mark their
ways.
The way of peace they do not know; there
is no justice in their paths. They have
turned them into crooked roads; no one
who walks in them will know peace.
So justice is far from us, and righteousness
does not reach us. We look for light, but all
is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in
deep shadows.
to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.
But your iniquities have separated you
from your God; your sins have hidden his
face from you, so that he will not hear.
For your hands are stained with blood, your
fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken
lies, and your tongue mutters wicked things.
No one calls for justice; no one pleads his
case with integrity. They rely on empty
arguments and speak lies; they conceive
trouble and give birth to evil.
They hatch the eggs of vipers and spin a
spider's web. Whoever eats their eggs will
die, and when one is broken, an adder is
hatched.
Their cobwebs are useless for clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what
they make. Their deeds are evil deeds,
and acts of violence are in their hands.
Their feet rush into sin; they are swift to
shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are evil
thoughts; ruin and destruction mark their
ways.
The way of peace they do not know; there
is no justice in their paths. They have
turned them into crooked roads; no one
who walks in them will know peace.
So justice is far from us, and righteousness
does not reach us. We look for light, but all
is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in
deep shadows.
Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling
our way like men without eyes. At midday we
stumble as if it were twilight;
among the strong, we are like the dead.
We all growl like bears; we moan mournfully
like doves. We look for justice, but find none;
for deliverance, but it is far away.
For our offenses are many in your sight, and
our sins testify against us. Our offenses are
ever with us, and we acknowledge our
iniquities: rebellion and treachery against the
Lord, turning our backs on our God,
fomenting oppression and revolt, uttering lies
our hearts have conceived.
So justice is driven back, and righteousness
stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in
the streets, honesty cannot enter.
Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever
shuns evil becomes a prey. The LORD looked
and was displeased that there was no justice.
He saw that there was no one, he was
appalled that there was no one to intervene;
so his own arm worked salvation for him, and
his own righteousness sustained him. He put
on righteousness as his breastplate, and the
helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the
garments of vengeance and wrapped himself
in zeal as in a cloak.
According to what they have done, so will he
repay wrath to his enemies and retribution to
his foes; he will repay the islands their due.
(Isaiah 59:1-18)
our way like men without eyes. At midday we
stumble as if it were twilight;
among the strong, we are like the dead.
We all growl like bears; we moan mournfully
like doves. We look for justice, but find none;
for deliverance, but it is far away.
For our offenses are many in your sight, and
our sins testify against us. Our offenses are
ever with us, and we acknowledge our
iniquities: rebellion and treachery against the
Lord, turning our backs on our God,
fomenting oppression and revolt, uttering lies
our hearts have conceived.
So justice is driven back, and righteousness
stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in
the streets, honesty cannot enter.
Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever
shuns evil becomes a prey. The LORD looked
and was displeased that there was no justice.
He saw that there was no one, he was
appalled that there was no one to intervene;
so his own arm worked salvation for him, and
his own righteousness sustained him. He put
on righteousness as his breastplate, and the
helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the
garments of vengeance and wrapped himself
in zeal as in a cloak.
According to what they have done, so will he
repay wrath to his enemies and retribution to
his foes; he will repay the islands their due.
(Isaiah 59:1-18)
As we can see from what Isaiah has written, our iniquities have separated us from God.
In fact, our sins have hidden His face from us. Notice that our sins didn't hide us from
Him, but rather hid Him from us. He still knows where we are and what we're doing. But
it's us that can't find His face. Read it again. Slowly. That's us that Isaiah's talking about.
"No one calls for justice"
They...and we... "conceive trouble and give birth to evil."
Their...and our..."feet rush into sin".
"There is no justice in their paths"...or in ours.
"righteousness does not reach us."
"So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled
in the streets, honesty cannot enter."
The Lord was "displeased that there was no justice."
"He saw that there was no one, He was appalled that there was no one to intervene."
This is the neat part...
"So His own arm worked salvation for Him, and His own righteousness sustained Him."
He put on the breastplate of righteousness and the helmet of salvation (sound familiar?)
If you look at Eph. 6:14-17, you'll find that same breastplate and that same helmet listed
as part of the armor of God! But here's the interesting thing. Here, in Isaiah, God is
wearing garments of vengeance and a cloak of zeal. But over in Ephesians, the
garments of vengeance and the cloak of zeal are not mentioned. Instead, they've been
replaced by the belt of truth, the shield of faith, the sword of the Spirit and feet fitted with
the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. How did this transformation come
about?
In fact, our sins have hidden His face from us. Notice that our sins didn't hide us from
Him, but rather hid Him from us. He still knows where we are and what we're doing. But
it's us that can't find His face. Read it again. Slowly. That's us that Isaiah's talking about.
"No one calls for justice"
They...and we... "conceive trouble and give birth to evil."
Their...and our..."feet rush into sin".
"There is no justice in their paths"...or in ours.
"righteousness does not reach us."
"So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled
in the streets, honesty cannot enter."
The Lord was "displeased that there was no justice."
"He saw that there was no one, He was appalled that there was no one to intervene."
This is the neat part...
"So His own arm worked salvation for Him, and His own righteousness sustained Him."
He put on the breastplate of righteousness and the helmet of salvation (sound familiar?)
If you look at Eph. 6:14-17, you'll find that same breastplate and that same helmet listed
as part of the armor of God! But here's the interesting thing. Here, in Isaiah, God is
wearing garments of vengeance and a cloak of zeal. But over in Ephesians, the
garments of vengeance and the cloak of zeal are not mentioned. Instead, they've been
replaced by the belt of truth, the shield of faith, the sword of the Spirit and feet fitted with
the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. How did this transformation come
about?
Copyright © 2006 imonlywood.com All rights reserved.