"The Lord...saw that there was no man,
and wondered that there was no intercessor;
therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him."
Isaiah 59:16
I love this portion of Scripture, because it reveals the two most consistent truths found in the Word of God. First, man is completely sinful and has no righteousness found in himself. Some will balk at that comment, because they will point to their morality and acts of kindness as a degree of righteousness. We must always understand that the Bible does not declare us to be sinners because we commit sin. That is the common misconception about man. We are declared to be sinners by a holy God, because we were each born with a sin nature and that nature separates us from God. Even if we lived completely moral lives and did not commit any transgressions, by our very nature we would fall short of the standard of God's holiness.
Isaiah declared in this passage the facts of man's unrighteousness. If we listen closely, we can hear that the things that he says about his day are true in ours as well. Listen to verse 14: "Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter." The line that truth is fallen in the street is gripping. It seems that he is saying that men have made up their own truth and have ignored God's. They have decided that they know what is best and have chosen to do what they feel that they can justify. Now, this may not seem very encouraging, and it is not supposed to be. It is a dose of reality in a world that likes to believe in fiction. We are sinners that have been separated from a holy and righteous God. Without Him we are lost and will be that way for eternity.
But...
Here is the second consistent truth found in God's Word. God in His love has reached down to man to give Him hope, life, peace and joy. It was a choice of God to do this that had no basis of man's merit at all. God in His sovereign grace extended His hand of love for man to be saved. Hallelujah, what a Savior! I heard a pastor preaching on the internet. He made a statement that I completely disagree with. He said that man does not come to God until he gets desperate for God. He tried to find some illustrations to back up his point, but I don't think he realized how badly they backfired on him. One of his illustrations was the woman at the well. May I point out the obvious? This woman did not come to Jesus; He came to her. He came out of no obligation but only by His choice and His love. Praise God that He did the same for you and me. The cross of Calvary was not a place of sacrifice because we deserved it; it was instead a divine appointment set up by the Father Himself to redeem His people. Without any doubt our sin is costly, but thank God that the price has been paid by the loving-kindness of God.
May you shout a shout of thanks to the Lord today!
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