the Third Week after Easter
Click here to join the effort!
Daily Devotionals
Our Daily Homily - Volume 2
Isaiah 40:1—Comfort ye, comfort ye my people saith your God.
There is a considerable interval between the preceding chapter and this. The Jews are now nearing the term of their long and bitter sufferings; their fiery trials have done their work.
Comfort, because sin is forgiven.—"Look to the wounds of Jesus, brother," said Staupitz to Luther. At the foot of the cross alone can sinners be comforted. We need not only the assurance of forgiveness, but some knowledge of the way in which it has been obtained, and the grounds on which it is based. Our hearts are never truly comforted till we learn that God is faithful and just when He forgives.
Comfort, because God is on his way to deliver.—The imagery is borrowed from the progress of an Oriental prince or conqueror. Great gangs of men are sent to level the ways before him. Be of good cheer, the prophet says; your God shall come with a strong hand. See the mountains become a way; the crooked is made straight and the rough places smooth. The glorious Lord comes to deliver the afflicted from his strong oppressor, and all flesh shall see it together.
Comfort, because the Strong Deliverer has a tender heart.—He comes as a mighty one, but He feeds his flock like a shepherd. Strong and sweet, mighty and merciful. The Everlasting Father, but the Prince of Peace. Those arms sustain the universe, but they gather lambs.
Comfort, because He faints not, neither is weary.—Others may tire after awhile. Physical strength droops and declines. Time seems long. The current may sweep lovers and friends out of our reach, but Thou remainest! "The Creator of the ends of the earth fainteth not, neither is weary."
