Many years ago, an elderly woman in a church I served shared how God comforted her during a profound trial. Her husband, an auto mechanic, died tragically when a car he was working on slipped off its jack. Young and inconsolable, her grief was so severe that she broke out in hives.
One day, stepping out onto her back porch, she cried out, “Oh God, please help me. I can’t stand this grief.” In a wave of grace, God met her there, bringing the peace, presence, and healing that only He can provide.
She eventually remarried, becoming the wife of one of the finest deacons I have ever worked with in ministry.
Much like this woman, the prophet Isaiah remembered God’s compassion toward Israel during their own times of trial:
I will recount the gracious deeds of the Lord,
the praiseworthy acts of the Lord,
because of all that the Lord has done for us
and the great favor to the house of Israel
that he has shown them according to his mercy,
according to the abundance of his steadfast love.For he said, Surely they are my people,
children who will not act deceitfully,
and he became their savior
in all their distress.It was no messenger or angel
but his presence that saved them;
in his love and pity it was he who redeemed them;
he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. (Isaiah 63:7-9)
Notice what God did for His people: He acted on their behalf and showed them favor. Even in their sin-induced distress, He claimed them as His own. He came Himself and redeemed them.
God’s Character
God reveals His nature and character through His actions on behalf of His people. In this passage, Isaiah layers description upon description to capture the depth of God’s goodness.
1. Deeds Rooted in Grace:
While grace is frequently defined as “unmerited favor,” its truest definition is a picture without words: Jesus, suffering for our sins on the cross. God acts on behalf of humanity simply because it is His nature to be gracious.
2. Great Favor According to Mercy:
Mercy occurs when a person of superior strength reaches out to help someone with lesser abilities. You may recall an old hymn by Isaac Watts. Its first stanza highlights the vast difference between God’s supreme position and our mortal state:
Alas! and did my Savior bleed?
And did my Sovereign die?
Would he devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?
Some object to Watts’s wording, dismissing it as “worm theology,” which has led many modern hymnals to soften the phrase to “sinners such as I.”
However, I believe Watts perfectly captures the sheer scale of God’s mercy. He is superior to us in ways beyond our understanding, yet His mercy still grants favor to sinners.
3. Abundance of Steadfast Love:
The Hebrew term translated as “steadfast love” originally referred to “covenant-keeping ability.” When two parties enter an agreement, both have obligations. For example, God gave His people the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) as their part of the covenant. God’s part was to be their God and provide for them.
Even when Israel repeatedly broke their side of the agreement, God remained their loving Heavenly Father and continued to care for them. He acts on our behalf despite our tendency to break our promises to Him—yet another testament to His magnificent character.
4. Loving Redeemer and Savior:
I regularly remind myself that no one wrote a rulebook for God. As the Sovereign of the universe, He is completely free to act as He pleases. Yet, God bound Himself to a standard that perfectly reflects His loving, gracious, just, and holy nature. While we were rebels in the very world He created, He chose to save us from our sinful selves. He did this in the past, and He continues to do it today.
A fitting conclusion to this meditation on God’s magnificent character is to reflect on the remainder of Watts’s hymn:
Was it for crimes that I had done
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!
Well might the sun in darkness hide,
And shut his glories in,
When God, the mighty Maker, died
For man, the creature’s sin.
Thus might I hide my blushing face,
While his dear cross appears;
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
And melt my eyes to tears.
But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe;
Here, Lord, I give myself away;
‘Tis all that I can do.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage from Isaiah on YouTube today.
Real Voices 