Introduction: This is a passage from the Bible. Read it and as you read it, think to yourself ‘Who fits this picture?’ And go further – think, Does this person fit the picture perfectly?’
The LORD’S Chosen Servant
1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my Spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
2 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
3 a bruised reed he will not break,
and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
4 He will not grow faint or be discouraged
till he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his law. – If Jesus is the person who fits this passage, why are governments busy making laws which alter laws to make them increasingly unlike Jesus’ principles of behaviour?
5 Thus says God, the LORD,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people on it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
6 “I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,
7 to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness. – some have sought to make this passage mean Mohamed but his religion has advanced with sword, imprisonment and death! The Iran rulers have used shooting the opposition’s people through the eye if they won’t follow Mohamed!
8 I am the LORD; that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to carved idols.
9 Behold, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth
I tell you of them.”
Summary; Whose name sprang into your mind? I guess that you could ring me, if you knew my number, but shout as loud as you can, I will not hear you, but even think of the answer and God will hear you!
There is no author recorded at the beginning of this Psalm. But as soon as I read the Title ‘The LORD’S Chosen Servant’, two names sprang into my mind – David and Jesus. Our upbringing has a lot to do with who we are. In my family poetry was thought of as being for wimps. How stupid! But as I have aged and hopefully matured a bit I have come to love poetic illustrations to emphasize but not define someone/something totally. You may know your Bible well so you may have thought of these passages. I did, and the first that sprang into my mind was Jesus speaking in the synagogue in Nazareth. Here Jesus quotes Isaiah 61 which begins ‘1. The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, etc’ which sounds very similar but isn’t from ch 42! However, in Matt 12 15-21, the author quotes Isaiah 42 as referring to Jesus. Was the Psalmist thinking of David’s great kingship? Was he thinking of the Promised future which had had been promised to Abraham and David? In many other places in the Bible, this perfect answer from God to man’s hopeless situation is hinted at. Who knows but we are challenged that all Scripture comes by God’s Inspiration!
But the prophecy doesn’t seem completely fulfilled so far in history. Will Jesus come a second time?
2Samuel 7: 12 & 16 – “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. ….. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.”
Prayer: Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things that You do, have done and will do in my life and in this world!