The goblet of Your wrath, Father God, is a terrifying thing to think of. Yet, in Your unfailing mercy and love, You have taken it out of our hands as you did for the children of Israel, as Isaiah wrote.
That goblet of wrath that was poured out upon the House of Judah, because they'd failed to have no other gods but You. They worshiped instead, the Queen of heaven and the Baal. There was also the injustice aplenty perpetuated against the poor, needy, widows and the fatherless. All this you could not abide any longer!
So that terrible wrath of Yours smashed and bashed the walls of Jerusalem down and even Your house, the Temple - that magnificiently constructed and designed Temple built during King Solomon's reign - in complete ruins! The Jews were brutally conquered and marched to Babylon for 70 years because of their rebellious, stubborn and unrepentant ways.
When we read the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah we see just how horrendously devastating it all was. Your wrath needed, and still needs, to be reckoned with as never before. Oh, what a wonderful promise You made though in Isaiah 52:22 (NIV). It declares,
"This is what Your sovereign LORD says, Your God, Who defends His people: "See, I have taken out of your hand the cup that made you stagger; from that cup, the goblet of wrath, you will never drink again."
"Never drink again..." is a promise like You made to Noah when You gave Him the sign of a rainbow to sign and seal the promise that You'd never destroy the earth again with a flood. You've kept that promise all these thousands of years! Thank-You Father.
That goblet of wrath for the sin of the whole world was also taken out of my hands and the hands of mankind when they believe, and You put it into Jesus' beloved hands instead! He agonized about whether to drink that cup of Your wrath but submitted to Your will so that all that awful punishment for our sin, was place upon Jesus.
Oh, what a Savior that He died for me!
All the wrath and condemnation was put upon Jesus; into His hands! It is with His stripes I've, and all my brothers and sisters-in-Christ have been saved and healed. Thank-You, Father!
The bread has been partaken of and now we pass the cup of wine, symbolizing the blood of Jesus Christ giving His life for us, and taking all that wrath upon Himself, may we, each of the redeemed of the Lord, show our gratitude to You this Lord's Day for having taken that cup of wrath from our hands to Jesus'.
May continued repentance on our part and Jesus' forgiveness and sanctifying grace be our act of daily ongoing, living in Christ. In this may we each show our thanksgiving and offer up sarifices of praise from our lips to His holy Name. It is only through Jesus' sacrifice and having taken the goblet of Your wrath that we can do so. We know Jesus will never have to drink this cup ever again because You are satisfied with His work and sacrifice on our behalf. It is also in Jesus' Name we praise and give Him and You thanks.
Praise the Lord!
~ERC February 2022~
Based on Isaiah 52:22 and Luke 22:39 (NIV).
Sing Oh What a Savior that He Died For Me, with Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle, Belfast - 2005.
No comments:
Post a Comment