"So Have I Sworn"         

Isaiah 54:9

 

     As the Lord God swore to Noah that he would never again flood the earth with water, so he has sworn that he will never be wroth with or punish his elect for any reason. What a word of grace and mercy that is! As there is absolutely no possibility of a universal flood, so there is absolutely no possibility that the Lord our God will ever impute sin to, be angry with,or punish his elect. God has so thoroughly forgiven us of our sins, and so justly, that he will not and cannot be wroth with us! That is the meaning of Isaiah 54:9. "God, who cannot lie," will never break his oath or covenant promise for any reason.

 

"My God, the covenant of Thy love abides forever sure,

And in its matchless grace I find my happiness secure!"

 

     The promise of God is absolute. There is not an "if", "perhaps", "maybe", or "unless" in it. No conditions, circumstances, contingencies, or considerations of any kind can alter it. The Lord said to Noah, "I will not again destroy the earth with water" (Gen. 9:11-17). Dark clouds arise, but no deluge. Partial floods sweep over lands and destroy nations, but no universal deluge. God has not and will not break his word to Noah.

     In exactly the same manner, the Lord God has sworn to us absolutely, "I will not be wroth with thee nor rebuke thee." Trials come. Persecutions arise. We pass through deep waters of adversity and the fiery furnace of affliction. It sometimes looks like God is angry with us and feels like he is punishing us.But that can never be true. Read the promise again, "I will not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee." We must never judge God's love, grace, and faithfulness by outward providence,any more than we might imagine that when the rain falls he is about to destroy the earth with a flood!

     Spurgeon once said to his congregation, "Get a firm grip of the glorious truth, that there is not a drop of divine wrath in all your sufferings." The strong mountains of earthly security shall depart. The rolling hills of temporal tranquility shall be removed. "But my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee."

 

Don Fortner