To face these days without fear we must place our security in God
Isaiah 3:10 “Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them, For they shall eat the fruit of their doings.
Henry says – Some good people might fear that they should be involved in that ruin, and therefore God bids the prophets comfort them against those fears: “Whatever becomes of the unrighteous nation, let the righteous man know that he shall not be lost in the crowd of sinners; the Judge of all the earth will not slay the righteous with the wicked (Gen. 18:25); no, assure him, in God’s name, that it shall be well with him… he shall be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger. He shall have divine supports and comforts, which shall abound as afflictions abound, and so it shall be well with him.”
In the day of famine the righteous shall be satisfied
When the whole stay of bread is taken away, yet in the day of famine the righteous shall be satisfied; they shall eat the fruit of their doings—they shall have the testimony of their consciences for them that they kept themselves pure from the common iniquity, and therefore the common calamity is not the same thing to them that it is to others; they brought no fuel to the flame, and therefore are not themselves fuel for it.
Adapted from Matthew Henry Commentary
The wrath that is to come will not come near us
We must understand that as children of God, having repented before Him and seeking to live right before Him, the wrath that is to come will not come near us. Romans 5:9 says ‘Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him’.
Salvation is not a one off event. The Scriptures speak of being saved in three tenses and senses. In one place the scripture says that we ‘have been saved’ – past tense. In another place it says that we ‘are being saved’ – present tense. In yet another place it says that we ‘shall be saved’ – future tense.
Salvation is a process
We may have a moment when first we came into the revelation of Christ having died for us, Paul said to the Corinthians, “You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified…” 1 Corinthians 6:11 – We were saved. Yet in Philippians 2:12-13 Paul says, ‘work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work in you’. Here salvation is presented as something being worked for by us in cooperation with God. It is not all over and done with, but a process.
Additionally in 1 Thessalonians 5:8 Paul says ‘the hope of salvation’. A hope of salvation implies a future salvation. If our salvation were altogether done, then we would have no need to hope for it.
In this working out of our salvation in cooperation with God we will be saved. Saved from the wrath to come and saved for eternal glory.
Heaven’s Overflow (from Psalm 8:1 & 9) How majestic is Your name in all the earth We in wonder with the psalmist exclaim. This in an hour when men are blaspheming Your beautiful and precious name. Oh Lord how excellent You are. Your name we joyfully praise. There is no deviation in You And in Your ways. Your chosen path is Your Son; Our precious Lord Jesus. In Him Your desire is realised And He is related to us! You have set Your glory above the heavens. Who can measure Your worth? Oh Lord our God, the majesty and glory Of Your name fills all the earth. By the late Andrew Feakin (passed away 16th March 2019)
Prayer: Father I thank You and I praise Your Holy and precious Name. You are awesome in all Your ways. I thank You that as I continue in You I can have hope that I will escape the wrath to come and that You will provide for all my needs. I ask You to continue Your work in me. Keep my heart burning for You and always hungering for the more of You. May my life glorify You. For Your name’s sake. Amen.