Isaiah 42:1-16: a reflection

1“Behold, my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights: I have put my Spirit on him. He will bring justice to the nations. 2He will not shout, nor raise his voice, nor cause it to be heard in the street. 3He won’t break a bruised reed. He won’t quench a dimly burning wick. He will faithfully bring justice. 4He will not fail nor be discouraged, until he has set justice on the earth, and the islands wait for his law.” 5God the LORD, he who created the heavens and stretched them out, he who spread out the earth and that which comes out of it, he who gives breath to its people and spirit to those who walk in it, says: 6“I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness. I will hold your hand. I will keep you, and make you a covenant for the people, as a light for the nations, 7to open the blind eyes, to bring the prisoners out of the dungeon, and those who sit in darkness out of the prison. 8“I am the LORD. That is my name. I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to engraved images. 9Behold, the former things have happened and I declare new things. I tell you about them before they come up.” 10Sing to the LORD a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is therein, the islands and their inhabitants. 11Let the wilderness and its cities raise their voices, with the villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing. Let them shout from the top of the mountains! 12Let them give glory to the LORD, and declare his praise in the islands. 13The LORD will go out like a mighty man. He will stir up zeal like a man of war. He will raise a war cry. Yes, he will shout aloud. He will triumph over his enemies. 14“I have been silent a long time. I have been quiet and restrained myself. Now I will cry out like a travailing woman. I will both gasp and pant. 15I will destroy mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs. I will make the rivers islands, and will dry up the pools. 16I will bring the blind by a way that they don’t know. I will lead them in paths that they don’t know. I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. I will do these things, and I will not forsake them.

Isaiah presents God's chosen Servant, in whom his soul delights, on whom he has put his Spirit. This Servant, whom Christians recognize as Christ, will bring justice to the nations, but not in the way earthly rulers do. He will not shout or raise his voice in the streets; he will not break a bruised reed or quench a dimly burning wick. His strength is joined to a startling gentleness. He deals tenderly with what is fragile and nearly broken.

Those two images, the bruised reed and the smoldering wick, are pictures of people at the end of their strength, barely holding on, their light nearly out. A harsh hand would snap the cracked reed or pinch out the faint flame. But God's Servant does the opposite: he handles the fragile with such care that he will not break the bruised or extinguish the flickering. He tends the weak rather than crushing them, and he will not fail or be discouraged until he has brought justice fully to the earth.

This is deeply comforting for anyone who feels like a bruised reed or a dimly burning wick, worn down, barely holding on, their faith or hope nearly out. The Servant of God, Christ himself, does not deal harshly with the fragile. He will not break you or snuff you out; he comes with gentleness to the weak and the nearly broken. When you feel you have almost nothing left, do not fear that Christ will discard you. He tends the bruised reed with care, and he will not let your faint flame go out.

Lord Jesus, God's gentle Servant, you will not break a bruised reed or quench a dimly burning wick. When I feel worn down and barely holding on, my hope nearly out, thank you that you do not deal harshly with the fragile. Handle my brokenness with your tender care, do not let my faint flame go out, and gently restore my strength. I trust your gentleness. Amen.