The LORD's Servant judges the wicked and tenderly restores the broken.
Isaiah 42:1–9 (NIV)
42 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will bring justice to the nations.
2 He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.
3 A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
4 he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”
5 This is what God the Lord says—
the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,
who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,
who gives breath to its people,
and life to those who walk on it:
6 “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles,
7 to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
8 “I am the Lord; that is my name!
I will not yield my glory to another
or my praise to idols.
9 See, the former things have taken place,
and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
I announce them to you.”
Canons of Dordt
Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election
Articles 1-11
Article 13 & 14 - The Fruit of Our Assurance
In their awareness and assurance of this election,
God’s children daily find greater cause to humble themselves before God,
to adore the fathomless depth of God’s mercies,
to cleanse themselves,
and to give fervent love in return to the One who first so greatly loved them.
This is far from saying that this teaching concerning election, and reflection upon it,
make God’s children lax in observing his commandments or carnally self-assured.
By God’s just judgment this does usually happen to those who casually take for granted the grace of election or engage in idle and brazen talk about it but are unwilling to walk in the ways of the chosen.
By God’s wise plan,
this teaching concerning divine election was proclaimed through the prophets, Christ himself, and the apostles, in Old and New Testament times.
It was subsequently committed to writing in the Holy Scriptures.
So also today in God’s church,
for which it was specifically intended,
this teaching must be set forth with a spirit of discretion, in a godly and holy manner, at the appropriate time and place, without inquisitive searching into the ways of the Most High.
This must be done for the glory of God’s most holy name, and for the lively comfort of God’s people.
Summary
This is the first of four passages in Isaiah dubbed the Servant Songs which describe the coming Messiah (the most famous of these Servant Songs is Isaiah 53, which we read a few weeks ago). The LORD here announces, Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight. His purpose, says the LORD, will be to bring justice to the nations (this purpose is mentioned four times in the first four verses).
It's the gentle nature of the LORD's servant that stands out in this first announcement: He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. In a passage that we'll likely come back to this year, we read that he will not break a bruised reed or snuff out a smoldering wick. In other words, even as this servant serves justice to the wicked, He will lovingly support those whose faith is bruised and nearly extinguished.
It's not as if the LORD sends out His servant from afar and hopes for the best. Quite the opposite - the LORD is personally involved in every aspect of your salvation! The LORD called His servant; He takes hold of His hand; The LORD will keep Him and will make Him to be a covenant light for the Gentiles. God equips His servant to bring salvation to His people, to open blind eyes, free captives, and release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
You can completely trust these divine promises because of the character of the One who makes them: God the LORD, the Creator who spreads out the earth, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it - The very God who declares and announces new things before they spring into being. God did all of those things simply by speaking... Imagine what He will accomplish for you as He personally accompanies His servant to bring you to salvation!
Dig Deeper
One of the criticisms of the Canons of Dordt (a.k.a. the doctrines of grace or Calvinism) is that they are overly reliant upon Paul's epistles in the New Testament, as if the concept of God's sovereignty in our salvation isn't really a huge emphasis in the Old Testament or the teachings of Jesus. It wasn't until after Jesus ascended back into heaven that Paul came along and subtly twisted how we ought to understand these concepts, or so the argument goes.
The Canons today remind us that this concept of unconditional election that we've been coming to understand these last few months is not just a Pauline idea, or even just a New Testament concept. But as part of God's wise plan, these doctrines of grace are just as prevalent in the Old Testament - often even more so! So far in 2025, we've read 64 Bible passages together, and nearly half of them have been from the Old Testament (28). Only 16 of our passages have been from Paul's letters (25%)!
It's Old Testament passages like today's from Isaiah 42 that demonstrate the amazing continuity of God's Word from beginning to end. Your salvation has been fully accomplished by our Triune God: Our Father - the creator of the heavens and the One who gives breath to people - will put His Spirit on His servant, who of course is His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, whose name is the LORD; He will not yield His glory to another;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God for His comprehensive and consistent Word, and pray for the strength and wisdom to live according to it;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Galatians 4
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