13 “You who are far away, hear what I have done;
And you who are near, acknowledge My might.”
14 Sinners in Zion are terrified;
Trembling has seized the godless.
“Who among us can live with the consuming fire?
Who among us can live with continual burning?”
15 He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity,
He who rejects unjust gain
And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe;
He who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed
And shuts his eyes from looking upon evil;
16 He will dwell on the heights,
His refuge will be the impregnable rock;
His bread will be given him,
His water will be sure. Isaiah 33:13-16
Jonathan Edwards is well known in Christian (and literary) circles for his sermon on the terrors awaiting those bound for hell, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Most would think this message was delivered from the pulpit of his North Hampton, Massachusetts church July 8, 1741 with fiery oration, but it was read from a manuscript with monotone voice. Yet, its hearers were cut to the quick and sought to be saved.
Looking back, this speech may have sparked the First Great Awakening in America in the mid-1700’s. If inspiration was needed, verse 14 could have provided some basis for Edward’s theme if consulted, while at the same time this passage offers the benefits enjoyed by believers in the hands of a loving God (verse 16).
There seems to be a great dearth of those who meet these criteria (verse 15) today, if we read the headlines. But he who dwells in the heights “stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking upon evil,” not with shear willpower, but due to an all-consuming preoccupation with the things of the Lord. In such a state, all troubling issues are deflected to God so that He might address them, leaving us to live a life absent fear and intimidation in the palm of his powerful right hand, knowing that once firmly in God’s grasp, no one is able to pry open his hand.
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. John 10:27–29 (KJV 1900)
Nevertheless, we don’t don rose colored glasses, but we do see troubling things through the lens of scripture, as does Isaiah.
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