“….He will be very gracious….”. – Isaiah 30:19
There are some things in life that we just can’t get enough of— a favorite food, a hobby that makes us happy, the fellowship of a friend, or a number of other things. But when it comes to words, I suspect “grace” is at the top of the list. Whether in sermon or song, it is a word that reaches out and grabs you by the throat, so to speak. We hear that glorious word and our pulse quickens, our heart skips a beat, our ears perk up, and a smile comes to our face. If we try to describe it we soon come to the end of our ability and sum it up with the word “amazing”–indeed it is! That’s the way I felt when I read this text—-“ For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more : he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry ; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.“. I was also blessed by these words from the pen of James Smith:
“We are often very miserable, always very unworthy; but the Lord is very merciful, and He will be very gracious. He will glorify His grace before angels, men, and devils, in His exceeding kindness toward us; therefore if a sense of our deep depravity and entire unworthiness discourage us, let us appeal to the graciousness of our God, and rely on that.
“He will be very gracious unto us at the voice of our cry; when He shall hear it, He will answer.” He has said that when, forsaking our evil courses, we return unto Him, He will prove Himself gracious. “Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am.” Yea, He will prove Himself very gracious, for He says, “Before they call I will answer; and while they are yet speaking I will hear.”
Oh the infinite grace of a gracious God! Lord, keep it uppermost in our minds, and before our eyes continually; let it be our encouragement under all the discoveries of depravity we make, and our comfort under all the trials we endure. Let us endeavour to give our God credit for being “VERY GRACIOUS.”
Dear friend, regardless of your need, grace is the answer! Regardless of your unworthiness, inability, severity of pain, number of enemies, or lack of supplies, God’s grace is sufficient! It is abundant and free and available to all who will call on the name of the Lord. With His grace we lack nothing. Without His grace we have nothing. We therefore sing, “O to grace how great a debtor, daily I’m constrained to be”.
