Alone, yet not alone (Isaiah 36-37; Ps 123; 1 Cor 10)

Yesterday we saw the pain of Hezekiah as he faced the contempt of Sennacherib. Today’s reading from Isaiah retells the same event from Isaiah’s perspective and our Psalm perhaps expresses words that Hezekiah would have used as he faced Sennacherib’s scorn.

Rather than looking up to Sennacherib, Hezekiah looks higher, he looks up to the Lord. Remember how he addressed God:

“O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth.” (Isaiah 37:16)

Rather than fearing the mighty Sennacherib, He looks beyond him and to the Lord, the creator of heaven and earth. What peace this brings, to know there is a higher authority who will see that one day justice is done.

The psalmist looks to the one who is “enthroned in the heavens” (Psalm 123:1). Just as a servant would have looked to their master for direction and provision, the psalmist says we look to God. We need his mercy. Why does the Psalmist need God’s mercy? It’s the same reason that Sennacherib did. He has proud enemies who are mocking him. Three times he asks for mercy, and he gives the reason.

We can learn from his prayer to reason with God as we present our requests to Him. The psalmist tells God – “we have had more than enough of contempt.” It’s a bold prayer, and a prayer that we are given permission to pray! Are you being mocked because you follow Jesus? Here is a prayer God gives you to pray! It’s one our saviour would have prayed himself as he sang this Psalm, asking His Father in heaven to give Him grace to endure such mockery, and even for the mockery to stop.

The mocking didn’t stop after his resurrection, people scoffed even within the apostle Peter lifetime at the idea of the return of Christ (see 2 Peter 3), they still mock today, but one day, all mocking will cease. “He has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness” (Acts 17:31), and the reason for the delay is that He is patiently giving people the opportunity to turn to him. While we wait, it can be hard, but as we face scorn and contempt, we can tell the Lord, and we can know that the Lord Jesus understands because He was despised and rejected. When you face such mockery and contempt from those who seem “at ease”, remember that Jesus faced such cruel isolation, allow Him to draw near to you and reassure you that even when you feel all alone, He is with you and He understands. In those times of contempt, you may feel closer to him than you ever did when you were at ease.

Listen to how John G Paton described his close fellowship with Jesus as the South Sea islanders he sought to reach with the gospel turned on him and he was forced to hide in a tree:

“I heard the frequent discharge of muskets, and the yells of the savages. Yet I sat there among the branches, as safe in the arms of Jesus! Never, in all my sorrows did my Lord draw nearer to me, and speak more soothingly to my soul, than when the moonlight flickered among these chestnut leaves, and the night air played on my throbbing brow, as I told all my heart to Jesus. Alone, yet not alone! If it be to glorify my God, I will not grudge to spend many nights alone in such a tree, to feel again my Saviour’s spiritual presence, to enjoy His consoling fellowship.”