by Derek Gitsham
"A bruised reed shall He not break, and
smoking flax shall He not quench, till
he send forth judgment unto victory."
Matthew 12:20
Matthew uses this Scripture from the
Old Testament in Isaiah 42:3. This
chapter opens up with a servant song, as
they are known, songs that are prophetically
referring to Jesus. There are many of them
revealing the wonderful return of Jesus.
They make a wonderful study of the Lord for
the hungry heart. Matthew omits a verse here
that Isaiah 42 includes. It is verse four.
“He shall not fail or be discouraged, till
He has set judgment in the earth: and the
isles shall wait for His law.”
One of the most marvelous things about the
Lord with His people is that He never forces
us into doing anything. He is a perfect
gentleman. He is not a manipulator or controller.
The Holy Ghost, who is resident within the saint,
never forces us to do anything. He quietly
whispers within the heart, gently, seemingly
in the background, making us feel that maybe
something is not right, or not as right as we
thought it was.
As verse 19 of Matthew 12 records, ‘He shall
not strive, nor cry, neither shall any man
hear His voice in the streets.’ No pressure
tactics are applied to the heart, just gentle
whisperings that can almost be missed unless
the saint is intent on hearing what God is
saying, and separates himself from the world
to get quiet before the Lord. There, in that
quiet, we find out His purpose for our life.
So gentle is the Lord that a bruised reed in
His hand will not be broken. Even a smoking
flax, almost out, shall not be quenched.
Almighty and all powerful as He is, He deals
with such gentleness with men. Phariseeism and
legalism are hard. They would have stoned the
adulteress in John. Jesus forgave her and loved her.
Peter’s broken heart after betraying Jesus,
He sweetly mended. He is a God of rescue and
restoration.
David cries out in Psalms 18:35, ‘Thy gentleness
made me great.’ Paul to the Romans 2:40 says,
‘The goodness of God leads men to repentance.’
Oh, how gentle is our God, how sensitive to our
needs, how unobtrusive, that in His hands we will
survive. We will not be broken here or our flames
quenched. Keep believing saints. He will keep you
alive and bring you back from the dead.
Most surely the Comforter has come. He will comfort
thee.
a bruised reed
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