[Isaiah 50:4-11 is the third of four “Servant Songs” that prophesy the coming of the Jesus, Messiah.]
“The Lord God has given Me
The tongue of the learned,
That I should know how to speak
A word in season to him who is weary.
He awakens Me morning by morning,
He awakens My ear
To hear as the learned.” Isaiah 50:4
Ever since the world began, men have been weary. “Weary” denotes a class to which a multitude belong that no man can number, of every nation, kindred, tribe, and people.
- Physical weariness—of the slave on the march; of the toiler in the sweating den; of the seamstress working far into the night by the wasting taper; of the mother worn with watching her sick child.
- Mental weariness—when the fancy can no longer summon at will images of beauty; and the intellect refuses to follow another argument, master another page, or cast up another column. Heart weariness—waiting in vain for the word so long expected but unspoken; for the returning step of the prodigal; for the long-delayed letter.
- The weariness of the inner conflict of striving day by day against the selfishness and waywardness of the soul on which prolonged resistance makes so slight an impression. The weariness of the Christian worker, worn by the perpetual chafe of human sorrow, sin, and need…
But the deep tenderness of God for every tired atom of humanity had been hidden from our knowledge, had it not been for the Great Servant [Jesus the Messiah] who speaks in these paragraphs, and who combines the form of the Servant and equality with Jehovah.[1] No one ever comforted the weary as He did.
He could not look upon a great multitude, distressed and scattered as sheep not having a shepherd, without being moved with compassion towards them, and beginning to speak as only He could.[2] How many weary souls did He sustain with His words (Isaiah 50:4 R.V.); to how many did He speak a word in season (A.V.)! Ask Him, speaking after the manner of men, whence He derived this matchless power; and He will answer, “The Lord God gave it Me. In his great love for weary souls everywhere, He raised Me up to be their Shepherd. Through days and nights, He taught Me, wakening Me morning by morning to some new lesson of sympathy and mercy, comforting Me amid the assaults of my foes and the darkness of dark hours, that I might be able to comfort others with the comfort wherewith I Myself had been comforted by my Father…”[3]
His education was by God Himself. “The Lord God hath given Me… He wakens morning by morning… The Lord God hath opened my ear.”
It was various. He passed through each class in the school of weariness. Being wearied with his journey, He sat by Sychar’s well; they took Him, even as He was, in the ship; He looked up to heaven and sighed, because of the pressure of human pain, and the obstinacy of unbelief…He was glad when the hour came that He should go home to his Father. The waves of human sorrow broke over His tender heart, and though possessed of an inexhaustible patience, there was an incessant waste of the physical tissues, beneath which at last He fainted on the way to Calvary.
It was constant. “Morning by morning” the Father woke Him…Morning by morning He was wakened to learn, by the ever-changing circumstances of daily providence, some deeper phase of the world’s suffering and its medicine. Would that we were quicker to detect that same awakening touch; and to learn the lessons taught by the circumstances of our lot as to the treatment of the weary and suffering!…
It dealt with the season for administering comfort. “That I should know how to speak a word in season.” It is not enough to speak the right word; you must speak it at the right moment, or it will be in vain….
It embraced the method. “That I should know how.” The manner is as important as the season. A message of goodwill may be uttered with so little sympathy, and in tones so gruff and grating, that it will repel…
It seems to me as if the education of our High Priest has not ceased with His transference from this world of sorrow to the realm where weariness is never felt. His ministry to weary hearts through succeeding ages has made His eye more quick, His touch more delicate.
[Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Heb. 4:14-16]
“You know, not alone as God, all-knowing;
As Man, our mortal weakness You have proved:
On earth, with purest sympathies o’erflowing,
O Saviour, You have wept, and You have loved:
And love and sorrow still to You may come,
And find a hiding-place, a rest, a home.”
– H. L. L.
[“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matt 11:28-30]
An excerpt from F. B. Meyer (1847 – 1929). Christ in Isaiah. Morgan and Scott. Retrieved from https://app.wordsearchbible.com
[1] Phil 2:5-11
[2] Matt. 9:35,36
[3] “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same…, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered…” (Heb. 2:14a; 5:8).
These Servant Songs (Isaiah 42:1-13; 49:1-13; 50:4-11; 52:13-53:12) were given 7 centuries B.C.
Bracketed Scriptures [NKJV] and footnote references added. English updated in concluding poem – JBW