THE ANGEL OF HIS PRESENCE


A. "IN ALL THEIR AFFLICTION HE WAS AFFLICTED, AND THE ANGEL OF HIS PRESENCE SAVED THEM." - Isa. 43:9
  1. Our text is a part of the prayer of the prophet Isaiah in which he recounts God's love and care for his people:
  2. This prayer leads us to the very zenith of God's love, if that can be possible at all, for this divine love found its greatest expression on the cross of Calvary:
B. LET US CONSIDER THREE GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GOD'S LOVE, AS EXPRESSED IN OUR TEXT
  1. "In all their affliction he was afflicted":
    1. This testimony about God's love becomes incomprehensible to me as I attempt to understand its implication - Rom. 11:33-36
    2. For God is infinite in His being, unsearchable are all His ways - Ps. 145:3. Absolute perfection is the glory of His being.
    3. How then can He be afflicted with our affliction? Many of us are afflicted by reason of sin and hereditary weakness, but that is not true of the infinite One!
  2. And yet, our text speaks of an afflicted God:
    1. That being true, it is evident that the greatness of God's love revealed itself in the suffering God.
    2. The truth is that our text speaks of the experience of the Son of God on Calvary - Luke 23; Isa. 53
    3. It was God who suffered in the person of His only Son - Rom. 8:31-33; 2 Cor. 5:18-21
  3. But there is still another side to the story of the afflicted God:
    1. That suffering was a manifestation of God's love and sympathy for fallen humanity - John 3:16
    2. It reveals his paternal attachment to the children of men - Rev. 21:3, 4
    3. "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him." - Ps. 103:13
    4. Let us meditate upon these wonderful scriptures - Ex. 15:26; Isa. 66:13; 49:15
C. "AND THE ANGEL OF HIS PRESENCE SAVED THEM"
  1. Christ is the angel of the Lord:
    1. He is called "Michael the archangel" - Jude 9; Dan. 10:13; Rev. 12:7
    2. Christ has been in the presence of the Father from eternity. Only the Son of God has access to the counsel and purpose of God the Father - Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 34
    3. Read these Bible references prayerfully - John 1:1-3; 17:1-22; Prov. 8:22-30
  2. His presence:
    1. Moses recognized the importance of God's presence; he would not go forward without it - Ex. 33:12, 16
    2. God's presence is vastly different than the presence of men - 2 Ki. 6:16, 17
    3. That presence is promised to every child of God - Matt. 18:20; 28:20
  3. The presence of the angel does four things for us:
    1. It brings salvation - Matt. 1:21
    2. This salvation is threefold:
      1. It saves us from the guilt of sin - Rom. 8:1- 3, 31-33;
      2. It saves us from the power of sin - Rom. 1:16; Acts 26:18
      3. It saves us from the eternal consequences of sin - 2 Cor. 5:14-17; Rom. 8:1-3
    3. It brings eternal security to all who are sheltered under its wings - Rom. 8:1-33; Ps. 90:1; 91:1-16
    4. And finally, the presence of God assures us of eternal victory -
      1. Victory over sin - John 8:31-36; Matt. 1:21;
      2. Victory over suffering, pain and death - Isa. 35:10; Rev. 22:1-6; 1 Cor. 15:26-58; 2 Cor. 2:14
  4. "In all their affliction He was afflicted and the angel of His presence saved them":
    1. What a wonderful blessing it brings to the believer to know that he is never alone in affliction; God is with him.
    2. What blessed knowledge it is to know that salvation is assured to God's people.
    3. Do we know this from experience?


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