THE HANDWRITING ON GOD'S HANDS

ISAIAH 49:1

A. "BEHOLD I HAVE GRAVEN THEE UPON THE PALMS OF MY HANDS"
  1. These words are a singularly bold metaphor, drawn from the strange and half-savage custom that still lingers among sailors and others:
    1. They indelibly inscribe the names of loved ones on parts of their bodies.
    2. In ancient times, some worshippers inscribed the figure of their gods upon their arms and foreheads.
    3. Here God writes on His hands those whom He loves.
  2. But the real purpose of the metaphor was to emphasize God's attachment:
    1. To His people.
    2. His constant reminder of that attachment engraven on the palms of his hands.
B. THE HANDWRITING ON GOD'S HANDS
  1. A mark of divine love:
    1. An eternal memorial of His love.
    2. The scars on His hands and feet.
    3. Let us never, never forget that He was nailed to the cross, and the reason why - John 20:25; Zech. 13:6
  2. A reminder of the ransom price paid for our redemption:
    1. A remover of all doubt from our minds that God loves us - John 20:24-29
    2. The divine insignia -
      1. Of the forgiveness of our sins - Gal. 3:13
      2. The divine badge of our acceptance into the heavenly family - Gal. 2:20; Eph. 3:20-22
      3. The tie by which we know His partaking of our nature - Phil. 2:6-11; Heb. 2:14-16
  3. O! What manner of love God has manifested toward us:
    1. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us - Rom. 5:8
    2. God made Him sin, who knew no sin, that we may become the righteousness of God - 2 Cor. 5:21
  4. The divine remembrance works all things to realize a great ideal, as yet unreached:
    1. "Thy walls are continually before me" - Isa. 49:16
    2. This is an allusion to the state of God's people, as yet captives of the enemy.
    3. We think of the wall of human traditions which has become a cage to many souls - Rev. 18:1-4; 1 Pet. 1:18, 19
    4. It is a constant reminder that redemption has, as yet, not been consummated -
      1. We know that the wall of sin and evil habits is keeping thousands in bondage.
      2. Serious work has yet to be done before God's Ideal has been realized.
C. BUT GOD'S HANDWRITING ON THE PALMS OF HIS HANDS GOES DEEPER
  1. That engraving on the palms of the Lord's hands and feet:
    1. Is an eye opener to the true character of sin.
    2. Those scars on the body of the Son of God show Satan in his true light, as the very embodiment of cruelty and murder - John 8:44
    3. It is a vivid picture of the aim of Satan, to kill and to destroy - John 10:10
  2. But what is so wonderful about the handwriting on God's hands:
    1. Is our eternal assurance of the fulfillment of God's promises to us! Heb. 6:17-20
    2. Is the highest expression of God's love - John 3:16
    3. Is the Magna Carta to the saint's hope, present, and future.
  3. What more can God do for us?
    1. He that spared not His only Son, but gave Him up for us all - Rom. 8:31-33
    2. If doubt still lingers in your mind, take a look at the scars on our Lord's hands and feet!
    3. Remember the words of our opening text: "Behold I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands."


Design © John Bryant 2011