Meditations for the Bruised Reed

How do we grow in godliness? We grow through the ordinary means of grace. The primary way that God has ordained for His people to grow is through the ordinary means of reading and meditating on His Word. There are other graces, such as singing the Word, praying the Word, and sitting under the preached Word.

What are some ways that we can meditate on God’s Word? One simple and approachable way that I have encouraged people to do is select one verse of Scripture and then challenge themselves to come up with a minimum number of insights about the verse. Pick a verse and try to think of 10 true things about it, or maybe even 15.

When we are bruised and faint, our minds sometimes need a single verse to focus on. One verse that Christians throughout the centuries have found comfort in is Isaiah 42:3.

A crushed reed He will not break

And a faintly burning wick He will not extinguish;

He will bring forth justice in truth.

What can we learn from the verse?

1. Our state for mercy. We must be those bruised and faint to receive compassion. God does not give his compassion to the proud while they are still prideful. God resists the proud. This is good news for those who are bruised and lowly. They are those who can expect the mercy of God. They are in a fit state for God’s compassion.

2. The certainty of mercy. “He will not.” We can have certainty about His mercy. This passage is spoken by the Lord. He says this about His own chosen servant, the one upon whom He places His Spirit, the one with whom He is well pleased. It does not say may. “He may or may not have mercy.” No, He shall. It is a certainty. For those who are bruised and faint, God shall certainly have mercy. When we are bruised and low, we should turn our minds to God’s mercy and away from our troubles. We should have a sense of expectation. How will I see my Father’s compassion now? What blessing will I soon experience? What comforts will I soon have now that I am bruised?

3. The character of God. Why can a bruised and lowly woman or man expect to receive such compassion? It is because in God’s heart, our weakness elicits His compassion. We can know more about the character of our Lord in this. His heart is bent toward those who are lowly. If the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit, then we can see His compassionate character. If you were to ask me which child of mine I love more, then I know that the correct answer is that I love both of them equally. However, that is not true. I do love one child more than the other. I love the child more who is sick. When my son is suffering from a fever, then at that moment I love him more. When my daughter falls down and wants to be held, then at that moment, I love her more. How much more is God ready to give His compassion to the one who is crushed and low and in need of His mercy?

4. The sight of God. Among all the reeds that are standing tall, God sees the one that is bent over. Among all the other brightly shining candles, God sees the one that is burning low and is about to be extinguished. He sees you when you are low. He has not forgotten you. He counts our turnings in the night and has stored up all our tears in a bottle. When we are in the middle of our trials, it is easy to believe the lie that God has forgotten us. We must remind ourselves that His eye is on the sparrow. If He so cares for something so small, how shall He not also care for you, who are worth more? If Christ died for you, then do you think that He has forgotten your name? Do you think that the Son of God, who poured out His love on the cross and was Himself crushed and His own human life extinguished, has forgotten those for are lowly? He was born lowly for the lowly. He was made even lower by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. He has His eye on those who are faint.

5. Protection for the weak. Will not be extinguished or broken off. We can have certainty in the protection of God. If the Lord of Heaven has said “No, you will not be allowed to break or extinguish the life of my child,” then though all hell and the world try, they will fail. If we have this protection, then nothing can harm us. If the friends of Daniel were protected from the wrath of the greatest king on earth while in the fiery furnace, then New Testament Christians can have greater comfort knowing their Shepherd has promised never to lose those who were placed within His hand. Jesus Himself is the one who holds Christians, and no one can snatch us out of His hands.

6. God will not do as the world does. They break and snuff without thought. This verse says that He will not break, nor will He extinguish. If you sit in the grass and see a bent-over dandelion, then your instincts are to pull it up. God will not do as the world does. The lowest and most pitiable He will not snuff out. We see this in the life and ministry of Jesus on earth. Who did he pursue? Those whom the world counted as worthless. The woman of the street corner, the poor, the children, the tax collector, the thief on the cross. And even us. Remember what the Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians? Consider your calling, brothers and sisters. Not many of you were wise or powerful according to the world’s standards. Jesus chose to fill His church with the lowest of the low. His glory is in saving the wretch and the sinner. If we would receive His mercy, then we must realize what we are. Wretches and sinners. Because God only saves them.

7. Justice not now, but yet. If you have been oppressed, if you have been made lowly and faint by someone else, then Jesus will make it right. Part of the compassion of our God is His righteous wrath against the wicked. It is not compassionate to allow injustice to continue. Your justice may not be now, but it will be certain. The justice we can expect from our Lord is not slow as some count slowness. It is coming one day. He will do it. You may not get justice in this life. In fact, in some sense, you will never get perfect justice in this life. But we trust that our compassionate Lord will make all things right when He returns.

8. This justice is in truth. His facts will all be right. Everyone who has done any sin or harm against another will be seen and exposed. If we consider this fact long enough, then we will realize this is terrible news for us. Because we also have been those who have harmed others with our words and actions. In our lifetimes, we have been those who have crushed and bruised others. We have been those who have made others faint. The justice that the Lord will bring will be against us as well. Every secret thought will be exposed. His accounting is perfect.

9. Justification. This verse leads us to do nothing else but fall on the mercy of our God. Blessed are those who are poor and bankrupt in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God. We must become those bruised by the conviction of our sin. We must realize that our hope of eternal life is as faint as a candle just about to go out. We have nothing to commend ourselves before God. The only thing we can do is throw ourselves upon the mercy of the Lord. This is what David did in Psalm 51. “For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”

Why will He not despise a broken and contrite heart? Because our Lord is full of compassion. He is near to the broken-hearted. We must be those, first and foremost, who are broken over our sin.

In this life, many things can weigh us down. Many things would crush our spirit or bring our hope down to a smoldering wick. But our God is compassionate and full of mercy. It is when we are in a state of lowliness He will draw near.

We seldom grow in maturity when we stand on the mountaintops. I have known faithful believers testify decade after decade that they felt the nearness of the Lord when they were in the valley. Listen to the old prayer of a puritan:

The Valley of Vision

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights; hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox

that the way down is the way up,

that to be low is to be high,

that the broken heart is the healed heart,

that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,

that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,

that to have nothing is to possess all,

that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,

that to give is to receive,

that the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells, and the deeper the wells the brighter thy stars shine;

Let me find thy light in my darkness,

thy life in my death,

thy joy in my sorrow,

thy grace in my sin,

thy riches in my poverty

thy glory in my valley.

Bennett, A. (1975). The Valley of Vision: A collection of Puritan prayers and devotions. Banner of Truth Trust.