Like a Mighty Stream

"We will not be satisfied, until 'righteousness rolls down like waters, and justice like a mighty stream.'" American hero Martin Luther King Jr repeated those words of the Hebrew prophet on August 28, 1963, some 2,500 years after Isaiah had penned them.

The statement is a powerful one, and one that has been correctly echoed by every champion of the right, from the beginning of iniquity until this very day. Yet, it is a plaintive cry as well, mournful, filled with angst and unfulfilled desire.

It speaks of one not yet satisfied, because justice has not yet thundered down in perpetual power and cascaded over the falls of human sin to form a pure and undefiled reservoir of truth and fairness.

Mary McCarthy once said, 'An unrectified case of injustice has a terrible way of lingering … like an unfinished equation.'

And so it does.

As I was contemplating, with struggling acceptance, the most recent turn of events in our family's walk with God and man, I was reminded of three things in particular.

First, I was reminded of the suffering, patience, faith, perseverance, determination, and restoration of God's friend Job and, in the reflection of that great and good man, I realized I was also seeing the image of my own son.

He perhaps doesn't realize, and his humble spirit would never allow him to acknowledge the fact, that he, like the man from Uz, is an extraordinary man of faith and courage.

How strong is the man, who, although broken almost completely in body, never once, not once, through the entire process of suffering and pain, was ever broken in spirit?

How strong is the man, who works beyond exhaustion, bringing strength from weakness in so extraordinary a way, that one sees him go from using all his power to lift his head, stand on his feet and hug his Mom, to running for miles and climbing mountains again?

How strong is the man, who while others all around him speak of anger, or injustice, or revenge, quietly and calmly looks forward, always forward, refusing to dwell in the land of the clenched fist; instead, finding and embracing in forgiveness even the hand that struck him down?

The inspiration he has been, and continues to be, to literally thousands of people, fills me to overflowing with joy and reminds me constantly of the blessing and honor that God has bestowed upon me in being his Dad.

Next, I was reminded of the prophet's voice again, over twenty five centuries ago, a sound that echoes through the corridors of time unto us, reminding the world of the reality of sin and the power of confession and the redemptive work of God:

Isaiah 59:1-21

1 Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save,

nor his ear too dull to hear.

2 But your iniquities have separated

you from your God;

your sins have hidden his face from you,

so that he will not hear.

3 For your hands are stained with blood,

your fingers with guilt.

Your lips have spoken falsely,

and your tongue mutters wicked things.

4 No one calls for justice;

no one pleads a case with integrity.

They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies;

they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.

5 They hatch the eggs of vipers

and spin a spider’s web.

Whoever eats their eggs will die,

and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.

6 Their cobwebs are useless for clothing;

they cannot cover themselves with what they make.

Their deeds are evil deeds,

and acts of violence are in their hands.

7 Their feet rush into sin;

they are swift to shed innocent blood.

They pursue evil schemes;

acts of violence mark their ways.

8 The way of peace they do not know;

there is no justice in their paths.

They have turned them into crooked roads;

no one who walks along them will know peace.

9 So justice is far from us,

and righteousness does not reach us.

We look for light, but all is darkness;

for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.

10 Like the blind we grope along the wall,

feeling our way like people without eyes.

At midday we stumble as if it were twilight;

among the strong, we are like the dead.

11 We all growl like bears;

we moan mournfully like doves.

We look for justice, but find none;

for deliverance, but it is far away.

12 For our offenses are many in your sight,

and our sins testify against us.

Our offenses are ever with us,

and we acknowledge our iniquities:

13 rebellion and treachery against the LORD,

turning our backs on our God,

inciting revolt and oppression,

uttering lies our hearts have conceived.

14 So justice is driven back,

and righteousness stands at a distance;

truth has stumbled in the streets,

honesty cannot enter.

15 Truth is nowhere to be found,

and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.

The LORD looked and was displeased

that there was no justice.

16 He saw that there was no one,

he was appalled that there was no one to intervene;

so his own arm achieved salvation for him,

and his own righteousness sustained him.

17 He put on righteousness as his breastplate,

and the helmet of salvation on his head;

he put on the garments of vengeance

and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.

18 According to what they have done,

so will he repay

wrath to his enemies

and retribution to his foes;

he will repay the islands their due.

19 From the west, people will fear the name of the LORD,

and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory.

For he will come like a pent-up flood

that the breath of the LORD drives along.[a]

20 “The Redeemer will come to Zion,

to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,”

declares the LORD.

21 “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD. “My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.

Sir Francis Bacon once stated that 'the place of justice is a hallowed place,' and, similarly, the great Cicero noted that 'justice is the crowning glory of the virtues.'

Indeed, but justice is not always, perhaps not often, realized in this fallen place. Human sin and deception render it nigh impossible. As Tolstoy once wrote, 'Sin is a human business, but to justify sin is a devilish one.'

To read Isaiah's words above is to see the mind of God regarding such a world, one so lacking in truth and righteousness. There is no question that He takes note of all, with a grieved and hurting heart, and one day, one day, all will be made right:

Zechariah 8:16-17

'These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this,” declares the LORD.'

Finally, I was drawn to the cross, again, to ponder the awesome nature of that moment, when God intersected history in saving grace and, in omnipotent power, brought eternity to bear upon time.

Kneeling there, looking upward, seeing my Savior in my mind's eye, broken and bleeding for me, I realized that God knows full well our struggles in this unjust world.

How could He not, when the greatest injustice in all of history was experienced by His own Son, in that place? The perfect, sinless Son of God experiencing the power, penalty, and punishment of sin, unto suffering, shame, separation and death.

Totally unjust. Perfectly undeserved. Willingly endured. For a world of lost sinners, the Righteous One was slain. In that act of sacrifice, the reality of the rebellion and injustice of all was juxtaposed against the faithfulness and justice of God alone.

And the world gasps, still, in awe at the sight of such a love.

Through injustice, through suffering, and through death, the Just One was revealed as the justifier of all those hurtling through the hate and darkness of this strange place, toward the love and the light of home.

In that, I can, and will rest, awaiting the certain rush of the waters and the stream...

And Can It Be?

And can it be, that I should gain

An interest in the Saviour's blood?

Died He for me, who caused His pain

For me, who Him to death pursued?

Amazing love! how can it be

That Thou, my God, shoulds't die for me?

'Tis mystery all! The Immortal dies:

Who can explore His strange design?

In vain the first-born seraph tries

To sound the depths of love divine.

'Tis mercy all! let earth adore,

Let angel minds inquire no more.

He left His Father's throne above,

So free, so infinite His grace,

Emptied Himself of all but love,

And bled for Adam's helpless race:

'Tis mercy all, immense and free;

For, O my God, it found out me!

Long my imprisoned spirit lay

Fast bound in sin and nature's night;

Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,

I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;

My chains fell off, my heart was free,

I rose, went forth and followed Thee.

No condemnation now I dread;

Jesus, and all in Him, is mine!

Alive in Him, my living Head,

And clothed in righteousness divine,

Bold I approach the eternal throne,

And claim the crown, through Christ my own.