scripture and prayer reflection
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Lyrics
Awake, awake, awake my children and see
Clothed in strength, ransomed to Me
In your mouths I’ve put my words
Rise up and see I am the Lord
Rise up and see I am the Lord
Your bags have become your enemy’s path
Drunk from a cup of wrath
You have betrayed my trust
I am the Lord, and I am just
Awake, awake, awake Jerusalem and see
No one to guide, no sons to help thee
Ruin and destruction, famine and sword
Rise up and see I am the Lord
Rise up and see I am the Lord
A rumor will come from origins of old
For nothing your hearts were sold
And with no money you’ll be retrieved
Singing loud for you’ve been redeemed
Awake, awake, awake oh Zion and see
From your chains you’ve been set free
Put on your garments of splendor
Rise up and see I am the Lord
Rise up and see I am the Lord
Awake, awake, awake
Isaiah 52:1-6
1 Awake, awake,
put on your strength, O Zion;
put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city;
for there shall no more come into you
the uncircumcised and the unclean.
2 Shake yourself from the dust and arise;
be seated, O Jerusalem;
loose the bonds from your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion.
3 For thus says the Lord: “You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money.” 4 For thus says the Lord God: “My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there, and the Assyrian oppressed them for nothing. 5 Now therefore what have I here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Their rulers wail,” declares the Lord, “and continually all the day my name is despised. 6 Therefore my people shall know my name. Therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here I am.”
Isaiah 53:2-7, 11
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
Reflection
As we enter Holy Week looking forward to Good Friday and Easter, we turn to consider this charge taken from Isaiah, calling us to awaken to our need for a Redeemer.
The simple, plaintive melody and rich harmonies of this song reinforce the sense of calling out, exhorting the listener to give ear to the words of the LORD. It calls us to awaken from the sleepy dullness to His voice that we so easily fall into, to renew our attentiveness to His Spirit within us, and to celebrate His work on our behalf.
Though with hindsight it may feel tempting to look back on the spiritual failings of the nation of Israel with scorn and judgment, the honest truth is that we are in just as desperate need of our Redeemer as they were in their time. We too fail to share God’s words with our neighbors, to represent Him well to those around us. We too so easily fall asleep to our sin, lulled into complacency and the comfort of doing “what is right in our own eyes” (Deut 12:8) rather than what is right according to God’s Word. We too betray our Father in spite of the mercy and unfailing love He has given to us — even those of us who have followed Him for years and strive to live righteously in order to honor Him. We too abandon our first love.
And yet, acknowledging this dire reality is the starting place from which Good Friday and Easter take their significance. Jesus did not choose to come for us because we were lovable and good, and merited His efforts. He came to us as we are — sickly, broken, rebellious, and desperately in need of help and hope. Without a Redeemer to step in and purchase us back from death, there was no hope for our souls. Good Friday and Easter hold the ultimate help and hope because our plight was so ultimately desperate and hopeless apart from His work on our behalf.
May this song be a reminder to your heart to stay awake to His voice in your life. Take some time to sit with your own dire need — your sin and selfishness, and the fleeting, imperfect, mixed-motive, and fickle love that you offer God even on your best days. Awaken your soul to this reality, and allow the weight and pain of it to reach your heart. Allow yourself space to feel the grief of your offenses against our Holy God Who has loved you with a perfect and unfailing love. Do not be quick to skip to the Good News before wrestling with and holding this.
Then, from this place of grief, turn your heart toward Christ on the cross. What strikes your heart as you consider His work, in light of your previous reflections? What comes up as you consider your role in His sufferings? His willingness to embrace suffering in order to purchase you back from sin and death? Share what surfaces in this time with God.