Crimson Mercy

The opening lines of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” used to be taught to nearly every American school-aged child:

“Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword
His truth is marching on.”

Some of the images in this hymn of the coming wrath of God and truth of God are drawn from Isaiah.

The major image in our reading today is that of the crimson-stained Lord coming to save. His salvation has two aspects. First, He comes to destroy the enemies of God. In His perfect justice, He will slaughter His enemies and be splattered with their blood (63:3–7). The picture of the wrath of God is akin to someone standing in a winepress to tread grapes. The Lord crushes those in rebellion against Him to release the grapes of wrath.

The second aspect of salvation is God’s rescuing of His people. In this same vision, Isaiah reveals the Lord as One full of pity, mercy, compassion and love for the children of God. The Lord is One who pours out His Spirit upon those in need of redemption. With the arm of His power, He frees His people from captivity.

The great contrast between the fate of the enemies of God and the fate of His own people should cause us to remember the mercy of the Lord (63:7). We once were the enemies of God, but Christ saved us while we were enemies and sinners! We once were the objects of wrath, but now we will be saved through Christ from the terrible wrath of God (Rom. 5:9–11).

Pray with Us

Join us in prayer for WRMB, Moody Radio station broadcasting to southern Florida. Thank God for its staff—Dolores King-St. George, Eric Johnson, Audrey Altman, Brigitte Sylvestre, and Rebecca Borgstrom—and ask for His help and power in their ministry.

BY Dr. Eric C. Redmond

Dr. Eric C. Redmond serves as a professor of Bible at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago and as associate pastor of adult ministries at Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park, Ill. He is married to Pam and they have five children. He is the author of Say It!  Celebrating Expository Preaching in the African American Tradition (Moody Publishers), Where Are All the Brothers? Straight Answers to Men's’ Questions about the Church (Crossway), a commentary on Jonah in the Christ-Centered Exposition Series (B&H Publishers), and a study guide on Ephesians in the Knowing the Bible series (Crossway).