7 I shall make mention of the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, the praises of the Lord,
According to all that the Lord has granted us,
And the great goodness toward the house of Israel,
Which He has granted them according to His compassion
And according to the abundance of His lovingkindnesses.
8 For He said, “Surely, they are My people,
Sons who will not deal falsely.”
So He became their Savior.
9 In all their affliction [f]He was afflicted,
And the angel of His presence saved them;
In His love and in His mercy He redeemed them,
And He lifted them and carried them all the days of old.
10 But they rebelled
And grieved His Holy Spirit;
Therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy,
He fought against them.
11 Then His people remembered the days of old, of Moses.
Where is He who brought them up out of the sea with the [g]shepherds of His flock?
Where is He who put His Holy Spirit in the midst of [h]them,
12 Who caused His glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses,
Who divided the waters before them to make for Himself an everlasting name,
13 Who led them through the depths?
Like the horse in the wilderness, they did not stumble;
14 As the cattle which go down into the valley,
The Spirit of the Lord gave [i]them rest.
So You led Your people,
To make for Yourself a glorious name.
This is quite the dramatic shift from the first few verses, which spoke of wrath and anger. Though there were hints of redemption and salvation, the focus was overwhelmingly on judgment. But now the prophet emphatically changes gears, and speaks of God’s lovingkindness and compassion.
In v. 10 we see a bit of how we got from love and compassion to judgment on Israel. The people rebelled and grieved the Holy Spirit, thus God became their enemy. Yet even still, God’s compassion and mercy won the day. No, God didn’t change, but He did exactly what He promised to Solomon at the dedication of the temple (2 Chronicles 7).
If they would turn, repent, and come back to Him, then God promised to forgive and heal their land. Yet that’s just the tip of the iceberg, as God had a longer-term plan, which we’ve seen throughout these last chapters. In this passage though, the people are reminded of God’s faithfulness in the past, in the days of Moses.
God brought them through the sea, and His very glory led them them in a pillar of cloud and a beacon of fire. He sustained them for forty long years in the wilderness, providing food and even preventing their sandals from wearing out. That’s no small feat when you’re dealing with several million people!
It should be a reminder to us also, for God is not silent today, even if He doesn’t rain down manna from the sky. Take a minute today, and think of the things God has done in your life. I know I have much to be thankful for, even when times are hard, though nowhere near what the rebellious Israelites faced.
Remember His “glorious name”, His lovingkindness, and compassion, and “make mention… of the praises of the Lord…” Thank God that He is our Savior, afflicted as we are, redeemed from the power of sin.