"I will praise you, O Lord. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid."

         In the first chapters of Isaiah, the prophet goes to King Ahaz and tells him to trust God and not make a foolish strategic decision. Ahaz is fearful, because some of the small nations surrounding Judah have formed a coalition against him and are threatening to attack him. He goes against Isaiah's advice and will not trust God to save him. He calls on the Assyrian army to protect him. This is a disastrous decision. It triggers a series of events that ends in exile for the people of Jerusalem.

         Isaiah here acts on one level as a political advisor. He warns of the consequences of this poor strategy. Most anyone would have given the same advice: The Assyrian army is not a wise choice for a 911 call. There are consequences for foolish political decisions.

         But Isaiah sees more deeply. He sees that Ahaz is acting out of fear and lack of trust in God. He sees that this lack of trust is widespread in the land. The nation is walking in darkness. They are especially vulnerable, because they have ceased to act with faith. Whenever we disregard faith in our decision making, we are walking in darkness. The consequences are usually painful.

         There is yet one more layer that Isaiah sees. He knows of the persistent disobedience and idolatry that had come into the national life. This way of life led increasingly to conforming to the ways of the nations. Where Israel experienced increasing wealth, it spent it on luxury and ignored the poor. When Israel began to be attracted to idols, it became lax in its worship of God. When Israel lowered its personal moral standards, it adopted a set of behaviors best described with the word "drunkenness." Isaiah knew there would be consequences for those behaviors. They would experience the anger of God.

         I realize it is very risky for me to speak of the anger of God, because of the experiences people in the congregation may have had with family anger or abuse, and also with forms of anger in the church that disguise themselves as righteousness. It is difficult to speak of the anger of God and to say it correctly, to avoid in my own brokenness of spirit saying too little or too much. My understanding is clouded.

It is also difficult for you to listen to a message about the anger of God. Your experience may well cause you to hear something other than what I say. But anger is such an important issue for us these days, I feel I must try.

         I believe that the anger of God is the determination of God to carry out his will. It is the anger of justice, the anger that refuses to give up, or to make an agreement with sin and evil. When we talk about the anger of God, we are not saying that we serve an angry God.

         We know people who are angry. That can get expressed in their being irritable, spiteful or hurtful. It may cause them to act out in abusive ways. If you are on the receiving end of such a person's anger, you know you can never seem to do enough; you can never get it right. The anger is always there. It is very easy for us to project that kind of anger upon God, to feel that God is always angry with us in that way, to interpret every misfortune or loss in our lives as punishment from God. This is especially true if we have had angry fathers or mothers. We then tend to see God as angry, and it is a significant healing in Christ to come out of that thinking and to know God as He truly is.

         We do not worship an angry God, but a righteous and loving God whose determination to bring about his plan of salvation can express itself in anger. He does not simply allow sin and injustice to go on without consequence. It is as if we encounter the anger of God on the edges of salvation. It is the love of God that will not let go or give up.

         So, here, Israel came through a time when the consequences of bad decisions by its king, coupled with the national weakness caused by habitual sin and persistent opposition to God's will; resulted in a painful time, a time of suffering, and an experience of the anger of God.

         "I will praise you, O Lord; although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me."

         The experience of God's anger, or punishment, can bring us to a place of humility, an admission that life without faith does not work. It can cause us to give up our idolatry, in the many forms it takes; and to recognize our sin. That is what happened for Israel. After the Exile, they gave up on idol worship and never returned to it.

         At that point, their experience of the determined will of God became one of receiving his comfort. This is an experience of grace. But, we must be careful here. John Oswalt, in his commentary, warns that the biblical word "comfort" has lost its meaning in modern English. "Comfort" has come to mean a soft pillow, a warm blanket on a cold day, a weekend at a luxury resort. The biblical word meant "be of good cheer"; "take heart," "have confidence." In the Old Testament it is often translated, "fear not." We overcome fear because we are confident in God's help and promises. One bible dictionary says, "Comfort is the consolation or confidence you have on the Day of Judgment." The Psalmist is saying, "You have given me hope, you have given me confidence to stand in your presence."

         The comfort of God leads to faith:

         "Surely God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid."

         This is what Isaiah had been trying to get Ahaz to say. Faith is a turning to the Savior when we know the encouragement of God. Here is the gift of God in Jesus Christ. He did not spare his own son in his determined plan of salvation. The consequences of our sin and rebellion were not laid on us, but on him. He is the sacrifice, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

Another biblical word is perhaps more helpful here: "Redemption." This word came from the slave market. Those who were to be sold into slavery could be purchased and set free by a benefactor. Someone could pay the price for the slave, and the awful oppression was lifted. This is the salvation of God. We have been purchased, set free. A price has been paid for our sin. We are under new ownership, new management, when we come in faith to Christ. It is in accepting the purchase that we are set free from the old life, the old attitudes, and the self-defeating behaviors.

         "The LORD, the LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation."

The LORD is my song. This is the season to sing the Lord's song. It is the journey from the Lord's anger to the Lords salvation. It is coming to trust in God, and to receive God's savior, Jesus Christ. It is not the season itself that brings us joy. Indeed, you may well feel your loss or grief more keenly in this season of Advent and Christmas.

It is not the festival of Christmas that causes you to sing with joy. You may feel compelled to produce the perfect Christmas. Indeed, all the gift buying, the extra food, the parties, the decorations; may make you feel a heaviness; "climbing Mt. Christmas," I call it. It is not the festival that causes us to sing.

         It is the deep realization that it is the gift of God, Jesus Christ, who has become your salvation. When you realize that, you begin to sing.

         "With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation."

The joy of this season comes from drawing water from the wells of salvation and realizing that they are deep, and most satisfying when we go beneath the surface. We sing "How deep the father's love for us, how kind beyond all measure."

         We need a savior.

         Jesus is the savior.

         There is a depth to the riches of his grace; there is much to experience in his salvation.

         I have noticed over the years that children love to play with the figures in a manger scene. I want to encourage you to play with your manger scene this year, and not allow it to just be an untouched decoration. Pick up each figure – Mary , Joseph, each shepherd, each king; and as you hold that figure, think about their life, their struggle, their need for a Savior. Place them close to Jesus, and watch them worship. Then join them. Hold the manger in your hand.

         On your Advent journey this year, draw more deeply from the well.

         "Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you."

         Amen.