Isaiah 54:8

In a little wrath I hid My face from thee

God’s face hidden

To say God hath cast me off because He hath hid His face is a fallacy fetched out of the devil’s topics.

When the sun is eclipsed, foolish people may think it will never recover light, but wise men know it will. During the eclipse, though the earth wanteth the light of the sun for a time, yet not the influence thereof. (J. Trapp.)

God’s little wrath and God’s great wrath

This precious passage is the property of all true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. We might not have ventured to say this if it were not for the last verse of the chapter, which assures us that it is so. “This is the heritage.”

I. What the Lord calls His “LITTLE WRATH.” Let us speak of it and its modifications.

1. Our view of that wrath, and God’s view of it may very greatly differ. To a child of God in a right state even the most modified form of Divine anger is very painful. This pain of heart is a very proper feeling, but it may be perverted by unbelief into the occasion of sin. We may conclude from the chastening rod that the Lord is about to destroy us, though he has plainly said, “Fury is not in Me.” This dark estimate of our affairs is not Gods view of them. It is but a partial departure under which the saint is suffering; the small moment will soon be over. I will now call your attention to two or three things which should greatly modify the view we take of the hidings of God’s face.

(1) As to time; the time during which our God withdraws Himself is very short: “for a moment,” He says; but He puts it less than that, “For a small moment.” Think of how long He has loved us, even from before the foundation of the world! The time in which He hides His face is very short compared with that. Think of how long He will love us: when all this universe shall have subsided into its native nothingness, He will love us for ever! The time during which He chastens us is, compared with that, a very small moment. Think of how long we deserved to have been in hell, to lie for ever beneath His indignation: the little moment in which His heavy hand is upon us is indeed as nothing compared with the eternal misery which our sins have merited. When you come forth from the hiding of His face into the light again, this gloom will seem to have been but a small moment.

(2) The recompense which is promised. “With great mercies will I gather thee.’” The Lord will make up to you all your losses, your crosses, and your chastisements. God’s dealings with us never seem to be so merciful as after a time of trial. The bitterness makes the sweet the sweeter, and the sorrow makes the joy more abounding. The text does not say that God will give us mercy after He has for awhile left us; the word is in the plural, “mercies,” multitudes of mercies. Nay, it does not merely say “mercies,” but “great mercies,” for they are all the greater because we so greatly need them, are plunged in such great distress for want of them, and filled with so many great fears as to our future estate. The Lord not only promises us these great favours, but promises that He Himself will bring them. They are not to be sent to us by angels or by external providences. “With great mercies will I gather thee.”

(3) The wrath is in itself little.

2. The expression of His little, anger is not after all so extremely severe, for what does it say? “I hid My face. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of, them from the earth, but our text does not say, “I turned My face against thee, but only, “I hid My face from thee.” This is painful, but still there is this sweet reflection--why does He hide His face? It is because the sight of it would be pleasant to us. It is a face of love; for if it were a face of anger He would not need to hide it from His erring child. If it were an angry face, and He wished to chasten us, He would unveil it; therefore, we may be sure that He covers it because it is so bright with everlasting love that if it could be seen no chastisement would be felt by us.

3. Observe, too, for we must not leave out a word here, that this little wrath is perfectly consistent with everlasting love. “In a little wrath I hid My face from thee for a moment, but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee.” The Lord is filled with everlasting kindness at the very time when He is making the promise, for if you promise a person that you will love him you do love him already; love alone could prompt a promise such as that which I have read. You have no right to infer from the greatness of your griefs that God is ceasing to love you, or that He loves you less.

II. THE GREAT WRATH OF GOD AND OUR SECURITY AGAINST IT. Our security against it is this: “This is as the waters of Noah unto Me: for as I have sworn, etc. Until God drowns the whole world again, He can never let out His great wrath against His people.

1. My text suggests that we have ample security that the wrath of God will never break out against us, for it has broken out against us once. The waters of Noah did go over the earth once, but never twice, Now, the wrath of God can never break forth against His redeemed, because it has already broken forth against them. “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect,? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died.” Is not that answer enough for all the charges of hell?

2. The text gives us next the oath of God as our security. “As I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth,” etc. It is always a solemn occasion when Jehovah lifts His hand to heaven and swears. Then is a matter confirmed indeed when it is secured by the oath of God.

3. Next, we have before us the fact that the Lord has guaranteed our security by a covenant. “Neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed.”

4. What blessed illustrations of our security are added in the further declaration of the Lord’s mind and will The Lord looks on the mountains and the hills, and declares that these and all things visible will pass away, for time’s grandest birth shall perish when eternity resumes its sway. The mountains and the hills may represent the most stable of earthly hopes and confidences: these all must fail us when most we need them. The Lord Himself assures us of this, and therefore does not at all guarantee to us any security in the things which are seen, nor any peace that can be drawn from the creature; our consolation lies elsewhere. “The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed, saith Jehovah, the Pitier. Under no conceivable circumstances shall the covenant fail; the Lord who made it cannot change, Jesus who sealed it cannot die, the love which dictated it cannot cease, the power which executes it cannot decay, and the truth which guarantees it cannot be questioned. As for you who have no portion in Divine realities, what do you possess that is worth having? (C. H.Spurgeon)