A bruised reed

A bruised reed he will not break,

and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out.

In faithfulness he will bring forth justice

Isaiah 42:3

 

Barnes' Notes on the Bible says:
The word 'reed' means the cane or calamus which grows up in marshy or wet places. The word, therefore, literally means that which is fragile, weak, easily waved by the wind, or broken down; and stands in contrast with a lofty and firm tree. The word here, therefore, may be applied to people who are conscious of their own frailty and sin; that are moved and broken by tragedy; that feel that they have no strength to bear up against the ills of life.

The word 'bruised' (רצוּץ râtsûts) means that which is broken or crushed, but not entirely broken off. As used here, it may refer to those who are in themselves naturally frail, and who have been crushed or broken down by a sense of sin, by tragedy, or by illness. We speak familiarly of crushing or breaking down by trials; and the phrase here is intensive and emphatic, meaning those who are at best like a reed - feeble and fragile; and who, in addition to that, have been broken and overloaded by a sense of their sins, or by tragedy.

He will not break - He will not carry on the work of destruction, and entirely crush or break it. And the idea is, that he will not make those already broken down with a sense of sin and with tragedy, more wretched than they already are. He will not deepen their afflictions, or augment their trials, or multiply their sorrows. The sense is, that he will have an affectionate regard for the broken-hearted, the humble, the penitent, and the afflicted. Luther has expressed this well: 'He does not cast away, nor crush, nor condemn the wounded in conscience, those who are terrified in view of their sins; the weak in faith and practice, but watches over and cherishes them, makes them whole, and affectionately embraces them.' The expression is parallel to that which occurs in Isaiah 61:1, where it is said of the Messiah, 'He hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted;' and to the declaration in Isaiah 50:4, where it is said, 'that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary.'

The smoking wick - The word used here means flax, and then a wick that is made of it. The word rendered 'smoking' (כהה kēhâh) means that which is weak, small, thin, feeble; that which is just ready to go out, or to be extinguished; and the phrase refers literally to the expiring wick of a lamp, when the oil is almost consumed, and when it shines with a feeble and dying luster. It may denote here the condition of one who is feeble and disheartened, and whose love to God seems almost ready to expire. And the promise that he will not extinguish or quench that, means that he would cherish, feed, and cultivate it; he would supply it with grace, as with oil to cherish the dying flame, and cause it to be rekindled, and to rise with a high and steady brilliancy.

The whole passage is descriptive of the Jesus the Redeemer, who nourishes the hearts of his people, and who will not allow the beliefs of the soul ever to become wholly extinct. It may seem as if the slightest breath of misfortune or opposition would extinguish it forever; it may be like the dying flame that hangs on the point of the wick, but if there be faith, it will not be extinguished, but will be rekindled to a pure and glowing flame, and it will yet rise high, and burn brightly.

Is this promise to lift us up when we fall not in sharp contrast to the ways of the world who will instead kick the person who falls and then takes great delight in its own actions! Jesus as the healer, as the one who binds us up, is an option not to be ignored.

Here is a song for you http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLNL49TFC_8&feature=related