Thursday, June 16, 2011

Isaiah 26: A Song of Praise

      When the day of the Lord comes, and Jesus Christ establishes His kingdom, people will praise God. The whole of Chapter 26 is a song of praise, of trust and of meditation. 'That day,' appears to refer to the day when the New Testament Babylon shall be levelled to the ground. The unchangeable promise and covenant of the Lord are the walls of the church of God. The gates of this city shall be open.
      Our trust should always be placed in the Lord, for whatever we trust in that is of the world, it is only transient and relatively fleeting. When you place your trust in God you will not only find Him but also receive the strength to carry on until the time when you can be, by His grace, with Him for ever.
      There will always be times when 'the path of righteousness' seems to be over difficult terrain, and it's not easy to carry out God's will, but we are never left to face such times alone. God is always there to help us, our refuge and strength, able to offer comfort when we most need it and strength when we feel weak. He does this by keeping our minds focussed on Him and upon His divine purpose.
      Verse 10 points out that even the wicked receive God's benefits, although that doesn't teach them to do right, and they continue to do evil. 
      To be separated from God is painful, but the people are assured that the separation will end and they will live again. Even though it seems difficult at times, nevertheless we must carry on in the promised hope and maintain our trust in God's promises. 
      Some people believe that death is the end and that there is nothing beyond it, but Isaiah prophesies that life after death means life in a physical body, not just a spiritual body. When Christ returns believers will rise in new imperishable bodies like the body that Jesus had following His resurrection. 
      The passage closes with a reminder that when God judges the earth there will be nowhere for people to hide away from Him, and this emphasise our need to confess our faults and seek and receive His forgiveness.


1 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

   We have a strong city;
   God makes salvation
   its walls and ramparts.
2 Open the gates
   that the righteous nation may enter,
   the nation that keeps faith.
3 You will keep in perfect peace
   those whose minds are steadfast,
   because they trust in you.
4 Trust in the Lord forever,
   for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.
5 He humbles those who dwell on high,
   he lays the lofty city low;
he levels it to the ground
   and casts it down to the dust.
6 Feet trample it down—
   the feet of the oppressed,
   the footsteps of the poor.
 7 The path of the righteous is level;
   you, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth.
8 Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,
   we wait for you;
your name and renown
   are the desire of our hearts.
9 My soul yearns for you in the night;
   in the morning my spirit longs for you.
When your judgments come upon the earth,
   the people of the world learn righteousness.
10 But when grace is shown to the wicked,
   they do not learn righteousness;
even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil
   and do not regard the majesty of the LORD.
11 Lord, your hand is lifted high,
   but they do not see it.
Let them see your zeal for your people and be put to shame;
   let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them.
 12 Lord, you establish peace for us;
   all that we have accomplished you have done for us.
13 Lord our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us,
   but your name alone do we honor.
14 They are now dead, they live no more;
   their spirits do not rise.
You punished them and brought them to ruin;
   you wiped out all memory of them.
15 You have enlarged the nation, Lord;
   you have enlarged the nation.
You have gained glory for yourself;
   you have extended all the borders of the land.
 16 Lord, they came to you in their distress;
   when you disciplined them,
   they could barely whisper a prayer.
17 As a pregnant woman about to give birth
   writhes and cries out in her pain,
   so were we in your presence, Lord.
18 We were with child, we writhed in labor,
   but we gave birth to wind.
We have not brought salvation to the earth,
   and the people of the world have not come to life.
 19 But your dead will live, Lord;
   their bodies will rise—
let those who dwell in the dust
   wake up and shout for joy—
your dew is like the dew of the morning;
   the earth will give birth to her dead.
 20 Go, my people, enter your rooms
   and shut the doors behind you;
hide yourselves for a little while
   until his wrath has passed by.
21 See, the Lord is coming out of his dwelling
   to punish the people of the earth for their sins.
The earth will disclose the blood shed on it;
   the earth will conceal its slain no longer.

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