(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)
(Isaiah 26:1-21)
1 On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
“We have a strong city;
He sets up walls and ramparts for security.
2 Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter,
The one that remains faithful.
3 The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace,
Because he trusts in You.
4 Trust in the Lord forever,
For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock.
5 For He has brought low those who dwell on high, the unassailable city;
He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He casts it to the dust.
6 The foot will trample it,
The feet of the poor, the steps of the helpless.”
7 The way of the righteous is smooth;
O Upright One, make the path of the righteous level.
8 Indeed, while following the way of Your judgments, Lord,
We have waited for You eagerly;
Your name, and remembering You, is the desire of our souls.
9 At night my soul longs for You,
Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently;
For when the earth experiences Your judgments,
The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
10 Though the wicked person is shown compassion,
He does not learn righteousness;
He deals unjustly in the land of uprightness,
And does not perceive the majesty of the Lord.
11 Lord, Your hand is lifted up, yet they do not see it.
They see Your zeal for the people and are put to shame;
Indeed, fire will devour Your enemies.
12 Lord, You will establish peace for us,
Since You have also performed for us all our works.
13 Lord, our God, other masters besides You have ruled us;
But through You alone we confess Your name.
14 The dead will not live, the departed spirits will not rise;
Therefore You have punished and destroyed them,
And You have eliminated all remembrance of them.
15 You have increased the nation, Lord,
You have increased the nation, You are glorified;
You have extended all the borders of the land.
16 Lord, they sought You in distress;
They could only whisper a prayer,
Your discipline was upon them.
17 As the pregnant woman approaches the time to give birth,
She writhes and cries out in her labor pains;
This is how we were before You, Lord.
18 We were pregnant, we writhed in labor,
We gave birth, as it seems, only to wind.
We could not accomplish deliverance for the earth,
Nor were inhabitants of the world born.
19 Your dead will live;
Their corpses will rise.
You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy,
For your dew is as the dew of the dawn,
And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits.
20 Come, my people, enter your rooms
And close your doors behind you;
Hide for a little while
Until indignation runs its course.
21 For behold, the Lord is about to come out from His place
To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their wrongdoing;
And the earth will reveal her bloodshed
And will no longer cover her slain.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
“We have a strong city;
He sets up walls and ramparts for security.
2 Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter,
The one that remains faithful.
3 The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace,
Because he trusts in You.
4 Trust in the Lord forever,
For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock.
5 For He has brought low those who dwell on high, the unassailable city;
He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He casts it to the dust.
6 The foot will trample it,
The feet of the poor, the steps of the helpless.”
7 The way of the righteous is smooth;
O Upright One, make the path of the righteous level.
8 Indeed, while following the way of Your judgments, Lord,
We have waited for You eagerly;
Your name, and remembering You, is the desire of our souls.
9 At night my soul longs for You,
Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently;
For when the earth experiences Your judgments,
The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
10 Though the wicked person is shown compassion,
He does not learn righteousness;
He deals unjustly in the land of uprightness,
And does not perceive the majesty of the Lord.
11 Lord, Your hand is lifted up, yet they do not see it.
They see Your zeal for the people and are put to shame;
Indeed, fire will devour Your enemies.
12 Lord, You will establish peace for us,
Since You have also performed for us all our works.
13 Lord, our God, other masters besides You have ruled us;
But through You alone we confess Your name.
14 The dead will not live, the departed spirits will not rise;
Therefore You have punished and destroyed them,
And You have eliminated all remembrance of them.
15 You have increased the nation, Lord,
You have increased the nation, You are glorified;
You have extended all the borders of the land.
16 Lord, they sought You in distress;
They could only whisper a prayer,
Your discipline was upon them.
17 As the pregnant woman approaches the time to give birth,
She writhes and cries out in her labor pains;
This is how we were before You, Lord.
18 We were pregnant, we writhed in labor,
We gave birth, as it seems, only to wind.
We could not accomplish deliverance for the earth,
Nor were inhabitants of the world born.
19 Your dead will live;
Their corpses will rise.
You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy,
For your dew is as the dew of the dawn,
And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits.
20 Come, my people, enter your rooms
And close your doors behind you;
Hide for a little while
Until indignation runs its course.
21 For behold, the Lord is about to come out from His place
To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their wrongdoing;
And the earth will reveal her bloodshed
And will no longer cover her slain.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
During the Tribulation, when Israel as a nation puts their faith in the Lord Jesus, they will seek His very physical protection against the enemies. Then when Jesus comes again to have the victory at Armageddon, He will remove all evil and all unbelievers from the earth. And throughout His thousand year reign, He will keep things in check so that there is peace and blessings everywhere. It is at this time that Israel will have all their land, and all of their covenants fulfilled.
This passage is prophetic, but it is also meaningful and relatable to us today! We know this because within the entire Bible's context, the salvation of the Lord is exactly this:
- (verse 1) we can sing of salvation's security we have in Jesus
- (verse 2) when we put our faith in Jesus, we are made righteous
- (verse 2) because the Lord is faithful, it is He who keeps us faithful
- (verse 3) when we put our trust in Jesus, He helps us in our striving to remain steadfast in His will
- (verse 3) Jesus gives us perfect peace! No matter what is happening around us, we can have peace of mind and peace of heart when we trust in Him ("to trust" means that what He says works, and then we follow through by doing what He says, trusting that He will work things out for us)
- (verse 4) we can trust in the Lord because He is the everlasting Rock, He does not move, He does not change, and He is all-powerful
- (verse 5) the Lord fights for us and takes revenge for us so we do not have to
- (verse 7) as we live in Jesus' righteousness, He will make our path smooth and level
- (verse 7) we can know that doing it God's way is right, because He is all-knowing and right
- (verse 8) as we follow and live in God's will, we will see the blessings, and desire to know Him more and more
- (verse 9) we should diligently seek the Lord knowing that we cannot lose our salvation, but when we live in sin here on earth, He will allow consequences into our lives to discipline us and make us see that we need to get back to seeking Him
- (verses 10-11) there are still unbelievers in this world, and because of their wickedness and distain towards us, sometimes God allows us to experience trials and temptations, which test our faith in order to prove that God cares and will help us
- (verse 12) we can be confident that God will bring us peace, because we can see how He has faithfully worked things out in the past
- (verse 13) God should come first in our lives because no one else can compare to Him!!! If we put ourselves or others ahead of God, they will only let us down
- (verse 14) God will punish all unbelievers for every sin they have committed, and they will not have a second change because they will have had a fair opportunity here on earth to make their decision for all eternity
- (verse 16) if any unbeliever prays, their manmade gods cannot do anything for them. If they try praying to God Himself without confessing their sins, it should be known that sin impedes prayers. Meanwhile, God still cares and so, allows people to go through things to help them see their need to be saved, and their need for a personal relationship with Him.
(verses 17-18) trying to save yourself in your own efforts is like going through painful childbirth only to give birth to nothing. We cannot do anything to save ourselves!
- (verse 19) anyone becoming a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ has guaranteed eternal life
- (verse 19) we can know that there will be perfect joy in heaven
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