A Song of Salvation
“In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; salvation is established as its walls and ramparts. Open the gates that a righteous nation may enter—one that remains faithful. You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.
For He has humbled those who dwell on high; He lays the lofty city low. He brings it down to the ground; He casts it into the dust. Feet trample it down—the feet of the oppressed, the steps of the poor. The path of the righteous is level; You clear a straight path for the upright. Yes, we wait for You, O LORD; we walk in the path of Your judgments. Your name and renown are the desire of our souls. My soul longs for You in the night; indeed, my spirit seeks You at dawn. For when Your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.
Though grace is shown to the wicked man, he does not learn righteousness. In the land of righteousness he acts unjustly and fails to see the majesty of the LORD. O LORD, Your hand is upraised, but they do not see it. They will see Your zeal for Your people and be put to shame. The fire set for Your enemies will consume them! O LORD, You will establish peace for us. For all that we have accomplished, You have done for us.
O LORD our God, other lords besides You have had dominion, but Your name alone do we confess. The dead will not live; the departed spirits will not rise. Therefore You have punished and destroyed them; You have wiped out all memory of them.
You have enlarged the nation, O LORD; You have enlarged the nation. You have gained glory for Yourself; You have extended all the borders of the land. O LORD, they sought You in their distress; when You disciplined them, they poured out a quiet prayer.
As a woman with child about to give birth writhes and cries out in pain, so were we in Your presence, O LORD. We were with child; we writhed in pain; but we gave birth to wind. We have given no salvation to the earth, nor brought any life into the world.
Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust! For your dew is like the dew of the morning, and the earth will bring forth her dead.
Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourselves a little while until the wrath has passed. For behold, the LORD is coming out of His dwelling to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth will reveal her bloodshed and will no longer conceal her slain.”
The Book of Isaiah is so packed with wonderful truths that selecting only a few as favorites is impossible; nevertheless, Chapter 26 contains some of the most hopeful scriptures ever written. ““In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; salvation is established as its walls and ramparts. Open the gates that a righteous nation may enter—one that remains faithful.” What day is Isaiah mentioning? The day of the coming of the Messiah. Originally, Isaiah’s writings were not divided up into chapters, so this description is a continuation of the description of events surrounding the ultimate return of the Messiah to the earth and to Jerusalem. The Messiah is the Bringer of Salvation and deliverance; those who remain faithful will be with Him.
“You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.” If you don’t remember another verse from Isaiah, write Isaiah 26:3 on your heart! When computers first came into vogue, the phrase GIGO also came into use. GIGO stands for “garbage in, garbage out.” Computers are wonderful, but they will only give back whatever you put into them. Our minds will only give back whatever we put into them. If we focus on God and trust in God, then God will give us perfect peace; however, if we insist on trusting on anything else or anything less, we will find ourselves consumed by worry. One night, the disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee in a boat while Jesus remained on shore to pray. In the middle of the night, Jesus joined the disciples by walking on the water. At the invitation of Jesus, Peter got out of the boat and began walking toward Jesus; however, Peter made a mistake – he took his eyes off Jesus and began to look at the waves. As soon as Peter stopped focusing on Jesus, he began to sink; Jesus reached out and took Peter’s hand, and Peter and Jesus both walked to the boat and got into it.
Here God through Isaiah is contrasting people of faith with the wicked and proud. “Though grace is shown to the wicked man, he does not learn righteousness. In the land of righteousness he acts unjustly and fails to see the majesty of the LORD. O LORD, Your hand is upraised, but they do not see it. They will see Your zeal for Your people and be put to shame. The fire set for Your enemies will consume them!” The Bible repeatedly tells us that those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
We have given no salvation to the earth, nor brought any life into the world.” God is the only Creator; the rest of us merely imitate Him. There’s a story about a scientist who boasted to God that he was now able to bring life out of dirt. “Fine,” said God. “Now create your own dirt!”
Finally, we are assured of the resurrection of the dead. “Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust! For your dew is like the dew of the morning, and the earth will bring forth her dead.” But this does not mean that all the dead will join the Messiah in His celebrations. Only those who have trusted God will be with the Messiah in the heavenly Jerusalem.
APPLICATION: On January 2, 2023, the Buffalo Bills football team were playing the Cincinnati Bengals when Damar Hamilton was tackled, causing his heart to stop. A quick – thinking athletic trainer immediately began CPR, saving Damar’s life. As emergency crews rushed Damar to a trauma center, fans and football players alike knelt in prayer. Over the next several days, millions of people around the world prayed for Damar’s recovery and for the well – being of the Cincinnati player who had tackled him. Announcers on ESPN prayed on – air for Damar’s recovery. People who might never have prayed before found themselves interceding for Damar, placing their trust in the God who alone could heal him. Testimonies are coming forth of people who have experienced a new peace in their lives after their sincere prayers for this young man.
God is amazingly undiscriminating. Sincere prayer that comes from an honest heart will always receive answers. Why is this? No matter how faithful we are, we are all still sinners in need of a Savior. Sincere prayers going up from a sports bar are just as valid as those coming from any place of worship. Should we worship God in churches? Of course. But God listens to prayers and answers 24/7. We are the ones who refuse to pray frequently or regularly.
As we enter a new year, many of us are plagued by problems left over from 2022 or ever years earlier. Where can we get release and peace of mind? We need to steadfastly focus on God and not on our problems, trusting that God who is our eternal all – powerful Father is fully able to solve those problems. “Trust in the LORD forever, because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.”
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, many of us are troubled and upset. Help us to roll those burdens over onto You and to trust in You as our strong and immoveable Rock. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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