Isaiah 25:1

Lord, you are my God, and I'll exalt Thee. I'll praise Thy name, for Thou hast done wonderful things. Thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. For Thou hast made of a city a heap, of a defense city a ruin, a palace of strangers to be no city. It shall never be built. Therefore shall the strong people glorify Thee. The city of the terrible nations shall fear Thee.

For Thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall. Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat in a day in a dry place. Even the heat with the shadow of a cloud, the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low.

Let's pray. Father, as we look into this song of praise here in Isaiah, I ask, Lord, that You would continue to teach and instruct us. Give us insight into this passage, Lord, as it relates to us and our lives. But, Lord, help us to understand it just in its historic context as well. Would You lead and guide us through Your word and prepare us, Lord, for the good works that You have prepared for us since before the world began? We pray in Jesus' name. And all God's people agreed, saying, Amen.

You can be seated. You may remember last week, as we looked at Isaiah chapter 24, we saw a judgment proclaimed upon the whole earth. At the finish of that prophecy in Isaiah chapter 24, we saw in verse 23, "Then the moon shall be confounded and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem before His ancients gloriously."

Isaiah 24 ends with the Lord ruling and reigning. Isaiah chapters 25, 26, and 27 pick up immediately after that with just joy and rejoicing in the things that God has done and the way that He is able to bring justice. But even that justice, although it is seen in His wrath coming upon the earth, the song of praise begins there in Isaiah 25, verse 1, where He says, "O Lord, You are my God, and I will exalt Thee."

I'll praise Thy name, for Thou hast done wonderful things. Thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. O Lord, You are my God. Any time we see that in the Scriptures, and that declaration is seen many times, especially in the Old Testament, we have to wonder and ask the question: Is the Lord our God?

We recognize that there is a God. Yes, there are some in our world today who deny the existence of God, but for the most part, man recognizes, because it's something God has created man to understand and recognize, that there is a God. Romans chapter 1 gives us that great declaration that God's invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, so that man is without excuse. He has the understanding that there is a God. But the question is: Is God your God?

Here the prophet says, O Lord, You are my God. Well, how will you know if the Lord is your God? One of the things that makes Him your God is that you trust in Him, that you exalt Him, that you praise Him. The prophet says, "You are my God, and I will exalt Thee. I will praise Your name."

I also have seen this passage in Psalm 63. If you want to flip in your Bibles to Psalm 63, a psalm of David, it is just beautiful. He says in Psalm 63, verse 1, "O God, You are my God. Early will I seek Thee. My soul thirsts for Thee. My flesh longs for Thee in a dry and thirsty land where no water is, to see Thy power and Thy glory, so as I have seen Thee in the sanctuary. Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise Thee. Thus will I bless Thee while I live. I will lift up my hands to Thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise Thee with joyful lips."

When I remember Thee upon my bed and meditate on Thee in the night watches, because Thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of Thy wings I will rejoice. My soul follows hard after Thee, and Thy right hand upholdeth me. I love that verse in verse 8: "My soul follows hard after Thee, and Thy right hand upholdeth me."

When the Lord is your God and you seek after Him, you find that He is the one who undergirds you. He is the one who upholds you. He is the one who strengthens you. The psalmist speaks of praising the Lord for who He is and what He's done, and the prophet also echoes the same things: I will exalt Thee.

The prophet says in Isaiah 25:1 that God is worthy of our exaltation. He is worthy of our praise because of the marvelous works that He has done. In Psalm 107, four times the psalmist says, "Oh, that men would praise the Lord for His goodness and for His wonderful works to the children of men." We could take hours and hours just personally meditating upon the wonderful works that God has done.

Yes, the Bible speaks a lot about the wonderful works of God. It speaks over and over again about the promises that God has spoken to us. There are over 5,000 promises in the Scriptures from God to man, and every one of those promises is yes and amen in Christ for you and me. God has extended all these promises to us, but He has also done awesome and wonderful works. The Bible speaks of those, but every single one of us has a testimony, a personal testimony, of the great things that God has done. For those things, He is worthy of our praise.

Praise should be a regular part of our lives. What we do on a Sunday morning here at Calvary or on a Wednesday night when we gather corporately to sing praise to God is not enough. We should be rejoicing evermore, as we saw in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 this last Sunday. Throughout the day, as God works in our lives and we recognize those things, He is worthy of our praise in that moment.

It is important to realize that praising God and worshiping God is not just singing songs to Him. In fact, singing songs is not really worship. It is a great way to lead us into worship and to bring our hearts into that attitude of worship. But really, it is a heart condition—a position of the heart where we recognize that God is worthy, that He is valuable, and that He is awesome. God has done great works, and He accomplishes the things He promises to do.

That is one of the awesome things we learn as we study the prophetic Scriptures of the Bible. The Bible is full of prophecy, not just in the major and minor prophets. Many times, we see God prophetically telling us what He is going to do. Much of those prophecies have been fulfilled, though not all. There still remains much that God is going to do. However, a lot of God's prophetic word has been fulfilled, and when we see that, it reminds us that He will make good on the promises that He has made.

The last twelve or so chapters of the book of Isaiah...

In Isaiah chapters 13 through 23, we see prophecies that have primarily, or for the most part, been fulfilled. This reminds us of the greatness of God and His passion for His Word. The prophet also states, "Your counsels of old are faithfulness and true." The things that God has spoken, the things that He has set out to do, He will be faithful to complete. He is the faithful one. It is part of God's nature and character that He is faithful.

Every single one of us has failed before. We have failed to make good on our word or on our promises. Yet we desire to fulfill those things that we set out to do, but we all have failed, right? God never fails. He always comes through on the things that He says He will do.

The prophet says in verse two, "For Thou hast made a city a heap, a defense city a ruin, a palace of strangers to be a city no more. It shall never be built." Therefore, the strong people shall glorify the city of the terrible nation, and they shall fear the God who is faithful and true. He accomplishes what He sets out to do. He proclaimed judgment upon many nations, and He fulfilled those judgments. When He spoke in Isaiah 13 and 14 that He would destroy Babylon, God did destroy Babylon. It remains no more; it is just a desert, a heap of ruins. When God said that He would destroy Moab or Philistia, He made good on those things that He said.

The prophet states, "You have made a city a heap." To the mind of ancient man, to destroy a city is a big deal. In our day, with the kind of weapons technology that we have, there has been a lot of talk recently about nuclear weapons in our own nation and in the world, as people are trying to find a way to diminish their numbers. We recognize that with today's technology, you can obliterate a city very quickly.

However, in ancient times, a city was a stronghold, especially one of the massive cities like Babylon. Yet here, the prophet says, "You have made a city a heap, a defense city, a walled city, a ruin. The palace of strangers shall be a city no more; it shall never be rebuilt." God in the past has revealed His power, His destructive power, in tearing down some of these great cities. I think of the city of Babylon when we consider this. There was a time in history when Babylon was one of the seven wonders of the world.

But now it is just that: history. You can't go and see the wonders of Babylon any longer; they're gone. Of course, Saddam Hussein, when he was president of Iraq, tried to rebuild different portions of Babylon. There are even some today who want to see those things built up. However, the ancient city of Babylon is no more because God spoke that it would be destroyed, and He ultimately fulfilled His word.

What is the result of that? Verse three gives us the answer. When God makes good on His word in a very powerful way, we read, "Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee. The city of the terrible nation shall fear thee." When God reveals His might and His power, even the heathen of this world recognize and fear.

Consider the city of Jericho. Prior to its destruction, when the children of Israel came into the Promised Land, it was a feared city with great walls. However, when they heard the report about the children of Israel and what God had done to the Egyptians and then to the Ammonite kings on the other side of the Jordan River, the hearts of the people in Jericho melted within them. They feared because of the Lord and His power, which was displayed.

There is coming a day, which we believe is yet future, when God will again reveal His power in a very miraculous and mighty way. In Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39, we read a prophecy that many believe has not been fulfilled yet: the prophecy of Gog and Magog and their descent upon the people of Israel. There will be an alliance of nations that come against the children of Israel in the last days, seeking to destroy them. But God will miraculously intervene on behalf of His people, and the armies of Gog and Magog will be destroyed on the mountains of Israel.

The result of that is seen in Ezekiel 38. If you're taking notes, you may want to write this down: Ezekiel 38, verse 23. There, the Lord says, "Thus will I magnify myself and sanctify myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord." What is the result of the judgment that God will bring upon these nations that come against His people? The world will know; many nations will see, and they will know that He is the Lord.

When there are so many people today disregarding the truth and the reality that God is, there will be no way to disregard that when His arm is made bare.

His strong arm is revealed, and when that prophetic vision is fulfilled, the prophet says, "Therefore the strong people will glorify Thee. The city of terrible nations will fear Thee." When they see the power of God demonstrated, although the strong and mighty of this world today shake their fists at God as if He did not exist, when He shows up, they will flee. Revelation chapter 6 says that they will flee to caves and dens, calling for the rocks to fall upon them because they will be fearful when the arm of the Lord is revealed.

Isaiah continues in verse 4, saying, "For Thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat." When the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall, thus shalt Thou bring down the noise of strangers as the heat in a dry place. Even the heat with the shadow of a cloud, the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low. God has been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge. The Psalms reveal many times that God is a refuge, with Psalm 91 perhaps more than any other stating, "God is our refuge and our strength, our ever-present help in time of trouble." He is a stronghold, a place of safety, a shelter, a shadow, a shade as revealed here. When the storm of the enemy comes, the Lord is the place of refuge.

In Matthew chapter 7, at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks to His disciples seated on that mountainside. He says, "Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of Mine and does them, I will liken him unto a wise man who built his house upon the rock." The rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it did not fall because it was founded upon the rock. Now everyone who hears these sayings of Mine and does not do them shall be likened unto a foolish man who built his house upon the sand. The rains descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was its fall.

Here, it is revealed that the Lord has given us a way to be strong, a foundation upon which we shall build. If we build upon that foundation, we will find strength and safety when the storm comes. Just like the storm of the enemy spoken of in Isaiah chapter 25, when the storm of the enemy comes, the Lord is a refuge and a strength.

But if you have built your life upon the sand, you'll be destroyed when the enemy comes. The Lord is the one who brings down the enemy. "Thou shall bring down the noise of the strangers," verse 5 states, "as heat in a dry place, even heat with the shadow of a cloud." The enemy comes like the heat of a summer day, but the Lord causes him to diminish, just like a cloud covering you. He is a sanctuary for His people.

Then, in verse 6, the word shifts, and we read, "And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined." He will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people and the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces. The rebuke of His people shall He take away from off the earth, for the Lord has spoken it.

The prophet back there in verse 1 told us that our God is faithful and true. Here, the Lord has spoken a great prophecy: there is coming a day when the Lord will destroy the covering that is cast over all people, the veil spread over all nations, and He will swallow up death in victory. The work that accomplished that was fulfilled 2,000 years ago on Mount Zion in Jerusalem as Jesus was crucified there on Golgotha. He is the one who has caused the sting of death to be removed.

As Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, "O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?" The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. We are made more than conquerors in Christ, conquerors even over death, because of the work that Jesus fulfilled on the cross 2,000 years ago.

Yet, there is coming a day when He, Jesus, is going to wipe the tears from everyone. Just as we read here in verse 8, He will swallow up death in victory, and the Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces. The book of Revelation speaks about the Lord wiping these tears away. At that great day in Revelation 21,

God shall wipe away, as it says in verse 4, all tears from their eyes. There shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, nor shall there be any pain anymore. The former things will be passed away. Nor will there any longer be those who come against the Lord's people. The rebuke of the Lord's people shall be taken away.

But when is all this going to come to pass? In the context of what we're reading here in Isaiah 24 and 25, it will happen after the great judgment upon the earth, the great and terrible day of the Lord that Isaiah 24 describes. Then the Lord will rule and reign among His people, as stated in Isaiah 24, verse 23. Following this, He will come and have a great feast with His people, as we see in Isaiah chapter 25, verse 6.

When the Lord has this great feast, which we believe is very likely the marriage supper of the Lamb, He will wipe away all the tears of man, and death will be done away with. Let's consider this feast that He speaks of in verse 6. It says there, "The Lord in this mountain, the Lord of hosts, shall make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wine on the leaves, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the leaves well refined."

We are going to have well-refined wines with the Lord on that day. When it speaks of wine on the leaves, it refers to wine upon the dregs, meaning its strength and color have been preserved. The repetition in verse 6, where it speaks of wine twice and fat twice, indicates that there will be plenty of provisions on that day. It will be a great feast, a great party.

This is the same party and feast that Jesus spoke of when He told His disciples in Matthew 26, verse 29, "But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom." How many of you are looking forward to that day when the Lord will prepare this great feast? Very likely, it is the same feast mentioned in Revelation 19. Revelation 19, verse 9 states, "And he said unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb." He saith unto me, "These are the true sayings of God."

God has prepared this feast, and Jesus is looking forward to that day. Matthew chapter 26 reveals this, and we should look forward to it as well. When that day comes, the Lord is going to completely destroy that covering cast over all men, that covering of death and sin. Death will be swallowed up, and God will wipe away every tear.

Continuing on, verse 9 says, "And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God. We have waited for him, and he will save us. This is the Lord, and we have waited for him, and we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation." In that day, when the Lord rules and reigns, when he feasts with us at the marriage supper of the Lamb, when he removes sin and death and wipes away all tears, we will praise the Lord, saying, "This is our God." Just as the prophet had said in verse 1, "O Lord, you are my God." We are all going to rejoice together and say, "This is our God. We have waited for him, and he will save us." We have waited for him, and we have this absolute assurance that he will save us.

Isaiah 40 verse 31 says, "But those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall rise up or mount up on wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint." Those that wait on the Lord find renewed strength; they find great blessing. Here the prophet says, "We've waited for you, and he will save us. We've waited for him, and we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation."

For in this mountain, verse 10 states, "Shall the hand of the Lord rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him even as straws trodden down for the dunghill." He shall spread forth his hand in the midst of them, as he that swims spreads forth his hands to swim. He shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their heads. The fortress of the high fort of their walls shall he bring down, lay low, and bring it down to the ground, even to the dust.

For God's people, those who recognize that the Lord is their God, they will feast with the Lord and rejoice with him. But those who have made themselves enemies of God...

By becoming friends of this world and seeking after only the things of this life, the Lord will judge them. The judgment and the enemies of God are pictured here as Moab, and God is going to tread them down. This is similar to the wording used when speaking of the great and terrible day of the Lord in Isaiah 63, where He will tread the winepress of the wrath of God. God's people will find joy and rejoicing, but the wicked will be trodden down. He will sweep them away, so to speak, because of their pride and haughtiness, as we see in verses 11 and 12.

He continues on in verse 1 of chapter 26: "In that day," again reminding us that the context is the same. "In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah. We have a strong city, and salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates that the righteous nation which keeps the truth may enter in." In that day, not only will we sing a song of praise to the Lord because of the salvation that He has brought, but we will sing this song in the land of Judah. We have a strong city, and God will appoint salvation for walls and for bulwarks.

The strength of a city in ancient times was determined by how tall and thick its walls were. Remember King Belshazzar of Babylon in 539 BC? He thought that his city was stronger than any other city because the walls of Babylon were believed to be impenetrable. Herodotus, the great Greek historian, tells us that the walls of Babylon were 80 feet thick and 300 feet tall. That seems almost unimaginable, but that is what Herodotus reports. Some critics argue that it couldn't have been that big, but Herodotus claims that you could ride four chariots side by side on top of the walls of the city of Babylon. Yet, even that great city was destroyed; it was not as secure as they thought it might have been.

God's people, however, find themselves secure in the city of God. In that day, this song shall be sung: "We have a strong city." Why is it so strong? Not because it has rock walls, but because salvation is its wall—the salvation of the Lord. In Hebrews chapter 11...

We read that great hall of faith, and it says of Abraham and others who were considered men and women of faith in the Old Testament that they sought for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker was God. They didn't look for an earthly city; they looked for that heavenly city. We too are to have our eyes set on that place.

Yes, we live here and now in this nation. We're thankful for the great blessings that the Lord has given us as citizens of the United States, but we must recognize that ultimately our citizenship is in heaven. This is not all there is, and this will fade away. Maybe not in our lifetime, but this great nation, which is thought to be impenetrable, will fade away, just like every other earthly city and every other earthly nation. However, the kingdom of God will stand strong. It is a strong city, and God has appointed salvation for its walls.

Then comes the declaration: "Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps Thy truth may enter in." We just saw these very same words used a few weeks ago on Palm Sunday. We were in Psalm 118, and in Psalm 118, verse 19, the psalmist says, "Open to me the gates of righteousness, and I will go in unto them, and I will praise the Lord." This is the gate of the Lord into which the righteous shall enter.

Jesus was the first to go in through that gate. In fact, in John chapter 10, Jesus reveals that He is the gate. He is the only opening into that sure and steadfast city that has salvation for its walls and for its protection. There is only one way to enter into that safe place, and it's through Jesus Christ.

Charles Spurgeon said, "The Lord Jesus has passed that way not only to set the gate wide open but to secure the entrance for all those who are made righteous in His righteousness." All the righteous must and shall enter therein. Jesus, 2,000 years ago, opened the way into that city of refuge, into that city that has sure walls that are salvation. He is the only way whereby we can come in.

Jesus said in John 14, verse 6, to His disciples, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man comes to the Father but by me." And then this beautiful promise Isaiah gives us in chapter 26, verse 3: "Thou will keep him."

In perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee because he trusts in Thee. Right now, we are not in the city of God. The kingdom of God is not going to come as a physical kingdom here upon the earth until Jesus comes and establishes His kingdom. How then can we have peace and safety in the world in which we live today? Well, Isaiah gives us some great information here: "Thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee because he trusts in Thee."

Five very important things that we see in this verse. Number one: Thou will keep. The Lord is the one who is able to guard us. The Lord is the one who is able to make us secure and steadfast, to preserve us from dangers. He is the one who is able to keep us.

Secondly, He will keep us where? In perfect peace. God is able to guard us with His perfect peace, His peace which surpasses understanding. Now, the words "perfect peace" there in the Hebrew are interesting because it's the word "shalom," shalom, twice. Shalom means peace. If we were to read this passage literally, it would say, "Thou will keep him in peace, peace."

This is interesting because the false prophets during Jeremiah's day, in Jeremiah 6 and Jeremiah 8, falsely encouraged the people of Jerusalem, saying, "Peace, peace, shalom, shalom," even though there was not going to be peace. They kept telling the people of the city of Jerusalem, "Peace, peace, shalom, shalom, don't worry." They were what we might call soothsayers. They brought the people a false sense of security by telling them, "No, no, no, peace, peace." But God told Jeremiah, "Do not tell the people peace, peace because there will be no peace."

The world is always looking to try and bring about peace. In my lifetime, I've seen several different peace accords signed by the Palestinians and the Jews, often times with an American president sitting there trying to negotiate that peace. How many of us have seen an enduring peace in Jerusalem? We will not see peace in Jerusalem until the Prince of Peace rules and reigns.

From there, but here and now, you and I can be kept in a place of perfect peace. Shalom, shalom. Words are repeated in the Hebrew language to add emphasis. And so He will keep us in peace, peace. So Thou will keep him. He keeps us with perfect peace.

But who is the one who is kept with perfect peace? Well, number three, the person whose mind is stayed. The one whose mind is stayed. Those words literally mean that you are framed upon a sure foundation.

On my way to the church from my house, I pass by a construction area. It's been nice to see that they have actually been building some homes out in this area over the last few weeks. They had stopped construction for some time, but now they are putting these houses up. It is amazing to see how quickly they frame the houses. Some of you who are in construction know that once the foundation is set, the framing goes up very quickly.

As they frame the house, it begins to take shape. You start to see what it looks like. I remember when one of the brothers in the fellowship, a number of years ago, was building a house. I visited his piece of land, and he was trying to describe to me what it was going to look like. I couldn't see it in my mind. Then, several weeks later, I came out there, and the foundation was poured. He was showing me what it was going to look like. But when you look at a foundation, it is just this big slab of concrete, and you are trying to figure it out. I couldn't see it.

However, as the framing starts to go up, you begin to see what it looks like. There are some amazing grand houses in this world, huge mansions. But if they don't have a sure foundation, they are nothing. The idea here, when we read "whose mind is stayed," is that your mind is founded. Your mind is the framing of the house, and it is founded upon a good and sure foundation.

What is that good and sure foundation? People can stay their minds; they can build their minds and lives upon many different things. But the fourth thing we see here is that it is on Thee, whose mind is stayed on the Lord. If your mind is stayed, if your mind is built upon any other foundation, it will fall. If your mind is stayed upon your job, you could lose your job. If your mind is stayed upon your savings account, that could be gone very quickly.

If your mind is stayed upon your health, that's not a sure foundation. But he said, "You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee." Paul the Apostle, in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 11, said, "For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." He is the only sure and steadfast foundation.

We are told here that God will keep the person in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Him. Why? Because he trusts in Thee. You see, the key to all of this, to finding peace in the midst of any sort of difficulty, is to have your mind stayed upon the Lord and to be trusting in the Lord. Those last words of verse 3 of Isaiah 26 are really the how of the whole thing. We must trust in the Lord. We must place our faith, our belief, our confidence in Him.

I would say that to the degree that we trust in Him is the same degree that we will enjoy His peace. If we trust wholly and completely in Him, then we can be sure that we will experience the overwhelming peace that He gives. But if our peace is only in Him partially, then we are going to worry. We are going to have concern and anxiety.

In that case, Solomon in Proverbs 3 said, "Trust in the Lord with part of your heart." Right? No, what did he say? "Trust in the Lord with 50% of your heart." Trust in the Lord with the majority of your heart. Right? No, it says, "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart. Lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall make your path straight."

Now, if it is true, what Isaiah says here, that God will keep you, He will hold you, and He will maintain and sustain you in a place of perfect peace as your mind is stayed on Him and as you trust in Him, if that is true, what would be the logical exhortation? If it's really true that He's going to keep you in that place of perfect peace if you trust in Him, then we would logically say exactly what Isaiah says in verse 4: "Trust ye in the Lord forever."

It really is true that He is going to keep us in a place of perfect peace as we trust in Him. Therefore, we exhort one another to trust in the Lord forever. Why should I trust in the Lord forever? For in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.

In our day, people are really big into energy drinks. I always see these commercials for that little orange and black bottle, and they sell them at the cash register at all the different mini-marts around here—Five-Hour Energy. I always wonder how something that small is going to give you five-hour energy. I'd be a little concerned about taking that because you probably have heart palpitations or something. But they boast that you just drink these little two ounces or whatever it is, and you're going to have strength and energy.

Or, you can go get yourself a Monster drink. I don't know if you are what you eat, but I don't know if you want to drink Monster. You can go and get all these different things to give you strength and energy, but they're temporary, aren't they? I don't know about you, but the few times that I've used some of those energy drinks, once they wear off, it's like falling off a cliff. Man's strength will wane; it's always temporary.

I mentioned Isaiah 40:31 to you a few minutes ago about those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. Would you turn to Isaiah 40 for a moment? The verses just prior to that are so great. Isaiah 40:30 says, "Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall."

Tonight, after the service, I dare you to go stand out in the patio area and watch the youth, the young kids in the children's ministry, fly around like hummingbirds for about a half an hour after the service. They just keep going. Sometimes you think, "Man, if I had a tenth of that energy, I could do so much more." But even the youth shall faint; the young men shall grow weary and fall. The strength of man is temporary, but trust ye in the Lord.

In the Lord forever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. Even more power than the Energizer Bunny, and that thing's been going for at least twenty years. For He brings down them that dwell on high. The lofty city He lays low; He lays it low even to the ground. He brings it even to the dust. The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor and the steps of the needy. Again, the lofty, the arrogant, the haughty, the proud are pictured as being destroyed in the strength of the Lord.

Continuing on, Isaiah says in verse seven, "The way of the just is uprightness." Thou most upright, thus is the way, the path of the just. The way of the just is uprightness. Now, who are the justified, or how are the just justified? Well, Habakkuk tells us in Habakkuk chapter 2, verse 4, "The just shall live by faith." Paul the Apostle quotes that verse in Romans and also in Galatians, and then the author of the book of Hebrews quotes Habakkuk chapter 2, verse 4 as well. Those words were the foundation of the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s: "The just shall live by faith."

You and I have been justified by grace through faith. That not of ourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. We have received our justification from the Justifier. Jesus is the one who justifies us. The way, the path of the just—those who have been justified by the Lord—is uprightness. We will walk in uprightness because of the work that God has done in us. Thou most upright, Jesus, He is the most upright. He does weigh the path of the just.

Yea, in the way of Thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for Thee. The desire of our soul is to Thy name and to the remembrance of Thee. With my soul have I desired Thee in the night. Yea,

With my spirit within me, will I seek Thee early. For when Thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. In the way of Thy judgments, O Lord, we've waited for You. We waited for You, desiring You. Early in the morning, we seek You. Just as the psalmist says in Psalm 55, verse 17, "Evening and morning and at noon will I pray and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice." Or David in Psalm 5, "My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning. O Lord, in the morning will I direct my prayer to Thee and will look up."

The Lord desires that we would desire Him, and when we desire Him, we find His strength enduring in our lives. With my soul, I desire You in the night; with my spirit within me, I seek You early. For when Your judgments are upon the earth, the earth will learn righteousness. Let favor be shown to the wicked, verse 10, yet he will not learn righteousness. Those who desire the Lord, those who seek Him early, those whose soul seeks after God, all they need is for the Lord to tell them, "This is what I want of you," and we seek; we learn righteousness from Him. But the wicked are not so. He says, "Let grace or favor be shown to the wicked, and he will not learn righteousness."

This verse somewhat reminds us of the way that modern man has sought to raise children. Some believe that you show them love and reward them favorably, never chastening them, never disciplining them, because that would be unloving. Just show them grace; continually give them grace. And if you do, then they will walk in the right way. This verse seems to go against that. Let grace be shown to the wicked; they will not learn righteousness.

We learn the righteousness of the Lord through the judgments of the Lord. We learn how to walk in the way that He desires us to walk by learning His judgments. That's why the Lord told Joshua and the children of Israel to meditate upon the law of God day and night, that you may be prosperous in the way that you go. We learn the righteous way from the judgments of God.

Grace is shown to a wicked heart, continually shown to the wicked heart. However, he is not going to learn righteousness through that. Now, I must say that, yes, we are saved by grace. We are justified by grace through faith, and that is not of ourselves. But once we have been justified, we ought to learn the judgments of the Lord and seek to walk in righteousness.

Will we always fully walk in righteousness? Is there anyone here tonight who is fully walking in righteousness 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year? I wouldn't even feign to raise my hand for fear that the ground might open up and swallow me. But you see, when we become believers, God gives us a new heart—a new heart that desires to obey Him, a desire to walk in uprightness, a desire that we didn't have before. Isn't it interesting? How many of you have experienced that? After you prayed the prayer to receive Christ and asked the Lord to come into your heart to be the Lord of your life, maybe on Monday you were a wicked wretch and cursed like a sailor. You went to church on a Wednesday night, received the Lord, and then on Thursday morning, you woke up and out came all these F-bombs. You thought, "Man, I shouldn't say that." You wondered, where did that new desire come from? No one told you, "Hey, you shouldn't talk like that." But the Holy Spirit did. You have a new desire to walk in righteousness.

If grace is continually shown to the wicked, he will not learn righteousness. In the land of righteousness, he will deal unjustly. Even if he lived in a perfect land, he would still be one who does unjustly and wickedly. This totally goes against the mindset of modern man. The mind of modern man says that man is inherently good. Every single one of us in this room tonight who has children knows that this is not the case.

As cute as it is, my son has learned to shake his head and say no. I have to admit it's kind of cute, but it's still not a good thing. We have stairs in our house, and he climbs up the stairs. I say, "Ethan, get down from the stairs." Really? Then you see the wickedness in the heart of a child come out. If he were six feet tall and 200 pounds, I would be really afraid because there is such terrible wickedness bound up in the heart of a child.

In the land of brightness, it is stated that you will deal unjustly. This goes against modern man's perspective, as many believe that the wickedness and evil in the world today arise from societal ills. They argue that the reason for evil and wickedness is poverty and the lack of good education. If we could eliminate poverty and achieve better equality and social justice, they believe we would live in a beautiful utopia. However, this verse contradicts that notion. It asserts that even in a perfect world, the wicked would still deal unjustly. Why? Because the heart of man is desperately wicked. Left to his own wicked desires, he will not behold the majesty of the Lord and will completely turn away from God.

Isaiah continues in verse 11, stating, "Lord, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see; but they shall see and be ashamed for their envy at the people. Yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them." The wicked, even when extended grace, will not learn righteousness. They will continue to walk in wickedness and reject the majesty of the Lord. Even if the Lord's hand is lifted up, they will still disregard it. This is reminiscent of the children of Israel during the time of Jesus. They demanded, "Show us a sign, and we will believe." Despite witnessing many mighty miracles, they did not believe. The hand of the Lord was revealed beautifully to them, yet they would not see.

There is coming a day when man, despite rebelling against God and shunning Him, will see and be ashamed. When they see, they will witness Him coming with judgment. In verse 12, it is written, "Lord, you will ordain peace for us. For thou also hast wrought all our works in us." O Lord, our God, other lords beside Thee have had dominion over us, but by Thee only will we make mention of Your name. Although Israel had experienced turmoil at the hands of others, they ultimately recognized the sovereignty of the Lord.

Masters, when we read there in verse 13, "O Lord, other lords beside you have had dominion over us." We've had other severe taskmasters over us, but Lord, you're going to ordain peace for us. You have wrought all our works in us. God is the one who works in us to will and to do His good pleasure.

Man is wicked. Isaiah 64, verse 6 tells us that even man's good works are sin. Why? Because good works done from an evil heart are still done with wrong motives. God has prepared good works for us that we would walk in them. As His new creation, He has prepared a path of good works for every single one of us. Ephesians chapter 2 says in verse 8, "For by grace are you saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast." Then verse 10 says, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God ordained beforehand that we should walk in them."

God created good works for you and me. Here the prophet recognizes, "You have wrought all our works for us." God is working in us to will and to do His good pleasure. All these wicked taskmasters came upon the children of Israel because of their sin. Other lords besides Thee have had dominion over us, but we make mention of Your name.

In verse 14, the prophet states, "They are dead and they shall not live. They are deceased; they shall not rise. Therefore, hast Thou visited and destroyed them and made all their memory to perish." You have increased the nation, O Lord. You have increased the nation. You are glorified. You have removed it far unto all the ends of the earth.

Here the prophet sees the taskmasters, the wicked evil taskmasters over the children of Israel. They are gone; they have been destroyed. The hand of the Lord has destroyed them. God now gives grace again to His people and increases them once again. He removes their borders or extends their borders at the end of verse 15. Ultimately, God does all of this for His glorification. God works in us to will and to do His good pleasure for His glorification.

The prophet continues in verse 16, "Lord, in trouble have..."

They visited Thee. They poured out a prayer when Thy chastening was upon them. Like a woman with child who draws near to the time of her delivery, she is in pain and cries out in her pains. So have we been in Thy sight, O Lord. We have been with child, and we have been in pain. As it were, we have brought forth wind. We have not wrought any deliverance in the earth, neither have we, or neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.

In verses 16 through 18, we see Israel's song of repentance. God's answer will come next in verse 19. Here, they are repenting. They are saying, "Lord, we only called out to You when we were in pain. We only cried out to You when Your chastening was upon us. We only turned to You when things got difficult." Could we not, in our own nation tonight, even sing this song of repentance to the Lord? Oftentimes, we only turn to the Lord as a people, as a nation, when things are difficult.

Their difficulty came like a woman giving birth, yet here they are seen as giving birth to nothing—just wind. But God says to His people, as they repent in verses 16 through 18, and in verse 19, "Thy dead men shall live; together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, you that dwell in the dust, for thy dew is as the dew of the herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead." They only turn to God in their distress; they only turn to God when His chastening is upon them, and so they have brought forth nothing. But God says, "I will raise you up. Thy dead men shall live together with my dead body; they shall arise."

Just as we saw in Isaiah 25:8, He shall swallow up death in victory. As Jesus told Martha when He entered into the city of Bethany in John chapter 11, she came running out to Him because her brother Lazarus had died. She said, "If You'd only been here, my brother would not have died." Jesus said to her, "Your brother shall rise again." Martha replied, "Well, I know he's going to rise again at the resurrection on the last day." But Jesus said unto her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He that believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever lives and believes in Me shall never die." Then He asks her that all-important question: "Do you believe this?"

The prophet Ezekiel is...

In Ezekiel chapter 37, God asks a profound question. How many of you have heard of the valley of dry bones before? Ezekiel sees a vision of a valley filled with dry bones. God says to him, "Son of man, can these bones live?" Ezekiel responds, "Lord, you know," almost as if he is saying, "I don't know, but Lord, you know."

Then God begins to breathe upon the bones, and as He does, these dead bones come together. We believe that this is a prophecy of the nation of Israel becoming a nation once again in the last days, which has indeed happened in our time. This also reveals the truth that the Lord is the one who can cause the dead and dry bones to live once again.

God then says, "Come, my people, enter into the chambers and shut thy doors about thee; hide thyself as it were for a little moment until the indignation is overpassed. For behold, the Lord comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth also shall disclose her blood and shall no more cover her slain."

In verse 20, God calls to His people, urging them to enter into a refuge place. He instructs them to come into the chambers and close the doors while His indignation is poured out. Here, we have a prophetic word that God will protect His people when judgment is executed.

There are a few different interpretations of this passage. Some believe that God is speaking to the remnant of Israel during the Great Tribulation, promising to hide them as He pours out His judgment. Others interpret it as God speaking to all the remnant in Christ, assuring them that they will be caught up during the time when God's indignation and wrath are poured out.

We see in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verse 9, that God has not appointed His people to wrath. He will enclose and cover them so that they do not experience His wrath. This is reminiscent of what God did in Exodus. Remember when the children of Israel were in Egypt? God brought the ten plagues upon Egypt, but the children of Israel did not suffer the same fate. They did not have frogs, while the Egyptians did. They had light when the Egyptians were in darkness. The hailstones that fell and destroyed the sustenance of Egypt did not harm them.

which was among the children of Israel. God protected His people. We see another word about this in the prophet, in the book of Zephaniah. The prophet Zephaniah speaks about the great and terrible day of the Lord. In Zephaniah chapter 2, verse 3, he says, "Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought His judgment. Seek righteousness, seek meekness. It may be that you shall be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger."

The Lord is going to come, and He is going to come to punish the inhabitants of the earth. We see there in verse 21 why He will punish the inhabitants of the earth: because of their iniquity. The earth will disclose her blood. Remember in Genesis chapter 4 when Cain killed his brother Abel? God came to Cain and said, "The blood of your brother cries out to me from the earth." Now imagine if the blood of one slain man cried out from the ground of the earth. What must it sound like if the blood of billions upon billions upon billions has been slain upon the earth as it rises to God? The earth shall disclose her blood and shall no more cover her slain, and God will bring His judgment.

In that day, chapter 27, verse 1 states, "The Lord with His sore and great and strong sword shall punish Leviathan, the piercing serpent, even Leviathan, that crooked serpent, and He shall slay the dragon that is in the sea." There is much discussion about Leviathan if you ever look into what commentators have to say about it. Leviathan is only seen a few times in the Scriptures: once here in Isaiah, then in Job, and also in the Psalms. Some people believe that Leviathan, this great sea serpent that seems to be spoken of here, is some sort of dinosaur-type creature.

Whatever the case, it seems to have been some sort of myth among the people of Israel during that time, something that they all understood and knew. They considered this Leviathan to be a crooked serpent, and no one could catch Leviathan with a hook. It seems to be a picture of that great and wicked beast that comes up out of the sea in Revelation chapter 13, the same beast that God is going to destroy.

Pictured when it says, "In that day, the Lord's going to punish Leviathan, that piercing serpent. He shall slay the dragon that is in the sea." God is going to do away with this wicked Leviathan, which is very likely a reference to Lucifer, to Satan, and the beast.

In that day, singing unto her a vineyard of red wine, the Lord says, "I do keep it. I'll water it at every moment, lest any hurt it, and I will keep it night and day. Fury is not in me. Who would set the briars and the thorns against me in battle? I would go through them. I would burn them together."

In Isaiah chapter 5, God sang the song of His vineyard. You may remember He talked about His vineyard, that He dug a well for it, built a hedge around it, and put a tower in the middle of it. He got the best vines that He could find, and yet they brought forth sour grapes. God said, "Well, here's what I'm going to do with my vineyard. I'm going to remove the wall. I'm going to remove the tower. I'm going to let the enemy come in and destroy it. I'm not going to allow the rain to fall upon it. It's going to wither. It's going to die. Thorns and briars will come up in the midst of it."

Then He says, "The vineyard is the house of Israel." Once again, now He sings a song of the vineyard here, but now it says, "The Lord will keep it and water it every moment, lest any hurt it. I will keep it night and day." There’s a change that has taken place, a restoration of God's people. Fury and wrath are not in me, God says. "I will no longer pour out wrath and fury upon them. Any that would come against them, I will destroy."

Or let him, verse five, take hold of my strength that he may make peace with me, and he shall make peace with me. He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root. Israel shall blossom and bud and fill the face of the world with fruit. They that take hold of the Lord's strength, they that lay hold of the Lord, putting their faith and confidence in Him, shall find peace, and they shall take root.

An interesting verse there in verse six states that He is going to cause them that come of Jacob to take root. Israel shall blossom and bud and fill the face of the earth with fruit. It is very possible that that verse is being fulfilled even in our days, that prophetic word, that God would cause the people of Jacob, the children of Israel, to come.

Back into the land, God will cause them to take root and become a fruitful land once again. Israel became a nation once again after nearly 2,000 years in exile on May 14th, 1948. In just a little over 60 years since that date, the nation of Israel has become plentiful and fruitful once again. A land that was once an unfruitful desert has turned into one of the breadbaskets of the world.

If you go to Europe today and buy bananas, they will say "Product of Israel" on them. You can find just about any fruit that I used to buy when I lived in Germany: oranges from Israel, pineapples from Israel, bananas from Israel, watermelons from Israel, strawberries from Israel, and beautiful roses from Israel. God has made them blossom and bud once again, filling the face of the world with fruit.

Has God smitten the children of Israel as He smote those that smote Him? God says, "Have I stricken the children of Israel in the same way that I struck the people of Babylon?" No. God completely destroyed the Babylonians, but He only exiled the children of Israel. So, has God smitten Israel in the same way that He smote those who smote Israel? Or has He slain according to the slaughter of those who had slain by Him? No.

In measure, when it shoots forth, Thou will debate with it. He stays His rough wind in the day of the east wind. God punished the children of Israel only for a little while. He exiled them from their land in a way like He had blown them with a strong wind out of the land, but He would bring them back.

By this, therefore, shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged. What was the purpose of the children of Israel going into exile in Babylon? That their iniquity would be purged. Remember, God's punishment is for the purpose of purification. This is all the fruit to take away His sin. When He makes all the stones of the altar as chalk stones that are beaten asunder, the groves and the images shall not stand up. God is going to destroy the high places in Israel. He says that all the altars they had built to other gods will be ground up like chalk stones.

The people would worship the false god Asherah and Baal on the high mountaintops, building altars for their worship. They would also worship Asherah in groves, in little gardens of trees. God declared that the groves and images would not stand. He said, "I am going to purge from Jacob their idolatry."

Yet, the defense city, as mentioned in verse 10, would be desolate, the inhabitants forsaken, and left like a wilderness. There, a calf would feed, lie down, and consume branches. When the branches withered, they would be broken off, and the women would come and set them on fire. God described the people as a people of no understanding. Therefore, He who made them would not have mercy on them, and He who formed them would show them no favor or grace.

God stated that He would cause the walled cities in Judah and Jerusalem to be desolate. Their land would be forsaken, reduced to a place just for grazing. Cows would come in and eat everything off the branches until they were withered. Then, the women would break the branches and burn them. The land would be consumed and burned up because the children of Israel had no knowledge of the Lord; they had departed from Him to worship false gods.

This situation echoes what we see in Isaiah chapter 1, verse 3, where God said, "The ox knows his owner, and the donkey his master's crib, but Israel does not know. My people do not consider it." Consequently, God announced that He would judge them and exile them to the land of Babylon to remove their idolatry, destroy their high places, and wither their groves.

It shall come to pass, as stated in verse 12, that the Lord would gather the children of Israel one by one, from the channel of the river to the stream of Egypt. On that day, a great trumpet would be blown, and those who were ready to perish out of the land of Assyria would come. The outcasts from the land of Egypt would worship the Lord on the holy mountain of Jerusalem.

God promised that when He finished this judgment, He would call His people back to the land. One by one, He would bring them back, blowing the trumpet until they returned to the mountain of Jerusalem to worship the Lord once again. Thus, God would judge His people, but He would not destroy them as He had destroyed those who spoiled them. His punishment would be purely for the purpose of purification, ultimately to bring them back again. God first judged them through the Babylonians, and then they came back.

Back to the land, 70 years later, they were restored for several hundred years until the Messiah came to them, and then they rejected the Messiah. Once again, they were scattered from the land in 70 AD during the diaspora, the dispersion of the children of Israel. Now, God has brought them back to the land once again, and they have become fruitful again. Why? Because the Messiah is going to come a second time to establish His great kingdom. When He does, He will hold a great feast, and we will be there to worship Him at that time. So we say, "Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen."

Let's stand and pray. Father, I thank You for Your word. I pray that You would help us to consider these things. Your counsels of old are faithfulness and true. You make good on Your word. You told Your people that You were going to punish them unless they turned to You, and they refused to turn to You. So, You punished them with the Assyrians. But before You punished them, You told them that You were going to do it, and You told them who was going to do it. You made good on Your word.

After they would not return to You, You said, "Well, I'm going to punish you again at the hand of the Babylonians." You called them to repentance, but they wouldn't repent; they turned from You. So, You punished them, Lord. But You told them before You did that You would bring them back to the land, that You would establish them once again. You told them hundreds of years before You came, Jesus, that You would come. Yet they rejected You when You came, and so they were again dispersed and punished.

But God, You are gracious. You have called them back to the land once again, and You are going to appear to them once again. You are going to come to call them back to Yourself. Lord, we thank You that You repeatedly come to us as well. I know that many of them in this room, for many years, wandered. They departed from You and sought after other things to satisfy. You allowed them to be chastened; You allowed them to be down and out. You called them to Yourself, and maybe they did not return, but they kept going headlong against You.

Yet, Lord, You have repeatedly come because You are patient and long-suffering. We thank You that You are merciful. We thank You for Your grace that You have given to us, Lord. As we have been those who have received such great grace, would You stir in our hearts?

And overwhelming sense of gratitude, Lord, we would take Your grace to those who are in need. Help us to be bright, shining lights in this dark world. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you.