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. Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter, the nation that keeps faith.
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal. The path of the righteous is level; you, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth. Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. 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. 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. 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.
Lord, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us. Lord, they came to you in their distress; when you disciplined them, they could barely whisper a prayer. As a pregnant woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, so were we in your presence, Lord. 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. 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.
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Wow! I've read Isaiah all the way through a few times before, but today I feel like I'm reading it for the first time. Isaiah continues his oracle concerning the establishment of God's ultimate reign. God will subdue all His foes, the unfaithful and the rebellious. All the people will turn to the Lord in the aftermath of the cosmological shakedown.
Chapter 26 of Isaiah moves to a spirit of worship. He celebrates the city of Jerusalem where God's name dwells. Its security is in the salvation of God. Let the nation that keeps the faith walk in through its gates. Perfect peace is given to those who trust the Lord and keep steadfastly God's covenant law. They know that God's way is the righteous path and it leads to life. In Him is security like a rock that cannot be moved. The righteous yearn for God in their hearts.
Isaiah admits his deep longing for God and His righteous reign on earth. When God disciplines the nations, the righteous learn to become even more like God, but the wicked are like dumb animals. They never learn. When God shows them mercy and grace they remain in their selfish and evil lifestyle. Even when surrounded by God-fearing examples, they are not turned from their destructive path.
Isaiah calls for the day of the Lord that He might once for all vindicate the righteous and abolish wickedness. He acknowledges that Israel fails at its mission. Their effort to bless the world with the knowledge of God has failed. Their labor gave birth to wind. They fell into unfaithfulness. Even when they were at their best, the wicked within them remained in their sinful blindness. So now the Lord, the Lord alone will awaken the world to His righteousness and glory. When the world suffers the day of God's wrath the doubters will have no place to hide.The academics will have no logical arguments. No righteous man will be able to stand in the presence of the Holy One of Israel by his own moral behavior. Salvation comes as an act of God and by no other means. Salvation is given as a gift to those who long for it. No one can earn it or purchase it.
Isaiah proclaims that Israel's effort to be the righteous light of blessed holy community to the world had not brought sinful gentiles and unfaithful Jews out of their deadly path. Israel's example did not bring the world to repentance, to faithfulness and life. In comparison Isaiah records these amazing words, which when taken literally, is a prophecy about the resurrection into eternal life in Christ.
Isaiah 26:19 NIV
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.
Isaiah simply means that the efforts of the Lord will bring the knowledge of God. His dealings with Israel through exile and restoration will turn the world to the truth and the world will live according to God's righteousness and have life. Metaphorically speaking we're all dead in our trespasses, but when we repent, atone for our sins, and keep the right ways of the Lord, we will know life and blessing. But for the Christian we know that God's work in Christ is the salvation that is saving the world. It is through Christ and faith in Him that we will enjoy resurrection from the dead, not just figuratively, but in every aspect of our being.
Wow! As the eunuch said to Philip,
Acts 8:36 NIV
"What can stand in the way of my being baptized?”
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