Isaiah chapter 26
Redeemed people sing thanks.
REDEEMED PEOPLE SING THANKS
VERSE 1. In that day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city. God appoints salvation for walls and bulwarks.
In that day. That phrase is found in many Scripture passages.
We have a strong city. Their city is strong. They have been fully restored, confirmed, strengthened and established!
1 Peter 5:10. But may the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
VERSE 2. Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter: the one which keeps faith.
VERSE 3. You will keep whoever’s mind is steadfast in perfect peace, because he trusts in you.
KJV translation. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
This verse is fantastic! Would you consider memorizing it? More great verses to memorize from the Book of Isaiah and from the entire Bible.
keep him in perfect peace. Our faith needs to be a childlike trust, a confidence in God and his promises.
- His promises are “Yes” and “Amen.”
- His promises are not “No” or “Maybe.”
he trusteth in thee. When our commitment to God is firm, then our life can be at peace.
VERSE 4. Trust in the LORD forever; for in the LORD, the LORD, is an everlasting Rock.
Trust in the LORD forever. For us believers, this is our passion.
an everlasting Rock. In the desert, a rock gave God’s people life-saving water. Later, the rock was a symbol for the LORD God. In the New Testament, the rock is the Lord Jesus. Read more »
VERSE 5. For he has brought down those who dwell on high, the lofty city. He lays it low. He lays it low even to the ground. He brings it even to the dust.
VERSE 6. The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor and the steps of the needy.”
VERSE 7. The way of the just is uprightness. You who are upright make the path of the righteous level.
NLT translation. But for those who are righteous, the way is not steep and rough. You are a God who does what is right, and you smooth out the path ahead of them.
the way is not steep and rough:
Matthew 11:28-30. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (NIV 1984)
you smooth out the path ahead of them. That is what John the Baptist did for Jesus Christ. He made level the path.
VERSE 8. Yes, in the way of your judgments, the LORD, we have waited for you. Your name and your renown are the desire of our soul.
the desire of our soul. As seekers of the LORD God, our goal is to glorify God. Our heart’s desire is to glorify God’s name.
What is your deepest desire? What do you dream of? What occupies your idle thoughts? What’s the first thing you think or feel when you wake up in the morning?
How can you shift your desires to be more firmly rooted in the LORD God?
VERSE 9. With my soul I have desired you in the night. Yes, with my spirit within me I will seek you earnestly; for when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
MSG translation. Through the night my soul longs for you. Deep from within me my spirit reaches out to you.
Through the night. Walking with God is a passion that consumes a lot of time. Its the only “healthy” obsession.
my soul longs for you. This is the Prayer of Desire. We lay still and long for God in the night. There are no words to say. There is no imagery to meditate on.
VERSE 10. Let favor be shown to the wicked, yet he will not learn righteousness. In the land of uprightness he will deal wrongfully, and will not see the LORD’s majesty.
VERSE 11. The LORD, your hand is lifted up, yet they don’t see; but they will see your zeal for the people, and be disappointed. Yes, fire will consume your adversaries.
your zeal for the people. The LORD God is zealous for his people.
VERSE 12. The LORD, you will ordain peace for us, for you have also done all our work for us.
NAB translation. O LORD, you mete out peace to us, for it is you who have accomplished all we have done.
you mete out peace to us. That is, “You make us secure.”
Some people feel very insecure. For them, their only real security is found in the LORD God.
it is you who have accomplished all we have done. We are God’s modern-day temple. Our ability to earn a living is itself a gift from the LORD God. Ultimately it is he who has accomplished all we have done. Read more »
VERSE 13. The LORD our God, other lords besides you have had dominion over us, but we will only acknowledge your name.
BBE translation. O Lord, our God, other lords than you have had rule over us; but in you only is our salvation, and no other name will we take on our lips.
other lords than you. Sometimes the LORD God’s people end up being ruled by the wrong people.
But one day, their freedom will arrive.
VERSE 14. The dead shall not live. The departed spirits shall not rise. Therefore you have visited and destroyed them, and caused all memory of them to perish.
VERSE 15. You have increased the nation, O LORD. You have increased the nation! You are glorified! You have enlarged all the borders of the land.
BBE translation. You have made the nation great, O Lord, you have made it great; glory is yours: you have made wide the limits of the land.
You have made the nation great. They have been fully restored, confirmed, strengthened and established!
1 Peter 5:10. But may the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
the land of his people grew in size. He granted them increase, and they enjoyed heightened prosperity.
VERSE 16. LORD, in trouble they have visited you. They poured out a prayer when your chastening was on them.
VERSE 17. Just as a woman with child, who draws near the time of her delivery, is in pain and cries out in her pangs, so we have been before you, LORD.
VERSE 18. We have been with child. We have been in pain. We gave birth, it seems, only to wind. We have not worked any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
BBE translation. We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have given birth to wind; no salvation has come to the earth through us, and no children have come into the world.
no salvation has come to the earth through us. Isaiah laments that he did not evangelize the Gentiles.
In our day, let’s live in such a way that we will never regret not having evangelized other people.
1 Peter 3:15. But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. Always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, with humility and fear,
VERSE 19. Your dead shall live. My dead bodies shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust; for your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth will cast out the departed spirits.
NLT translation. But those who die in the LORD will live; their bodies will rise again! Those who sleep in the earth will rise up and sing for joy! For your life-giving light will fall like dew on your people in the place of the dead!
Your dead shall live. The New Testament describes heaven and eternal life. But what does the Old Testament say about life after death? Read more »
VERSE 20. Come, my people, enter into your rooms, and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourself for a little moment, until the indignation is past.
NLT translation. Go home, my people, and lock your doors! Hide yourselves for a little while until the LORD’s anger has passed.
lock your doors! Hide yourselves. The Lord Jesus Christ forbids his followers from praying in front of people. Read more »
VERSE 21. For, behold, the LORD comes out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth also will disclose her blood, and will no longer cover her slain.
ISAIAH
CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66
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Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations on this page are from the World English Bible and the World Messianic Edition. These translations have no copyright restrictions. They are in the Public Domain.