Isaiah 26:10-15

I come, once again, to verse 15, trying to understand it but unable to. Perhaps the key to this verse is the short little phrase in the middle: "you are glorified." I want to ask the question of why God did this wonderful thing, and partly because I want him to do the same thing for me. But that phrase may be the answer, or at least part of it: he did it so that he would be glorified.

I Chronicles 4:10 is a prayer made in boldness. A man who walked close with God, asked in boldness for some very big things. And God answered his prayer. But what does that verse teach us? A couple things it teaches me is one, to come boldly to the throne of grace (Hebrews4:16) in faith, believing what I ask for will be granted (Mark 11:24). And a second thing it teaches me is that when God does answer my prayers it is partly because he loves me and desires to see my joy, but mainly it is so that he can be glorified.

Speaking of God's glory, let me leave you with a hymn written by Fanny Crosby:

To God be the glory, great things He hath done,
So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,
Who yielded His life an atonement for sin,
And opened the life gate that all may go in.

Oh, perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
To every believer the promise of God;
The vilest offender who truely believes,
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.

Great things He hath taught us, great things He hath done,
And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son;
But purer, and higher, and greater will be
Our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice!
Oh, come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,
And give Him the glory, great things He hath done.

Isaiah 26:7-10

As I read through Isaiah, I find myself forced to go slow. My natural tendency is to rush things, to speed up the longer it takes to accomplish something. Here in Isaiah 26, it is no different. I want to finish this chapter in two, maybe three blogs. I want to blog on verses 7-15. But there is content here that practically forces me to break it up into two sections. It is a rich passage. The verse that is ultimately forcing me to slow down is verse 15. I find it troubling primarily, because I am not quite sure what is means, yet I feel it means something big. But I will save it for next time. Instead I will focus on verses 7-10.

I could very easily comment on each of the verses here, and I am half tempted to revert back to my literary analysis days of college. I will refrain, however. There is so much here. My hope and prayer is that you read and meditate on this passage, allowing God to reveal to you what he wants you to learn. But for the sake of this blog, let us focus on verse 8:

"In the path of your judgments, O LORD, we wait for you; your name and
remembrance are the desire of our soul" (ESV).

With all the pain and evil, the death and destruction, in the world, how often to we lose sight of eternity? How often to we wait for God, especially in the path of his judgments? What does it mean to wait in the path of his judgments? The important lesson I see here, though, is simply to wait, for him, for his deliverance, salvation, what have you, no matter where we find ourselves, be it in his peaceful and loving arms or the path of his judgments or the road of trials and tribulations. The important thing is to wait.

And let us not forget part 2 of the verse: "your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul." No matter what happens in our lives, let us remember him and his works (Psalm 66:5). Let him and all he's done for us be the number on desire of our hearts, our lives. Let everything about him consume us. For "as the deer pants for flowing streams, so my soul pants for you, O God" Psalm 42:1, ESV).

Isaiah 26:1-6

"In that day..."(v.1). Based on the previous chapter, this "day" occurs in heaven, in eternity. And so we get look at a song we will sing to God. (Now may be good time to start learning it). But what I wish to point out this morning is verse 4--"Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock" (ESV). All the verses in the passage, as well as this entire passage, and perhaps even all of scripture, point to the message of this verse.

The last thing my grandfather ever said to me before he went home, was that no matter what happens in life, remember to trust in the Lord. And as I continue my journey through life, I continually learn more and more the meaning and depth of this verse and my grandfather's advice.

So whether your facing difficulties and hardships or God's abundant grace and blessings (and especially the latter), don't forget to "trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock."

Isaiah 25:6-12

As I read this passage, I was struck by the beauty and the hope of this scene. A description of heaven and our reaction to it. Everyone once in awhile, with, perhaps, the exception of Revelation, God provides us a glimpse of our true home. Hebrews 11:10, 13-16, tells of people of God who were promised a country of their own, but knew that this country was a heavenly one. All Christians in history who have died, have died in faith, knowing that there is a place for them and one day we will see it.

But God, in all his wisdom, has periodically given us tiny glimpses of the country. It is done, I believe, so we do not forget that which we live for. Christ came to earth and constantly preached about the Kingdom. Prophets have prophesied about it; people have had visions about heaven. To forget about heaven and eternity is to forget an important reason why we're here. It is to lose hope. But God, knowing that without reminders we forget, lose our way, lose hope, get discouraged, periodically reminds us of what is to come.

One of the most incredible verses in the passage for me is verse 7. For as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:12 "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known" (ESV).