Let's Praise the Lord!

Isaiah 25:1,7-9; 26:3-4, 8-9: "O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago . . . . (you) will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; (you) will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken . . . . You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal . . . . 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."



The prophet Isaiah lived in a transitory period in the life of the Jewish people. When God first called Isaiah to his ministry, the land of Judah had been experiencing prosperity under the rule of King Uzziah. But with the steady decline of the moral/spiritual condition of the people, God introduced political and economic turmoil eventually culminating in the utter destruction of the land by the Assyrians and Babylonians.



Despite in the decline of the nation of Judah, Isaiah was able to keep a proper focus on God, knowing that the Sovereign Lord had planned salvation for His people even before the beginning of time. Even though the righteous would have to endure the painful trials of this life, a day will come when the Lord will return to destroy sin, pain, and death once and for all. He then will wipe away the tears of the redeemed and usher them into His glorious presence forever. Hindsight will be perfectly clear as those saved by the grace of God will be able to see that their faith in their Lord was not in vain, for the Lord will fulfill His promise by rescuing them from their perilous condition in a world filled with wickedness and calamity.



Therefore, as the world of Isaiah's day seemed to be spiraling out of control, the prophet by faith assured the people that God would "make the way of the righteous smooth." Therefore, Isaiah (and the righteous with him) were able to follow the Lord in faithful obedience, waiting for the day of their salvation. They feasted on the intimate fellowship that they had with the Lord as they set aside time throughout the day to commune with the Almighty. Their souls yearned for the fellowship because they knew that only God could be the Rock that could bring comfort and peace in an otherwise turbulent time.

We today need to hear this timeless message. Our souls need to yearn for the Almighty throughout each day, and we need to commit focused time with the Lord in order that we might cultivate our love relationship with Him. And as the Lord keeps us steadfast in our faith, He will give us perfect peace in this life and a hope of the blessedness that is to come in eternity.