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Isaiah 26

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Verses 1-19, “In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: 'We have a strong city; God will appoint salvation for walls and bulwarks. Open the gates, That the righteous nation which keeps the truth may enter in. You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, For in YAH, the Lord, is everlasting strength. For He brings down those who dwell on high, The lofty city; He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He brings it down to the dust. The foot shall tread it down— The feet of the poor And the steps of the needy.' The way of the just is uprightness; O Most Upright, You weigh the path of the just. Yes, in the way of Your judgments, O Lord, we have waited for You; The desire of our soul is for Your name And for the remembrance of You. With my soul I have desired You in the night, Yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early; For when Your judgments are in the earth, The inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. Let grace be shown to the wicked, Yet he will not learn righteousness; In the land of uprightness he will deal unjustly, And will not behold the majesty of the Lord. Lord, when Your hand is lifted up, they will not see. But they will see and be ashamed For their envy of people; Yes, the fire of Your enemies shall devour them. Lord, You will establish peace for us, For You have also done all our works in us. O Lord our God, masters besides You Have had dominion over us; But by You only we make mention of Your name. They are dead, they will not live; They are deceased, they will not rise. Therefore You have punished 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 expanded all the borders of the land. Lord, in trouble they have visited You, They poured out a prayer when Your chastening was upon them. As a woman with child Is in pain and cries out in her pangs, When she draws near the time of her delivery, So have we been in Your sight, O Lord. We have been with child, we have been in pain; We have, as it were, brought forth wind; We have not accomplished any deliverance in the earth, Nor have the inhabitants of the world fallen. Your dead shall live; Together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust; For your dew is like the dew of herbs, And the earth shall cast out the dead.”

The Lord IS truth, and in truth there is strength. Those living in truth do not need to hide or be ashamed, but have boldness in the truth. Even if people do not acknowledge or receive the truth, they cannot suppress it...the truth will always come to light. The truth will also set you free.  John 8:31‭-‬32, “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, 'If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.' ”  The Messiah will have the ultimate victory, and the truth will prevail, regardless of what the current situation may look like. So choose your side wisely. Salvation is only for those that keep the truth, and those that do, have a promise to be kept in perfect peace.

Those who reject the truth, however, and cling to their unrighteousness, will be held in derision...a permanent place of scorn.  Psalms 2:1‭-‬9, “Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure: “Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.” “I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ ”

Although the wicked are shown grace, they refuse to learn righteousness, and will eventually be destroyed. Even though Jesus died for all, grace will only save those who are properly trained by it and yield the fruit of righteousness.  Titus 2:11‭-‬14, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”  We need to be humble enough to acknowledge that we fall short and have served other masters or idols, other than Him. Only when we confess our sins, can we be shown grace and be forgiven.

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