Isaiah's Hymn of Praise

Isaiah 26 is beautiful. It is the song to be sung in Judah "in that day".

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 Jehovah, the Lord, is everlasting strength.

God's salvation is the wall around us. He is our strength.

It's so tempting to find our strength in something else. The financial advisor Suze Orman has a lot of confidence in people who listen to her. John Galt (of Altas Shrugged) would also claim money and the freedom and ability to make it as the strength of man. In our extreme consumerism, we have all lived as those who serve mammon, and are thus enslaved by it. Moreover, we have lived as if our nation itself is our strength.

But salvation is the strength, the walls and bulwarks, of those who serve our God.

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.

What do I really desire? I can't claim my desires are totally pure. But the thing that comes back to me every night, as I lie down, and when I rise up, is the desire to truly be with my Lord, to hear His voice saying, "Well done, my good and faithful servant." I want to know that my life is a blessing to others, to encourage them in the faith. And I want my family to know this joy and hope, and be There with me. I want to learn righteousness, what it really means, inwardly and purely, and ultimately, by obedience that comes from love for God and for those He loves.

The song goes on to describe the resurrection. This may be the most profound mention of resurrection in the Old Testament. It is crystal clear and unmistakable.
Then he concludes with somber warnings:

Come, my people, enter your chambers, And shut your doors behind you;
Hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, Until the indignation is past. For behold, the Lord comes out of His place
To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;
The earth will also disclose her blood, And will no more cover her slain.

Waiting. That's the key to faith here. It was the same thing Jesus said, "Be watching." There will be hard and terrible times for all the earth, when God unleashes his justice. May God help us to wait and hide, yet not be afraid, but trust and hope in His coming.