Isaiah 26:3
The Bible says in Isaiah 26:3-4, Thou wilt
keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the
LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength. Isaiah 26:3 is a
great verse to memorize. It is a verse of the Bible that tells us one of the
benefits of trusting in God, and it explains an important piece of information
about what it means to trust in God. One of the benefits is peace. There are many,
many people in the world who do not have peace. Money cannot buy peace of mind
or peace of heart. One of the reasons that people have no peace is because of
worry and fear. Another reason is because of wickedness. The Bible says in
Psalms 10:4, The wicked, through the pride of his
countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. It also says in Isaiah 48:22, There is no
peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked. The first spiritual principle necessary to understand in
order to have peace in your heart is to recognize the truth that you must first
confess your sins and turn to faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Only
then will you obtain peace with God through faith in Jesus Christ. The Bible
says in Romans 5:1, Therefore being
justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 26:3 is talking about the peace
that a believer can have in his heart day in and day out on this earth. Jesus
did say to His believers in John
When Isaiah wrote by the Holy Spirit Thou wilt
keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee, notice that he said whose mind
is stayed on thee. If your mind is stayed on Christ, then you are trusting in
Him. Place your mind and your thoughts upon the Lord, and He will hold you up.
Your ability to live by faith is directly related to what you think about each
day. If you think the thoughts that you ought to think, then you will be living
by faith. Jesus is alive. Jesus is with you at this moment. Jesus will guide
you and protect you. He will help you in every situation. Think these thoughts
at every moment, and then every moment you will be trusting in Him. Fail to
think these thoughts, and you will not be living by faith, and you will not be
trusting in Him. This is what will define your Christian life and how much you
live by faith: what you think about each moment of each day. It says in Romans
12:2, And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by
the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and
acceptable, and perfect, will of God. It says in
Philippians 2:5, Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. And it says in Second Corinthians 10:5, Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing
into captivity every
thought to the obedience of Christ.
Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 26:4, Trust ye in
the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength. Of course,
the only way to trust in the Lord is with the attitude that you will always
trust in Him. No matter what happens, whether good or bad, just continue to
trust in the Lord. Put your confidence in Him. Think about His truth and His
presence with you. Whether you are good or bad, whether you are happy or sad,
whether you are of sound mind or whether you are mad, always trust in the Lord.
Isaiah said to trust in the Lord forever, and Isaiah said to make sure that our
minds are stayed upon Him; and then Isaiah said that in the LORD
JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.
In the King James translation of the
Old Testament often the word for Jehovah is translated as LORD. Notice that
all capital letters are used. The word that is translated LORD or Jehovah can also be
pronounced Yahweh. So the words Jehovah and Yahweh refer to the same
Hebrew word. The word means literally the eternally existent one, the living
one, or the one who is. The Jews knew exactly what Jesus was saying when
Jesus said of Himself, Before Abraham was, I am. By calling
Himself the I AM, Jesus was calling Himself
Jehovah. That makes sense. Jesus is God. And Jesus is the person of the godhead
who is the manifestation of God. The Spirit reveals Jesus, and the Father is
glorified in the Son. But it is the Son who is the manifestation of God. Jesus
Christ has always been the manifestation of God. Jesus was the manifestation of
God in the New Testament when Jesus took upon Himself the form of a man and
came into the world. Jesus was also the manifestation of God in the Old
Testament. The references to Jehovah in the Old Testament are references to
Jesus. Jesus is Lord. Jesus is the I AM. Jesus is Jehovah. Trust in
the Lord forever because He is strong and powerful, and Jesus alone can give
you salvation.
The Bible says in Isaiah 26:5-15, For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low,
even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust.
The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the
needy. The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the
path of the just. Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for
thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me
will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants
of the world will learn righteousness. Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will
he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly,
and will not behold the majesty of the LORD. LORD, when thy hand is lifted up,
they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the
people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour
them. LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our
works in us. O LORD our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us:
but by thee only will we make mention of thy name. They are dead, they shall
not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited
and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish. Thou hast increased
the nation, O LORD, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth.
Isaiah 26:5 emphasizes one reason that
Gods judgment comes against the wicked: their pride. It says, he bringeth down them that dwell on
high; the lofty city, he layeth it low. In contrast
to this Isaiah 26:8 instructs us in the proper attitude taken by those who
believe in Jesus. It says in Isaiah 26:8-9, Yea, in the way of thy
judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy
name, and to the remembrance of thee. With my soul have I desired thee in the
night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early. There are
several important principles that every believer should give attention to. One principle
is mentioned in the phrase: thy judgments. This refers to the Word of God, and to the believers attitude to the Word of God. The
Word of God gives us light, and life, and spiritual sustenance. We must feed
upon the Word of God, and we must learn more about it. The principles and
judgments of the Word of God must always be dear to our hearts. Of course, each
verse of the Word of God must be taken in context and must be understood in the
light of everything else that is true. Second Timothy 2:15: says to be rightly
dividing the Word of God. There are people who misuse the Bible, and who
believe doctrines and who teach doctrines that they ought not simply because
they did not rightly divide the Word of God. There are other people who have
gone the wrong way in life and who have made terrible decisions simply because
the judgments of the Word of the Lord were not important enough to them. They
did not use Gods judgments in making their decisions. There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof is the way of
death.
Isaiah also said in Isaiah 26:8 that
he waited for the Lord. In other words a believer will not always get the
answer that he or she seeks right away. A believer will not always get a
resolution to a problem right away either. God has a will, and God also has a
time for something to be done. We are not in charge. God is in charge. It is
important to ask for Gods will, and it is important
to wait for Gods time. Some believers have caused themselves great harm
because they were not willing to wait upon the Lord Jesus Christ. That is one
of the reasons that Jesus said, He that endureth
to the end shall be saved. There are some things that we must endure for a while until God
brings us out from under them. When we do come out from a particular trial or
persecution, it must be done at Gods time, not our time. We must learn to wait
upon the Lord.
The Bible says in Isaiah 26:8, the desire
of our soul is to thy name. The emphasis here is on the name of the Lord.
His name is reverenced. His name is honored. His name is respected among the
believers. That is why one of the Ten Commandments given to mankind says in
Exodus 20:7, Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for
the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his
name in vain. His name
tells us who He is. There is no name like the name of Jesus or the name of
Jehovah. Concerning the name of Jesus, the Bible says in Revelation 19:11-12, And I saw
heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called
Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes
were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name
written, that no man knew, but he himself.
The last part of Isaiah 26:9 tells us
one of the positive sides of spreading Gods Word. It says, for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the
world will learn righteousness. As we stated earlier, the judgments of the Lord
refer to His Word. There can be great benefit to teaching the Bible, if it is
taught correctly. Lives can be transformed, and even entire communities can be
made better by the teaching of the Bible. Gods Word is beneficial. Gods Word
is powerful. Of course, the teaching of the Word of God will have benefits to a
community only when people believe and receive His teachings. Sadly, sometimes
people harden their hearts against the Lord even when the Lord has blessed
them. That is why it says in Isaiah 26:10, Let favour
be shewed to the wicked, yet
will he not learn righteousness. People who reject Gods love and
Gods mercy are in a very dangerous situation. Next in line for them is Gods
judgment. Turn to Jesus while you have time and call upon Him before the
judgment comes.
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Copyright; 2008 by Charles
F. (Rick) Creech
All Rights Reserved