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 Jesus. 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.
___________________________________________________
Copyright; 2008 by Charles
F. (Rick) Creech
All Rights Reserved