Two Reasons to Praise the Lord – Isaiah 25:1-26:7
25 O Jehovah, you are my God. I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. (2) You have made the city a heap of rubble, you have turned the fortified city into ruins. You have caused the foreigners’ stronghold to no longer be a city—it will never be rebuilt. (3) Therefore, strong peoples will honor you; cities of ruthless nations will fear you. (4) You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress—a shelter from the storm, a shade from the heat, when the blast of the ruthless is like a windstorm driving against a wall, (5) or like the heat of the desert. You silence the uproar of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shade of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled.
(6) On this mountain Jehovah of hosts will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet with aged wine—the best of meats and the finest of wines. (7) On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that covers all peoples and the burial sheet that is spread over all nations; (8) he will swallow up death forever. The Lord Jehovah will wipe away the tears from every face; he will remove from all the earth the disgrace suffered by his people. Of this you can be sure, for Jehovah has spoken it.
(9) On that day it shall be said, Surely this is our God; we have trusted in him, and he has saved us. This is Jehovah; we have trusted in him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. (10) The hand of Jehovah will rest on this mountain; but Moab will be trampled in his own place, like straw is trampled down in the manure. (11) Moab will stretch out his arms in it, like a swimmer stretches out his arms to swim; but Jehovah will bring down his pride despite the skill of his hands. (12) He will tear down your high fortified walls and lay them low; he will tear them down to the ground, to the very dust.
26 On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city! He erects walls and ramparts for security! (2) Open the gates so that the righteous nation—the nation that is faithful—may enter. (3) You will keep him in perfect peace, he whose mind is set on you; because he trusts in you. (4) Trust in Jehovah forever; for Jehovah, Jehovah himself, is an everlasting rock.
(5) He has humbled those who dwell on high, he has brought down the lofty city—he levels it to the ground, he casts it down to the dust. (6) It shall be trampled underfoot by the feet of the oppressed and by the footsteps of the poor. (7) The path of the righteous is level; you who are upright will direct the way of the righteous.
Now proceed to the next section of this study, entitled, Exploring the Passage.
