Author: cackywalker@yahoo.com

A Song of Praise to the Lord

In that day, everyone in the land of Judah will sing this song:

Our city is strong! We are surrounded by the walls of God’s salvation. Open the gates to all who are righteous; allow the faithful to enter. You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock. He humbles the proud and brings down the arrogant city. He brings it down to dust. The poor and oppressed trample it underfoot, and the needy walk all over it.

But for those who are righteous, the way is not steep and rough. You are a God who does what is right, and You smooth out the path ahead of them. (vv. 1-7, NLT)

In Jerusalem, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will spread a wonderful feast for all the people of the world. It will be a delicious banquet with clear, well-aged wine and choice meat. There He will remove the cloud of gloom, the shadow of death that hangs over the earth. He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears. He will remove forever all insults and mockery against His land of people. The Lord has spoken!

In that day the people will proclaim, “This is our God! We trusted in Him and He saved us! This is the Lord, in who we trusted. Let us rejoice in the salvation He brings!” (vv. 6-10, NLT)

In that day five of Egypt’s cities will be as weak as women. They will cower in fear beneath the upraised fist of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. Just to speak the name of Israel will terrorize them, for the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has laid His plans against them.

In that day five of Egypt’s cities will follow the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. They will even begin to speak Hebrew, the language of Canaan. One of these cities will be Heliopolis, the City of the Sun.

In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the heart of Egypt, and there will be a sign and a witness that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies is worshiped in the land of Egypt. When the people cry to the Lord for help against those who oppress them, He will send them a savior who will rescue the. The Lord will make Himself known to the Egyptians. Yes, they will know the Lord and will give their sacrifices and offerings to Him. They will make a vow to the Lord and will keep it. The Lord will strike Egypt, and then He will bring healing. For the Egyptians will turn to the Lord, and He will listen to their pleas and heal them.

In that day Egypt and Assyria will be connected by a highway. The Egyptians and Assyrians will move freely between their lands, and they will both worship God. And Israel will be their ally. The three will be together, and Israel will be a blessing to them. For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will say, “Blessed be Egypt, My people. Blessed be Assyria, the land I have made. Blessed be Israel, My special possession!” (v. 16-25, NLT)

Songs of Praise for Salvation

In that day you will sing; “I will praise you, O Lord! You were angry with me, but not anymore. Now you comfort me. See, God has some to save me. I will trust in Him and not be afraid. The Lord God is my strength and my song; He has give me the victory.”

With joy you will drink deeply form the fountain of salvation! In that wonderful day you will sing: “Thank the Lord! Praise His name! Tell the nations what He has done. Let them know how mighty He is! Sing to the Lord, for He has done wonderful things Make know His praise around the world. Let all the people of Jerusalem shout His praise of joy. For great is the Holy One of Israel who lives among you.

Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot-yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him-the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord. He will delight in obeying the Lord. He will not judge by appearnce no make a decision on hearsay. He will give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the exploited.

The earth will shake at the force of his word, and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked. He will wear righteousness like a belt and truth like an undergarment.

In that day, the wold and the lamb will live together. The calf and the yearling. will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion. The lion will eat hay like a cow. The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra. Yes, the little child will put his hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm.

Nothing will hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for as the water fill the sea, so the earth will be filed with people who know the Lord. (vv. 1-9, NLT)

Hope in the Messiah

Nevertheless, that tine of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory.

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine. You will enlarge the nation of Israel, and its people will rejoice. They will rejoice before You as people at the harvest and like warriors dividing the plunder. For You will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders. You will break the oppressor’s rod, just ad You did when You destroyed the army of Midian. The boots of the warrior and the uniforms bloodstained by war will all be burned. They will be fuel for fire.

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Might God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of David for all eternity, The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen! (vv. 1-7, NLT)

The Sign of Immanuel

Later, the Lord sent this message to King Ahaz. “Ask the the Lord your God for a sign of confirmation, Ahaz. Make it a difficult as you want-as high as heaven or as deep as the place of the dead.”

But the king refused, “No,” he said “I will not test the Lord like that.”

Then Isaiah said, “Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn’t it enough to exhaust human patience Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well? All right then, the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’). By the time this child is old enough to choose what is right and reject what is wrong, he will be eating yogurt and honey. For before the child is that old, the lands of the two kings you fear so much will be deserted. ” (vv. 10-16, NLT)

Isaiah’s Cleansing and Call

It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of His robe filled the Temple. Attending Him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with His glory!”Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke.

Then I said, “It’s all over, I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lis. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.”

Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?”

I said, “Here I am, send me.”

And He said, “Yes, go, and ai to this people, ‘Listen carefully, but do not understand. Watch closely, but learn nothing.’ Harden the heats of these people. Plug their ears and shut their eyes. That way, they will not see with their eyes, not hear with their ears, not understand with the hearts and turn to me for healing.”

Then I said, “Lord, how long with this go on?”

And He replied, “Until their towns are empty, their houses are deserted, and the whole country is a wasteland; until the Lord has sent everyone away, and the entire of Israel lies deserted. If even a tenth-a remnant-survive, it will be invaded again and burned. But as a terebinth or oak tree leave a stump when it is cut down, so Israel’s stump will be a holy seed.”(NLT)

A Promise of Restoration

But in that day, the branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious; the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of all who survive in Israel. All who remain in Zion will be a holy people-those who survive the destruction of Jerusalem and are recorded among the living. The Lord will wash the filth from beautiful Zion and cleanse Jerusalem of its bloodstains with the hot breath of fiery judgment. Then the Lord will provide a shade for Mount Zion and all who assemble there. He will provide a canopy of cloud during the ay and smoke and flaming fire at night, covering the glorious land. It will be a shelter form daytime heat and a hiding place from storms and rain. (vv. 2-6, NLT)

The Lord’s Future Reign

This is a vision that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:

In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s house will be the highest of all-the most important place on earth. It will be raised above the other hills, and people from all over the world will stream there to worship.

People from many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of Jacob’s God. There He will teach us His ways, and we will walk in His paths.” For the Lord’s teaching will go out from Zion; His word will go out from Jerusalem. The Lord will mediate between nations and will settle international disputes. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore. (vv. 1-4, NLT)