The Righteous Nation

Wednesday, March 22, 2017, 5:52 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Trust Him.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Isaiah 26:1-11 (ESV).

Keep the Faith (vv. 1-6)

In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

“We have a strong city;
    he sets up salvation
    as walls and bulwarks.
Open the gates,
    that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in.
You keep him in perfect peace
    whose mind is stayed on you,
    because he trusts in you.
Trust in the Lord forever,
    for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.
For he has humbled
    the inhabitants of the height,
    the lofty city.
He lays it low, lays it low to the ground,
    casts it to the dust.
The foot tramples it,
    the feet of the poor,
    the steps of the needy.”

The city initially being spoken of here is the City of God, the new Holy City, the Heavenly Jerusalem, the Church, the Temple of God, the Bride of Christ, the Redeemed of the Lord. This is a spiritual city; a spiritual nation, not a physical one. It does not have physical walls surrounding it and physical buildings inside it. Our salvation, found in Jesus Christ, our Lord, serves as our walls of protection from enemy forces which would come against us.

To enter into this city, we must be born from above (born again) of the Spirit of God. When we are born physically, as babies, we are born with sin natures, in the image of Adam (Ro. 5:12-19; 1 Co. 15:21-22, 42-49). We are separate from God, and we come up short of attaining his divine approval (Ro. 3:23). So, God the Father sent his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ (God the Son) to the earth, to take on human flesh, and to suffer and to be tempted in like manner as we suffer and are tempted, yet without sin. He sent him to die on a cross for our sins so that we, who believe in him, might die to sin and live to righteousness.

When we trust in Jesus Christ to be Lord (owner-master) and Savior of our lives, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we are resurrected with Christ to newness of life, “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (See: Eph. 4:17-24; Ro. 6:1-23). In other words, we are now born spiritually of the Spirit of God to new lives in Christ, free from slavery to sin so that we can now become slaves of his righteousness. The righteous requirement of the law is now fulfilled in us who walk (in lifestyle) no longer according to the flesh, but who walk according to the Spirit. We are the righteous nation that keeps faith, and who enters this spiritual city.

Now that we have been born of the Spirit of God, and we are now members of the body of Christ, his temple, we can experience the blessings of God in our lives. If our minds are stayed (settled, fixed) on Christ, and not on the world around us, or on our circumstances, we don’t need to fear what may come our way, because our God is absolutely sovereign and in control over all things. Enemies may pursue us and may come against us, but they can do nothing to us without God’s permission. They may kill the body, but they can’t kill the soul. So, if we keep our minds focused on Christ, he will keep us in perfect peace, and we never have to fear what man might do to us.

When trials and troubles do come our way, we need to lean on and trust in our Rock, our Redeemer, who will give us all we need to endure, to be steadfast and to remain faithful to Him. He always has a plan and a purpose, and he will always work all things out for good for those of us who love him and who have been called according to his purpose. He often allows us to go through difficult times to prune and purify us, to humble and strengthen us, to mature us in our walks of faith, and to teach us to rely fully on Him. The enemies who now pursue, oppress and persecute us will one day be brought low and will be no more, and one day we will be with Jesus forever in glory.

Wait for Him (vv. 7-11)

The path of the righteous is level;
    you make level the way of the righteous.
In the path of your judgments,
    O Lord, we wait for you;
your name and remembrance
    are the desire of our soul.
My soul yearns for you in the night;
    my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.
For when your judgments are in the earth,
    the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
If favor is shown to the wicked,
    he does not learn righteousness;
in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly
    and does not see the majesty of the Lord.
O Lord, your hand is lifted up,
    but they do not see it.
Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed.
    Let the fire for your adversaries consume them.

God makes level (steady, unwavering) the way of the righteous. When we believe in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, it does not end there, and then one day we go to heaven. God-given faith in Jesus Christ is divinely persuaded as to God’s will for our lives, and it seeks to know and to obey God’s will. It no longer conducts life according to the sinful flesh, but it lives life to Christ and to his righteousness. When we believe in Jesus with God-given faith, we walk in the ways of the Lord and in his truth. Our desire is for him, to do his will. We continue in Christ day by day, reading his Word, praying, doing what the Word teaches us, and serving our Lord in ministry and in loving others with the love of Jesus.

Yet, “level” does not mean we won’t face hurdles or obstacles or opposition along the way. In fact, scripture teaches that we will be hated, persecuted, forsaken, rejected, ostracized, beaten, imprisoned and even killed for our faith in Jesus Christ. So, the Christian walk involves, not only trusting in God, but waiting on him to do what he says he will do - to change human hearts, to bring people to Jesus, and to one day destroy our enemy Satan and his cohorts, i.e. the Beast and the False Prophet, etc., and then to take us to be with him forever where sin, sorrow and suffering will be no more.

Yet, in reality, when things are going well for us, and we are not wanting for anything this world has to offer us, it can be easy to forget God and to get caught up in the pleasures of this life. Yet, when we go through trials and tribulations, they have a way of humbling us, and of bringing us to the end of ourselves so that we will look to God and to his righteousness.

So, although I certainly don’t look forward to more suffering, my heart cries out to God to rescue his church from worldliness and the deception of false teachers who are leading people astray to a false “gospel,” which leaves them still dead in their sins, while promising them the hope of heaven. My heart cries out to God for all the children who are being abused, taken advantage of, and exposed to pornography and sexual sin, and/or who are being greatly influenced by the philosophies, values, attitudes and actions of this sinful world via television, the internet and public school education. Yet, I know that I must wait on God, for he is not slow in keeping his promises, for he is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Trust Him / An Original Work / August 15, 2012

Based off Psalm 27:14

Wait for the Lord; be of courage;

Be strong and take heart today.

Do not fear when foes attack you.

Trust in God always.

He will rescue you in times

Of trouble and distress,

He’ll comfort you in all ways

As you trust Him with your life today.

Trust in Him always.

God is with you; He’ll not leave you.

You can always count on Him.

He will fulfill all He promised

Before you began.

His word teaches you

All that you need for this life.

Let Him lead you. Open your heart;

Let his truth envelope you today.

Listen and obey.

Love your Lord God; follow Jesus.

Repent of your sins today.

Make Him your Lord and your master;

Trust Him and obey.

Follow Him where’er He leads you

In His service; be His witness,

Telling others about Jesus’

Price that He did pay

For your sins always.

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