GOD'S PERFECT FAITHFULNESS

Passage: Isaiah 25:1-12

Key verse: 1,9

NIV

Praise to the Lord

25 Lord, you are my God;(A)
    I will exalt you and praise your name,(B)
for in perfect faithfulness(C)
    you have done wonderful things,(D)
    things planned(E) long ago.
2 You have made the city a heap of rubble,(F)
    the fortified(G) town a ruin,(H)
the foreigners’ stronghold(I) a city no more;
    it will never be rebuilt.(J)
3 Therefore strong peoples will honor you;(K)
    cities of ruthless(L) nations will revere you.
4 You have been a refuge(M) for the poor,(N)
    a refuge for the needy(O) in their distress,
a shelter from the storm(P)
    and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless(Q)
    is like a storm driving against a wall
5     and like the heat of the desert.
You silence(R) the uproar of foreigners;(S)
    as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,
    so the song of the ruthless(T) is stilled.

6 On this mountain(U) the Lord Almighty will prepare
    a feast(V) of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
    the best of meats and the finest of wines.(W)
7 On this mountain he will destroy
    the shroud(X) that enfolds all peoples,(Y)
the sheet that covers all nations;
8     he will swallow up death(Z) forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears(AA)
    from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace(AB)
    from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.(AC)

9 In that day(AD) they will say,

“Surely this is our God;(AE)
    we trusted(AF) in him, and he saved(AG) us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
    let us rejoice(AH) and be glad in his salvation.”(AI)

10 The hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain;(AJ)
    but Moab(AK) will be trampled in their land
    as straw is trampled down in the manure.
11 They will stretch out their hands in it,
    as swimmers stretch out their hands to swim.
God will bring down(AL) their pride(AM)
    despite the cleverness[a] of their hands.
12 He will bring down your high fortified walls(AN)
    and lay them low;(AO)
he will bring them down to the ground,
    to the very dust.

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Footnotes
  1. Isaiah 25:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

God Will Swallow Up Death Forever

25 O Lord, (A)you are my God;
    (B)I will exalt you; I will praise your name,
for you have done wonderful things,
    (C)plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
2 For you have made the city (D)a heap,
    the fortified city a ruin;
the foreigners' palace is a city no more;
    it will never be rebuilt.
3 (E)Therefore strong peoples will glorify you;
    cities of ruthless nations will fear you.
4 (F)For you have been a stronghold to the poor,
    a stronghold to the needy in his distress,
    (G)a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat;
(H)for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall,
5     (I)like heat in a dry place.
You subdue the noise of the foreigners;
    as heat by the shade of a cloud,
    so the song of the ruthless is put down.

6 (J)On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
    a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,
    (K)of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
7 And he will swallow up (L)on this mountain
    the covering that is cast over all peoples,
    (M)the veil that is spread over all nations.
8     (N)He will swallow up death forever;
and (O)the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
    and (P)the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
    (Q)for the Lord has spoken.
9 It will be said on that day,
    “Behold, this is our God; (R)we have waited for him, that he might save us.
    This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
    (S)let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
10 For the hand of the Lord will rest (T)on this mountain,
    and (U)Moab shall be trampled down in his place,
    as straw is trampled down in a dunghill.[a]
11 (V)And he will spread out his hands in the midst of it
    as a swimmer spreads his hands out to swim,
    but the Lord (W)will lay low his pompous pride together with the skill[b] of his hands.
12 And the high fortifications of his walls he will bring down,
    lay low, and cast to the ground, to the dust.

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Footnotes
  1. Isaiah 25:10 The Hebrew words for dunghill and for the Moabite town Madmen (Jeremiah 48:2) sound alike
  2. Isaiah 25:11 Or in spite of the skill
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

1. God does what he says he will do (1-5)

God kept his promises in the past. Here is a hymn of praise to God for his faithfulness to do what he said he would do. He destroyed wicked and ruthless nations. He provided refuge for all who confessed their need for him and sought him in time of distress. We can trust God to continue to keep his promises.

2. On the mountain of the Lord (6-12)

The shroud of death is destroyed by Jesus' death and resurrection. But the great promise of the prophecy in this passage will be fulfilled in the new Jerusalem--the heavenly city in which the Lord will wipe away all tears and destroy death, the shroud that enfolds all people. On that day, all God's people will gather to eat together. And they will say, 'We trusted in him and he saved us.' At the same time, his hand will bring down all proud people.

Prayer: Lord, help me to be faithful to you to the end, and to trust you and rejoice in your salvation.

One Word: Rejoice in his salvation