◄ What Does Isaiah 26:9 Mean? ►

At night my soul longs for You, Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently; For when the earth experiences Your judgments The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

Isaiah 26:9(NASB)

Verse of the Day

In Revelation we read that, "Jesus is the spirit of prophecy," and here in Isaiah, we discover some amazing prophecies that relate to Christ's triumphant reign in the coming Millennial Kingdom.

On that day, we read that all believing Israel will be saved and in this passage, Isaiah gives an amazing testimony of that still-future time. He describes the worship and witness of a restored and converted Israel, when the earth will be filled with the glory of God as the waters cover the sea.

He details the day when Jesus will reign in righteousness as the supreme King of the whole earth. He speaks of that promised time when peace and prosperity will finally be instituted - and Jesus will rule the nations with a rod of iron.

However, before that beautiful millennial reign of Christ, we know that God must first judge the proud civilisations that have sought to circumnavigate the law of their Creator. And He will bring to naught the arrogant rulers who have rejected the sovereign authority of their God, and His Christ.

There has always been a faithful remnant in Israel, despite the nation's gross apostasy, and this verse rehearses the earnest longing of the faithful few who cry out to the Lord, day and night, for deliverance and justice.

We discover this little flock seeking after the Lord with all their heart and desiring to do His will. "At night, my soul longs for You," are the pleading cries of His faithful servants, "indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently."

What an example this little group of down-trodden souls are, to the lukewarm Christian Church of today who, in many respects, have left their first-love for the few passing fancies this fading world has to offer. How few there are today who earnestly long for the Lord throughout the night and spend their days seeking Him persistently and diligently.

The redeemed of Israel in this passage, know that a day of judgement is coming... for the spirit of prophecy has warned for millennia that a day is coming when God will judge the nations in righteousness - it is the time of Jacob's Trouble. Paul tells us that the judge will be the Man, Christ Jesus, Who has received sovereign authority to judge the nations in righteousness.

The time of Jacob's Trouble is when God pours out His wrath on a God-hating, Christ-rejecting, sinful world. The Word of prophecy explains the reason for God's righteous judgement of mankind, 'that the world may KNOW that I am the LORD', "For when the earth experiences Your judgments, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness."

It is not God's will that any should perish, but that all come to faith in Christ. And as ministers of the better covenant, we have been ordained to proclaim the gospel of grace to those that are dead in their sins, Jew and Gentile alike, and are heading for a lost eternity.

May we be part of the present day Christian remnant in the Body of Christ whose souls long for the Lord, day and night. May we be numbered with the few who search the Scriptures diligently and seek Him earnestly - so that like the sons of Issachar, we may understand the times in which we live and know what WE ought to do.

May we not grow weary of well-doing, but tell forth good news of the gospel of grace - that Christ died for our sin, that He was buried, and rose again - so that whosoever believe on HIM would not perish but have everlasting life.

My Prayer

Heavenly Father, how I praise and thank You for the wonderful example of this little remnant of Israel, about whom Isaiah wrote. I pray that like them, my soul would long for You day and night and that You would guide me into all truth so that I may tell forth the glories of Your name - so that the world may know that You are the Lord. This I ask in Jesus' name, AMEN.