ISAIAH.
Chapter 26.
On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city. Its walls and fortifications provide safety. 
Open the gates, and let the righteous nation come in, the nation that remains faithful. 
With perfect peace you will protect those whose minds cannot be changed, because they trust you. 
Trust the Lord always, because the Lord, the Lord alone, is an everlasting rock. 
He has brought down those who live high in the towering city. He levels it. He levels it to the ground and throws it into the dust. 
Feet trample it, the feet of the oppressed, the footsteps of the poor. 
The path of the righteous is level. O Upright One, you make the road of the righteous smooth. 
Certainly, we wait with hope for you, O Lord, ⌞as we follow⌟ the path of your guiding principles. We want to remember you and your name. 
With my soul I long for you at night. Yes, with my spirit I eagerly look for you. When your guiding principles are on earth, those who live in the world learn to do what is right. 
Although the wicked are shown pity, they do not learn to do what is right. They do what is wrong in the upright land and do not see the majesty of the Lord. 
O Lord, your power is visible, but they do not see it. They will see how devoted your people are, and they will be put to shame. Your burning anger will destroy your enemies. 
O Lord, you will establish peace for us, since you have done everything for us. 
O Lord, our God, you are not the only master to rule us, but we acknowledge only you. 
The wicked are dead. They are no longer alive. The spirits of the dead won’t rise. You have punished them, destroyed them, and wiped out all memory of them. 
You have expanded the nation, O Lord. You have expanded the nation. You are honored. You have extended all the land’s boundaries. 
O Lord, the people have come to you in trouble. They were humbled by oppression, by your discipline upon them. 
O Lord, when we are with you, we are like pregnant women ready to give birth. They writhe and cry out in their labor pains. 
We were pregnant; we writhed with labor pains only to give birth to the wind. We weren’t able to bring salvation to the land, and no new people were born on earth. 
Your dead will live. Their corpses will rise. Those who lie dead in the dust will wake up and shout for joy, because your dew is a refreshing dew, and the earth will revive the spirits of the dead. 
My people, go to your rooms, and shut the doors behind you. Hide for a little while until his fury has ended. 
The Lord is going to come out from his dwelling place to punish those who live on earth for their sins. The earth will uncover the blood shed on it and will no longer cover up its dead bodies. 
