Isaiah 25 - Outline of Isaiah (Book Notes menu page)

  I.D.2. Praise to Jehovah as deliverer and comforter of Zion, 25:1-12
1. O LORD, thou [art] my God;
I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name;
for thou hast done wonderful [things;
thy] counsels of old [are] faithfulness [and] truth.
2 For thou hast made of a city an heap; [of] a defenced city a ruin:
a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built.
3 Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee,
the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee.
4 For thou hast been a strength to the poor,
a strength to the needy in his distress,
a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat,
when the blast of the terrible ones [is] as a storm [against] the wall.
5 Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers,
as the heat in a dry place; [even] the heat with the shadow of a cloud:
the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low.
  O LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt thee...-
    This song of praise will be sung by the believing Remnant of Israel, as they see their Messiah coming to establish His Kingdom in Jerusalem (Isa 24:23). Note that verses 2 and 4 are in the past tense, showing the time of this song. Those who sing, having been preserved through the Tribulation period, raise their song at the fall of Babylon the Great (cp. Rev 18:20- 19:6). The remainder of the chapter is in the future tense, in anticipation of the blessings that will soon flow from Christ's Kingdom.
  for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.-
    They sing of what the LORD has done, in fulfillment of His Word. The song has three stanzas:
    1. Praise for the LORD's deliverance from the enemy (v.1-5)
    2. Praise for the LORD's provision for all people (v.6-8)
    3. Praise for the LORD's Presence in the Person of the Messiah (v.9-12)
  The believing Remnant sings in...
    1. Praise for the LORD's deliverance (v.1-5)...
    - in the fulfillment of His Word which is faithful and true. v.1 (cf. Isa 24:5,6)
    - in the destruction of Babylon (ie., gentile world dominion) v.2; Isa 14:22,23; Jer 51:24-26
    Those who remain of the formerly dominant nations (the 'strong' and 'terrible'), have come to fear the true God (v.2,3; cp. Eze 38:23; 39:21,22).
  - in the preservation and restoration of Israel.-
      The weak were made strong through the strength of their God (v.4). The terrifying powers of the ungodly world came together against God's people in the hot storm of the Tribulation. But the LORD has silenced the violence of His enemies, and sheltered and refreshed His people with His presence (v.5; cp. Isa 4:5,6).
6. And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people
a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees,
of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.
7 And he will destroy in this mountain
the face of the covering cast over all people,
and the vail that is spread over all nations.
8 He will swallow up death in victory {HB=netsach, perpetuity};
and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces;
and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth:
for the LORD hath spoken [it].
  in this mountain {ie., in Jerusalem, 24:23} shall the LORD of hosts make... a feast...-
    Where all hope was lost (24:6-10), the Lord will restore the joy of His people, and give them a new song.
  The believing Remnant sings in...
    2. Praise for the LORD's provision for all people (v.6-8)...
    - the removal of spiritual blindness from all people and nations (v.7; 2Cor 3:13-18; 4:3,4)
    - the permanent defeat of death (v.8a; cp. Hos 13:14; 1Cor 15:26,54 which quotes v.8a)
    The victor over death is Christ (1Cor 15:22,23; 2Tim 1:10; Heb 2:14,15).
    Martyred Tribulation saints will arise to live in Christ's Millennial Kingdom (Rev 20:4,5).
  - the end of sorrows (v.8b; cp. Isa 35:10; Rev 7:17; 21:4)
  - the removal of reproach from His people (v.8c; Isa 54:4; Mat 5:11,12; 1Pet 4:14)
9. And it shall be said in that day,
Lo, this [is] our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us:
this [is] the LORD; we have waited for him,
we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
10 For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest,
and Moab shall be trodden down under him,
even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill.
11 And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them,
as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth [his hands] to swim:
and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands.
12 And the fortress of the high fort of thy walls shall he bring down, lay low,
[and] bring to the ground, [even] to the dust.
  And it shall be said in that day...- ie., in the Day of Christ's Kingdom in Jerusalem (Isa 24:23)
  The believing Remnant sings in...
    3. Praise for the LORD's Presence in the Person of the Messiah (v.9-12)
    - Lo, this is our God...
    - this is the LORD {Jehovah}...
    - we will... rejoice in His Salvation {HB= Yeshuah}.-
      They will recognize and receive Jesus, the Messiah, as the LORD God of Israel. cp. Isa 12:1-3
  we have waited for him...- cp. Psa 27:14; 37:5-7; 62:1-2,5-7; Titus 2:13; Rev 22:20
  for in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest...-
    'The hand of the LORD' is seen, in the book of Isaiah, as:
    - stretched out...
      - in anger, against Israel's sin (Isa 5:25).
      - in appeal, to Israel, a rebellious people (Isa 65:2; cp. Mat 11:28-30).
      - in determined purpose, against all nations for their sin and oppression of His people (Isa 14:24-27; cp. 43:13).
    - energetically active... (cp. Joh 5:17)
      - in His work of creation and in the affairs of men (eg., Isa 45:11-13; cp. Joh 1:1-11).
      - in His work of redemption (Isa 50:2; 53:1-12 where 'the arm of the LORD' is clearly Jesus Christ).
    The Lord Jesus Christ accomplished the work of redemption by His sacrificial death and resurrection.
    Outside the wall of Jerusalem, His hands were 'spread forth' on the cross.
    (See Jesus' prophetic description of Peter's crucifixion, in Joh 21:18.)
    This aspect of His work is finished, never to be repeated. Joh 19:30; Heb 10:11-18
  - in His work of judgment against the enemies of His people (v.10-12; cp Joh 5:22).
  - in His work of judgment, purification and restoration of His people Israel (Isa 1:25-28; 60:21).
      The salvation won by the Hand of the LORD, at His first coming (Psa 118:14-18), is the basis upon which He will destroy all wickedness and establish His Kingdom of righteousness in Jerusalem, when He returns (Psa 118:19-23; Jer 23:5,6).
      When that work is done, in His Kingdom, He will be:
      - the LORD's Hand at rest (v.10a) -
      cp. Isa 11:10; 12:6; 132:13,14; Zeph 3:15-17
  - the LORD's Hand in supremacy -
      The walls of Moab are brought down (v.10b-12) with the walls of Babylon (v.2).
      "Thus Babylon and Moab are morally united in the prophecy. Babylon often appears as a political oppressor and Moab as a religious corruptor (Num 22 - 24); so in this vision they picture, in unity, Anti-Christ and the False Prophet." [in quotes, GWms]
      "He shall bring down their pride... even to the dust." Rev 19:1-3,4-6; Col 1:13-18

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