In Isaiah, chapter fifty-one, verses nine through eleven, “Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in ancient days, in generations of old. Art thou not it hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon? Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over?
Therefore, the redeemed of the Lord shall return,
and come with singing unto Zion;
and everlasting joy shall be upon their head:
they shall obtain gladness and joy;
and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.”
The last part of the theme verse is divided, which is actually a song many sing in churches or on their own to the Lord. Believers must respond to God’s promises of the final redemption of His faithful people and the earth by fervently desiring and praying that those things come to pass. The Apostle Peter teaches that our prayers can hasten the day, as in Second Peter three, verses twelve to thirteen.
The people whom Christ has redeemed with his blood, as well as by his power, will obtain joyful deliverance from every enemy. He that designs such joy for us at last, will He not work such deliverance in the meantime, as our cases require? In this world of changes, it is a short step from joy to sorrow, but in that world, sorrow shall never come in view. They prayed for the display of God’s power; he answers them with consolations of his grace. Didn’t we dread to sin against God, we should not fear the frowns of men. Happy is the man, or woman, who fears God always. And Christ’s church shall enjoy security by the power and providence of the Almighty.