Isaiah 57:1-21
Comfort for the Contrite
1 The righteous perish,
and no one takes it to heart;
the devout are taken away,
and no one understands
that the righteous are taken away
to be spared from evil.
2 Those who walk uprightly
enter into peace;
they find rest as they lie in death.
3 “But you—come here, you children of a sorceress,
you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!
4 Who are you mocking?
At whom do you sneer
and stick out your tongue?
Are you not a brood of rebels,
the offspring of liars?
5 You burn with lust among the oaks
and under every spreading tree;
you sacrifice your children in the ravines
and under the overhanging crags.
6 The idols among the smooth stones of the ravines are your portion;
indeed, they are your lot.
Yes, to them you have poured out drink offerings
and offered grain offerings.
In view of all this, should I relent?
7 You have made your bed on a high and lofty hill;
there you went up to offer your sacrifices.
8 Behind your doors and your doorposts
you have put your pagan symbols.
Forsaking me, you uncovered your bed,
you climbed into it and opened it wide;
you made a pact with those whose beds you love,
and you looked with lust on their naked bodies.
9 You went to Molek with olive oil
and increased your perfumes.
You sent your ambassadors far away;
you descended to the very realm of the dead!
10 You wearied yourself by such going about,
but you would not say, ‘It is hopeless.’
You found renewal of your strength,
and so you did not faint.
11 “Whom have you so dreaded and feared
that you have not been true to me,
and have neither remembered me
nor taken this to heart?
Is it not because I have long been silent
that you do not fear me?
12 I will expose your righteousness and your works,
and they will not benefit you.
13 When you cry out for help,
let your collection of idols save you!
The wind will carry all of them off,
a mere breath will blow them away.
But whoever takes refuge in me
will inherit the land
and possess my holy mountain.”
14 And it will be said:
“Build up, build up, prepare the road!
Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.”
15 For this is what the high and exalted One says—
he who lives forever, whose name is holy:
“I live in a high and holy place,
but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
16 I will not accuse them forever,
nor will I always be angry,
for then they would faint away because of me—
the very people I have created.
17 I was enraged by their sinful greed;
I punished them, and hid my face in anger,
yet they kept on in their willful ways.
18 I have seen their ways, but I will heal them;
I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel’s mourners,
19 creating praise on their lips.
Peace, peace, to those far and near,”
says the Lord. “And I will heal them.”
20 But the wicked are like the tossing sea,
which cannot rest,
whose waves cast up mire and mud.
21 “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
Isaiah tells us that there will this peace when we follow God, even as we lay near death...He says be comfort for the contrite...The contrite are people who have a feeling of regret or remorse, people of deep sorrow, or those who are sorrowful...God lives forever and is in heaven...But He is also among the the contrite and the humble...He gives the remorseful hope and confidence...He will revive the spirit of the meek...
In verse seventeen He tells us that He has punished man and has hid His face in anger...Sometimes, we are punished when He withdraws His presence from us...When His presence is taken away from us for many years...When that happens we feel troubled, have sufferings or have bad times in our lives as we can further drift from God and His Presence without constant prayer and communication with Him...He knows our ways and He still will heal us, when we repent...
God is our hope...Isaiah tells us that He will not accuse us (man) forever...He will not always be angry with us...God, who is holy, hates sin and sinful greed...He has punished man, and has hid His face in anger...God has seen man's sinful ways for many generations now...He offers strong words to those evil ones, that there will be no peace for the wicked...But because of His grace He says, "I will heal him"...How comforting to know that he will heal the humble and forget our sins...The peace He talks about in our healing will be an inner comfort, an everlasting, spiritual peace, that only God through His Son Jesus can give us...