July 2025

Dear Friends,

25 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. 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. Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee. 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. 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. 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. 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. He will swallow up death in victory; 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

26 In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:1

Isaiah was given these words from the Lord to guide His people in a great day of turmoil to come. God let them understand that He would bring them through and though the times would be full of difficulty, yet He would deliver them.

There are many information outlets in this world that try to garner our attention by stoking fear, leaving us unsettled. The gracious God, in times of trouble tells us where our thoughts and mind should always be. Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. We have no other hope of salvation. Thus follows the exhortation in 26:4 Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength: When we read these verses above, we hear many echoes of them in the New Testament. They stand the test of time; the Faithful God remains faithful. Let us place our trust in Him and find His perfect peace even in our troubled times. Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. We lift you up in prayer as well.

God’s Peace,

Jay Weidner