Isaiah 25:1

Commentary on Isaiah 25:1

Text (NKJV):
“O Lord, You are my God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things; Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.”

1. Context within Isaiah 25

Isaiah 25[i] is a song of praise that follows the prophetic vision of God’s judgment on the nations (Isaiah 24[ii]). Where chapter 24 depicts devastation and the humbling of human pride, chapter 25 shifts to worship and thanksgiving. It celebrates God’s sovereign rule, His deliverance of His people, and His promise of a future feast for all nations (Isaiah 25:6–9).

Verse 1 sets the tone: it is a personal declaration of faith and worship directed to God, acknowledging His sovereignty and His faithful purposes throughout history.

2. Exegesis of Isaiah 25:1

• “O Lord, You are my God.”
  This is covenantal language. Isaiah speaks personally, not abstractly. To call the Lord “my God” is to confess belonging to Him. It echoes Exodus 15:2, where Israel sang after the Red Sea deliverance: “He is my God, and I will praise Him.” It is a declaration of trust and relationship grounded in God’s covenant promises.
• “I will exalt You, I will praise Your name.”
  Worship is the natural response to God’s saving acts. To exalt is to lift God high in honour, and to praise His name is to acknowledge His revealed character. In Hebrew thought, the “name” represents the fullness of who God is. Isaiah models the believer’s response: worship is not optional but essential.
• “For You have done wonderful things.”
  The “wonderful things” are God’s mighty acts of salvation and judgment. Isaiah looks back on God’s deeds in history (such as deliverance from Egypt, preservation of Israel, and promises of future redemption) and forward to the eschatological victory when death will be swallowed up (Isaiah 25:8). God’s works are not random; they are purposeful and marvellous.
• “Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.”
  God’s plans are eternal, not reactive. His “counsels of old” refer to His decrees established before time. They are marked by faithfulness (steadfast reliability) and truth (absolute trustworthiness). This reflects the Christian emphasis on God’s sovereignty: His eternal decrees are wise, good, and unchanging.

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3. Theological Teaching

• God’s Sovereignty: Isaiah affirms that history unfolds according to God’s eternal counsel. This aligns with Christian theology’s emphasis on God’s providence and decrees (Ephesians 1:11 (In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,)).
• Covenant Relationship: The personal confession “You are my God” reflects the covenantal bond between God and His people, fulfilled ultimately in Christ (Hebrews 8:10 (For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.)).
• Worship as Response: True worship flows from recognising God’s mighty acts. It is not driven by circumstance but by God’s character and His works.
• Faithfulness and Truth: God’s eternal purposes are reliable. In a world of uncertainty, believers can rest in His unchanging faithfulness.

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4. Application to Modern Christian Living

• Personal Faith: Christians today are called to echo Isaiah’s confession: “O Lord, You are my God.” Faith must be personal, not merely cultural or inherited.
• Worship in All Seasons: Just as Isaiah praised God after visions of judgment, believers are called to worship in both joy and hardship. Worship is anchored in God’s character, not in our circumstances.
• Confidence in God’s Plans: In an age of anxiety and instability, Isaiah reminds us that God’s counsels are faithful and true. Christians can trust that God’s purposes in Christ will prevail, even when the world seems chaotic.
• Mission and Hope: Isaiah 25 anticipates a feast for all nations (v.6). This points to the gospel’s global scope. Modern believers are called to participate in God’s mission, inviting all people to share in the hope of Christ’s victory over death.

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✨ In summary: Isaiah 25:1 is a model of covenantal worship rooted in God’s eternal purposes. It calls believers to personal faith, resilient praise, and confident trust in God’s sovereign plans, while pointing forward to the universal hope fulfilled in Christ.

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[i] Isaiah 25

New King James Version

Praise to God

25 O Lord, You are my God.
I will exalt You,
I will praise Your name,
For You have done wonderful things;
Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.
2 For You have made a city a ruin,
A fortified city a ruin,
A palace of foreigners to be a city no more;
It will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore the strong people will glorify You;
The city of the terrible nations will fear You.
4 For You have been a strength to the poor,
A strength to the needy in his distress,
A refuge from the storm,
A shade from the heat;
For the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
5 You will reduce the noise of aliens,
As heat in a dry place;
As heat in the shadow of a cloud,
The song of the terrible ones will be diminished.

6 And in this mountain
The Lord of hosts will make for all people
A feast of choice pieces,
A feast of wines on the lees,
Of fat things full of marrow,
Of well-refined wines on the lees.
7 And He will destroy on this mountain
The surface of the covering cast over all people,
And the veil that is spread over all nations.
8 He will swallow up death forever,
And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces;
The rebuke of His people
He will take away from all the earth;
For the Lord has spoken.

9 And it will be said in that day:
“Behold, 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 on this mountain the hand of the Lord will rest,
And Moab shall be trampled down under Him,
As straw is trampled down for the refuse heap.
11 And He will spread out His hands in their midst
As a swimmer reaches out to swim,
And He will bring down their pride
Together with the trickery of their hands.
12 The fortress of the high fort of your walls
He will bring down, lay low,
And bring to the ground, down to the dust.

[ii] Isaiah 24

New King James Version

Impending Judgment on the Earth

24 Behold, the Lord makes the earth empty and makes it waste,
Distorts its surface
And scatters abroad its inhabitants.
2 And it shall be:
As with the people, so with the priest;
As with the servant, so with his master;
As with the maid, so with her mistress;
As with the buyer, so with the seller;
As with the lender, so with the borrower;
As with the creditor, so with the debtor.
3 The land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered,
For the Lord has spoken this word.

4 The earth mourns and fades away,
The world languishes and fades away;
The haughty people of the earth languish.
5 The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants,
Because they have transgressed the laws,
Changed the ordinance,
Broken the everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore the curse has devoured the earth,
And those who dwell in it are desolate.
Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned,
And few men are left.

7 The new wine fails, the vine languishes,
All the merry-hearted sigh.
8 The mirth of the tambourine ceases,
The noise of the jubilant ends,
The joy of the harp ceases.
9 They shall not drink wine with a song;
Strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
10 The city of confusion is broken down;
Every house is shut up, so that none may go in.
11 There is a cry for wine in the streets,
All joy is darkened,
The mirth of the land is gone.
12 In the city desolation is left,
And the gate is stricken with destruction.
13 When it shall be thus in the midst of the land among the people,
It shall be like the shaking of an olive tree,
Like the gleaning of grapes when the vintage is done.

14 They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing;
For the majesty of the Lord
They shall cry aloud from the sea.
15 Therefore glorify the Lord in the dawning light,
The name of the Lord God of Israel in the coastlands of the sea.
16 From the ends of the earth we have heard songs:
“Glory to the righteous!”
But I said, “I am ruined, ruined!
Woe to me!
The treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously,
Indeed, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.”

17 Fear and the pit and the snare
Are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall be
That he who flees from the noise of the fear
Shall fall into the pit,
And he who comes up from the midst of the pit
Shall be caught in the snare;
For the windows from on high are open,
And the foundations of the earth are shaken.

19 The earth is violently broken,
The earth is split open,
The earth is shaken exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard,
And shall totter like a hut;
Its transgression shall be heavy upon it,
And it will fall, and not rise again.

21 It shall come to pass in that day
That the Lord will punish on high the host of exalted ones,
And on the earth the kings of the earth.
22 They will be gathered together,
As prisoners are gathered in the pit,
And will be shut up in the prison;
After many days they will be punished.
23 Then the moon will be disgraced
And the sun ashamed;
For the Lord of hosts will reign
On Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
And before His elders, gloriously.