"I will set my justice for a light to the peoples"

Article for August 23, 2026

Isaiah 51:1 1“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the Lord: look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug.

Some try to see their righteousness through their good works, some just think too highly of themselves and some think to lord it over others makes them feel righteous.  Yet, our righteousness is not measured on what we do because we are never righteous by our own works or deeds.  Our true righteousness comes from Jesus Christ who clothes us in His righteousness.  This is a problem for those who do not believe in God and for those who are overzealous for God.  For these are the ones who claim their own righteousness.

For the unbeliever, and the overzealous, their righteousness is meaningless as they prevent themselves to be a child of God.  And for the one who is overzealous for the Lord tends to lord it over others or put others down to make themselves feel righteous.  Jesus says in Matthew 20:25-27 and Mark 10:42-45 it is not for us to lord it over anyone, but that we should be one of servitude and a slave to all.

In other words, we should humble ourselves rather than try to make ourselves greater than what we really are.  Jesus also points out those who practice their righteousness to be seen, will not receive a reward from our Father in heaven.  This is practicing self-righteousness and this is not spreading the word of God in a way that makes others want to follow in the steps of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 51:2 2Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I called him, that I might bless him and multiply him.

Though we will suffer days of trouble and even disaster, God is with us and blesses those who keep their faith in Him.  Look at Job, how he lost everything yet kept his faith in God and received tenfold more than he had lost.  God knows we will suffer but rewards us when our faith remains even through our suffering.

Abraham went through a lot of testing as God called him out of his homeland and sent him on a journey to a promised land that he never saw in its fruition.  The faith of Abraham shined as he proved his faith when told to use his son as a sacrifice to the Lord.  Abraham kept his faith through many battles, and he kept his followers from losing their faith as his success was from the Lord God.

Abraham was one and God made a covenant with him to multiply his descendants that would become many nations.  Now we are one and it is our journey to help those who are our descendants to know God and the gifts of God.  But we cannot show the gifts of God through our self-righteousness but through our humbleness we can shine the light of God to other through our faith.

Isaiah 51:3 3For the Lord comforts Zion; he comforts all her waste places and makes her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song.

Read these words again as they give us a promise of better times even in our times of distraught.   Whatever tears we shed or grief we suffer God is here to change our mourning into dancing.  God is changing the hearts of many where their tears have become singing and their frown into a joyous smile. 

Look around you and delight in the wonders God has created for our life now and also waiting for us in a future joy.  Some may live in a manmade jungle of concrete and steel but everything man has made is surrounded by the lush garden created by God.  We have everything to be thankful for as God surrounds us with His love.  Look past your woes and see the light shining on the way to eternal joy.

Isaiah 51:4 4“Give attention to me, my people, and give ear to me, my nation; for a law will go out from me, and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples.

Truthfully, God’s laws are very simple.  Why do we make them more difficult than they are?  The law is the light, and the gospel is the way.  You cannot have one without the other.  God has made His laws simple but knows of our ignorant, stubborn, self-serving, self-righteousness ways.  And God has made the gospel simple as well as His laws.  But again, we let our sinful nature get in the way and for some it blocks the light that enlightens the way.

Isaiah 51:5 5My righteousness draws near, my salvation has gone out, and my arms will judge the peoples; the coastlands hope for me, and for my arm they wait.

This is talking about faith.  Look how long they waited for the savior to come.  See what happened to those who did not wait.  We wait for the second coming of Jesus.  Do not grow weary, Jesus will come again and one way or another, we will see the glory of God come and bring us all to Him.

Do you think you have problems and do you blame your problems on God saying if He is God, He would save me now.  The truth is He has saved you now, you cannot see it because you wallow in your grief rather than listen to the word of God that brings the promises of God to light.

We will be judged; in fact, we are already judged through the salvation bought with the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Not that you have great faith, but that you have faith that Jesus died for you and all sinners.  We live but a second here in this flesh, but we live an eternity in the new body given to us in an everlasting joyful life with our savior Jesus Christ our Lord and true God. 

Isaiah 51:6 6Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and they who dwell in it will die in like manner; but my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will never be dismayed.”

When we see the stars vanish and the earth beneath our feet wear away, we will also see the promise of salvation take place.  A new earth will form beneath our feet and a new heaven above.  Neither will look the same as the old as sin will no longer exist, sadness will be replaced with joy, and faith will abound in thankfulness, worship, and eternal joy.  Amen.

Written by Curtis A. May