Perfect Peace

The Key to Perfect Peace
Isaiah 26:1-9
May 3-4, 2025

God sent Isaiah to stir Israel to revival. That's the theme of the whole book. Actually, it's the theme of all of the prophets, and the minor prophets as well. Because Israel had fallen away from God, they were drawn to the gods of the world that were around them. These gods that appeal to their flesh. God sent Isaiah to call them out of that, because he knew that if they follow the flesh, these gods of the flesh, then it would weaken them spiritually and nationally, and would end in disaster for them. That's true. It's true today. Anybody who's done the world thing will tell you, it ends terribly, it ends in disaster.

Throughout the chapters of this book that we've been studying, interestingly, Isaiah, he alternates between these grave warnings of disaster that come from pursuing worldly things, he alternates that with visions of glory. He wants them to know, like, "Come back, do you not know what God can do in your life?" He wants them to have that vision. He gives them the vision of the latter days. He's like, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard." It's not even entered into the heart of man what God would do for those who love him. You have no idea. God wants to bless your life. Why waste your life? That's the theme of revival. God loves you, don't waste your life.

He gives these visions of glory. Particularly in these last chapters we've been looking at, he gives visions of glory of the latter days. Which is to say, he reminds Israel that Israel will have a great part of the latter days. A glory will be abiding in the latter days for Israel. God is not done with Israel. What's interesting is that God is also not done with the nations of the world either. When Jesus returns to the earth in the latter days, he will establish his throne in Jerusalem. He will rule and reign the nations of the world from there, from that great city. He will call the nations to revival. All the nations He will call to himself. This is amazing.

Many people don't know this is in the Bible, but it's amazing. Isaiah 19, it says, "The Lord will send Egypt a savior and a champion, and he will deliver them." Thus, the Lord will make himself known to Egypt. The Egyptians will know the Lord in that day. They will make a vow to the Lord, and they'll keep it. In that day, Israel will be a third party with Egypt and Assyria. This will be a blessing. This alliance, a blessing in the midst of the earth. Whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, "Blessed is Egypt, my people." Did you know that's in the Bible? "Blessed is Egypt, my people. Blessed is Assyria, the work of my hands. Blessed is Israel, my inheritance." Amazing.

Before that glorious vision, before that revival, before the events of the latter days, there will be a terrible and great day of the Lord, described in Chapter 24. He's describing here a time of tribulation. A seven-year period when God will pour out his wrath on the non-believing, God-rejecting world. The description that he gives us in Chapter 24 is of cataclysmic disaster, the terrible day of the Lord, the tribulation.

Isaiah 24, notice just a few verses. "Terror and pit and snare confront you, oh, inhabitant of the earth. Then it will be that he who flees the report of disaster will fall into the pit. He who comes out of the pit will be caught in the snare. For the windows above are opened, and the foundations of the earth shake." In other words, you cannot escape it. The earth is broken asunder. The earth is split through. The earth is shaken violently. The earth reels to and fro like a drunkard. Earthquakes, great earthquakes. It totters like a shack, for its transgressions are heavy upon it. It will fall never to rise again. There will be a new heaven and a new earth.

Now, compare that to the words of Chapter 26 of our study today. Where he says, "Oh Lord, you will keep in perfect peace the one who trusts in Thee." Perfect peace. What a contrast. He gave a description of cataclysmic disaster, but then He speaks to those who trust in Thee. He will keep them in perfect peace. Not tribulation or terror, peace. Peace like a river that attendeth your way. Peace that passes understanding. A deep, residing peace that comes from your heart being right with God. That's what he's calling you to. These verses are about that perfect peace. Where does peace come from? There are keys to peace.

Let's read these verses in Chapter 26, starting in verse 1. "In that day--" I love that declaration. "In that day," He means in that glorious day, "there will be a song sung in the land of Judah. The song will go like this. We have a strong city. He sets up walls, ramparts for security." Then he says, "Open the gates." I love this right here. "Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter." He doesn't here only reference Israel, all the righteous. "Open the gates, let them all come, the one who remains faithful. For the steadfast of mind, you will keep in perfect peace because he trusts in Thee."

Then he turns to you. "Trust in the Lord forever, man. For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting rock. For He has brought low those who dwell on high, the unassailable city." Here's a reference to the world. You might call it Babylon the Great. "He lays it low. He lays it low to the ground. He casts it to the dust. The foot will trample it. The feet of the afflicted. The steps of the helpless will step upon it, but the way of the righteous is smooth."

"Oh, upright one, make the path of the righteous level. Indeed, while following the way of your judgments, oh Lord, we have waited. We have waited for you eagerly. Your name, even your memory, is the desire of our souls. At night, my soul longs for you. Indeed, my spirit within me seeks you, and it seeks you diligently." Great words. These are the verses we want to look at. Of course, as I mentioned, we'll look at the other verses around this at our Wednesday study.

I. God is He Who Keeps You in Perfect Peace

I want us to start with this. That God is He who keeps you in perfect peace. Notice, God gives peace. It's something you receive. You don't somehow make peace on your own. No, you receive. It's a gift. It's the result of God in your life. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace. God gives peace. John 14:27, Jesus says, "Peace, I leave with you. My peace, I give to you. My peace, you receive it." Not as the world gives. No, no, it's different. "Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful." See, He's speaking in the midst of trouble, in the midst of disaster, in the midst of terror, in the midst of all the things broken, that is wrong in this world, peace. Peace. My peace. Isaiah calls it perfect peace.

What's interesting is that the word perfect is not in the Hebrew. What He says instead is, "Peace, peace." It's emphatic. Whenever He does that, whenever He uses two words together, the same, it means like the best of the best. The holy of holies. The peace that is above all peace. Like Philippians 4:7, "And the peace of God." It's God's peace, and it surpasses all comprehension. This is a very famous verse. "The peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and will guard your minds--" "Will guard your minds," that's interesting, "in Christ Jesus."

A. The steadfast of mind receive perfect peace

Do you know to whom God gives perfect peace? It says right here. The steadfast of mind receive perfect peace because he trusts in Thee. See, in other words, the steadfast of mind are steadfast in faith. It's how they think. It's how they process life. When you encounter life's turbulence, when you encounter life's troubles, challenges, difficulties, hard things come your way, how do you process it? How do you think of it? How do you consider it? The steadfast of mind see it through the perspective of faith, they trust. In other words, they say to themselves, "This, I know." "I know this." "I know my God." "I know how my God moves." "My God is faithful." "I know my God."

You see, the steadfast of mind, this is how they think. "I know my God. I know how He moves." You don't understand, look at the trouble. Look at the difficulty. Look at the challenges you face. "I know my God. I know how He moves." See, that's the steadfast of mind. They are the ones who have perfect peace because they trust. "I know my God. I know how He moves." "God has always been faithful to me, and I know He always will."

Anybody want to say that with me? I know my God. I know how He moves. He's always been faithful, and I know He always will. Can we say that to the Lord? Amen. Here's the thing, I have most often seen that in my life when I am in greatest need, when I'm going through the greatest trouble. When I'm going through the most difficult thing, that's when I see it. Sometimes people ask, "Why does God allow trials and troubles?" That's when He shows himself strong. That's when He reveals His great power. That's when He moves in your behalf.

2nd Chronicles 16:9. This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. You got to memorize this verse, it's so good. It's like a life verse. 2nd Chronicles 16:9, "The eyes of the Lord search to and fro throughout the whole earth." He is looking, He is searching. "The eyes of the Lord range to and fro throughout the whole earth in order to show himself strong in behalf of those whose heart is completely His."

Now, that phrase, "completely His," we know that word in Hebrew actually. We know that word. It's the word Shalom. Completely His is based on the word Shalom. Peace, in whose heart is peace. Peaceably made whole. Your heart is full. There's joy, there's peace. You are pleased with God, and God is pleased with you. There's peace. Peace in your heart with God. Your heart's right. Peace. There is something beautiful between you and God in the soul. That's what He means. He shows himself strong in your behalf when you are in greatest need. You look at the Scriptures, you can read front to back and you'll see how many times God moves in your behalf or in behalf of the one in the greatest need.

Isaiah 25, the chapter before, verse 4, "You have been a defense for the helpless. You're a defense for the needy and their distress. You are a refuge from the storm." God moves when you need him to move. When I think about this, I think of a time in my own life. It was a Saturday morning, I was scheduled to speak in another city. I was asked to speak at an interestingly, very unusual speaking engagement. I was supposed to speak at a stockholders' meeting of a company who had supported our missionary work in Russia. We were doing a lot of sending medical supplies, and we were raising a lot of money.

During those years, we were sending hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of medical supplies. Absolutely amazing. Shipping containers full. I was supposed to go and give a report, and then they were going to decide to do it again, we presumed. My flight was scheduled to leave at 7:04 or something like that, AM, and at 6:30 AM, we were living in Loa at the time, my wife nudges me, "Aren't you supposed to be at the airport right now?" Oh, have you ever had that "oh, no" feeling. I realized in a flash, I had set my alarm for PM rather than AM. The alarm didn't go off and now like, "Oh, no." I threw my clothes on, and I jump in the car.

I was scheduled on Alaska Airlines. I called, "Is there another flight that I can get on?" The meeting was scheduled that morning at 11:00. "No, nothing that will get you there." I said, "Would you mind looking at the other airlines?" "There's one on Southwest, I think at 7:15 or 7:16, something like that." I said, "Give me the phone number if you would." I called them, "Can I get a ticket on that flight?" "No, not this late. There's a kiosk at the airport, you can buy one there." "Thank you."

Hung up the phone. Now I start praying, "God, I'm in trouble. I need 10 miracles, and I need them in the exact right order." I drove right straight through Beaverton and never hit one red light, which is unusual in itself. I get to the airport, I drive into the wrong parking area, but there's a bus there and nobody's on it. I jump onto the driver, "Would you mind just taking me?" "Fine." I said, "Do you know where the Southwest kiosk is?" "I have no idea." He pulls me up, I run up the stairs, it was right there. I buy the ticket and go through security. Back in those days, you had to open your laptop and turn it on to show them it worked.

Then I'm running, I'm literally running down the corridors, whatever. I'm running. Of course, mine is the very last gate. I am just sprinting, just sprinting, sprinting. I zoomed past the gate agent. Back in those days, that's when you got your boarding pass. I didn't have a boarding pass. I just zoomed past the agent and went down the jet way. There I saw it, a big open square where my plane was no longer there. There was an agent there. I looked and I could see my plane. I said, "Bring it back." He said, "No, it's not coming back." I said, "You don't understand. I have to be on that plane. I need you to bring it back." He said, "I'm sorry, it's not coming back for anyone."

I said, "Okay. How do I get a refund?" He said, "Just go talk to her up there." I'm walking back up and this was my prayer, "God, I don't blame you for this. I did this. This was me. I did this. You have been so amazing to me. You have proven yourself to me over and over and over. I have nothing to complain about. I did this. You've always been faithful to me."

I went up to the lady and I said, "I need a refund." She was snickering, "There's always one of you. We call you runners." "That's nice." I'm looking at the plane now. It's all the way out. It's pulled this way.

I'm thinking to myself, "How do I explain this? They were giving us so much money for our work in Russia. How do I explain this?" I'm trying to think of the words. "How do I call them up later?" So irresponsible. I'm looking at the plane and I'm thinking of this, and then I see the plane go forward and turn this way. I do this. She saw me looking like that. She looked around, she said, "What are they doing?" I said, "I have no idea, but I need a boarding pass."

She gave me a boarding pass. I went down the jet way. I make none of this up. The plane pulls in, opens the door. I get on, they close the door. I'm now standing there in front of the plane. They start clapping.

I sit down and I'm sweating. We take off. I realize I still need some more miracles because I'm on the wrong plane. They were going to meet me on the other plane with a sign with my name and then drive me to the thing. I'm not on that plane. They're going to miss me. I don't know who it is and whatnot. The meeting is going to be started. We take off. The flight attendant comes by and I say, "Excuse me, what time do we land?" She says, "Excuse me, but aren't you the one that made us late."

That's true, but I still got some miracles to go. She gave me the time. Meanwhile, I'm trying to call on the-- back in those days, there was a phone in the back of the seat. I'm trying to call, page them, nothing. I can't get through nothing. I thought, "Okay. I still need more help, God." We picked up some tailwind or something. We're going to be just a few minutes after the other one. I said to the flight attendant, "Do you think there's any way that I could sit in the front row so that I could be the first one off this plane?" She looked at me and she said, "Oh, anything for you."

She brought me up to the front row. I make none of this up. I sat in the front row, they opened the door. I jumped out first. Back in those days there was a bus. You had to take the bus to the terminal. I was the last one on, which means I'm the first one off. I jump out. As I get to the main terminal, they're paging me. I grabbed the paging phone. "I'm here, I'm here, I'm here." "Well, where are you?" I said, "I'll explain to you later." I meet up with them and they drive me to the thing. I walk in the room just as they're introducing me.

I walk up to that podium and I got a story to tell. When I finish the story, and then I finished the report of what we had done, the CEO walked up to the podium afterwards. He said, "All I can say after hearing that story is give that man some money." "Yes, yes." No, my point is, I have seen God move. I could give you story after story after story of amazing things. He has moved most powerfully when I was in most need, when I was in trouble, when I had a great problem. I noticed that God does not do great miracles for me when I'm on vacation, but when I'm in trouble.

Psalm 121:1-2, "I lift up my eyes to the mountains, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, maker of heaven and earth." That's where my help comes from. My eyes look to Him. Anybody would agree with me. My eyes look to Him. See, this is the key to those who are steadfast of mind. They're steadfast of faith. It's how they think. It's how they process when things go wrong, when things go difficult, when things go challenge, how do you think, how do you process? This is a very important thing.

Many people, when they get into troubles, difficulties, they struggle in their faith. They doubt God's love. God, if you love me then why did you allow me to go through this trouble? They're not steadfast of mind. They're not steadfast of faith. They're doubting God. In that way then they're accusing God, "You don't love me." See, it's often in those difficulties, in those troubles, God proves himself most. That's the steadfast of mind. How do you think, how do you process it? What do you do when you're in trouble?

Steadfast of mind. If you will believe, you'll look to God, you'll watch in your way. 2nd Timothy 1:12, "I know in whom I have believed, I am persuaded, I am convinced He is able to keep that which I have entrusted Him until that day." In other words, God has proven Himself to me. Over and over and over God has proven Himself to me. Those who are steadfast of mind believe that God will do it again.

Romans 12:2, "Do not be conformed to this world. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Renewing, the thoughts on the mind must be made new, transformed mind. "So that you may prove what the will of God is." Having proven it, God's done it, God's proven it, you'll have gone through it and it will be proven to you. Now, which is good and acceptable to perfect. Because he says in Chapter 26, "Because we have an everlasting rock." Notice verse 4, "The steadfast of mind, you'll keep in perfect peace because he trusts in you."

B. We have an everlasting Rock

Then he turns to the reader. "Trust in the Lord, for in God the Lord, we have an everlasting rock." God is a rock. God is a firm foundation, an everlasting rock. God does not move. You can stand on the promises of God. You can build your life on God's love. One of the greatest examples in the Scriptures of faith, of trusting that God would be that everlasting rock, would be that of David.

Notice what he wrote in Psalm 71, "Be now to me a rock of habitation to which I may continually come." David saw the Lord like a rock in which was a cleft in the rock in which he could dwell in safety. I could go to the rock. The rock of habitation, he calls it. A place to dwell. A place to visit, a place on which to be. "For you have given commandment to save me." "When you send your word, you have given commandment." See, "When you give a command to save me, it's going to be done. For you are my rock, you're my fortress. You're my hope. You're my Lord and God. You're my confidence."

I love that right there. Because he knew His God, this is how he thought. "You are my confidence." David was not self-confident. People could look at David and say, "Oh, now here's a man who is self-confident." David would say, "Quite wrong. I am not confident. I am confident not in me. I am just a lowly shepherd boy. It's only by my God that I'm a marvel to many, God did that." You are my hope. You are my God. You are my confidence from my youth. I have become a marvel to many, but it's only because you're my strong refuge.

See, one of the great keys to David's faith and his victory in life was that he knew-- I know my God. He knew that God was for him, that God would be a rock on which he could stand. That's the steadfast of mind, the steadfast of heart, steadfast of faith, so much so that God was his confidence. See, an aspect of bedrock is that it does not move. God is steadfast. God is immovable.

The prophecies of a great coming tribulation can be disturbing. Many great troubles are awaiting this world. Jesus said the same, "In the latter days, there will be many troubles." Then he added, "But do not fear. Do not be afraid." The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night, but not for you. You will know. The signs of the times are before your eyes. God will keep you in perfect peace, because you have your steadfast faith.

Without that steadfast faith, when things start to move, when the world starts to break, what do you have? Anxiety, fear, anxiousness. You're troubled. Your mind is befuddled. It's like being in an earthquake for the very first time. I don't know if you've ever been in an earthquake. It's quite disturbing if you've never experienced it. I grew up in Oregon. We don't have earthquakes in Oregon, except for 1993, when at 5:34 AM, we had a 5.6 magnitude earthquake here. Now, I mentioned the time because it's important here. I happened to have gone to bed at 3:00 AM. Why? Because I was at a pastor's conference in California, and I drove straight through. I know. Gone to bed at 3:00 AM.

At 5:34 AM, the house started to shake. I had never heard of this. The glass started to shake. I could hear glass shaking. I only had two and a half hour sleep. I jumped out of bed, all befuddled in mind. All I can say was, "We have to get out," but I pointed to the closet. My wife's going, "What? What?" "We have to get out." Of course, I have it clear in my mind. It's all clear to me. "I'll get the kids. You get the bathrobe, which is in the closet." I don't have time to say all of this. I'm pointing at the closet. Read my mind. A good wife reads the husband's mind. I'm saying, "We have to get out. We have to get out." By the time that we finished, just, "What? What? What?" It stopped shaking.

Meanwhile, everybody from California who've been through a gazillion earthquakes, they were in their bed that morning going, "What do you think that is? Only about a 5.2?" "No, that could be 5.4." When you have a rock-- see, and here's the thing, David and God had a history. When you have a history with God, when you look back and you know what God did, and you know what God has done, how God has proven himself to you, you and God have a history, then you know what God will be to you in the future. You know what God will be to you today. David and God had a history. God proved himself over and over. When you have a deep history, you have a deep faith.

Psalm 40:2, "He brought me up out of the pit of destruction. He brought me out of the miry clay." He did it. "He set my feet on a rock. He made my footsteps firm. Over and over and over, he saved me." Psalm 62:6, "He alone is my rock. He alone is my salvation. He alone is my stronghold, and I will not be shaken. I know my God." This is the steadfast of mind. Notice in verse 7. He says, "And the way of the righteous is level." Very interesting. Notice verse 7, "The way of the righteous is smooth. Oh, Upright One, make the path of the righteous level."

II. The Way of the Righteous is Level

Now, what does this mean? It does not mean that the way of the righteous is without trouble. That's not what he means. No, the whole context is trouble. No, it means something entirely different than that. It has to do with the very first verses of the chapter, verses 1 and 2, "This song will be sung, we have a strong city. He sets up walls, ramparts for security." Then he says, "Open the gates of the city that the righteous may come and enter, the one who remains faithful." He has always been faithful. "Open the gate that the righteous may come." He's referring to that city, which the Lord of hosts will reign in the latter days when the righteous from the nations will be welcomed.

Notice Chapter 24 of Isaiah, verse 23. At the end of that Chapter 24, I mentioned, it's the chapter describing the great tribulation. The cataclysmic events of wrath. The capstone is the last verse. "And then the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem. And his glory will be there before the elders. The glory of the Lord of hosts will dwell there in that great city." Then the next chapter is, "Open the gates, that the righteous may come." Because when he says this, there is a highway in the heart of the righteous. That's what he means. There is a highway. There's a longing.

A. There is a highway in the heart of the righteous

Now, first, we ask, who are the righteous he refers to here? Who are the righteous? Are the righteous the perfect ones? No. Not one. The righteous are born in the ugly nature of man. What makes them righteous, then? The righteous are born in the ugly nature of man, but something happens to them. Something happens to change the direction of their life. They have an encounter with God. In that encounter, they believe. They see what they did not see before. They know what they did not know before, and they take hold of what they did not take hold of before. They have had an encounter with God. They believe God's word.

The righteous are not perfect, but they do know that if it wasn't for God's grace, they would be dead in their sins. These are the ones that know that if it wasn't for God's love, they would stand condemned, but they do not stand condemned because they know of God's love. They will not die in their sins because they know of God's grace. They know that they are made righteous only by grace, only by the gift that God gives. Their sins have been forgiven in their entirety. God gave them that gift. With that gift of forgiveness, he gives them the gift of righteousness. It's the righteousness of Jesus Christ given to them.

Can you imagine a gift such as that? I give to you as a gift the righteousness of Jesus Christ deposited into your account, so that when you give an accounting, everyone will give an accounting of his life. Everyone will stand before the almighty and give an accounting. What is in your account? If you got sins in your account, you're a debtor and condemned as a sinner. Can we just speak truthfully? Can we just speak boldly? If you got sin in your account, you're a sinner and you stand condemned, but by the grace and by the love, He takes out of your account. All of that sin, it's all removed out of your account, deposited on the cross of Jesus Christ.

Then he takes the righteousness of Jesus Christ and deposits that into your account so that when you give an accounting before the Great Almighty, what is in your account? Let's open the books. What's in your account? You're welcome to open my books. I have nothing to be ashamed of. Pastor, what do you mean you have nothing to be ashamed of? You have sinned in your life, too. Yes, but my sin is forgiven, washed by the blood of the lamb, taken from my account deposited on His. He took His righteousness and gave me His righteousness. It's in my book. Open the book. It's in right there. It's in my account. Read it. It's in my account. I don't stand condemned. I stand on the righteousness.

When you stand before the Almighty, you'll be standing there wearing a robe. You won't be in the nakedness of your sin. You'll be standing there with a robe, glorious, beautiful robe.

It's called a robe of righteousness. It's not yours, not your righteousness. You are wearing the righteousness of Jesus Christ. It's a robe covering you. How beautiful is this? "Open the gates that the righteous may enter, the one who is faithful." There is a highway design in the heart of the righteous, they believe their heart is right, and there's something in their hearts that longs, longs for the courts of the Lord.

When a great conspiracy arose against David and he was forced to flee Jerusalem for his own safety and crossed Jordan and heading east. The farther David went from Jerusalem, the more he longed for the courts of the Lord. It's a picture of this verse here in Isaiah. It's a great longing in the heart of the righteous for the courts of the Lord, for the presence of the glory of the Almighty. People long for those beautiful moments in life when they can just sit and enjoy a beautiful place to dwell. Lawn chairs at the beach at sunset with a warm crackling fire. People live for moments like this.

David says, "That's nice. I know something better. The glory of God. The courts of the Lord are still yet better." Or perhaps hiking up a mountain, coming to that place that overlook where, before your eyes, your eyes feast upon purple mountain majesties over amber ways of grain. David would say, "I know something better." "Oh, how lovely are your dwelling places, oh Lord of hosts?" Psalm 84. "How lovely are your dwelling places, oh Lord of hosts? My soul long to even yearn for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God."

B. Your name is the desire of our souls

Oh, how blessed are those who dwell in your house, they are ever praising you. What a privilege is that. How blessed is the man whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion? There's a highway to Zion. Make the path straight that they would come to the city. Open the gates. Then in verse 8, we'll close with this, he says, "For your name is the desire of our souls." "Indeed," verse 8, "while following the way of your judgments, oh Lord, we have waited for you eagerly. Your name, even the memory of your name, is the desire of our souls."

This world today it's such a mess. Brokenness is all around us, troubles are mounting in greater measure. How many times have we said, "Oh Lord, Jesus, come quickly"? We wait, we wait eagerly and while we wait, we delight His soul, His name rather. His name is the delight of our soul. See, when you have tasted and seen how good God is and how pleasant it is to dwell in the nearness of God, how wonderful it is to behold the beauty of God, you long for it again and again. Your soul longs for it.

Many years later, when Jerusalem was destroyed, many were taken captive to become exiles in Babylon, where they remained for 70 years. When Babylon itself was destroyed by the Persians, the children of Israel were allowed to return, to rebuild, to restore Jerusalem. This is what many have been dreaming of for 70 years. In their heart was a highway to Zion.

Even if Jerusalem was a pile of rubble, it was still the holy city. It was still their city. They longed for the courts of the Lord, the glory of God dwelled there.

Not everyone longed for Jerusalem. Many had grown quite comfortable there in Babylon. Oh, at first they hated it. They were, after all, slaves in a foreign land, but after a while, they began to settle in quite well. They built new lives there in Babylon, and when it was time to go home, many of them did not want to go home. They had grown quite comfortable there in Babylon. What's not to like?

In Babylon, there were theaters and restaurants. You could buy the finest Persian rugs in Babylon, Turkish coffee, Turkish delights. If you cannot afford a new chariot, you could buy a used one. You could get a house with a garden. You could get a house by the river. You could hold garden parties and invite your friends. What's not to like? Everything a person could desire was found in Babylon, or was there? Oh, all the pleasant things of Babylon were quite pleasant, but they're not enough for those who longed for more. It's not enough for those who long for their glory.

There are deeper places for the heart to dwell. The pleasant things of the world. Babylon, in so many ways, is a city that represents the city of man, the city of the world, the city of material, the city of wealth, the city of opulence, but there's no glory there. In the hearts of many, there is a highway to Zion. There is a highway to the courts of the Lord. Your name, even the memory of your name, is the delight of my soul. Only there will my soul be satisfied.

Let's pray. Lord, give us that longing, that longing for the courts of the Lord, that beautiful place in which the soul can dwell. God, we're so thankful for you, that you have become our delight. That you've done so much for us, and we can say, I know my God, I know how He moves. He's been my help, and He always will, but more than that, He is the delight of my soul. Church, how many would say that to the Lord today, "Oh, God, I am so thankful that you've been my help, and even more than that, I thank you for being the delight of my soul."

Would you just raise your hand if that's what you would say to the Lord today? I want to just say to you, God, I want to just declare to you, even more than that, you are the delight of my soul. There is nothing in Babylon, there is nothing in this world and all of its opulence that would satisfy the deepest longing that I have in my soul. We give you honor and glory for meeting us here in this place, in Jesus' name.