In Whom do we Trust?

Isaiah 57:1-13 

1 The righteous perishes,
And no man takes it to heart;
Merciful men are taken away,
While no one considers
That the righteous is taken away from evil.

2 He shall enter into peace;
They shall rest in their beds,
Each one walking in his uprightness.

3 "But come here,
You sons of the sorceress,
You offspring of the adulterer and the harlot!
4 Whom do you ridicule?
Against whom do you make a wide mouth
And stick out the tongue?
Are you not children of transgression,
Offspring of falsehood,
5 Inflaming yourselves with gods under every green tree,
Slaying the children in the valleys,
Under the clefts of the rocks?

6 Among the smooth stones of the stream
Is your portion;
They, they, are your lot!
Even to them you have poured a drink offering,
You have offered a grain offering.
Should I receive comfort in these?

7 "On a lofty and high mountain
You have set your bed;
Even there you went up
To offer sacrifice.

8 Also behind the doors and their posts
You have set up your remembrance;
For you have uncovered yourself to those other than Me,
And have gone up to them;
You have enlarged your bed
And made a covenant with them;
You have loved their bed,
Where you saw their nudity.

9 You went to the king with ointment,
And increased your perfumes;
You sent your messengers far off,
And even descended to Sheol.

10 You are wearied in the length of your way;
Yet you did not say, 'There is no hope.'
You have found the life of your hand;
Therefore you were not grieved.

11 "And of whom have you been afraid, or feared,
That you have lied
And not remembered Me,
Nor taken it to your heart?
Is it not because I have held My peace from of old
That you do not fear Me?

12 I will declare your righteousness
And your works,
For they will not profit you.

13 When you cry out,
Let your collection of idols deliver you.
But the wind will carry them all away,
A breath will take them.
But he who puts his trust in Me shall possess the land,
And shall inherit My holy mountain."

In whom do we trust?  Israel's futile idolatry was an empty reliance on lifeless objects of worship and supplication.  Do we put our trust anywhere else but in our Lord according to His word?  Those in opposition to God mock the upright and sneer at God when they are taken away in early death as if there is no hope or reason to follow God if we just end up dead instead of living longer lives of licentiousness like they do.  But the Lord reminds us through Isaiah that the merciful and righteous are taken away in mercy from the evil of those opposed to God that permeates the world.  It is a blessing to go early to our Lord (Philippians 1:23-24, 2 Corinthians 5:2, 8), not a punishment or curse that some would imply makes our lives meaningless if we follow Him in holiness and not join them in wanton sin (1 Peter 4:4-5) and abandon Him.  Isaiah is bold and calls these accusers products of prostitution and adultery, unfit to judge others because they themselves are the offspring of lies and sin who make false and lifeless gods to worship as they mock the righteousness of those worshiping the Holy and Righteous One.  The idolaters of that generation made altars on hills far from prying eyes as if to hide from the living LORD and sacrificed abominations there, knowing the true God but casting Him aside for a god more suitable to allow them to live according to their own standards instead of His morality given in His word to us all.  This is a warning as in Romans 1:32 to us not to back up the ungodly by agreeing with them or supporting their sin against God by claiming it is alright to do so because they want to, and then supporting them or even calling what God says is unrighteous as good.  We are to stand for the truth in love, firmly and unwavering that we do not slip into the same sins ourselves as the idolaters of Israel’s time.  Worshiping other so-called gods is as adultery committed against our Lord; sleeping with the enemy, exposing ourselves, and making a covenant with those opposing Him is not wise.  The ungodly today continue to repeat these same errors, calling futility hope and not rather grieved at their opposition to their sovereign creator.  Just because God does not immediately call the unrighteous to account immediately does not mean that they should not fear His wrath on their sin on the day of ultimate and final judgment or pretend that He will not see what they do just because He holds His peace for a time.  All we call right will be exposed on that day and our works will not profit us in God’s sight, especially not those willingly done in rejection of His word.  The false gods and lifeless idols of our own hands cannot deliver us on that day.  His breath will blow them away from eternity and only those who have trusted His word and work (John 6:29) will have an inheritance in the New Holy mountain in the Celestial City which is the New Jerusalem coming from heaven to the earth made new where He will reign and live among us.  The eternally important question then is, in whom do you trust?  Is it the Sovereign Lord of all or an empty and lifeless product of your own or another’s philosophy and false work of their own hands instead of according to His word?  Jesus said that only He is the way (Acts 4:12) and there is no other (1 Corinthians 3:11, John 14:6, 1 Timothy 2:5, Acts 10:43).  Keep yourselves from idols, little children (1 John 5:21).  Amen.