Lord, you are my God;
I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness
you have done wonderful things,
things planned long ago.
2 You have made the city a heap of rubble,
the fortified town a ruin,
the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more;
it will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore strong peoples will honor you;
cities of ruthless nations will revere you.
4 You have been a refuge for the poor,
a refuge for the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the storm
and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless
is like a storm driving against a wall
5 and like the heat of the desert.
You silence the uproar of foreigners;
as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,
so the song of the ruthless is stilled.
Isaiah 25:1-5
It is good to take time from all that surrounds us to praise God. To realize He does wonderful things.
People who are oppressed long for justice. They long to see the devices of the ruthless come to nothing and compassion for the poor and the needy in their distress.
CS Lewis talked about how this world is our example of what a mess we humans make of things so that in heaven at last we will submit to God’s rule gladly.
The ultimate goal is for eternity with God.
If we suffer in this life but secure our peace with God for eternity than our suffering will not be in vain. In this case we see that strong and ruthless people give respect to God when they are cast down.
Thus, the hope even for the ruthless is that they will at last see the futility of their ways and bend the knee to God—in the end every knee will bow but to choose to do so in this life time is our salvation.