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. He shall enter into peace; they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness (Isaiah 57:1-2). And of whom have you been afraid, or feared, that you have lied and not remembered Me, nor taken it from your heart? Is it not because I have held My peace from old that you do not fear Me? I will declare your righteousness and your works, for they will not profit you (Isaiah 57:11-12). “There is no peace,” Says my God, “for the wicked” (Isaiah 57:21). Indeed you fast for strife and debate, and to strike with the fist of wickedness (Isaiah 58:4). Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness. To undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? (Isaiah 58:6)?

God has never honored the righteousness and works of one that lies and does wickedness before the righteous man to cause him to stumble. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way (Romans 14:13). God honors the righteousness of the One that is Truth and our Salvation, Jesus the Christ. “I have seen his ways, and will heal him; I will also lead him, and restore comforts to him and to his mourners. I create the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace to him who is far off and to him who is near,” Says the Lord, “and I will heal him” (Isaiah 57:18-19). God creates the fruit of the lips, but the deception is from the enemy! The righteous perishes, and no man takes it to heart but God heals him and restores him.

The enemy cannot create, so he corrupts what God has created. The enemy steals the blessings by corrupting what God created, and blessings become burdens by deception. The enemy corrupts by lying about the Truth. That is the bonds of wickedness. That is how the Word of God is put before your brother as a stumbling block. A lying tongue hates those who are crushed by it, and a flattering mouth works ruin (Proverbs 26:28). A righteous man hates lying, but a wicked man is loathsome and comes to shame (Proverbs 13:5). But, God has chosen the fast that loosens the bonds of wickedness. The Truth cannot be taught with a lie! A lying tongue hates those crushed by it. Who is the one crushed? The one that knew the truth and was taken away (separated by the lie). The merciful men are taken away, while no one considers that the righteous is taken away from evil.

If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing finger, and speaking wickedness, if you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noonday. The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen you bones; you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail (Isaiah 58:9-11). Wickedness is not taken from the wicked, but from the righteous. The wicked shall not find peace. The righteous dwell in the Lord’s rest, in His peace. The wicked must turn back from their wickedness. If you take away the yoke from your midst.

And of whom have you been afraid, or feared, that you have lied and not remembered Me, nor taken it from your heart? (Isaiah 57:11). Why do you fear speaking the truth? What can man take from you that is from God? The enemy takes by the lie and the lie is told by your lips, a perversion of the fruit of the lips that God creates. The enemy cannot take away the Truth, so who do you fear? The LORD said, “My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth” (Isaiah 59:21). God will cause your works of righteousness (that is not righteousness) to come to nothing. God will cause the Truth to have dominion over all the earth. Do you give honor to those doing your words and your ways? Do you dishonor those that hear the voice of God and follow His Word and His Way? Do you burden those that know that the fruit has been perverted? God desires to break the yoke of wickedness. God desires to be served in Spirit and in Truth. Speak the truth, the fruit of the lips that God creates.

© 2005 Tim D. Coulter Sr.