Thursday of the First Week of Advent, Dec 4, 2025

Isaiah 26:1–6

1 On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; he sets up victory like walls and bulwarks.

2 Open the gates, so that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in.

3 Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace— in peace because they trust in you.

4 Trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord God[a] you have an everlasting rock.

5 For he has brought low the inhabitants of the height; the lofty city he lays low. He lays it low to the ground, casts it to the dust.

6 The foot tramples it, the feet of the poor, the steps of the needy.

In our time, millions continue to leave the countryside for the promise of the city — a life of convenience, opportunity, and safety. Cities promise what villages cannot: better education, health care, and work. Yet the same cities that dazzle us with light and comfort often conceal deep loneliness and moral fatigue.

In Isaiah’s song, we also hear of two cities — one “mighty,” guarded by the Lord (Is 26:1), and another “lofty,” brought low by Him (Is 26:5). The first stands for Jerusalem, the city of faith; the second, for the proud nations that rise and fall in their self-confidence.

Isaiah’s writings show a consistent dislike for everything that exalts itself — lofty trees, towering mountains, arrogant rulers. What we call pride, the prophet calls rebellion. Babylon becomes the symbol of this human pride: in Genesis, it is a tower of ambition; in Revelation, a city of greed and seduction (Gen 11:1–9; Rev 17–18). Pride builds towers; humility builds altars.

The “mighty city” of Isaiah, by contrast, is not mighty because of its walls or weapons, but because its people are righteous and trust in the Lord. Isaiah saw in Jerusalem’s walls a symbol of divine protection: “We have a strong city; the Lord sets up walls and ramparts to protect us” (Is 26:1). Centuries later, John would see a new Jerusalem “coming down from heaven,” radiant with God’s glory, where nothing unclean may enter and all tears are wiped away (Rev 21:27).

Saint Augustine, writing after the fall of Rome, took up Isaiah’s vision in The City of God. When the proud empire collapsed, many blamed Christianity for weakening Rome’s old gods and traditions. Augustine replied that the true cause was not faith but moral decay. He contrasted the city of man, built on pride and self-love, with the city of God, built on humility and love of the Lord.

The tale continues in our time. Our cities too tell stories — of progress and poverty, of brilliance and blindness. Are they marked by faith or unbelief, by humility or pride, by trust in God or in ourselves? The answer will shape not only our cities but the kind of world we leave behind.

And perhaps Isaiah would still whisper to us: The secure city is not the one with the highest walls, but the one whose gates are open to righteousness and peace.

Scripture Attribution
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993
the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of
Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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