Isaiah Chapter 57

Isaiah 57, The Spiritual Adultery of God’s People

A. Judah’s Idolatry Is Like Spiritual Adultery

1. Isaiah 57:1-2, The Persecution of the Righteous

Isaiah 57:1-2, “The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness.”

Isaiah 57 continues the rebuke of Judah’s failed leadership from Isaiah 56. The watchmen were blind, the shepherds lacked understanding, and the leaders were consumed with their own appetite and gain. Now the LORD exposes another evidence of national decay, the righteous perish, and no one cares. This is a terrifying spiritual condition. A nation, church, or community is in deep trouble when the godly are removed and the people do not take it to heart.

The phrase, “The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart,” shows that Judah had become morally numb. The death or removal of righteous men should have been a warning. When godly voices are silenced, faithful men are ignored, and merciful men disappear from public life, wise people should tremble. But Judah did not consider what was happening. They did not grieve the loss of righteousness. They did not ask why God was allowing the faithful to be taken away. They did not understand that the removal of righteous men may itself be a sign of coming judgment.

This passage also gives strong evidence that Isaiah is speaking of conditions before the Babylonian exile. The sins described in the chapter, idolatry under green trees, child sacrifice, pagan worship in the valleys, and spiritual adultery on the high places, fit the pre exilic period, especially the abominations associated with the reign of Manasseh. These are not the dominant sins of the post exilic community after Judah returned from Babylon. This supports the unity and early authorship of Isaiah, rather than the critical theory that later writers composed these sections after the exile.

2 Kings 21:2-6, “And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD said, In Jerusalem will I put my name. And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.”

The sins of Manasseh match the kind of corruption Isaiah condemns in this chapter. Judah had turned from covenant faithfulness to idolatry, sorcery, immorality, and even child sacrifice. In such a time, the righteous were despised, ignored, and removed.

Yet Isaiah 57:1 gives a deeper perspective. “None considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come.” The wicked may think the righteous are simply dying, disappearing, or being silenced. But God says He is taking them away from coming evil. What looks like loss from an earthly perspective may be mercy from a divine perspective. God sometimes removes His people from a corrupt generation before judgment falls. The righteous are not abandoned. They are spared.

This does not mean every death of a righteous person is automatically a judgment sign in the same way, but the principle is clear. God is sovereign over the life and death of His servants. Their removal is not meaningless. Psalm 116:15, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” God does not treat the death of the righteous casually. Men may ignore it, but God does not.

The promise continues, “He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness.” The righteous who perish are not destroyed. They enter into peace. Their bodies rest, and their souls are secure in the presence and care of God. This is a comforting truth. The wicked may persecute the righteous, neglect them, mock them, or count them as failures, but God gives them peace.

For the believer today, this points forward to the fuller hope revealed in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:8, “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” Death is not defeat for the righteous. It is entrance into peace because the believer belongs to the Lord.

2. Isaiah 57:3-10, The Spiritual Adultery of God’s People

Isaiah 57:3-10, “But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore. Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood, Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks? Among the smooth stones of the stream is thy portion, they, they are thy lot: even to them hast thou poured a drink offering, thou hast offered a meat offering. Should I receive comfort in these? Upon a lofty and high mountain hast thou set thy bed: even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice. Behind the doors also and the posts hast thou set up thy remembrance: for thou hast discovered thyself to another than me, and art gone up, thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made thee a covenant with them, thou lovedst their bed where thou sawest it. And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell. Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way, yet saidst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the life of thine hand, therefore thou wast not grieved.”

The LORD now turns from the righteous who were ignored to the wicked who mocked them. He summons them, “But draw near hither.” The language is judicial. They are being called before God’s court. He identifies them as “ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore.” This is severe language, but it is morally accurate. Judah had become spiritually illegitimate through idolatry, occult practices, and covenant unfaithfulness.

God asks, “Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue?” The wicked had mocked the righteous. They had ridiculed those who remained faithful to the LORD. Their wide mouth and extended tongue picture contempt, arrogance, and childish scorn. But God asks them who they think they are mocking. To mock God’s faithful servants is to mock the God they serve.

This exposes a common sin of fallen man. Men often ridicule righteousness while being blind to their own rebellion. They laugh at holiness while living in bondage. They mock obedience while being slaves to corruption. Romans 2:1, “Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself, for thou that judgest doest the same things.”

The LORD answers His own question, “are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood.” Judah had become defined by rebellion and deception. Their lineage from Abraham did not protect them from divine rebuke when they lived as children of transgression. Physical descent does not excuse spiritual adultery. Religious heritage does not substitute for obedience.

The next phrase exposes the heat of their idolatrous passion, “Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree.” Their idolatry was not cold, formal, or occasional. They burned with desire for false gods. Isaiah uses the language of sexual passion because idolatry is spiritual adultery. The LORD was Israel’s covenant Husband, and Israel’s pursuit of idols was like an adulterous wife chasing lovers.

Jeremiah 3:20, “Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.”

The green tree was often associated with pagan worship sites. Trees suggested fertility, life, and sensual worship. In Canaanite religion, idolatry and sexual immorality were frequently intertwined. Judah did not merely borrow cultural practices. They embraced religious perversion. They took the worship due to the holy God and gave themselves to false gods that appealed to appetite, lust, and superstition.

The sin worsens, “slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks.” This refers to child sacrifice, especially associated with Molech worship. This was one of the most horrifying sins of the Canaanites, and Israel was explicitly forbidden from practicing it.

Leviticus 18:21, “And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.”

Jeremiah 7:31, “And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of son Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.”

The perversity is staggering. People who would not offer faithful obedience to the LORD would sacrifice their own children to idols. This is the madness of idolatry. False worship never stays harmless. It eventually demands blood, innocence, family, and truth. When men reject the living God, they do not become morally neutral. They become enslaved to darker powers.

The LORD says, “Among the smooth stones of the stream is thy portion, they, they are thy lot.” Instead of the LORD being their portion, Judah had chosen stones. Smooth stones from stream beds may have been used as objects of pagan worship or fertility rites. God says, in effect, “If these are what you chose, then let them be your portion.” This is judgment by abandonment. God lets the idolater have the empty thing he chose.

The tragedy is that Israel’s proper confession should have been very different. Psalm 73:26, “My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.” The faithful man says God is his portion. The idolater says the stones are his portion. One receives eternal life and peace. The other receives emptiness.

The LORD continues, “even to them hast thou poured a drink offering, thou hast offered a meat offering. Should I receive comfort in these?” Drink offerings and meat offerings belonged to the worship of the LORD, yet Judah gave them to idols. They took what belonged to God and spent it on false gods. God asks whether He should be comforted or pleased by this. The obvious answer is no. Religious activity does not please God when it is directed toward idols or mixed with rebellion.

The adultery image intensifies, “Upon a lofty and high mountain hast thou set thy bed: even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice.” The high places became the bedroom of Judah’s spiritual adultery. They did not sin in ignorance only. They climbed to the high places. They pursued false worship deliberately. Their sacrifices were not acts of devotion to God, but acts of spiritual betrayal.

God says, “Behind the doors also and the posts hast thou set up thy remembrance.” This is a deliberate perversion of what God commanded in Deuteronomy. Israel was to remember the LORD and His Word in the home.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon posts of thy house, and on thy gates.”

Instead of marking their homes with the remembrance of the one true God, they placed pagan memorials behind the doors and posts. The home, which should have been a place of covenant instruction, became a place of idolatrous memory. This is how apostasy works. It does not only corrupt public worship. It enters the household. It reshapes what families remember, teach, honor, and normalize.

The LORD then says, “for thou hast discovered thyself to another than me, and art gone up, thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made thee a covenant with them.” Judah’s sin is described as shameless exposure. She uncovered herself to others besides the LORD. She enlarged her bed. She made covenants with false gods and pagan powers. This was spiritual prostitution. The people who belonged to God gave themselves away.

The phrase “thou lovedst their bed where thou sawest it” shows that Judah’s heart was not reluctant. She loved the false bed. She desired the forbidden relationship. Idolatry is not merely bad doctrine. It is misplaced love. The heart was created to love God, but when it turns from Him, it attaches itself to substitutes.

1 John 2:15-17, “Love not world, neither things that are in world. If any man love world, love Father is not in him. For all that is in world, lust flesh, and lust eyes, and pride life, is not of Father, but is of world. And world passeth away, and lust thereof: but he that doeth will God abideth for ever.”

Isaiah also says, “And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes.” This likely refers to political alliances pursued in the same spirit as spiritual adultery. Judah looked to foreign kings instead of trusting the LORD. They prepared themselves like an adulteress seeking favor. Their diplomacy was not rooted in wisdom under God, but in unbelief and fear.

They “didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell.” Judah exhausted herself in alliances, idol worship, and desperate schemes. She descended morally and spiritually. The path away from God always goes downward. It may look sophisticated, political, or religious, but it ends in shame and death.

Finally, the LORD says, “Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way, yet saidst thou not, There is no hope.” Sin makes a man tired. Idolatry exhausts the soul. False worship promises life but produces weariness. Yet even when Judah became weary, she did not repent. She refused to say, “There is no hope in this path.” She would not admit the bankruptcy of her sin.

The phrase “thou hast found the life of thine hand, therefore thou wast not grieved” means Judah found just enough strength or temporary success to keep going in rebellion. That is one of the dangers of sin. If judgment does not fall immediately, and if the sinner finds temporary energy or benefit, he may continue without grief. But temporary success in sin is not mercy if it hardens the heart.

B. God Describes His Dealing with His Disobedient People

1. Isaiah 57:11-13, The End of God’s Patience with His People

Isaiah 57:11-13, “And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared, that thou hast lied, and hast not remembered me, nor laid it to thy heart? have not I held my peace even of old, and thou fearest me not? I will declare thy righteousness, and thy works, for they shall not profit thee. When thou criest, let thy companies deliver thee, but the wind shall carry them all away, vanity shall take them: but he that putteth his trust in me shall possess land, and shall inherit my holy mountain.”

The LORD now confronts the root of Judah’s deception. “And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared, that thou hast lied, and hast not remembered me.” Judah feared the wrong things. They feared foreign powers, political instability, surrounding nations, cultural pressure, and the loss of security. But they did not fear the LORD. Because their fear was misplaced, their worship became corrupted and their lives became dishonest.

Fear is never neutral. What a man fears often controls what he does. Judah feared men and idols more than God, so Judah lied and forgot God. Proverbs 29:25, “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in LORD shall be safe.” When the fear of man replaces the fear of God, compromise becomes easy.

The LORD says they “hast not remembered me, nor laid it to thy heart.” Their problem was not lack of religious information. They had the Law, the temple, the priesthood, the covenants, the history of deliverance, and the prophetic word. Their problem was that they refused to lay these things to heart. Truth that is not received into the heart becomes a witness against the hearer.

God then exposes their presumption, “have not I held my peace even of old, and thou fearest me not?” God had been patient. He had not immediately destroyed them for their sin. But they mistook His patience for indifference. They assumed that because judgment had not yet fallen, judgment would not fall. This is one of the oldest errors of sinful man.

Ecclesiastes 8:11, “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore heart sons men is fully set in them to do evil.”

God’s delay is mercy, not weakness. His patience is meant to lead men to repentance, not deeper rebellion. Romans 2:4, “Or despisest thou riches his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that goodness God leadeth thee to repentance?”

The LORD then says, “I will declare thy righteousness, and thy works, for they shall not profit thee.” This is divine irony. Judah had her own righteousness and works. She had religious activity, offerings, alliances, rituals, and outward forms. But God says these things will not profit. Works performed in unbelief and idolatry cannot save. Self righteousness collapses before the holiness of God.

Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, and we all do fade as leaf, and our iniquities, like wind, have taken us away.”

When judgment comes, God says, “When thou criest, let thy companies deliver thee.” The word points to their collection of idols and alliances. Let the idols deliver. Let the false gods answer. Let the political saviors rescue. But they cannot. “The wind shall carry them all away, vanity shall take them.” Idols that seemed powerful will be exposed as weightless. A breath will carry them off.

This is the end of all false trust. Whatever replaces God eventually fails. Money fails. Power fails. Men fail. Idols fail. Self righteousness fails. Human systems fail. Only the LORD remains.

Then comes the contrast, “but he that putteth his trust in me shall possess land, and shall inherit my holy mountain.” Trust in the LORD brings security. The idolater loses his portion, but the believer inherits. In the immediate context, this includes covenant blessing connected to the land and holy mountain. In the broader biblical view, it shows the abiding truth that those who trust the LORD receive what He has promised.

Psalm 37:3, “Trust in the LORD, and do good, so shalt thou dwell in land, and verily thou shalt be fed.”

2. Isaiah 57:14, A Stumbling Block Removed

Isaiah 57:14, “And shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare way, take up stumblingblock out of way of my people.”

The LORD now gives a word of restoration. “Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare way.” This is the language of building a raised road or highway. The image is not of placing barriers in front of God’s people, but of lifting up a road so that obstacles are removed. God is making a way for His people to return.

This connects with earlier promises in Isaiah. Isaiah 35:8, “And an highway shall be there, and way, and it shall be called way holiness, unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for those: wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.” God prepares a way of return, holiness, and restoration. He does not merely rebuke sin. He also removes obstacles for those who will return to Him.

The command is, “take up stumblingblock out of way of my people.” Whatever prevents repentance, restoration, obedience, and fellowship with God must be removed. In Isaiah 57, the stumbling blocks include idolatry, misplaced fear, self righteousness, false worship, spiritual pride, and hardness of heart.

This principle remains true. A man cannot walk closely with God while preserving the stumbling blocks that keep him in sin. Hebrews 12:1, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great cloud witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience race that is set before us.” Some things are sinful in themselves. Other things become weights. Both must be laid aside when they hinder obedience.

3. Isaiah 57:15-21, God Describes the Way of Peace and Restoration

Isaiah 57:15-21, “For thus saith high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy, I dwell in high and holy place, with him also that is of contrite and humble spirit, to revive spirit humble, and to revive heart contrite ones. For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for spirit should fail before me, and souls which I have made. For iniquity his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in way his heart. I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners. I create fruit lips, Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith LORD, and I will heal him. But wicked are like troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to wicked.”

This is one of the great passages in Isaiah on the majesty and mercy of God. The LORD introduces Himself as “high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy.” Before sinners can be restored rightly, they must see God rightly. God is not like man. He is not small, temporary, dependent, corruptible, or morally flexible. He is high and lofty. He inhabits eternity. His name is Holy.

To say that God inhabits eternity means He is not bound by time as creatures are. He is eternal, self existent, and sovereign over all ages. Psalm 90:2, “Before mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed earth and world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” God does not merely live a long time. He is eternal God.

His name is Holy. Holiness means God is utterly set apart in His being, purity, majesty, and moral perfection. Isaiah 6:3, “And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is LORD hosts: whole earth is full of his glory.” Judah’s idolatry was so wicked because it treated the Holy One as though He could be replaced by stones, trees, idols, and pagan lovers.

Yet the wonder of Isaiah 57:15 is that this high and holy God also dwells “with him also that is of contrite and humble spirit.” God dwells in the high and holy place, yet He also dwells with the broken and humble. This is not because man climbs up to God by pride or merit. It is because God condescends in mercy to the repentant.

A contrite spirit is broken over sin. A humble spirit bows before God rather than defending itself. This is the opposite of Judah’s earlier arrogance. The idolaters mocked the righteous, pursued false gods, and refused to say there was no hope in their sin. The contrite man confesses the truth. He stops justifying rebellion. He comes low before the LORD.

Psalm 51:17, “The sacrifices God are broken spirit: broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”

The purpose of God’s nearness is “to revive spirit humble, and to revive heart contrite ones.” God does not crush the humble. He revives them. He does not despise the contrite. He restores them. Revival is not produced by pride, entertainment, emotional manipulation, or religious machinery. True revival comes when the high and holy God gives life to the humble and contrite.

The LORD then says, “For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth.” God’s anger against sin is real, but He is not eager to destroy. His discipline has purpose. His wrath is holy, not petty. He says, “for spirit should fail before me, and souls which I have made.” God remembers that man is frail. If He contended forever, no sinner could stand.

Psalm 103:13-14, “Like as father pitieth children, so LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame, he remembereth that we are dust.”

God explains why He disciplined His people, “For iniquity his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him.” Covetousness was not a small matter. Covetousness is idolatry because it places desire where God should be. Colossians 3:5, “Mortify therefore your members which are upon earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”

The LORD says, “I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in way his heart.” Even under discipline, Judah continued stubbornly. This shows the depth of human depravity. Discipline alone does not soften the heart unless God’s grace works repentance. Man can be struck and still rebel. He can suffer consequences and still refuse to turn.

Then comes an astonishing statement of grace, “I have seen his ways, and will heal him.” God saw Judah’s ways fully. He saw the idolatry, adultery, covetousness, fear, lies, and stubbornness. Yet He says, “and will heal him.” This is not because Judah deserved healing. It is because God is merciful. Grace does not mean God is blind to sin. Grace means God sees sin completely and still provides healing through His own mercy.

The LORD adds, “I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.” God not only heals. He leads. He restores comfort. The mourners are those who grieve rightly, those who are broken over sin and its consequences. God comforts the repentant.

Matthew 5:4, “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.”

The next phrase is beautiful, “I create fruit lips.” God creates praise, confession, thanksgiving, and peace from the lips of restored people. The mouth that once lied, mocked, and praised idols can be transformed to speak peace and worship. Restoration reaches speech because the mouth reveals the heart.

Hebrews 13:15, “By him therefore let us offer sacrifice praise to God continually, that is, fruit lips giving thanks to his name.”

God declares, “Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith LORD, and I will heal him.” Peace is repeated for emphasis. This is not shallow peace or political peace only. It is the peace of reconciliation, restoration, wholeness, and divine healing. In its fuller New Testament revelation, Paul applies this truth to Jews and Gentiles reconciled through Christ.

Ephesians 2:17-18, “And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto Father.”

Those who are far off are Gentiles. Those who are near are Jews. Both need peace. Both receive peace only through the work of Christ. Isaiah 57 therefore fits with the larger prophetic vision of Gentile inclusion and Jewish restoration, without erasing the distinction between Israel and the nations. God’s peace comes through His appointed means, and that means is ultimately the Lord Jesus Christ.

But the chapter ends with a warning, “But wicked are like troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.” The wicked do not have peace because their hearts are restless. Like the sea, they are unstable, agitated, and constantly producing mire and dirt. Sin does not create rest. It produces agitation, uncleanness, and turmoil.

This image is powerful. The sea in ancient Jewish thought often represented danger, chaos, restlessness, and instability. The wicked are like that. Their desires do not rest. Their guilt does not rest. Their fears do not rest. Their rebellion does not rest. Even when they appear successful outwardly, inwardly they lack peace.

The final statement is absolute, “There is no peace, saith my God, to wicked.” This is not merely psychological observation. It is divine verdict. The wicked may have distraction, pleasure, wealth, entertainment, intoxication, and temporary success, but they do not have peace with God. Peace cannot be stolen. It cannot be manufactured. It cannot be purchased through idols or works. It is given by God to the humble, contrite, repentant, and believing.

Romans 5:1, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Theological Summary of Isaiah 57

Isaiah 57 exposes the terrible contrast between the righteous and the wicked. The righteous may be ignored by men, but they are not forgotten by God. They may perish from the earth, but they enter into peace. The wicked may mock the righteous, chase idols, indulge lust, sacrifice innocence, and trust in false powers, but their path ends in judgment and unrest.

The chapter also shows the nature of idolatry as spiritual adultery. Judah’s sin was not merely that they made bad religious choices. They betrayed the LORD, their covenant God. They gave to idols the offerings, love, remembrance, trust, and obedience that belonged to Him alone. Idolatry is always personal treason against God.

Yet Isaiah 57 also magnifies grace. The high and lofty One, who inhabits eternity and whose name is Holy, dwells with the contrite and humble. God wounds in discipline, but He also heals in mercy. He sees sinful ways, yet He restores those who are humbled before Him. He speaks peace to the far and near, and that peace is ultimately fulfilled through the Lord Jesus Christ.

The final warning must not be softened. “There is no peace, saith my God, to wicked.” No man can live in rebellion against God and possess true peace. Peace belongs to those who trust the LORD, humble themselves before Him, and receive the healing He alone provides.