"It will be said,/Cast up, cast up; prepare the way;/Take up the obstacle out of the way of My people" (v. 14). The greatest obstacle to our Christian life is our failure to contact the Lord. This obstacle must be removed.
In verse 15 we have the word of the high and exalted One, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy. He says, "I will dwell in the high and holy place,/And with the contrite and lowly of spirit,/To revive the spirit of the lowly/And to revive the heart of the contrite." Our heart needs to be revived in one way, and our spirit needs to be revived in another way. The way to have a real revival is to contact the Lord. If we do not contact the Lord, we will not be revived.
In verse 16 Jehovah says that He will not contend forever, nor will He always be angry, for the spirit would faint before Him, and the souls which He has made. In verses 17 through 19 He goes on to say, "Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry,/And I struck him; I hid Myself and was angry;/And he went on, turning away in the way of his heart./ I have seen his ways/And will heal him;/And I will lead him and restore comfort to him/And to his mourning ones,/Creating the fruit of the lips:/Peace, peace to him who is far off and to him who is near,/Says Jehovah; and I will heal him." The expression the fruit of the lips refers to praise and thanksgiving. The word peace in verse 19 is significant. If we contact the Lord, have fellowship with Him, and remain in His presence, He will be happy and we will have peace. Otherwise, He will be unhappy with us and will contend with us.
"The wicked are like the tossed sea,/For it cannot be calm,/And its waters toss up mire and mud./There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked" (vv. 20-21). The wicked ones cannot be calm or have peace; they are like the tossed sea, which is never calm. The wicked ones do many things, but they cannot have peace, because they do not contact the Lord, rest in Him, and remain in His presence.