What does Isaiah 24:15 mean?

This passage has described the lives of the survivors of the Lord's judgment in dire terms (Isaiah 24:4–13). Then, it shifts to reveal that some remain who not only sing but also praise the Lord. Isaiah has said that they shout from the west, perhaps meaning that they are gathered in Israel (Isaiah 24:14). Now the prophet calls for those who belong to the Lord in the east and along the coastlands of the sea to join in and give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel.

This is a strange picture. The earth is empty and withered and the people are scorched. None of those circumstances have apparently changed. Still, God's people recognize what God has done in judging the sin of the world. They praise Him loudly for it. Together in community. Even under the harshest circumstances, people still respond to God's gift of grace through faith in Jesus. These people find joy in a world where, for most people, gladness has been banished from the earth (Isaiah 24:11).

Such is the power of the saving grace of the Lord God of Israel. This gift from the Lord even transforms the sorrow of sin's judgment into joy: hope in eternity's promise even among the ruined earth.