When your judgment dawns upon the earth, Lord, the world’s inhabitants learn justice. A prophet is always a bringer of both good and “bad” news. Isaiah, after making known the consequences that Israel will have to face because of her crimes, goes ahead to announce some “good” news. Some “good” will come out of the chaos and disillusion that will result from Israel’s life in exile. Chastised by the exile experience, Israel will realize the folly of her ways and cry out to God (cf. Isaiah 26:16). God will hear the cry of the people, for God is a just judge. In their distress and anguish, the people look up to the judgment of God, for God’s judgment metes out peace (cf. Isaiah 26:12). 
However, God is not a “judge” in the sense of being an arbitrator. Rather, God is a judge in the sense of the Old Testament judges: a saving ruler; one who comes in to rescue a people from their hopeless situations. As a just judge (justice understood not as rendering to one what is his/her due, but rather as maintaining relationships), God will not turn a deaf ear to the cries of the people (cf. Psalm 94:9). As a just judge, God will not allow the people God had created to vanish from the face of the earth, for God is a creator, not a destroyer. As a just judge, God will rescue the people from their suffering and lead them to freedom and flourishing. God as a judge renews and gives life.