Isaiah26
King James Version · Public Domain
1In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.
2Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.
3Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
4Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength:
5For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust.
6The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy.
7The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.
8Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
9With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
10Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord.
11Lord, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them.
12Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us.
13O Lord our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name.
14They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.
15Thou hast increased the nation, O Lord, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth.
16Lord, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them.
17Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O Lord.
18We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
19Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.
20Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.
21For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Isaiah 26.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The Divine mercies encourage to confidence in God. (1-4). His judgments. (5-11). His people exhorted to wait upon Him. (12-19). Deliverance promised. (20,21).
vv1-4
"That day," seems to mean when the New Testament Babylon shall be levelled with the ground. The unchangeable promise and covenant of the Lord are the walls of the church of God. The gates of this city shall be open. Let sinners then be encouraged to join to the Lord. Thou wilt keep him in peace; in perfect peace, inward peace, outward peace, peace with God, peace of conscience, peace at all times, in all events. Trust in the Lord for that peace, that portion, which will be for ever. Whatever we trust to the world for, it will last only for a moment; but those who trust in God shall not only find in him, but shall receive from him, strength that will carry them to that blessedness which is for ever. Let us then acknowledge him in all our ways, and rely on him in all trials.
vv5-11
The way of the just is evenness, a steady course of obedience and holy conversation. And it is their happiness that God makes their way plain and easy. It is our duty, and will be our comfort, to wait for God, to keep up holy desires toward him in the darkest and most discouraging times. Our troubles must never turn us from God; and in the darkest, longest night of affliction, with our souls must we desire him; and this we must wait and pray to him for. We make nothing of our religion, whatever our profession may be, if we do not make heart-work of it. Though we come ever so early, we shall find God ready to receive us. The intention of afflictions is to teach righteousness: blessed is the man whom the Lord thus teaches. But sinners walk contrary to him. They will go on in their evil ways, because they will not consider what a God he is whose laws they persist in despising. Scorners and the secure will shortly feel, what now they will not believe, that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. They will not see the evil of sin; but they shall see. Oh that they would abandon their sins, and turn to the Lord, that he may have mercy upon them.
vv12-19
Every creature, every business, any way serviceable to our comfort, God makes to be so; he makes that work for us which seemed to make against us. They had been slaves of sin and Satan; but by the Divine grace they were taught to look to be set free from all former masters. The cause opposed to God and his kingdom will sink at last. See our need of afflictions. Before, prayer came drop by drop; now they pour it out, it comes now like water from a fountain. Afflictions bring us to secret prayer. Consider Christ as the Speaker addressing his church. His resurrection from the dead was an earnest of all the deliverance foretold. The power of his grace, like the dew or rain, which causes the herbs that seem dead to revive, would raise his church from the lowest state. But we may refer to the resurrection of the dead, especially of those united to Christ.
Key Words
יוֹם: a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)
זֶה: the masculine demonstrative pronoun, this or that
שִׁיר: a song; abstractly, singing
שִׁיר: to sing
אֶרֶץ: the earth (at large, or partitively a land)
יְהוּדָה: Jehudah (or Judah), the name of five Israelites; also of the tribe descended from the first, and of its territory
עֹז: strength in various applications (force, security, majesty, praise)
עִיר: a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the widest sense (even of a mere encampment or post)
שִׁית: to place (in a very wide application)
יְשׁוּעָה: something saved, i.e. (abstractly) deliverance; hence, aid, victory, prosperity
Cross References
Isaiah 26Salvation appointed as walls and bulwarks; Isa 60:18 similarly equates salvation with walls.
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JFB links the righteous as God's 'workmanship' (Hebrew structure) to believers created in Christ.
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The gate of the Lord into which the righteous nation shall enter.
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The righteous man's heart is established (stayed), trusting in the Lord.
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Jehovah as the 'Rock of ages' (everlasting strength) echoes Deuteronomy's Rock.
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God weighs the path of the just; 1Sa 2:3 notes actions are weighed by Him.
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Seeking/desiring God in the night matches David's meditation on his bed.
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Other lords ruling over Israel, reflecting the consequence of subjection to foreign kings.
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Inhabitants of the world learning righteousness through manifest divine judgments.
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God working all things for us: 'The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me.'
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Poole links God working our works in us to deeds 'wrought in God'.
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The corporate resurrection and restoration of Israel's dead national body.
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The remembrance/memorial of God's name throughout all generations.
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The earth disclosing her blood, echoed by Abel's blood crying from the ground.
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Indignation lasting only 'for a little moment' mirrors God's anger being for a moment.
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