Isaiah 26:1-10

Song of Trust in God's Protection

1 ¹In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: "We have a ²strong city; He sets up walls and ramparts for ³security.

2 "Open the ⁴gates, that the ⁵righteous nation may enter, The one that remains faithful.

3 "The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect ⁶peace, Because he trusts in You.

4 "⁷Trust in the LORD forever, For in GOD the LORD, we have an everlasting ⁸Rock.

5 "For He has brought low those who dwell on high, the ⁹unassailable city; ¹⁰He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He casts it to the dust.

6 "¹¹The foot will trample it, The feet of the ¹²afflicted, the steps of the helpless."

7 The ¹³way of the righteous is smooth; O Upright One, ¹⁴make the path of the righteous level.

8 Indeed, while following the way of ¹⁵Your judgments, O LORD, We have waited for You eagerly; ¹⁶Your name, even Your ¹⁷memory, is the desire of our souls.

9 ¹⁸At night my soul longs for You, Indeed, my spirit within me ¹⁹seeks You diligently; For when the earth experiences Your judgments The inhabitants of the world ²⁰learn righteousness.

10 Though the wicked is shown favor, He does not ²¹learn righteousness; He ²²deals unjustly in the land of uprightness, And does not perceive the majesty of the LORD.

Isaiah 26:1-10 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 26

This chapter contains a song of praise for the safety and prosperity of the church, and the destruction of its enemies. The church is represented as a strong city, whose walls and bulwarks are salvation, Isa 26:1 it is said to have gates which are to be opened to a righteous nation, Isa 26:2 its inhabitants, being such who trust in the Lord, are promised perfect peace, Isa 26:3 hence the saints are exhorted to trust in him, Isa 26:4 then follows an account of another city, described as lofty, and its inhabitants as dwelling on high, who are brought down, and trampled on, by the feet of the poor and needy, Isa 26:5,6 when the prophet returns to the righteous, and asserts their way to be uprightness, because their path is weighed or levelled by God the most upright, Isa 26:7 and in the name of the church declares that they had waited for the Lord in the way of his judgments; and that the desire of their souls was to his name, and the remembrance of it; and that they continued, and would continue, to desire him, and seek after him, seeing righteousness was to be learned by his judgments, Isa 26:8,9 and though the wicked would not be brought to repentance and reformation by the goodness of God, nor take notice of his hand, yet they should see and be ashamed, and destroyed at last, Isa 26:10,11 but notwithstanding these judgments of God in the earth, the church professes her faith in the Lord, that he would give her peace and prosperity, from the consideration of what he had wrought for her, and in her, Isa 26:12 and rejects all other lords but him, Isa 26:13 who were dead, and should not live again, but were visited and destroyed, and their memory made to perish, Isa 26:14 but the righteous nation should be increased, though they should meet with trouble, which would cause them to go to the throne of grace, and there pour out their complaints, express their pain and distresses, and the disappointments they had met with, Isa 26:15-18 to which an answer is returned, promising a glorious resurrection, Isa 26:19 and calling upon the people of God to retire to their chambers for protection in the mean while, until the punishment to be inflicted on the inhabitants of the earth for their sins was over, Isa 26:20,21.

Cross References

• 1. Isaiah 4:2; Isaiah 12:1
• 2. Isaiah 14:31; Isaiah 31:5, 9; Isaiah 33:5, 6, 20-24
• 3. Isaiah 60:18
• 4. Isaiah 60:11, 18; Isaiah 62:10
• 5. Isaiah 45:25; Isaiah 54:14, 17; Isaiah 58:8; Isaiah 60:21; Isaiah 61:3; Isaiah 62:1, 2
• 6. Isaiah 26:12; Isaiah 27:5; Isaiah 57:19; Isaiah 66:12
• 7. Isaiah 12:2; Isaiah 50:10; Isaiah 51:5
• 8. Isaiah 17:10; Isaiah 30:29; Isaiah 44:8
• 9. Isaiah 25:12
• 10. Job 40:11-13
• 11. Isaiah 28:3
• 12. Isaiah 3:14, 15; Isaiah 11:4; Isaiah 29:19
• 13. Isaiah 57:2
• 14. Psalms 25:4, 5; Psalms 27:11; Isaiah 42:16; Isaiah 52:12
• 15. Isaiah 51:4; Isaiah 56:1
• 16. Isaiah 12:4; Isaiah 24:15; Isaiah 25:1; Isaiah 26:13
• 17. Exodus 3:15
• 18. Psalms 63:5, 6; Psalms 77:2; Psalms 119:62; Isaiah 50:10; Luke 6:12
• 19. Psalms 63:1; Psalms 78:34; Matthew 6:33
• 20. Isaiah 55:6; Hosea 5:15
• 21. Isaiah 22:12, 13; Isaiah 32:6, 7
• 22. Hosea 11:7; John 5:37, 38

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "salvation"
• [b]. Lit "keeps faithfulness"
• [c]. Heb YAH, usually rendered LORD
• [d]. Lit with "my soul I long"
• [e]. Lit with "my spirit...I seek"
• [f]. Lit "has"