Isaiah Twenty Six
by Dr. Henry M. Morris
(taken from the Defender's Study Bible)
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Isaiah 26:1 In 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.
Isaiah 26:2 Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.
Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
perfect peace. “Perfect peace” (Hebrew shalom, shalom) is, literally “peace, peace.” This is “peace that passeth all understanding” (Philippians 4:7). The specific application is to the faithful in Israel during the great tribulation, but the principle certainly is true for all believers in any age.
Isaiah 26:4 Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:
everlasting strength. “Everlasting strength” is literally “a rock of ages.” That “Peace, peace” is found only in “YAH, YAHWEH” (literal rendering of “Lord JEHOVAH,” who, indeed is our “Rock of Ages.”
Isaiah 26:5 For 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.
Isaiah 26:6 The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy.
Isaiah 26:7 The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.
Isaiah 26:8 Yea, 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.
Isaiah 26:9 With 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.
judgments are in the earth. The coming great tribulation will be the time—more than any time since the great Flood—when God's “judgments are in the earth.” Out of these wrenching experiences, a great multitude of previously indifferent or antagonistic sinners will turn to God and be saved, even though it leads to martyrdom (Revelation 7:9, 14).
Isaiah 26:10 Let favour be showed 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.
Isaiah 26:11 LORD, 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.
Isaiah 26:12 LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us.
Isaiah 26:13 O LORD our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name.
Isaiah 26:14 They 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.
Isaiah 26:15 Thou 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.
all the ends of the earth. Descendants of Israel have been found in every nation. Despite their long scattering without a homeland, the nation had still been increased, both in number and influence.
Isaiah 26:16 LORD, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them.
Isaiah 26:17 Like 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.
Isaiah 26:18 We 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.
Isaiah 26:19 Thy 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.
dead men shall live. Here is an Old Testament assurance of bodily resurrection of the believing dead, such assurance being possible because God Himself, in Christ, would conquer death. Believers would arise “together with my dead body.” This was literally fulfilled at the time of Christ's resurrection (Matthew 27:52-53). It will be completed when Christ returns and “all that are in the graves ... shall come forth” (John 5:28-29).
Isaiah 26:20 Come, 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.
the indignation be overpast. “The indignation” is the great tribulation, during the height of which the believing Israelites will be preserved supernaturally by God in the wilderness (Revelation 12:13-16). In a secondary application, this promise will also apply to all the saints caught up to be with Christ prior to the onset of the tribulation period (1 Thessalonians 4:17; 5:3).
Isaiah 26:21 For, 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.
inhabitants of the earth. The tribulation period will be for the purpose of punishing the earth's inhabitants for their iniquity in rejecting God and His Christ (Psalm 2:2-5), not for purifying believers.
