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This chapter is a song of holy joy and praise, in which the great things God had engaged, in the foregoing chapter, to do for his people against his enemies and their enemies are celebrated: it is prepared to be sung when that prophecy should be accomplished; for we must be forward to meet God with our thanksgivings when he is coming towards us with his mercies. Now the people of God are here taught, I. To triumph in the safety and holy security both of the church in general and of every particular member of it, under the divine protection (Isa 26:1-4). II. To triumph over all opposing powers (Isa 26:5, Isa 26:6). III. To walk with God, and wait for him, in the worst and darkest times, Isa 26:7-9). IV. To lament the stupidity of those who regarded not the providence of God, either merciful or afflictive (Isa 26:10, Isa 26:11). V. To encourage themselves, and one another, with hopes that God would still continue to do them good (Isa 26:12, Isa 26:14), and engage themselves to continue in his service (Isa 26:13). VI. To recollect the kind providences of God towards them in their low and distressed condition, and their conduct under those providences (Isa 26:15-18). VII. To rejoice in hope of a glorious deliverance, which should be as a resurrection to them (Isa 26:19), and to retire in the expectation of it (Isa 26:20, Isa 26:21). And this is written for the support and assistance of the faith and hope of God's people in all ages, even those upon whom the ends of the world have come.

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 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 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 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 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.

With my soul have I desired thee in the night,.... Either literally, when others were asleep: or figuratively, in the captivity; which, as Jarchi says, was like unto the night; or in the time of Jewish and Gentile darkness, preceding the coming of Christ; or rather in the time of latter day darkness, when the church is represented as heartily desirous of, and importunately praying for, the latter day glory, the rising of the sun of righteousness, the spiritual reign of Christ, the spread of his Gospel, and the setting up of his kingdom and glory in the world; so the Targum, "my soul desireth to pray before thee in the night;'' her desires were expressed by prayer: yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early; she determines to continue seeking the Lord night and day, with the greatest intenseness of spirit, and eagerness of soul, until she obtained and enjoyed what she sought for; namely, the presence of Christ, communion with him, the discoveries of his love, and larger measures of his grace, light, and knowledge; for when thy judgments are in the earth; such as pestilence, famine, sword, and the like; especially the judgments of God on antichrist, and the antichristian states, which will be just and righteous; see Rev 19:2, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness; not the wicked inhabitants of the world, for the contrary is suggested in the following verses; but the saints that are in the world, the upright ones, the righteous before mentioned, the church and her members; these, by the judgments of God in the world, learn what a righteous Being he is, how unrighteous men are, on whose account these judgments come, and themselves too, as in his sight; and they learn the insufficiency of their own righteousness to justify them before him, and their need, the worth and value, of the righteousness of Christ: and also learn hereby to live soberly, righteously, and godly, Psa 119:67 they learn to ascribe righteousness to God, and to fear and worship him, Rev 15:3.

[In monasteries] at the crowing of the rooster their leader comes, and gently touching the sleeper with his foot, rouses them all. For there are none sleeping naked. Then as soon as they have arisen they stand up and sing the prophetic hymns with much harmony and well-composed tunes. And neither harp nor pipe nor other musical instrument utters such sweet melodies as you hear from the singing of these saints in their deep and quiet solitudes. And the songs themselves too are suitable and full of the love of God. “In the night,” they say, “lift up your hands to God. With my soul have I desired you in the night; truly with my spirit within me will I seek you early.”

(Verses 7-9.) The path of the just is straight, the righteous path is for walking: and on the path of your judgments, O Lord, we have waited for you, your name and your memorial in the desire of our soul: my soul has desired you in the night. LXX: The path of the just is straight, made straight is the path of the just, and prepared. For the path of the Lord is judgment, we have hoped in your name: and in the memorial which our soul desires. Furthermore, the Prophet speaks about Christ, about whom he said above: His foot will trample it, the feet of the poor. Therefore, the path of this just man is straight, or, to use a new word, it is called righteousness, which the Greeks call εὐθύτητας and we can call equities in Latin, and in Hebrew they are called Messarim (). Therefore, in the one path of Christ, all righteousness is found, and for this reason, he trod upon it and crushed it with his foot, so that whoever desires to walk on it may walk without stumbling. In this path of the Lord's judgments, the saints sustained him and hoped in him, for hope does not disappoint. And they had both the name and the memorial in the desire of the soul, saying: My soul hath coveted to long for thy judgments at all times (Ps. CXVIII, 20); and again: My soul hath desired, and hath been consumed with longing for thy salvation (Ibid. 81). But he who has the name of the Lord in desire, desires nothing else. And this should be noted, that the desire of the Lord is not in the flesh, but in the soul, according to what we read in another psalm: My soul hath thirsted after the living God, the strong (Ps. LI, 2). For the flesh desires against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. For these are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want. And what follows: In the night, according to the Septuagint, it is joined to the following chapter, according to the Hebrew to the previous one. But he can say: My soul longed for you in the night, who speaks confidently with the Psalmist: I will wash my bed every night, with tears I will water my couch. Night and darkness can be seen as symbols of tribulation and distress. Therefore, in another psalm, the Prophet sings about the security of the righteous: The sun shall not harm you by day, nor the moon by night (Ps. 121:6), meaning that in both good times and bad, you will never be shaken from your position. But my spirit within me, from the morning I watch for you. LXX: From the night my spirit rises to you, O God, for your judgments are a light upon the earth. We desire to follow the Hebrew and not completely disregard the Vulgate edition, and out of necessity we are compelled to seek different understandings in different order and language. Therefore, what is said, 'from the night,' according to the LXX, is the beginning of this chapter, as we have said, but according to the Hebrew, it is the end of the previous; although it can also be understood at the end of the previous testimony according to the LXX, so that the meaning is: My soul desires you at night; and then begin, from the morning my spirit rises to you, O God. Therefore, in the morning he rises, because your light is precepts upon the earth. For he keeps your commandments, and is enlightened by their light, of which it is said: The commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes (Ps. XVIII, 9). I cannot sleep, but desiring you at all times, I rise to you in spirit. And it should be observed that even when we are still in the night, we should desire the Lord in our minds. However, once our spirit has fully moved itself towards God in our hearts, let us wake up in the morning for him. To express it more clearly, the night and desire belong to the soul, but the morning and watchfulness belong to the spirit. Moreover, the spirit in their innermost being wakes up to God, who can say: Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord (Ps. 130:1).

And now, beloved, I ought to say a word about the antiquity of the tradition and the utility of vigils. It is easier to begin a work if we keep before our eyes how useful it is. The devotion to vigils is very old. It has been a household tradition among the saints. It was the prophet Isaiah who cried out to the Lord: “My soul has yearned for you in the night. Indeed, my spirit within me seeks you early in the morning.”

For “night” is this present life, and as long as we are in it, we are covered with a mist of uncertain imaginations as far as the sight of inward objects is concerned. For the prophet was sensible that he was held by a certain mist in his sight of the Lord, when he says, “My soul longed for you in the night.” As if he were to say, I long to behold you in the obscurity of this present life, but I am still surrounded by the mist of infirmity.

Anyone who has been able to reach out for the truth has been on fire with this love. For this reason David said, “My soul has thirsted for the living God; when shall I come and appear before the face of God?” And he counseled us, saying, “Seek his face continually.” And for this reason the prophet said, “My soul has desired you in the night, and with my spirit within my breast I will watch for you in the morning.” And again the church says to the Lord in the Song of Songs, “I have been wounded with love.”It is right that the soul, after bearing in its heart a wound of love brought on by its burning desire, should reach out for healing at the sight of the doctor. And so, again, it says, “My soul melted when he spoke.” The heart of a person who does not seek the face of his Creator is hardened by his wickedness, because in itself it remains cold. But if it now begins to burn with the desire of following him whom it loves, it runs since the fire of love has melted it. Its desire makes it anxious. Everything that used to please it in the world seems worthless; it finds nothing agreeable outside of its Creator; things that once delighted the heart afterwards become grievously oppressive. Nothing brings it consolation in its sadness as long as the one it desires is not beheld. The heart sorrows. Light itself is loathsome. Scorching fire burns away the rust of sin in the heart. The soul is inflamed as if it were gold, for gold loses its beauty through use, but fire restores its brightness.

For this reason, as I have already said, you ought to read and listen to the sacred lessons with such eagerness that you may be able to speak about them and teach them to others in your own homes and elsewhere, wherever you are. As you, like clean animals, ruminate the Word of God by continuous reflection, you may be able to procure useful favor for yourselves, that is, their spiritual meaning, and with God’s help give it to others. Then will be fulfilled in you what is written: “Your cup overflows!” Moreover, you will fulfill what the blessed apostle encourages and advises when he says, “The fact is that whether you eat or drink—whatever you do—you should do all for the glory of God.” If infirmity does not prevent it, fast daily. Hasten to the vigils with cheerful and fervent devotion because of what is written: “O God, my soul yearns for you in the night”; and again: “To you I pray, O Lord; at dawn you hear my voice”; and still further: “At midnight I rise to give thanks to your name, O Lord.” To this our Lord and Savior also exhorts and encourages us when he says in the Gospel: “Be on guard, and pray that you may not undergo the test.” May he himself deign to grant this, to whom are honor and might together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, world without end.

The constancy of the desire, for day and night, that is, at all times, or in prosperity and adversity, my soul has desired you: in my bed I sought him whom my soul loves (Song 3:1); O God, my God, to you do I watch at break of day (Ps 62:2[63:1]). Third, he sets out the usefulness of justice: when you shall do your judgments on the earth, the inhabitants of the world shall learn justice: the Lord shall be known when he executes judgments (Ps 9:17[16]).

Jeremiah, by the commend of God, goes into the court of the Lord's house; and foretells the destruction of the temple and city, if not prevented by the speedy repentance of the people, Jer 26:1-7. By this unwelcome prophecy his life was in great danger; although saved by the influence of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, who makes a masterly defense for the prophet, Jer 26:8-18. Urijah is condemned, but escapes to Egypt; whence he is brought hack by Jehoiakim, and slain, Jer 26:20-23. Ahikam befriends Jeremiah, Jer 26:24.

Have I desired thee - Forty-one MSS. of Dr. Kennicott's and many of De Rossi's, (nine ancient), and five editions read אויתיך invithicha. It is proper to note this; because the second י yod being omitted in the text, the Vulgate and many others have rendered it in the third person. When thy judgments, etc. - It would be better to read, When thy judgments were in the earth, the inhabitants of the world have learned (למדו lamedu) righteousness. Men seldom seek God in prosperity; they are apt to rest in an earthly portion: but God in mercy embitters this by adversity; then there is a general cry after himself as our chief, solid, and only permanent good.

CONNECTED WITH THE TWENTY-FOURTH AND TWENTY-FIFTH CHAPTERS. SONG OF PRAISE OF ISRAEL AFTER BEING RESTORED TO THEIR OWN LAND. (Isa. 26:1-21) strong city--Jerusalem, strong in Jehovah's protection: type of the new Jerusalem (Psa 48:1-3), contrasted with the overthrow of the ungodly foe (Isa 26:4-7, Isa 26:12-14; Rev 22:2, Rev 22:10-12, &c.). salvation . . . walls-- (Isa 60:18; Jer 3:23; Zac 2:5). MAURER translates, "Jehovah makes His help serve as walls" (Isa 33:20-21, &c.). bulwarks--the trench with the antemural earthworks exterior to the wall.

With, . . . soul . . . I--literally, "I . . . my soul," in apposition; the faithful Jews here speak individually. The overthrow of the foe and the restoration of the Jews are to follow upon prayer on the part of the latter and of all God's people (Isa 62:1-4, Isa 62:6-7; Psa 102:13-17). in the night-- (Psa 63:6; Sol 3:1). world . . . learn . . . righteousness--the remnant left after judgments (Psa 58:10-11; Zac 14:16).

Thus the second hymnic echo has its confirmation in a prophecy against Moab, on the basis of which a third hymnic echo now arises. Whilst on the other side, in the land of Moab, the people are trodden down, and its lofty castles demolished, the people in the land of Judah can boast of an impregnable city. "In that day will this song be sung in the land of Judah: A city of defence is ours; salvation He sets for walls and bulwark." According to the punctuation, this ought to be rendered, "A city is a shelter for us;" but עז עיר seem rather to be connected, according to Pro 17:19, "a city of strong, i.e., of impregnable offence and defence." The subject of ישׁית is Jehovah. The figure indicates what He is constantly doing, and ever doing afresh; for the walls and bulwarks of Jerusalem (chēl, as in Lam 2:8, the small outside wall which encloses all the fortifications) are not dead stone, but yeshuâh, ever living and never exhausted salvation (Isa 60:18). In just the same sense Jehovah is called elsewhere the wall of Jerusalem, and even a wall of fire in Zac 2:9 - parallels which show that yeshuâh is intended to be taken as the accusative of the object, and not as the accusative of the predicate, according to Isa 5:6; Psa 21:7; Psa 84:7; Jer 22:6 (Luzzatto).