DAYS OF DELIVERANCE Isaiah 26:1. _In that day shall this song be sung, &c._ There are days in the history of God’s people when they specially need His interposing power. This is their prayer (Psalms 30:10). This their glad confession (Psalms 90:17). At such seasons of direct deliverance the natura... [ Continue Reading ]
PERFECT PEACE Isaiah 26:3. _Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, &c._ Our text points to the infallible remedy for the worst of all forms of human ills, a burdened and disconsolate spirit—“perfect peace.” I. THE AUTHOR OF THIS PEACE IS NONE OTHER THAN GOD HIMSELF. The mind of man is too active and... [ Continue Reading ]
THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD AND HIS PEOPLE Isaiah 26:7. _The way of the just, &c._ Isaiah foretold the captivity of Judah in Babylon, also its termination. This chapter is a song ready for the occasion. It relates the story, and it unfolds the principles that underlie the events. Our text is thorough... [ Continue Reading ]
THE WAY OF GOD’S JUDGMENTS Isaiah 26:8. _Yea, in the way of Thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for Thee_. I. OBSERVE WHAT GOD’S JUDGMENTS ARE. They are simply the expression of His thoughts. His final judgment is the declaration of His thoughts of a man’s character; His judgments here are also... [ Continue Reading ]
TRUST AMID TRIALS Isaiah 26:8. _Yea, in the way of Thy judgments … will I seek Thee early_. In this verse the prophet expresses the confiding trust of God’s people amid times of judgment. It is as though they had said, “When the pathway assigned for Thy people was rough with judgments,—sore inflic... [ Continue Reading ]
THE USE AND ABUSE OF THE JUDGMENTS OF GOD Isaiah 26:9. _For when Thy judgments, &c._ I. _The judgments of God are frequently in the earth_—such as earthquakes, hurricanes, pestilence, commercial disasters. These are not, as the infidel asserts, merely the result of the working of natural causes: th... [ Continue Reading ]
NATIONAL PEACE THE GIFT OF GOD (_A Thanksgiving Sermon_.) Isaiah 26:12. _Lord, Thou wilt ordain peace for us: for Thou hast wrought all our work in us_. The joyfulness of the occasion. Peace a greater blessing than mere victory; for he that celebrates victory celebrates an event which has been pro... [ Continue Reading ]
SPIRITUAL USURPERS RENOUNCED Isaiah 26:13. _O Lord our God, other lords beside Thee have had dominion over us_, &c. We have in this language— I. A PENITENTIAL CONFESSION. “Other lords,” &c. Exegetically the point to be determined is whether the “other lords” who “have ruled over us,” are the king a... [ Continue Reading ]
PRAYER IN TROUBLE Isaiah 26:16. _“Lord, in trouble,”_ &c. Every man knows what trouble is; what it is to lie under the chastening hand of God. In the day of trouble, we feel our dependence on external help. Some in adversity seek friends whom they neglect in prosperity. Happy is he who, when troub... [ Continue Reading ]
NATIONAL REVIVAL Isaiah 26:19. _Thy dead men shall live_. I. THIS IS THE LANGUAGE OF EXULTATION. [1081] In this part of the chapter the tone changes from sorrow, failure, and abortion to life, prosperity, and joy. “Thy dead, O Zion, shall live again.” Thy people have been virtually, civilly, natio... [ Continue Reading ]
GOD’S INVITATION TO SHELTER _(For a Time of National Distress.)_ Isaiah 26:20. _Come, my people, &c._ The history of humanity as a whole, and of nations and communities as a part, is like that of individual man, diversified and varying, made up of hope and fear, of joy and sorrow. There is a “but”... [ Continue Reading ]