Isaiah 26:1-6

C. JUSTICE AT LAST FOR JUDAH, CHAPTER 26
1. JUSTICE'S ORIGIN

TEXT: Isaiah 26:1-6

1

In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; salvation will he appoint for wells and bulwarks.

2

Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth faith may enter in.

3

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee.

4

Trust ye in Jehovah forever; for in Jehovah, even Jehovah, is an everlasting rock.

5

For he hath brought 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.

6

The foot shall tread it down; even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy.

QUERIES

a.

What day is referred to in Isaiah 26:1?

b.

What two cities are contrasted (Isaiah 26:1 and Isaiah 26:5)?

PARAPHRASE

In that day when Jehovah makes a feast and removes the covering spread over all nations and swallows up death forever, this jubilant song of praise to Jehovah will be sung by Jehovah's people: Zion, our everlasting city, is strong; her strength is in the salvation He has made. Those of you in the city already, open the gates that all who are righteous and those who keep faith may enter in. Thou, O Jehovah, will keep in complete peace the man who bases his thinking on Thy will, because such a man has put all his reliance on Thee. Rely totally and eternally on Jehovah; for it is the Covenant-God, Jehovah, who is exclusively the eternal rock-of-hiding. He humbles the proud and brings the haughty, antagonistic world of opposition down to dust and oblivion. The poor and lowly, once scoffed at by the world and the lofty city, will walk on the ruins of the enemies of God.

COMMENTS

Isaiah 26:1-2 STRONG CITY: That day has as its antecedent the day of Isaiah 25:9. On the day when God makes a feast for all nations, removes the covering from all nations, swallows up death forever, and when those who waited on Him rejoice in His salvationthey will sing this song! The land of Judah then must be symbolic of the covenant people of God, the church, in the Messianic age. The new Zion, the Jerusalem that is preeminent, (cf. Hebrews 12:22-24; Galatians 4:26-27), the Church, will be God's city of divine strength and power. Her strength and power will be in the divine salvation God

[Page no 33 and 34 missing here]
and walk across the rubble-heaps of the once haughty enemies of God. A remnant of faithful ones endured the Babylonian captivity and walked upon the ruins of once proud, powerful, pagan Babylon. Christians today may go to Rome and walk among the ruins of the once cruel, calculating, Roman empire which vowed to exterminate Christianity from the face of the earth.

So the contrast in this section is between the city of God which we take to be the righteous, faithful covenant-keeping people of God, especially those of that day when God makes them a feast, removes their veil and swallows up death foreverthe churchand the high and lofty city representing all that is Satanic and human and stands in opposition to the redemptive purposes of God. Justice, salvation and peace will come to the remnant in the new order to be brought by the Messiah. When it comes, the messianic people will sing about it.

QUIZ

1.

What does the land of Judah probably symbolize considering the context in which it is used?

2.

What makes the city strong?

3.

What character is possessed by those invited to enter the city?

4.

Where does perfect peace originate?

5.

How are we to get perfect peace?

6.

Why use rock as a figure to represent God?

7.

What is meant by the poor treading down the high and lofty city?