Perfect Peace for Those Who Trust in the Lord.

Isaiah 26 is a song of trust, salvation, and longing for the Lord’s righteous rule. The chapter contrasts the secure city of God’s salvation with the proud city that He brings low, showing that true peace belongs to those whose minds are stayed upon the Lord. It teaches that righteousness is learned through God’s judgments, but also warns that the wicked do not learn righteousness even when shown favor. The people confess their weakness, their failed deliverance, and their need for the Lord alone, while also expressing hope in resurrection and final restoration. The chapter ends with a call for God’s people to hide themselves until His indignation passes, reminding believers that faithfulness sometimes means waiting quietly under God’s protection while He deals with evil.

Isaiah 26:1 – 26:21

  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.
  2 Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth 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 the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah [is] everlasting strength:
  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.
  6 The foot shall tread it down, [even] the feet of the poor, [and] the steps of the needy.
  7 The way of the just [is] uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.
  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.
  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.
  10 Let favour be shewed 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.
  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.
  12 Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us.
  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.
  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.
  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.
  16 Lord, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer [when] thy chastening [was] upon them.
  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.
  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.
  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.
  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.
  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.