"In that day shall this song be sung: In the land of Judah we have a strong city; Salvation shall He establish for walls and bulwarks. Open the gates, and let the righteous nation enter; Constant in the truth, stayed in mind: You shall preserve them in perpetual peace, Because they have trusted in You. Trust in Jehovah for ever; For in Jehovah is never-failing protection. For He has humbled those that dwell on high; The lofty city, He has brought her down; He has brought her down to the ground: He has leveled her with the dust. The foot shall trample upon her; The foot of the poor, the steps of the needy. The way of the righteous is perfectly straight; You most exactly level the path of the righteous. Even in the way of your laws, O Jehovah, We have placed our confidence in your name; And in the remembrance of You is the desire of our soul. With my soul have I desired You in the night; Yea, with my inmost spirit in the morn have I sought You. For when your judgments are in the earth, The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. Though mercy be shown to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: In the very land of rectitude he will deal perversely; And will not regard the majesty of Jehovah. Jehovah, your hand is lifted up, yet will they not see: But they shall see, with confusion, your zeal for your people; Yea, the fire shall burn up your adversaries. 12 Jehovah, You will ordain for us peace; For even all our mighty deeds You have performed for us. O Jehovah, our God! Other lords, exclusive of You, have had dominion over us: You only, and your name, henceforth will we celebrate. They are dead, they shall not live; They are deceased tyrants, they shall not rise. Therefore have You visited and destroyed them; And all memorials of them You have abolished. (Isaiah 26:1-14)
The New Jerusalem
Note the difference in punctuation in the first verse of Lowth's translation, as compared with the ordinary version.
"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 26:1)
There is no difference in the sense, but Lowth's rendering makes it a little more emphatic. Not only is the song sung in the land of Judah, but the city is there. This is of course implied in the common rendering. The city is therefore Jerusalem made new--New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from God. "Him that overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name." (Revelation 3:1) "And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." (Revelation 21:2)
It is a city built up entirely new, and will occupy the very place where the present city stands, only it will be very much more extended. "Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." (John 14:1-2) "Behold, the day of the Lord comes, and your spoil shall be divided in the midst of you. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle. And His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And you shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, you shall flee, like as you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with you. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: But it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light. And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and His name one." (Zechariah 14:1-9)
Lowth's rendering of Isaiah 26:15 also indicates this: "You have added to the nation; You are glorified; You have extended far all the borders of the land." (Isaiah 26:15,Lowth)
This is the city for which the patriarchs of old looked. "For he looked for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. ... For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for He has prepared for them a city." (Hebrews 11:10,14-16)
Its builder and maker is God; and its foundations are described in: "And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass." (Revelation 21:18-21)
Coming down, as it does, in the land of Canaan, the land that was promised to Abraham and his seed for an inheritance, the promise of God is fulfilled to the very letter. To apply the prophecies concerning the building up of Jerusalem to any work done by men, and in this present state, is a gross perversion of the Scriptures, and a depreciation of the promises of the Gospel. Only God himself can fulfil His own promises, (Romans 4:21) and only He can build a city suitable for the habitation of His redeemed ones.
It will be a "strong city." Its defense will be salvation. It will be so strong that it will be able to withstand a siege by Satan and all his hosts, including all the armies of wicked men who have trained under Satan's banner. "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them." (Revelation 20:7-9)
Someone will exclaim, "Of course no enemy in the universe could take the city of God, the New Jerusalem! It would be absurd for anyone to try."
Very true; yet that city will be no safer than are God's people now; for it will be kept only by the very same power that now keeps those who trust in the Lord. The humblest and most insignificant person on earth, who trusts the Lord, is just as safe as will be the hosts of the redeemed in the New Jerusalem. The wicked far outnumber the righteous, and the mighty host marching against the city of the saved would strike terror to their hearts, if they had not individually learned the power of Christ's salvation. "The Gospel ... is the power of God to salvation, to everyone that believes," (Romans 1:16) and that is the power that will be the confidence of the redeemed in the Holy City when it is besieged by Satan's hosts.
A Righteous Nation
"Open the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps the truth may enter in." (Isaiah 26:2)
The righteous nation is the nation that keeps the truth. Jesus said, "He that has my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves me." (John 14:21)
God has committed His truth to men, even to wicked men, to see what they will do with it. If they repress it then the wrath of God is justly revealed from heaven against them. "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness." (Romans 1:18)
But if they keep it, letting it have free course in them, then it will preserve them from all evil. The truth of God is the shield of His people. "He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings shall you trust: His truth shall be your shield and buckler." (Psalm 91:4) "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You: because he trusts in You." (Isaiah 26:3)
God is the God of peace, (Hebrews 13:20; 1 Thessalonians 5:3) therefore all who put their trust in Him are necessarily kept in perfect peace. The peace and protection that are given are not a reward for trusting, but are the necessary consequence of that trust; "for in Jehovah is never-failing protection." (Isaiah 26:4,Lowth) "In the Lord Jehovah is an everlasting Rock [or, "the Rock of Ages" margin]." (Isaiah 26:4,RV)
Deliverance from Pride
There is nothing in this world that troubles people more than pride. And pride is what the Lord has promised to bring down. Pride is an abomination to the Lord. This fact, instead of alarming us, should be a cause of rejoicing, for it means deliverance from our worst enemy. Note in the chapters of Isaiah, which we have already studied, how much is said about bringing down that which is proud and lofty. "He has humbled those that dwell on high; the lofty city, He has brought her down." (Isaiah 26:5,Lowth)
But before that time comes, He delivers His people from pride, and therefore from the destruction that follows it. Read the promise in: "Oh how great is your goodness, which You have laid up for them that fear You; which You have wrought for them that trust in You before the sons of men! You shall hide them in the secret of your presence from the pride of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. Blessed be the Lord: for He has showed me His marvelous loving kindness in a strong city." (Psalm 31:19-21)
Note that it is "from the pride of man" that God promised to keep those who trust in Him. Then of course He keeps us from our own pride, and that is the only pride from which we are in any danger.
The Path of the Just
"The way of the just is uprightness: You, most upright, do weigh the path of the just." (Isaiah 26:7)
What a blessed assurance is contained in verse 7. The text that we have quoted is very much more close to the original than is our common version, yet there is a very precious suggestion in this latter. Mark the expression, "You, Most Upright, do weigh the path of the just."
The word rendered "weigh," means to ponder, think upon. Compare with: "For the Lord knows the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish." (Psalm 1:6)
The Lord makes the way of His people the object of special solicitude; He makes it straight and plain, and that is why they are upright. He is "no respecter of persons," (Acts 10:34) and therefore He takes the same care of all people; but the wicked will not walk in the way marked out for them. All anybody has to do, to be righteous, is to walk in the way of the Lord. "Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they that keep His testimonies, and that seek Him with the whole heart." (Psalm 119:1-2)
Mercy Shown to All
"With my soul have I desired You in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek You early: for when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. Let favor 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. Lord, when your 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 your enemies shall devour them." (Isaiah 26:9-11) "The Lord is good to all; and His tender mercies are over all His works." (Psalm 145:9)
He encompasses the wicked with the same mercy that He does the righteous. The whole earth is surrounded with an atmosphere of grace and mercy, which the inhabitants breathe in as they do the air, so that nothing is lacking for the salvation of any person. Therefore if any are destroyed, it is only because they reject the mercy of the Lord. The only thing that any lost soul will have to bring against the Lord will be that He dealt mercifully with him. "He has not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities." (Psalm 103:10)
Surely God will be clear when He judges, since those who are lost have been hardened only by His mercy. See the case of Pharaoh, and note how it was the forbearance and mercy of the Lord that hardened his heart. He regarded the kindness of the Lord as weakness, and presumed on it. "But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said. ... And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; and He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one. And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go." (Exodus 8:15,31-32) "And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the Lord had spoken by Moses." (Exodus 9:34-35)
God's Working in Man
"Lord, You will ordain peace for us: for You also have wrought all our works in us." (Isaiah 26:12) "It is God which works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13)
He is striving to work in all, but many will not allow Him to have His own way with them, and He will not force any, since He works only by love. It is the pride of men, their unwillingness to acknowledge that they are not their own masters, that keeps them from yielding to God. Whoever is willing to admit that he is nothing, and is not able to do anything, not even to make a single movement of himself, but will acknowledge God in all his ways, will find that God works in him, making his way perfect.
What a blessed thing it is to be able to see, from the working of God in the things round about us, how able He is to do all our works in us, and to do marvelous things. In the things that are made, the everlasting power and Divinity of God are clearly seen.
"For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse." (Romans 1:20)
The least thing that He does is great, and shows His almighty power. They are all unconsciously passive in His hands, and so His will is wrought in them. Because their yielding is involuntary, there is no morality in the fulfillment of God's will in them; but when we voluntarily yield as completely as the inanimate things do involuntarily, then does God make our way even as His own, and gives to us the credit of having done that which only His omnipotence could accomplish. "Let your work appear unto your servants, and your glory unto their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish it." (Psalm 90:16-17)
The Rulership of Love and Gentleness
"O Lord our God, other lords beside You have had dominion over us: but by You only will we make mention of your name." (Isaiah 26:13)
Other lords besides Jehovah have had dominion over us. Who is there that has not been guilty of idolatry? "You shall have no other gods before me," (Exodus 20:3) is not an arbitrary commandment, but a blessed promise to all who will put their trust in the Lord. God rules only by love and gentleness, but other lords exercise dominion over us, compelling us to serve them. Being delivered from the bondage of corruption, we say to the Lord, "You only, and your name, henceforth will we celebrate." "They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased tyrants, they shall not rise." (Isaiah 26:14,Lowth)
There is no God but Jehovah. All the gods of the heathen are nothing. "They must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good. ... But the Lord is the true God, He is the living God, and an everlasting King." (Jeremiah 10:5,10)
A man is like that which he serves. Hence he who serves a dumb, dead idol is himself destitute of life. "They that make them are like unto them, so is everyone that trusts in them." (Psalm 115:8)
When we trusted in the works of our own hands, we were lifeless: "dead in trespasses and sins." (Ephesians 2:1)
But having been made alive in Christ, we reign with Him, instead of being lorded over.
Not only will all false gods perish, but the very memory of them will be destroyed. The memorial of God, on the other hand, endures for ever.
"Your name, O Lord, endures for ever; and your memorial, O Lord, throughout all generations." (Psalm 135:13)--Present Truth, April 29, 1899--Isaiah 26:1-14.