Isaiah 26:1 - Meaning and Application

A song is very fitting for the promises of gospel grace. In it, we can give God the glory and take comfort in that grace ourselves. “In that day,” meaning the gospel age, when the victories and growth of the Old Testament church pointed ahead to it, this song will be sung. There will be people to sing it, a reason to sing it, and hearts ready to sing it. It will be sung in the land of Judah, which stands as a picture of the gospel church, since the gospel covenant is said to be made with the house of Judah (Hebrews 8:8).

Wonderful things are said here about God’s church. First, it is strongly protected against evil (Isaiah 26:1). “We have a strong city.” It is a city brought into being by the charter of the everlasting covenant, made ready to receive all who are made free by that charter, for their service and welcome. It is a strong city, like Jerusalem when it was closely joined together and had God himself as a wall of fire around it, so strong that no one would have believed an enemy could ever enter its gates (Lamentations 4:12). The church is a strong city because it has walls and outer defenses of God’s own choosing. He has promised that salvation itself will be its defense. Those meant for salvation will find salvation to be their protection (1 Peter 1:4).

Second, it is richly supplied with good people, and they serve as its real strength. The gates are told to be opened so that the righteous nation, which keeps the truth, may enter in (Isaiah 26:2). They had been pushed out by the wrongdoing of earlier times, but now those unfair laws are canceled, and they are free to come in again. Or this means there is a general welcome for all righteous people, no matter what nation they come from, inviting them to settle in Jerusalem. When God has done great things for any place or people, he expects them to respond by treating his people well, protecting them, and welcoming them. A righteous person is marked by keeping God’s truth, and a firm belief in that truth will shape the whole life. Good beliefs in the mind lead to good decisions in the heart and good actions in daily life. It is also in the best interest of governments to support such people and welcome them, because they bring blessing with them.

Third, all who belong to this city are safe and at rest, with a holy peace and calm from knowing God’s favor. This is first a promise (Isaiah 26:3). “You will keep him in perfect peace,” meaning peace in every way, inward peace, outward peace, peace with God, peace in the conscience, peace at all times and in every circumstance. This peace belongs to the one whose mind is fixed on God because he trusts in him. Every good person trusts in God, places himself under God’s guidance and rule, and depends on him for what is best. Those who trust God must keep their minds fixed on him, trust him at all times and in every event, and stay firmly devoted to him with full satisfaction in him. God will keep such people in lasting peace, and that peace will keep them.

This is also a command (Isaiah 26:4). Let us calm ourselves by trusting in the Lord forever. Since God has promised peace to those who stay themselves upon him, let us not lose the benefit of that promise, but put complete confidence in him. Trust him forever, at all times, when nothing else can be trusted. Trust him for that peace, that lasting share, which will never end. Whatever we trust the world for will only last a little while, because everything we expect from it is limited to this life. But what we trust God for will last as long as we live. In the Lord Jehovah-Jah, the Lord who was, and is, and is to come, there is a rock of ages, a solid and lasting ground for faith and hope. The house built on that rock will stand in the storm. Those who trust in God will find in him and receive from him everlasting strength, strength that will carry them into everlasting life and into the blessedness that never ends. So let them trust in him forever and never give up or change that confidence.