26:1 In that day shall a this song be sung in the land of
Judah; We have a strong city; b salvation will [God]
appoint [for] walls and bulwarks.
(a) This song was made to comfort the faithful when their
captivity would come, assuring them also of their
deliverance, for which they should sing this song.
(b) God's protection and defence will be sufficient for us.
26:2c Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which
keepeth the truth may enter in.
(c) He assures the godly to return after the captivity to
Jerusalem.
26:3 Thou wilt keep [him] in perfect peace, [whose] d mind
[is] stayed [on thee]: because he trusteth in thee.
(d) You have decreed so, and your purpose cannot be
changed.
26:5 For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; e the lofty
city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, [even] to the
ground; he bringeth it [even] to the dust.
(e) There is no power so high that it can hinder God, when
he will deliver his.
26:6 The foot shall tread it down, [even] the feet of the f
poor, [and] the steps of the needy.
(f) God will set the poor afflicted over the power of the
wicked.
26:8 Yea, in the way of thy g judgments, O LORD, have we
waited for thee; the desire of [our] soul [is] to thy name,
and to the remembrance of thee.
(g) We have constantly abode in the adversities with which
you had afflicted us.
26:9 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 h righteousness.
(h) Meaning that by afflictions men will learn to fear God.
26:10 Let favour i be shown to the wicked, [yet] he will not
learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness he will
deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the
LORD.
(i) The wicked though God show them evident signs of his
grace, will not be any better off.
26:11 LORD, [when] thy hand is lifted up, they will not see:
[but] they shall see, and be ashamed for [their] k envy
at the people; yea, the fire of thy l enemies shall
devour them.
(k) Through envy and indignation against your people.
(l) The fire and vengeance with which you destroy your
enemies.
26:13 O LORD our God, [other] m lords beside thee have had
dominion over us: [but] by thee only will we make mention
of thy name.
(m) The Babylonians, who have not governed according to
your word.
26:14 [They are] n 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.
(n) Meaning that the reprobate even in this life will have
the beginning of everlasting death.
26:15 Thou hast increased o the nation, O LORD, thou hast
increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst
removed [it] far [to] all the ends of the earth.
(o) That is, the company of the faithful by the calling of
the Gentiles.
26:16 LORD, in trouble have they p visited thee, they poured
out a prayer [when] thy chastening [was] upon them.
(p) That is, the faithful by the rods were moved to pray
to you for deliverance.
26:17 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 q sight, O LORD.
(q) That is, in extreme sorrow.
26:18 We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as
it were brought forth r wind; we have not wrought any
deliverance on the earth; neither have the inhabitants of
s the world fallen.
(r) Our sorrows had no end, neither did we enjoy the
comfort that we looked for.
(s) The wicked and men without religion were not
destroyed.
26:19t Thy dead [men] shall live, [together with] my dead
body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in
dust: for thy u dew [is as] the dew of herbs, and the
earth shall cast out the dead.
(t) He comforts the faithful in their afflictions, showing
them that even in death they will have life and that
they would certainly rise to glory, the contrary would
come to the wicked, as in (Isa 26:14).
(u) As herbs dead in winter flourish again by the rain in
the springtime, so they who lie in the dust will rise
up to joy, when they feel the dew of God's grace.
26:20 Come, my people, x enter thou into thy chambers, and
shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a
little moment, until the indignation shall be past.
(x) He exhorts the faithful to be patient in their
afflictions and to wait on God's work.
26:21 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 y blood, and shall no more cover
her slain.
(y) The earth will vomit and cast out the innocent blood,
which it has drunk, that it may care for vengeance
against the wicked.
