Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 26:12
LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us.
12. thou wilt ordain ] or “mayest thou ordain.” peace for us ] cf. Isa 26:3.
for thou also hast wrought ] Better: for even our whole work thou hast wrought for us; all that we have achieved inadequate though it be (see Isa 26:17) has been due to thy working for us. A similar thought underlies the prayer of Psa 90:16-17, where the manifestation of Jehovah’s work is equivalent to His establishing the work of Israel’s hands.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Thou wilt ordain peace – The word peace here seems to stand opposed to the evils of various kinds which they had experienced in the captivity at Babylon; and to refer net only to peace, but also to prosperity, and to the continued divine favor.
For thou hast wrought all our works in us – Or rather, for us ( lanu). It is owing to thy hand that we are saved.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 26:12
Lord, Thou wilt ordain peace for us
God ordaining peace
The expression seems to allude to the action of a commander-in-chief in the army, who marshals his soldiers according to the plan he had formed, and assigns to each the proper station which he is to occupy in carrying into execution his projected enterprises.
It plainly intimates the lively hope which they felt that the supreme Disposer of all persons and events would be graciously pleased to assign for them both outward and inward tranquillity. (R. Macculloch.)
National peace the gift of God
(1814):–
I. WHAT THERE IS IN THE RESTORATION OF PEACE, GENERALLY CONSIDERED, TO EXCITE OUR GRATITUDE.
1. The first consequence of peace which naturally presents itself to our attention is, that the effusion of human blood is stayed.
2. The injurious effects produced by war upon the human character afford another reason for thanksgiving on the return of peace. It is impossible that a state of warfare should be long continued without greatly deteriorating, in some important respects, both individual and national character. War is unfriendly to humanity. Tender as the heart may naturally be, the frequent recurrence of scenes of suffering tends to harden it. During the state of warfare, too, communities are usually distracted by intestine dissensions; and political strife gives birth to no virtues. Another effect of war is, that, when long-continued, it embitters the animosities of nations, and tends to confirm those national antipathies which, if unchecked by peace, would settle into a confirmed and malignant hatred.
3. A third reason for gratitude with reference to the peace is, that it has been produced by the signal triumph of a righteous cause. Peace is not always a blessing. In some cases it is only a term for the stillness, the quiet of desolation and death. Peace is often the result of the superiority acquired by the aggressor. The cause of right does not always at once prevail.
4. We rejoice in peace as the completion of a course of providential dispensations highly conducive to the instruction of the world.
II. WHAT THERE IS IN THE PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES OF THIS COUNTRY TO WARRANT US IN CONSIDERING THE BLESSING AS OF SPECIAL AND PARTICULAR VALUE.
1. We have preserved our national honour.
2. The peace was seasonable.
3. The peace may be considered indicative of the Divine favour and approbation.
4. We see a particular reason to be thankful for peace, as it will increase our means of promoting the kingdom of Christ in the world, and thus establish our national prosperity by continuing to us the blessing of God.
III. THE REASON OF OUR THANKFUL ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF GOD. He is the giver of the blessing of peace. Thou hast ordained peace for us. This is a most important principle; and if our hearts be not firmly grounded in it, our thanksgivings are mockery; for why do we thank Him, if we ascribe the work to second causes? (R. Watson.)
Peace from God
A tourist writes of a spring as sweet as any that ever gushed from sunny hillside, which one day he found by the sea when the tides had ebbed away. Taking his cup he tasted the water and it was sweet. Soon the sea came again and poured its bitter surf over the little spring, hiding it out of sight. When the tide ebbed away again, the tourist stood once more by the spring to see if the brackish waves had left their bitterness in its waters; but they were sweet as ever. This is a picture of the peace in the heart of the Christian when floods of bitter sorrow and trial sweep over his life. From secret wells the sweet waters flow, crystal and fresh as ever. They have their source in the heart of God. (J. R. Miller, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Thou wilt ordain peace for us; as thou wilt destroy thine and our enemies, so thou wilt bless us thy people with peace and prosperity.
All our works; either,
1. All the good works done by us, which are the effects of thy grace; or rather,
2. All the good and great works which have been wrought for us, all our wonderful deliverances and singular blessings, come from thee. And so the argument is this, God hath delivered us formerly upon all occasions, and therefore he will still deliver us, and give us peace; which inference is frequently made by holy men in Scripture. In us, Heb. to or for us.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
12. peaceGod’s favor,including all blessings, temporal and spiritual, opposed to theirprevious trials (Ps 138:8).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us,…. Dispose, order, give it to us, outward and inward, spiritual and eternal: chiefly respect is had to that peace and prosperity the church will have in the latter day, which the zeal of the Lord of hosts, before mentioned, will perform for her, Ps 72:8 and which she expresses her faith in, when it goes ill with the wicked, and that for the following reason:
for thou also hast wrought all our works in us; or “to us”, or “for us” b; all that had been done for them before were done by the Lord, came of his hands, were owing to his goodness, grace, and power and not to be ascribed unto themselves; all their mercies and deliverances, all that had been done for them in nature, providence, and grace; all that had been done for the church and people of God in all ages and periods of time, the glory of all was due to him; and since he had done so many and such great things for them, they had reason to believe he would grant them that peace and prosperity promised and expected in the latter day. The work of grace upon the heart is peculiarly the work which God works in his people, and is thought by some to be here meant; this is God’s work, and not man’s; and it is an internal one, something wrought in the heart, and which, being begun, will be performed; and may be expressed in the plural number, because of the excellency of it, it is the work of works; it includes others, and from whence all good works done by good men spring; and, besides, it consists of various parts, each of which is a work; as the work of faith, the labour of love, and perfect work of patience; and the fruit of this is peace here, and men on account of it may expect eternal peace hereafter; for this is the saints’ meetness for glory, and which is inseparably connected with it. Abarbinel c interprets this “peace” of the times of the Messiah, and of the redemption wrought out by him; and “our works”, of the troubles that came upon the Jews in captivity, which were all from the Lord, as well as their mercies and deliverance.
b “in nobis”, Munster; “nobis”, Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. c Mashmia, Jeshua, fol. 16. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| Goodness of God to Israel; Israel Corrected for Sin; Prospects of the Church. | B. C. 718. |
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.
The prophet in these verses looks back upon what God had done with them, both in mercy and judgment, and sings unto God of both, and then looks forward upon what he hoped God would do for them. Observe,
I. His reviews and reflections are mixed. When he looks back upon the state of the church he finds,
1. That God had in many instances been very gracious to them and had done great things for them. (1.) In general (v. 12): Thou hast wrought all our works in us, or for us. Whatever good work is done by us, it is owing to a good work wrought by the grace of God in us; it is he that puts good thoughts and affections into our hearts if at any time they be there, and that works in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Acti, agimus–Being acted upon, we act. And if any kindness be shown us, or any of our affairs be prosperous and successful, it is God that works it for us. Every creature, every business, that is in any way serviceable to our comfort, is made by him to be so; and sometimes he makes that to work for us which seemed to make against us. (2.) In particular (v. 15): “Thou hast increased the nation, O Lord! so that a little one has become a thousand (in Egypt they multiplied exceedingly, and afterwards in Canaan, so that they filled the land); and in this thou art glorified,” for the multitude of the people is the honour of the prince, and therein God was glorified as faithful to his covenant with Abraham, that he would make him a father of many nations. Note, God’s nation is a growing nation, and it is the glory of God that it is so. The increase of the church, that holy nation, is therefore to be rejoiced in because it is the increase of those that make it their business to glorify God in this world.
2. That yet he had laid them under his rebukes.
(1.) The neighbouring nations had sometimes oppressed them and tyrannised over them (v. 13): “O Lord our God! thou who hast the sole right to rule us, whose subjects and servants we are, to thee we complain (for whither else should we go with our complaints?) that other lords besides thee have had dominion over us.” Not only in the days of the Judges, but afterwards, God frequently sold them into the hand of their enemies, or rather, by their iniquities, they sold themselves, ch. lii. 3-5. When they had been careless in the service of God, God suffered their enemies to have dominion over them, that they might know the difference between his service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries. It may be understood as a confession of sin, their serving other gods, and subjecting themselves to the superstitious laws and customs of their neighbours, by which other lords (for they called their idols baals, lords) had dominion over them, besides God. But now they promise that it shall be so no more: “Henceforth by thee only will we make mention of thy name; we will worship thee only, and in that way only which thou hast instituted and appointed.” The same may be our penitent reflection: Other lords, besides God, have had dominion over us; every lust has been our lord, and we have been led captive by it; and it is has been long enough, and too long, that we have thus wronged both God and ourselves. The same therefore must be our pious resolution, that henceforth we will make mention of God’s name only and by him only, that we will keep close to God and to our duty and never desert it.
(2.) They had sometimes been carried into captivity before their enemies (v. 15): “The nation which at first thou didst increase, and make to take root, thou hast now diminished, and plucked up, and removed to all the ends of the earth, driven out to the utmost parts of heaven,” as is threatened, Deu 30:4; Deu 28:64. But observe, Between the mention of the increasing of them and that of the removing of them it is said, Thou art glorified; for the judgments God inflicts upon his people for their sins are for his honour, as well as the mercies he bestows upon them in performance of his promise.
(3.) The prophet remembers that when they were thus oppressed and carried captive they cried unto God, which was a good evidence that they neither had quite forsaken him nor were quite forsaken of him, and that there were merciful intentions in the judgments they were under (v. 16): Lord, in trouble have they visited thee. This was usual with the people of Israel, as we find frequently in the story of the Judges. When other lords had dominion over them they humbled themselves, and said, The Lord is righteous, 2 Chron. xii. 6. See here, [1.] The need we have of afflictions. They are necessary to stir up prayer; when it is said, In trouble have they visited thee, it is implied that in their peace and prosperity they were strangers to God, kept at a distance from him, and seldom came near him, as if, when the world smiled upon them, they had no occasion for his favours. [2.] The benefit we often have by afflictions. They bring us to God, quicken us to our duty, and show us our dependence upon him. Those that before seldom looked at God now visit him; they come frequently, they become friendly, and make their court to him. Before, prayer came drop by drop, but now they pour out a prayer; it comes now like water from a fountain, not like water from a still. They poured out a secret speech; so the margin. Praying is speaking to God, but it is a secret speech; for it is the language of the heart, otherwise it is not praying. Afflictions bring us to secret prayer, in which we may be more free and particular in our addresses to him than we can be in public. In affliction those will seek God early who before sought him slowly, Hos. v. 15. It will make men fervent and fluent in prayer. “They poured out a prayer, as the drink-offerings were poured out, when thy chastening was upon them.” But it is to be feared, when the chastening is off them, they will by degrees return to their former carelessness, as they had often done.
(4.) He complains that their struggles for their own liberty had been very painful and perilous, but that they had not been successful, Isa 26:17; Isa 26:18. [1.] They had the throes and pangs they dreaded: “We have been like a woman in labour, that cries out in her pangs; we have with a great deal of anxiety and toil endeavoured to help ourselves, and our troubles have been increased by those attempts;” as when Moses came to deliver Israel the tale of bricks was doubled. Their prayers were quickened by the acuteness of their pains, and became as strong and vehement as the cries of a woman in sore travail. So have we been in thy sight, O Lord! It was a comfort and satisfaction to them, in their distress, that God had his eye upon them, that all their miseries were in his sight; he was no stranger to their pangs or their prayers. Lord, all my desire is before thee, and my groaning is not hidden from thee, Ps. xxxviii. 9. Whenever they came to present themselves before the Lord with their complaints and petitions they were in agonies like those of a woman in travail. [2.] They came short of the issue and success they desired and hoped for: “We have been with child; we have had great expectation of a speedy and happy deliverance, have been big with hopes, and, when we have been in pain, have comforted ourselves with this, that the joyful birth would make us forget our misery, John xvi. 21. But, alas! we have as it were brought forth wind; it has proved a false conception; our expectations have been frustrated, and our pains have been rather dying pains than travailing ones; we have had a miscarrying womb and dry breasts. All our efforts have proved abortive: We have not wrought any deliverance in the earth, for ourselves or for our friends and allies, but rather have made our own case and theirs worse; neither have the inhabitants of the world, whom we have been contesting with, fallen before us, either in their power or in their hopes; but they are still as high and arrogant as ever.” Note, A righteous cause may be strenuously pleaded both by prayer and endeavour, both with God and man, and yet for a great while may be left under a cloud, and the point may not be gained.
II. His prospects and hopes are very pleasant. In general, “Thou wilt ordain peace for us (v. 12), that is, all that good which the necessity of our case calls for.” What peace the church has, or hopes for, it is of God’s ordaining; and we may comfort ourselves with this, that, what trouble soever may for a time be appointed to the people of God, peace will at length be ordained for them; for the end of those men is peace. And, if God by his Spirit work all our works in us, he will ordain peace for us (for the work of righteousness shall be peace), and that is true and lasting peace, such as the world can neither give nor take away, which God ordains; for, to those that have it, it shall be unchangeable as the ordinances of the day and of the night. Moreover, from what God has done for us, we may encourage ourselves to hope that he will yet further do us good. “Thou hast heard the desire of the humble, and therefore wilt (Ps. x. 17); and, when this peace is ordained for us, then by thee only will we make mention of thy name (v. 13); we will give the glory of it to thee only, and not to any other, and we will depend upon thy grace only to enable us to do so.” We cannot praise God’s name but by his strength. Two things in particular the prophet here comforts the church with the prospect of:– 1. The amazing ruin of her enemies (v. 14): They are dead, those other lords that have had dominion over us; their power is irrecoverably broken; they are quite cut off and extinguished: and they shall not live, shall never be able to hold up the head any more. Being deceased, they shall not rise, but, like Haman, when they have begun to fall before the seed of the Jews they shall sink like a stone. Because they are sentenced to this final ruin, therefore, in pursuance of that sentence, God himself has visited them in wrath, as a righteous Judge, and has cut off both the men themselves (he has destroyed them) and the remembrance of them: they and their names are buried together in the dust. He has made all their memory to perish; they are either forgotten or made mention of with detestation. Note, The cause that is maintained in opposition to God and his kingdom among men, though it may prosper awhile, will certainly sink at last, and all that adhere to it will perish with it. The Jewish doctors, comparing this with v. 19, infer that the resurrection of the dead belong to the Jews only, and that those of other nations shall not rise. But we know better; we know that all who are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and that this speaks of the final destruction of Christ’s enemies, which is the second death. 2. The surprising resurrection of her friends, v. 19. Though the church rejoices not in the birth of the man-child, of which she travailed in pain, but has as it were brought forth wind (v. 18), yet the disappointment shall be balanced in a way equivalent: Thy dead men shall live; those who were thought to be dead, who had received a sentence of death within themselves, who were cast out as if they had been naturally dead, shall appear again in their former vigour. A spirit of life from God shall enter into the slain witnesses, and they shall prophesy again, Rev. xi. 11. The dry bones shall live, and become an exceedingly great army, Ezek. xxxvii. 10. Together with my dead body shall they arise. If we believe the resurrection of the dead, of our dead bodies at the last day, as Job did, and the prophet here, that will facilitate our belief of the promised restoration of the church’s lustre and strength in this world. When God’s time shall have come, how low soever she may be brought, they shall arise, even Jerusalem, the city of God, but now lying like a dead body, a carcase to which the eagles are gathered together. God owns it still for his, so does the prophet; but it shall arise, shall be rebuilt, and flourish again. And therefore let the poor, desolate, melancholy remains of its inhabitants, that dwell as in dust, awake and sing; for they shall see Jerusalem, the city of their solemnities, a quiet habitation again, ch. xxxiii. 20. The dew of God’s favour shall be to it as the evening dew to the herbs that were parched with the heat of the sun all day, shall revive and refresh them. And as the spring-dews, that water the earth, and make the herbs that lay buried in it to put forth and bud, so shall they flourish again, and the earth shall cast out the dead, as it casts the herbs out of their roots. The earth, in which they seemed to be lost, shall contribute to their revival. When the church and her interests are to be restored neither the dew of heaven nor the fatness of the earth shall be wanting to do their part towards the restoration. Now this (as Ezekiel’s vision, which is a comment upon it) may be fitly accommodated, (1.) To the spiritual resurrection of those that were dead in sin, by the power of Christ’s gospel and grace. So Dr. Lightfoot applies it, Hor. Hebr. in Joh. 12.24. “The Gentiles shall live; with my body shall they arise; that is, they shall be called in after Christ’s resurrection, shall rise with him, and sit with him in heavenly places; nay, they shall arise my body (says he); they shall become the mystical body of Christ, and shall arise as part of him.” (2.) To the last resurrection, when dead saints shall live, and rise together with Christ’s dead body; for he arose as the first-fruits, and believers shall arise by virtue of their union with him and their communion in his resurrection.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Vs. 12-21 REJECTING THE SOVEREIGNTY OF ALL OTHERS, THE HOLY PEOPLE PLEDGE THEIR PERPETUAL DEVOTION TO THEIR REDEEMER
1. As the consummation of His great mercy, the Lord will ordain lasting peace for all who have abandoned themselves to Him – that He may accomplish His own perfect will through them, (vs. 12; see on vs. Isaiah 3; Isa 29:23; Isa 60:21; Isa 64:8 Php_2:12-13; 1Co 12:6; 1Co 15:10;. Heb 13:20-21).
2. Throughout “the times of the Gentiles” the people of God have been oppressed by various tyrants, but the Lord has always intervened in their behalf so as to win their eternal loyalty, love and praise, (vs. 13).
3. Their former tormenters are overthrown, perished and forgotten (vs. 14); but, the righteous nation has been increased, and her borders extended, to the glory of God, (vs. 15; Isa 9:3; Isa 33:17; Isa 33:20-22; Isa 54:2-3).
4. Verses 16-18 describe the agony of the nation, under the tyrannical hand of the Man of Sin, as they recognize their utter helplessness to save themselves; they have failed.
5. Pictured as dead, verse 19 views their resurrection to a new and vibrant life (restored to fellowship with her Maker) in which they will be a blessing to others, (Eze 37:1-4).
a. This resurrection is represented as the coming of a bright, sparkling and refreshing dew.
b. Here is fulfilled the assurance of God’s covenant – both to Abraham and to David – of triumph over death, (Genesis 15; 2 Samuel 7).
c. Resurrection is clearly associated with the coming of our Lord to establish His kingdom and rule the earth in righteousness, (Rev 20:3; Rev 20:5-6; Rev 11:15-18; Mat 24:29; 1Co 15:23; 1Co 15:51-52; 1Th 4:16).
6. A place of refuge will be provided for a godly remnant, who will form the nucleus of the restored nation, (vs. 20).
7. The full enjoyment of this purposed blessedness must wait “for a little moment” while divine wrath is poured upon the workers of iniquity, (vs. 21; Rev 19:11-21).
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
12. O Jehovah, thou wilt ordain peace for us. This statement tends to the consolation of the godly, as if he had said, “We shall see what will be the end of the wicked; for thou wilt prevent them from sharing with thy children, and wilt take them away as enemies by fire, but we shall be happy.” The Hebrew verb שפת, ( shāphăth,) which signifies “to ordain,” has the same import as the word “establish;” as if he had said, “Thou wilt prepare peace for us in uninterrupted succession:” for the wicked also enjoy peace, but not of long duration; but our peace is fixed on the Lord, and has a firm foundation, and never comes to an end. By the word peace he means perfect happiness. Hence infer, that the children of God alone, who rest on him, are happy; for the life of the wicked, to whatever extent it may abound in pleasures and luxuries, when everything proceeds to their wish, is most miserable. There is therefore no solid foundation for peace but in God’s fatherly love.
All our works. By works he means all the blessings which the Lord bestows on those who believe in him; as if he had said, “Transactions, business, actions,” and everything included in the French phrase nos affaires , or in the corresponding English phrase our affairs. Accordingly, those who have quoted this passage for the purpose of overturning free-will have not understood the Prophet’s meaning. It is undoubtedly true that God alone does what is good in us, and that all the good actions which men perform are from his Spirit. But here the Prophet merely shews that we have obtained from the hand of God all the good things which we enjoy; and hence he infers that his kindness will not cease till we shall have obtained perfect happiness. Now, since God is the author of all good things, we ought chiefly to consider those which hold the first and highest place; for if we ought to acknowledge that we have received from God those things by which we support this life, much more those which belong to the salvation of the soul. If, therefore, we ought to acknowledge his kindness in small matters, how much more ought we to acknowledge it in matters of the greatest importance and value? But there is no reason why we should bring forward this passage against the Papists; for they might easily evade it, and we have a great number of other passages exceedingly conclusive.
In this passage, therefore, the Prophet appears to exhort the godly to testify their gratitude; for he bids them declare the acts of God’s kindness, so as to acknowledge that they are indebted to him for everything which they possess; and this contains a profitable doctrine, namely, that from past events and benefits received, the godly reason even as to God’s future kindness, and infer that he will also take care of them for the future. Having therefore experienced God’s kindness, let us also learn to hope for the future; and since he hath shewn himself to be so kind and bountiful, let us steadfastly fix our hearts in the hope of future assistance.
This example has been followed by all the saints, and in this way they have strengthened their faith. Thus David says, “Thou wilt not despise the work of thy hands.” (Psa 138:8.) Paul says, “He who hath begun in us a good work will perform it.” (Phi 1:6.) Jacob also says, “I am less than the compassions and the truth which thou hast shewn to thy servant; but thou saidst, I will surely do thee good.” (Gen 32:10.) God is not like men, to be capable of being wearied by doing good, or exhausted by giving largely; and therefore the more numerous the benefits with which he has loaded us, so much the more ought our faith to be strengthened and increased.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
NATIONAL PEACE THE GIFT OF GOD
(A Thanksgiving Sermon.)
Isa. 26:12. Lord, Thou wilt ordain peace for us: for Thou hast wrought all our work in us.
The joyfulness of the occasion. Peace a greater blessing than mere victory; for he that celebrates victory celebrates an event which has been produced by an incalculable measure of human suffering. Let us consider
I. What there is in the restoration of peace, generally considered, to excite our gratitude.
1. The effusion of human blood is stayed, and all the suffering inseparable from war.
2. The injurious effects of war on human character afford another reason for thanksgiving on the return of peace. War renders men callous to human misery. The sacredness of human life is forgotten. Wars lead to intestine dissensions, and embitter and perpetuate national animosities.
II. What there is in the particular circumstances of this country to warrant us in considering the blessing as of special and particular value.
1. The triumph of which this peace is the result is the triumph of a righteous cause. Peace is often the result of the superiority acquired by the aggressor. The cause of right does not always at once prevail. Unoffending natives are conquered, or obliged to submissions contrary to their rights and interests, and then peace follows; peace dictated, not argued. There is peace, but not the spirit of peace.
2. We have preserved our national honour. Our victory has not been purchased by any alliance of which we have cause to be ashamed.
3. Peace does not find us, as it finds many nations, with our houses desolated and our cities destroyed by fire.
4. It was seasonable. We had put forth our utmost strength. Had we not succeeded at the moment we should have fallen to rise no more as a nation of the first order.
5. It may be considered an indication of the Divine approbation. On this subject we would not be presumptuous, but it may at least be affirmed that the happy change in our affairs, which has ultimately led to peace, followed, and, in some instances, immediately followed, certain acts of national reformation (e.g., the emancipation of the slaves) and acknowledgment of God which, from the condescending assurance of His Word, we know must have been acceptable to Him.
6. It will increase our means of promoting the kingdom of Christ in the world, and thus establish our national prosperity by continuing to us the blessing of God.
III. The reasons of our thankful acknowledgment of God on this occasion. He is the giver of the blessing of peace. Text. This is a most important principle, and if our hearts be not firmly grounded in it, our thanksgiving is a mockery; for why do we thank Him if we ascribe the work to second causes? He that excludes God from the world of providence might as well exclude Him from the world of nature. He who can attribute the events which are daily taking place in society, and especially such events as are connected with the celebration of this day, to mere human agency, is not less an Atheist than the man who ascribes the birth and being of the fair system of the universe to chance or the dance of atoms.
CONCLUSION.The proper expression of our thankfulness for this great blessing will be to do our utmost in the diffusion of the Gospel, that the final reign of the Prince of Peace may commence, and quietness and assurance for ever become the lot of man.Richard Watson: Works, vol. ii. pp. 2040.
HOLINESS ACCOMPLISHED, PEACE ORDAINED
Isa. 26:12. Lord, Thou wilt ordain peace for us: for Thou also hast wrought all our works in us.
Rather, for us. The Church acknowledges that all her deliverances and successes have been accomplished for her; and on what God has done for her in the past, she rightly bases her expectation as to what God will do for her in the future. He who was able to deliver His people from their bondage in Babylon, would secure peace for them when He had restored them to their own land. But, then, of all the works that God accomplishes for His people, some of the most important are precisely those which He accomplishes in them. So we may profitably meditate on our text as it stands.
I. THE CHRISTIANS CONDITION.
1. A divine work has been accomplished for him. Thou, &c. Throughout, the New Testament teaches us that the Christian is a man, not who has delivered himself, but who has been delivered; not a hero who broke the chains by which he was bound, but a poor slave of sin who was set free and uplifted to true manhood (Php. 2:13; Eph. 2:10); everything is ascribed to the Spiritthe life, the good works, the comforts of the Christian (Joh. 3:5; Gal. 5:16; Gal. 5:22; Act. 9:31).
2. As the operation is divine, so is it internal in its effects. We should never overlook what God has done for us in His kind and tender providence (Psa. 23:6). But the greatest of all Gods works for us is redemption by the blood of the cross. This was accomplished long ago (Joh. 19:30). Nothing can now be added to it, but you are mistaken if you suppose that His work for you is to supersede His work in you. If your sins are not subdued as well as pardoned, you will never be able to serve and enjoy God. Unless you have a meetness for heaven, as well as a title to it, you will never be at home there. The salvation that is promised and accomplished is internal (Joh. 4:14; Eze. 11:19-20; Psa. 51:10).
3. The operation is manifold in its influence. All our works. How much needs to be done in man! Conscience is to be awakened, purified, pacified; the understanding is to be enlightened; the judgment is to be informed; the will is to be subdued; the affections to be spiritualised; the world is to be dethroned in the heart, and holy principles implanted there. There needs the continuing act of a performing God from the hour of the first conviction of sin to the resurrection of the body unto eternal life (Php. 1:6).
4. His divine work is acknowledged. Thou hast wrought, &c. Much remains to be done in us, but much has been accomplished in every believer, and it should be acknowledged. Humility well becomes us, but gratitude becomes us equally (Psa. 66:16).
II. HIS FUTURE EXPECTATION.
Lord, Thou wilt ordain peace for us.
1. There is an appointment or ordination. To ordain is an act of authority and power. You may wish and promise a thing, but the monarch ordains, and what he ordains is supported by all the resources of the realm, and will be accomplished. Much more shall Gods counsel stand and His pleasure be done.
2. What is the blessing He will ordain? Peace! Peace temporal (Pro. 16:7). Peace spiritual [1075]
[1075] See outlines on Isa. 26:3.This peace of the Christian often fluctuates. It has various degrees. Some have comparatively little of it, arising from constitutional malady, from ignorance, or as a correction for sin, but it commonly increases in death. It is therefore compared to a river which meanders and fertilises as it goes, but becomes wider and deeper as it approximates to the sea; so the peace of Gods people generally increases as they get nearer eternity.Jay.
III. THE DEPENDENCE OF THE EXPECTATION ON THE CONDITION.
Thou wilt for Thou hast. The expectations of Gods people are based
1. On the experience of Gods people in all generations (Psa. 22:4).
2. On their own experience of His faithfulness and mercy (Psa. 116:1-2) [1078]William Jay: Sunday Evening Sermons, &c., pp. 306312.
[1078] When a friend has always been kind, we think it base and unworthy not to suppose that he is ready to succour and help. But here we have the advantage: Men may be weak and unable to help, but God is almighty; men may change their mind, but with Him is no shadow of turning. Remember what God has done, view it as a pledge, a beginning, an earnest foretaste of what He will do. Has He not shown you the evil of sin, the beauty of holiness, and the preciousness of a Saviour? If He had a mind to destroy you, would He have shown you such things as these? Nay, He will ordain everything for your welfare.Jay
H. E. I. 23632377, 2791.
MANS HOLINESS, GODS WORKMANSHIP
Isa. 26:12. Thou also hast wrought all our works in us.
It is not all men who could speak these words to God; the wicked and the worldly-minded could not use such language without blasphemy. It is the godly, and they only, who can dare to use the language of our text, and even they must do so with a certain limitation. Nothing that is evil in any of Gods people is in any way His work. It is only their good works of which it can be truly said, God wrought them; and of these it may be said, God wrought not some only, but all of them.
I. THE DOCTRINE WHICH OUR TEXT CONTAINS. Man is by nature a creature so depraved that he is unto every good work reprobate. God looks into his heart, and seeing evil motives even in his best performances, pronounces all his righteousnesses filthy rags. Where things are not done to please God, He is displeased. No matter what show the unregenerate make before their fellow-sinners, God turns away His face from them, and counts them even dead in trespasses and sins, whilst men, perhaps, are holding them in admiration (Article xiii.; Luk. 16:15; Rom. 8:7-8). When, therefore, a man does begin to please God, it is because God hath wrought him for this self-same thing by the mighty working of His power (Eph. 2:4-5; Php. 2:13). In these passages, the earliest beginning of any good work in us is ascribed wholly to the Lord (Article x.) The Holy Spirit is the author of all good in man from first to last. From Him all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works do proceed. Repentance is His Work. Godly sorrow is no natural emotion (Act. 5:31; Act. 11:18; 2Ti. 2:25). So also is faith (1Co. 12:3). So, again, is all holiness of heart and life (Eph. 2:10; Pro. 16:1; Gal. 5:22-23). All excellences in man are fruits of the Spirit. Such is the doctrine of our text. Consider,
II. THE FEELINGS WHICH GODS PEOPLE OUGHT TO ENTERTAIN WHEN THEY REFLECT UPON IT. Is it true that God hath wrought all our works in us? What a ground there is here, then,1, for humility. Surely boasting is excluded. Pride is an absurdity (1Co. 4:7; 1Co. 15:10.) 2, for thankfulness. Solomon was full of wonder and amazement that God should condescend to come and dwell within his costly temple. Should not the Lords people be still more gratefully amazed that He should make a temple of their hearts! 3, for encouragement (Php. 1:6). Let the believer look at the very construction of our text, let him read it in connection with the words which go before, and he will see what a comfortable argument is drawn from it: Lord, Thou wilt ordain peace for us, for Thou also hast wrought all our works in us. The presence of His grace within our bosoms is a token of the favour which He means to show us. He who put oil into our lamp and set it burning, and then said, Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven, will never omit to feed the celestial flame.A. Roberts, M.A.: Plain Sermons, Second Series, vol. i. 2130.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(12) Thou also hast wrought all our work in us . . .Better, for us. The work is the great work of salvation and deliverance.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
12. Peace for us “Peace,” here, is comprehensive. It is future safety from all the evils suffered under Jehovah’s enemies.
Wrought all our works Ground for trusting that God will secure to them future peace, inasmuch as his high hand has wrought complete rescue from the evils of captivity, etc.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 26:12 LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us.
Ver. 12. Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us. ] Or, Lord, dispose peace for us.
For thou also hast wrought all our works in us.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
ordain = arrange.
in us = for us. Compare Php 1:2, Php 1:13. App-4.
lords = owners. Referring to the Canaanite oppressors of Israel and their false gods.
had dominion = domineered, or lorded it.
make mention = call upon.
Thy name = Thee. See note on Psa 20:1.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
ordain: Isa 57:10, Psa 29:11, Jer 33:6, Joh 14:27
for: Deu 30:6, Eze 36:25, Eph 2:10, Heb 13:20
in us: or, for us, Psa 57:2, Eze 20:9, Eze 20:14, Eze 20:22
Reciprocal: Num 6:26 – give thee 1Ch 22:9 – I will give peace 1Ch 22:11 – the Lord Psa 31:19 – wrought Psa 90:17 – establish Psa 138:8 – perfect Ecc 9:1 – that the Joh 3:21 – that his Joh 20:26 – Peace Rom 2:10 – and peace Phi 2:13 – God Phi 4:7 – the peace 2Th 3:16 – give
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 26:12. Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us That is, for thy true and genuine church and people. Though thou hast afflicted us, (Isa 26:8.) yet the time will come when we shall be in a very different, yea, in a happy condition. Or, referring to what he had last said, he means, as thou wilt destroy thine and our enemies, so thou wilt bless us; thy people, with peace and prosperity. For thou hast wrought all our works in us Hebrew, , to, or for us. All the good works done by us are the effects of thy grace. And all the good and great works which have been wrought for us, all the wonderful deliverances and singular blessings vouchsafed us, came from thee. The argument is this: God hath done great things for us, and delivered us formerly upon many occasions, and therefore he will still deliver us, and give us peace.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Yahweh would establish peace for His people (Isa 26:3) because everything that they had done He had really done for them (cf. Php 2:12-13). We cannot establish peace for ourselves, but He will. Only He can break through the darkness of human depravity (Jon 2:9).