Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 26:13
O LORD our God, [other] lords beside thee have had dominion over us: [but] by thee only will we make mention of thy name.
13. other lords besides thee ] That the reference is to foreign despotisms, and not as some have thought to false gods, may be regarded as certain. The rule of the heathen over the people of God was an invasion of Jehovah’s sovereignty, it was inconsistent with the ideal of the Theocracy, and hindered the perfect realisation of the Divine will in the national life.
by thee only name ] The sense appears to be: “it is through thy help alone that we can now celebrate thy name.” The construction is not very clear.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
13, 14. The long heathen domination is now a thing of the past; the oppressors have gone to the realm of shades, and shall trouble the world no more.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Other lords beside thee have had dominion – The allusion here is to the kings of Babylon who had subdued and oppressed them, and who in their long captivity had held them in subjection to their laws.
But by thee only will we make mention of thy name – This may be better rendered, but only thee, thy name will we henceforward commemorate. The words by thee, and thy name, are put in apposition, and denote the same thing. The word make mention ( nazekiyr) means literally to cause to be remembered; to commemorate; to celebrate. The idea is, that during their long captivity they had been subject to the dominion of other lords than Yahweh; but now that they were restored to their own land, they would acknowledge only Yahweh as their Lord, and would henceforward celebrate only his name.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 26:13-14
Other lords beside Thee have had dominion over us
The captivity and the return
About five hundred years before the birth of Christ an event occulted which stands almost alone in the worlds history.
After a long period of exile a whole nation, at least so much of it as was disposed, was freely permitted to return to its own land. The despotic king under whose sceptre they were then living not only issued an edict to that effect, but gave up the sacred vessels of the Holy House which had been brought away as trophies by previous monarchs, empowered the leader of the host to draw on the royal treasury for whatever might be necessary to refurnish the Holy House, and supplied him liberally with money, corn, wine, and oil for the homeward journey. For three days that mighty host of returning exiles rested in their tents on the banks of the Ahava. A solemn and sacred fast succeeded. Then came the marshalling of the enormous caravan. At last, on the dawning of the fifteenth morning from their first setting out, they began in real earnest their homeward march. Four long and wearisome months did that great caravan of exiles creep on towards their beloved land. At the beginning of the fifth month, with their ranks greatly swelled by others who had joined them during their progress, they stood in sight of Jerusalem. The song now broke forth, We have a strong city: salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks; to which a chorus of many thousand voices responded, Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth truth may enter in. Then followed the declaration of the first voices, Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee. Trust ye in the Lord forever; for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. So the mighty song of praise rolled on, until, with all voices blending as the voice of many waters, the words were heard, O Jehovah our God! other lords beside Thee have ruled over us; but henceforth Thee, Thy name only, will we celebrate. They are dead, they shall not live; they are shades, they shall not rise; because Thou hast visited and destroyed them, and hast made all their memory to perish. In effect these words describe the whole history of that nation in its exile, and its purpose now it had come back to Judah. (J. J. Goadby.)
Bondage and freedom
A nation is, after all, only an aggregate of single units; and that which is thus declared of a whole nation was equally true of each separate man of whom that nation was composed. It is the history and purpose of a single soul.
I. Here is an illustration of THE MANIFOLD BONDAGE OF THE SOUL. The Jews had bowed before many idols. They had served under many kings. Each idol and king had ruled them according to the caprice of the hierophants or viziers. There are also many lords who rule over the souls of men; whose dominion is capricious, despotic, and even destructive.
1. There is worldliness, one of the hardest of tyrants.
2. Closely akin to worldliness is frivolity; the disposition which shows itself in a strong dislike to anything grave in thought, or speech, or life; a vague belief, so far as frivolity can entertain belief, that the chief end in life is to be amused.
3. Others are in the thralls of doubt. One man doubts concerning all goodness whatsoever. He has been bitterly deceived by some unworthy man who had won his confidence, and he refuses to believe now that disinterestedness is possible in any quarter. Another man doubts whether it be possible to discover truth amidst such a wrangle of apparently conflicting opinions, upon it. Perhaps he has allowed his mind to be biassed in one direction, and has never seriously set himself to get free from his bias. Or, he may never have struggled after the truth with any deep and true wrestling of soul. A third has doubts concerning evangelic Christianity. A fourth doubts of the possibility of his own salvation.
4. There are other forms of tyranny over the soul; e.g., the slavery of that which is known to be sin. The particular kind of sin differs with different mere.
5. Does it not become of unspeakable interest to know if deliverance can actually be secured; by whom it is to be effected, and by what means; and what are the signs that freedom has been actually obtained? To all these questions the song of the liberated exiles points to the sufficient answer. O Jehovah our God! other lords beside Thee have ruled over us, etc.
II. Jehovah was the Author of the Jews liberation: GOD ALONE EFFECTS THE DELIVERANCE OF THE SOUL.
1. He conceived the plan of that redemption, not as a temporary expedient, a Divine after thought, but as an eternal purpose which He purposed in His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
2. The method of this deliverance is also depicted in the words of the exiles. Thou hast visited and destroyed them. Visited, that is, searched out with the keenest scrutiny, examined, exposed. How, then, deem God visit these tyrants of mans soul? He reveals their true character to those who are under their dominion. God lays bare the worthlessness and the wickedness of worldliness, frivolity, and sin. Sometimes He does this, by the force of contrast, bringing in close proximity the brightness of an opposite life to the life which w ourselves are living. Sometimes He awakens a seed of Divine truth that has long been buried in our hearts. Sometimes the revelation is made by creating a sense of satiety, or of nausea. Sometimes the change is produced by incidents of Gods good providence. But the one great means which Divine wisdom has set apart for the spiritual liberation of man is–the Gospel of His love.
3. There are, therefore, certain criteria by which men may surely know that they have actually entered this condition of freedom. One is, their relation to the past. The Jews did not forget the hard usage they tad received from those idol priests and capricious tyrants who had ruled them with a rod of iron. But the grave closed over their oppressors, one after another. They were extinct tyrants; shades, not men; powerless phantoms, fallen to rise no more. They were remembered, but as dead men. Nor can anyone who has obtained spiritual deliverance utterly forget the past. The recollection of what that past was flits across the mind, like a cloud over the face of the sun at noonday. But there is no desire to return to that condition. The past has lost its power of attraction, and has become hateful. The old tyrants are dead; and so long as we keep ourselves in the love of God they shall live no more. There is, further, the souls relation to the future. But henceforth Thee, Thy name only, will we celebrate. Whatever allegiance may have been rendered to others in the past, the allegiance is now to be given alone to God. We have also the idea of service. The celebration is incomplete without this, the worship a solemn and offensive pretence. But he who worships most sincerely is certain to live most uprightly. He is bound to faithful service by the strongest of all ties–the tie of a grateful love.
4. But, says someone, is not this mere poetic exaggeration? Where are the proofs that this freedom has actually been won? Where? In every age of the Churchs history, from the day when publicans and sinners crowded about the pathway of the Divine Redeemer, until this hour. The Gospel is not an exhausted force. It is the power of God unto salvation, to everyone that believeth. (J. J. Goadby.)
The moral history of the soul
Here we have the soul under the sway–
I. OF MANY DEITIES. Other lords beside Thee. The Jews in Babylon had knelt at the shrine of many false deities, and rendered allegiance to a succession of kings. Many lords had ruled them. This is true of all souls in an unregenerate state. Who is the real Lord or God of the soul? Unhesitatingly and emphatically, the chief love. Whatever man loves most, is his spiritual monarch, the deity of his life. The chief love of some is money. The chief love of others is pleasure–sensual indulgence. Their god is their belly. The chief love of others is power. Ambition is their god.
II. OF ONE GOD. By Thee only will we make mention of Thy name, or, as some render it, Henceforth Thee, Thy name, will we celebrate. They had left heathen altars, and come back to the altar of Jehovah. What a blessed change from many masters to one, and therefore free from spiritual distraction. From worthless masters to the supremely good, and therefore realising all that the soul craves for or requires.
1. The rule of this one God is the rule of right.
2. The rule of peace. From the moral constitution of man no peace of soul can be experienced under the sway of any other. Under no other will the various sympathies flow into one channel, the faculties blend in harmonious action, the heart fix itself in a centre.
3. The rule of growth. Can vegetation grow and flourish under the reign of stars, however numerous or brilliant? No; it must have the empire of the sun. And can the soul advance under the sway of any infinite powers, however illustrious? No; it must have the rule of God, the Sun of Righteousness. Here we have the soul–
III. PASSING FROM THE SWAY OF THE MANY TO THE ONE. It is that great moral experience which is represented in the New Testament as a new birth, a resurrection, a conversion, a repentance, etc. (Homilist.)
Confession, resolution, and dependence
I. CONFESSION. O Lord our God, other lords beside Thee have had dominion over us. There are two things connected with this confession; one is recollection, and the other adoration.
II. RESOLUTION. Henceforth we will make mention of Thy name. Gods name is His character,–what He is in Himself, and what He is to His people. And it is a name not to be ashamed of: it is connected with every thing that is excellent, glorious, and sacred. It is a name that is above every name. Not only so, it is a name you need not be afraid of with a slavish fear; but you may well be afraid of it with a holy fear. It is a name that you ought to love with all your hearts!
III. DEPENDENCE. By Thee only will we make mention of Thy name; as much as if it was said, We are full of sin, but Thou art full of grace and mercy; we are not worthy to take Thy name upon our lips–to stand before Thee, or to enter into covenant with Thee, but we do it depending upon Thee, and upon Thee alone. (T. Mortimer, B. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Other lords beside thee; others besides thee, who art our only Judge, and King, and Lawgiver, Isa 33:22, and besides those governors who have been set up by thee, and have ruled us for thee, and in subordination to thee, even foreign and heathenish lords, such as the Philistines, and lately the Assyrians.
Have had dominion over us; have exercised a tyrannical power over us.
By thee only; by thy favour and help, by which alone (and not by our strength or merits) we have been rescued from their tyranny.
Will we make mention of thy name; we will celebrate thy praise, and trust in thee for the future. Thou only hast given us both ability and occasion to magnify thy name, whereas without thy succour we had gone into the place of silence, where there is no remembrance of thee, as is said, Psa 6:5.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
13. other lordstemporal;heathen kings (2Ch 12:8; 2Ch 28:5;2Ch 28:6), Nebuchadnezzar, c.Spiritual also, idols and lusts (Ro6:16-18).
by thee onlyIt is dueto Thee alone, that we again worship Thee as our Lord [MAURER].”(We are) Thine only, we will celebrate Thy name”[HORSLEY]. The sanctifyingeffect of affliction (Psa 71:16Psa 119:67; Psa 119:71).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
O Lord our God, [other] lords besides thee have had dominion over us,…. Sin and Satan have the dominion over the Lord’s people, in a state of unregeneracy; before the good work of grace is wrought in them, every lust is a lord, and is served and obeyed: and Satan is the god of this world by usurpation, and leads men captive at his will. Some think that the idols the Jews had served and worshipped, called “Baalim” or lords, are meant, and that this is a confession of their sin; but that word is not here used. The Targum interprets it of the Jewish governors ruling over them, without the Lord; rather the Assyrians and Babylonians are designed; but it is best of all to understand it of persecuting tyrants, of antichristian kings and states that have exercised a tyrannical power over the people of God:
[but] by thee only will we make mention of thy name; that is, by thy strength, and through grace received from thee, we will be only subject to thee, our King and Lawgiver, and obey thy commands, serve and worship thee, knowing that it is right to obey God rather than man; or through the influence of thy grace, and by the assistance of thy Spirit, we will celebrate thy name, give thee thanks for our deliverance from the servitude, bondage, and oppression of other lords.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
13. O Lord our God. This verse contains a complaint of the saints, that they were oppressed by the tyranny of the wicked. This song was composed in order to refresh the hearts of believers, who were to be cruelly banished from that land which was a figure of eternal happiness, that, having been deprived of sacrifices and holy assemblies, and almost of every consolation, crushed by the heavy yoke of the Babylonians, banished from their country, loaded with reproach and sore afflictions, they might direct their groanings to God, in order to seek relief. He speaks, therefore, in the name of believers, who to outward appearance had been rejected by God, and yet did not cease to testify that they were the people of God, and to put their trust in him.
Other lords besides thee have had dominion over us. Not without cause do they complain that they are placed under a different dominion from that of God, for he had received them under his sole guardianship. Hence it follows that, if they had not been estranged from him, they would not have endured so hard a lot as to be exposed to the tyranny and caprice of enemies. It may be thought that the government of all princes is “besides God,” or different from that of God, even though they govern in his name. But the Prophet does not speak of those who govern for our benefit, but of those who are opposed to true worship and to holy doctrine. David was indeed a ruler who exercised dominion separate from that of God, but at the same time he was a genuine servant of God for the general advantage of the whole people; and therefore he maintained the true religion, which those rulers wished altogether to overthrow. Most justly did it befall the Jews, that, in consequence of having refused to obey God, who treated them with the greatest kindness, they were subjected to the tyranny of wicked men.
There is an implied contrast between God and the pious kings who governed the people in his name and by his authority, and the tyrants who oppressed them by governing with most unjust laws. This will be made more evident by a similar passage in Ezekiel, “I gave them,” says God, “good laws, by which they might live; but because they did not execute my judgments, and despised my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths, and cast their eyes upon the idols of their fathers, for this reason I gave them statutes that were not good, and judgments by which they could not live.” (Eze 20:11.) Since they might formerly, through the blessing of God, have been prosperous and happy, if they had obeyed his word, the prophet Ezekiel threatens that they will be subjected to tyrants who will compel them to obey their cruel enactments, and that without profit or reward. Isaiah now deplores a similar calamity. “When the Lord ruled over us, we could not be satisfied with our lot, and now we are compelled to endure severe tyranny, and suffer the just punishment of our wickedness.” The same complaint may be made by believers who live under the Papacy, or who in any way are compelled, by unjust laws, to observe superstition; for they are subject to a government which is “besides God,” or different from that of God, and endure bondage worse than barbarous, which not only fetters their bodies, but conducts their souls to torture and slaughter.
In thee only. This clause appears to be contrasted with the former to this effect, “Although irreligious men wish to withdraw from thy dominion, yet we will continue under it; for we are fully convinced that we are thine.” But we may draw from it more abundant instruction, that, although the feeling of the flesh pronounces that those who are cruelly oppressed by enemies have been forsaken by God, and laid open to be a prey, yet the Jews do not cease to boast in God when they do not perceive that he is near them; for the mere remembrance of his name supports them, and gently cherishes their hope. There is thus a very emphatic contrast between “the remembrance of the name of God” and the immediate experience of his grace; for steadfastly to embrace God, even though he is absent, is a proof of uncommon excellence.
Others render it, In thee and in thy name; but the word and is not in the passage. There is here exhibited to us consolation, which is great and highly necessary in these times, when the base ingratitude of men, by shaking off the yoke of God, has brought down upon itself a most cruel tyranny; and we need not wonder if we already see it abound in many places in which men call on the name of God. Yet the godly ought not to faint on this account, provided that they support themselves by this consolation, that God never entirely forsakes those who find abundant consolation in the remembrance of his name. But at the same time it is necessary to testify this faith, so as to choose to die a thousand times rather than depart from God by profaning his name; for when any one goes astray through the fear of men, it is certain that he never has truly tasted the sweetness of the name of God. So long, therefore, as we freely enjoy the word, let us be diligently employed in it, so that, when necessity shall demand it, we may be armed, and that it may not appear that we have indulged at our ease in idle speculation.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
SPIRITUAL USURPERS RENOUNCED
Isa. 26:13-14. O Lord our God, other lords beside Thee have had dominion over us, &c.
We have in this language
I. A PENITENTIAL CONFESSION. Other lords, &c. Exegetically the point to be determined is whether the other lords who have ruled over us, are the king and people of Babylon or idol gods; the former with coercion, the latter with their own wicked consent? Perhaps both ideas are included and a sad sequence implied. They had wandered of their own wicked will into the service of pagan gods, and now against their will were forced to serve pagan kings. Paganism had led to vice; vice had destroyed all true manliness. Heroism in Jewish history had lived only so long as fidelity to Jehovah had lasted. Piety having decayed, heroism was dead; they could not stand before their invaders. Paganism had enslaved them. This they now feel, and hate Paganism, and shun it more thoroughly than ever before.
II. A HOLY RESOLVE, involving,
1. A recognition of Divine claims. It is right that we should consecrate our services to Thee. By Thee created and sustained, it is robbery to carry our services elsewhere. Thou art our Father, and to honour others instead of Thee is unfilial ingratitude. Our King Thou art, and not to serve Thee is sedition.
2. A consciousness of dependence on Divine help. But by Thee only, &c., i.e., Only by Thy Divine help can we hope to be faithful to Thee. Here is a renunciation, not only of heathenism, but also of all self-sufficiency. By sad experience they have learnt that without God they can do nothing.
III. A SHOUT OF VICTORY (Isa. 26:14).The struggle against sin may be severe and long. Bad habits are not easily overcome. But divine help gives victory to human endeavours. He who uttered the almost despairing cry, O wretched man that I am, &c., can now give the victorious shout, I thank God through our Lord Jesus Christ. There are those who once served mammon, and bowed to ambition; who followed the Moloch of revenge and hate; slaves to drunkenness and nameless vices, who now through Divine grace can say of these bad habits, They are dead Thou hast visited and destroyed them, &c.W. Parkes.
Man is a responsible being. To say he is responsible to himself is to say nothing more than that he claims to act according to his own inclination. Responsibility has regard to another. Lordship from without is exercised over every human soul. Good and evilGod and Satancontend for the dominion. Evil usurps the dominion until an inward revolution occurs. Thus the Jewish people had cast off the authority of Jehovah, and placed themselves under the dominion of other Gods. The captivity in Babylon converted them from this folly. They then determined that thenceforward they would only make mention of, celebrate and honour, give the dominion to the Lord their God. Here is a penitential confession and a good resolution.
I. A PENITENTIAL CONFESSION. Other lords beside Thee have had dominion over us. The dominion of evil in human souls is:
1. Multiform. It assumes many shapes. The gods the Jewish people served were numerous as the nations under whose influence they fell. So the form of evil most congenial to a mans own nature is sure to assail him (H. E. I. 46794683). Not only so; while each has probably his special besetment, each has also multitudinous besetments (H. E. I. 4550, 4551). The penitent sees that his sins pass all power of numeration or recollection; they have become lords and masters (Rom. 6:16; H. E. I. 44824484).
2. Wrongful. Other lords beside Thee. The language implies that God ought to have had the dominion. Then it must be wrong to give it to others. He is the rightful sovereign on every ground. Nor can he divide His throne with any rival. As it is impossible to serve two masters whose interests are opposed to each other, or to adhere to two claimants of the same crown, so is it to make mention of the name of God and at the same time to submit to the dominion of other lords. But we have attempted this. Will a man rob God? Yes. Men who would not wrong each other will defraud God daily without compunction and without shame. To allow the dominion of other lords is a wrong done to God.
3. Voluntary. It has been entirely with our own consent. Those who make this confession mean that they have been blamable for the wrongful dominion of other lords. Freedom is essential to responsibility. We have consented to sinloved it. Nor does it avail to say we are unable to break from its power. If unable, what has brought our moral nature into such a state of imbecility? Are not its chains wound round our nature by our own consent? Is not the wretched victim of intemperance responsible for his inability to resist the cup, when that inability is the result of the voluntary indulgence of years? The fetters of the sinner have been forged by himself. The criminality reaches farther back than the present sin; to the sins freely chosen long ago, which have led up to the present power of sin over the will. If the will is in bondage to sin, it was, in the first instance, voluntarily surrendered. Now the penitent sinner sees all this. He comes with lowly submission and penitential confession.
II. A GOOD RESOLUTION. By Thee only will we make mention of Thy name. The confession of the ransomed Jews meant more than empty words. They had seen their error; they intended a complete change, a radical reformation. Idolatry was for ever renounced.
This is a type of the conversion of a sinner. The confession means not only that he seeks forgiveness, but also1, Intends reformationabandonment of all sin, no reservation of any sin, the course of life completely altered. 2, Supposes regeneration. Man can only see the outward change; but what does it represent? Awakening to the danger, sight of the evil of sin. The disposition is different; the heart is changed. Hence the will determines the other way. 3, Proceeds from God. There is a work of the Holy Spirit in conversion. We need His help to fulfil the resolution. By Thee only.
Have you experienced this change? It is a personal one. Whether you have or not, He is the Lordyour Lord; therefore right that He demands your service. O yield His claim!J. Rawlinson.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(13) Other lords beside thee have had do minion over us . . .The other lords are the conquerors and oppressors by whom Israel had been enslaved; possibly also, the false gods with whom those conquerors identified themselves.
By thee only will we make mention of thy name.Better, Through Thee alone we celebrate Thy Name. The power to praise God with hymns of thanksgiving (Psa. 45:17) had been restored to Israel, not by mans strength, but through His interposition on behalf of His people.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13. Other lords Some suppose idolatry referred to, of which the Jews were forever weaned in Babylon. More likely, rulers in Babylon are prominently intended.
But by thee only Better rendered, but only thee will we henceforth mention.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 26:13-14. O Lord our God The holy confessors, having in the preceding verse expressed their hope that God would perfect all his good works for them, proceed to unfold that hope; after having already obtained their deliverance in part with the overthrow and destruction of their enemies. They say, that other lords besides Jehovah had obtained power and dominion over them,which literally signifies the Babylonians, Persians, &c.; mystically, the spiritual enemies of the church; but now delivered from this servitude, they add, that they will remember the name of God, or make mention of it by God only. The meaning whereof is, that, owing their delivery solely to God, and not to the intervention of any temporal power, they would give thanks to him alone for the benefit, and acknowledge their salvation as due to him only. Bishop Lowth reads it. Thee only, and thy name, henceforth will we celebrate. See Psa 71:16. The 14th verse should be rendered, The dead shall not revive, the deceased shall not rise; and the meaning is, that the enemies of the church were so totally destroyed, that they should not be able to rise any more to hurt or persecute the people of God. See Vitringa.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 895
HUMILIATION WITH ZEAL
Isa 26:13. O Lord our God, other lords besides thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name.
MANY devout songs are composed in Scripture for the use of Gods Church and people in the latter day. But, amidst their praises for mercies vouchsafed unto them, care is taken to keep up in their minds a remembrance of their former sins, and a sense of those duties which they owe to their heavenly Benefactor. On a review of the past, they are taught to acknowledge the evil of their ways; and in a prospect of the future, to consecrate themselves, with all due solemnity, to the service of their God. Now, at this season [Note: New Years Day.], I cannot do better than recommend to your adoption,
I.
Their retrospective acknowledgment
It is probable, that, in the words before us, respect is had to the civil bondage to which that nation had again and again been reduced on account of their iniquities [Note: 2Ch 28:5-6. Neh 9:36-37.] But, considering for what period the song is prepared, we cannot doubt but that there is a reference also to the moral bondage in which they have been held by their corruptions. And in this sense, the acknowledgment well becomes us at this day; since we are told by an inspired Apostle, that to whomsoever we yield ourselves servants to obey, his servants we are to whom we obey [Note: Rom 6:16.]. And what has been our conduct through life?
The greater part of us have served only our own lusts and pleasures [Note: Tit 3:3.]
[Look at all around you: or, rather, look within your own bosoms; and say, to whom have your lives been devoted, to God, or Mammon? Verily, there is but too much reason to confess, that God has not been in all our thoughts [Note: Psa 10:4.] ]
Of those who have had some respect to God, still must this acknowledgment be required
[Other lords besides God, have had dominion over you. The lip and the knee perhaps you have devoted to Jehovah in the observance of outward duties, both in the public assemblies of the Church, and in your own closets; but where has been the heart [Note: Isa 29:13.]? You have had the form of godliness perhaps, but where has been the power [Note: 2Ti 3:5.]? Call to mind your prayers and your praises, how cold have they been! Have they not even frozen, as it were, upon your very lips? On the other hand, see with what ardour and delight you have followed your earthly pursuits, whether intellectual or corporeal, and whether for pleasure or honour or emolument But God says, Give ME thine heart; and in the want of this, all the services you have rendered him are no better than the cutting off a dogs neck for sacrifice, or the offering of swines blood [Note: Isa 66:3.] ]
Whilst I recommend the deepest humiliation before God in the review of your past lives, I cannot but urge for your adoption what is here suggested for,
II.
Their prospective determination
The Israelites were forbidden to make mention of the name of any of the gods which were worshipped in the land of Canaan [Note: Exo 23:13. Jos 23:7.]. By them no other name than that of Jehovah was to be uttered; because He, and he alone, was God. Hence the making mention of his name was equivalent to an acknowledgment of him as the only true God, and was therefore considered as a just description of his peculiar people [Note: Isa 62:6.]. But this must be done in sincerity and truth; else it would be regarded only as an act of hypocrisy and profaneness [Note: Isa 48:1.]. It must comprehend all that attachment which is due to the supreme God, who is the only proper object of fear, or love, or confidence
Now, then, I recommend this to you,
1.
As your duty
[Who else is entitled to any of these regards, except in entire subordination and subserviency to Him? ]
2.
As your interest
[Who can so recompense your services, or so avenge the want of them? ]
3.
As your happiness
[Ask the most successful votaries of this world what they have ever gained? Ask them what solid satisfaction they have ever found in all that the world could give them? Then ask the servants of the living God, whether they have not found his service to be perfect freedom, and his ways to be ways of pleasantness and peace? As to the eternal world, it is almost superfluous for me to speak: for there are none so ignorant as not to know, that the pleasures of sense all perish with the using, and that those only who seek their happiness in God can ever enjoy the pleasures which are at his right hand for evermore I therefore confidently say to all of you without exception, Let this be the determination of you all, that henceforth you will make no mention of any name in a way of fear, or love, or confidence, but the name of Jehovah only.]
Thus far I have spoken to you as men only. But what shall I say to you as Christians?
[Tell me, whether, as bought with the precious blood of Christ, you have any duty, any interest, any happiness, worthy of a moments consideration, in comparison of his service, his honour, his glory [Note: 1Co 6:20.]? ]
Let me, in conclusion, submit to your consideration the following questions
1.
Who amongst you does not need to make this retrospective acknowledgment?
2.
What will the acknowledgment avail you, if you do not make, and carry into effect, the prospective determination?
3.
To what purpose will it be to begin well, if you ever become weary in well-doing [Note: Gal 6:9.]?
[You must maintain a patient continuance in well-doing, if ever you would attain eternal life [Note: Rom 2:7.]. If ever you draw back, whatever your attainments for a season may have been, you will draw back unto perdition: for Gods soul can have no pleasure in you [Note: Heb 10:38-39.] ]
I must not, however, dismiss you without one most important and necessary caution
[The resolution which I have recommended must not be made in your own strength, but entirely in dependence upon God. This is very particularly intimated in my text: By thee only will we make mention of thy name. In the very words before the text is it said, Thou hast wrought all our works in us. Yes, our sufficiency is of God alone [Note: 2Co 3:5.]. The Apostle Paul himself was constrained to say, By the grace of God I am what I am [Note: 1Co 15:10.]: and if any of you confide for one moment in your own strength, you will fall [Note: Pro 28:26.]. On the other hand, if you trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are assured, in this very Song, that your strength shall be according to your day [Note: Compare ver. 3, 4. with Jude. ver. 24.]. Be strong, then, in the Lord, and in the power of his might [Note: Eph 6:10.]: and then let the Psalmists resolution be yours, and his song be yours; My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof. I will go in the strength of the Lord God: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only [Note: Psa 71:15-16.].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 26:13 O LORD our God, [other] lords beside thee have had dominion over us: [but] by thee only will we make mention of thy name.
Ver. 13. O Lord our God, other lords besides thee have had dominion over us. ] Or, Have mastered us. Oh that men were so sensible of their spiritual servitude as thus to complain thereof to Jesus Christ! But, alas! they do nothing less for the most part, delighting on the devil’s drudgery, which they count the only liberty, and dancing, as it were, to hell in their bolts.
Will we make mention of thy name.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
other: Isa 51:22, 2Ch 12:8, Joh 8:32, Rom 6:22
by thee: Isa 12:4, Jos 23:7, Amo 6:10, 1Co 4:7, Heb 13:15
Reciprocal: Exo 21:5 – And if 2Ch 14:11 – in thy name Psa 8:1 – our Psa 16:2 – thou hast Psa 71:16 – I will make Isa 25:1 – thou art Isa 48:1 – make mention Rom 6:6 – that henceforth Rom 6:18 – servants
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 26:13-14. O Lord our God, &c. The people of God, having already obtained their deliverance in part, with the overthrow and destruction of their enemies, proceed to unfold and express their hope, that God would perfect all his good works for them. Other lords besides thee Who art our only King, Lawgiver, and Judge; and besides those governors who have been appointed over us by thee, and have ruled us in subordination to thee; even foreign and heathen lords, such as the Philistines formerly, and lately the Assyrians, and afterward (as the prophet foresaw would come to pass) the Babylonians, have had dominion, over us Have exercised a tyrannical power over us. The reader will observe, the song begun, Isa 26:1, is continued, and Isaiah is foretelling what the language of the church would be after her deliverance. By thee only By thy favour and help, by which alone we have been rescued from the tyranny of our enemies, and not by our merits or strength; will we make mention of thy name
Celebrate thy praise, and trust in thee for the future. Bishop Lowth renders the clause, Thee only, and thy name, henceforth will we celebrate. They are dead, &c., they shall not rise Those tyrants are destroyed, they shall never live or rise again to molest us. He probably refers to the miraculous destruction of Sennacheribs army before Jerusalem, and to the overthrow of the Babylonian empire. Therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, &c. That they might be thus effectually destroyed thou didst undertake the work; and thou hast perfectly accomplished it, and abolished the monuments or memorials of their greatness and glory. The prophet speaks of what he foresaw, with certainty, would be done, as though it were effected already.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
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.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Even though the Israelites had other earthly masters through their history (Pharaoh, the Philistines, et al.), it was Yahweh their God who kept them following Him.
". . . fidelity is not an attribute native to the people of God but a gift which he enables them to exercise." [Note: Motyer, p. 217.]