Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 26:20
Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.
20. enter and shut thy doors about thee ] Mat 6:6. There is nothing, however, to suggest that the words here are a summons to secret prayer. until the indignation be overpast ] Job 14:13; Dan 11:36.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
20, 21. The storm of judgment is about to burst on the world, but it will be of short duration; let the people seclude themselves in the privacy of their chambers and wait for a glorious salvation (cf. Zep 2:3; Dan 12:13).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Come, my people – This is an epilogue (Rosenmuller), in which the choir addresses the people, and entreats them to be tranquil during that convulsion by which their oppressors would be punished, and the way made for their deliverance. The image is taken from seeking a shelter when a storm rages, until its fury is spent. The address is to the captive Jews in Babylon. The tempest that would rage would be the wars and commotions by which Babylon was to be overthrown. While that storm raged, they were exhorted to be calm and serene.
Enter thou into thy chambers – Into places of retirement, where the storm of indignation on your enemies shall not reach or affect you.
Hide thyself as it were … – Do not mingle in the scenes of battle, lest you should partake of the general calamity.
For a little moment – Implying that the war would not rage long. Babylon was taken in a single night (see the notes at Isa. 13; 14), and the call here is for the people of God to be calm while this battle should rage in which the city should be taken.
Until the indignation … – Not, as Lowth supposes, the indignation of God against his people, but the storm of his indignation against their enemies the Babylonians. That would be soon overpast, the city would be taken, the storms of war would cease to rage, and then they would be delivered, and might safely return to their own land.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 26:20-21
Come, My people, enter thou into thy chambers
A gracious invitation
I.
THE FORM OF THE INVITATION, including in it the qualified subject. Come, My people. Gods own peculiar people, who have chosen God for their protection, and resigned up themselves sincerely to Him in the covenant, are the persons here invited, the same which He before called the righteous nation that kept the truth (Isa 26:2). He means those that remained faithful to God in Babylon. The form of invitation is full of tender compassion. Come, My people. Like a tender father who sees a storm coming upon his children in the fields, and takes them by the hand.
II. THE PRIVILEGE INVITED TO. Enter thou into thy chambers. The Divine attributes engaged in the promises and exercised or actuated in the providences of God–these are the sanctuaries of Gods people in days of trouble.
III. A NEEDFUL CAUTION far the securing of this privilege to ourselves in evil times. Shut thy doors about thee. Care must be taken that no passage be left open for the devil to creep in after us, and drive us out of our refuge; for so it falls out too often with Gods people when they are at rest in Gods name or promises. Satan creeps in by unbelieving doubts and puzzling objections, and heats them out of their refuge back again into trouble.
IV. Note with what ARGUMENTS OR MOTIVES they are pressed to betake themselves to this refuge.
1. A supposition of a storm coming. The indignation of God will fall like a tempest; this is supposed in the text, and plainly expressed in the words following.
2. Though His indignation fall like a storm, yet it will not continue long; better days and more comfortable dispensations will follow. (J. Flavel.)
The righteous mans refuge
Doctrine–That the attributes, promises, and providences of God are the chambers of rest and security in which His people are to hide themselves when they foresee the storms of His indignation coming upon the world. Propositions–
1. That there times and seasons appointed by God for the pouring out of His indignation upon the world.
2. That Gods own people are concerned in, and ought to be affected with, those judgments.
3. That God hath a special and particular care of His people in the days of His indignation.
4. That God usually premonishes the world, especially His own people, of His judgments before they befall them.
5. That Gods attributes, promises, and providences are prepared for the security of His people, in the greatest distresses that befall them in the world.
6. That one but Gods people are taken into those chambers of security, or can expect His special protection in evil times. For the right stating of this proposition, three things must be heedfully regarded–
(1) That all good men are not always exempted from the stroke of outward calamities.
(2) That all wicked men are not always exposed to external miseries Ecc 7:15).
(3) But none but the people of God have right, by promise, to His special protection in evil days; that all such shall either be preserved from the stroke of calamities, or from the deadly sting, namely, eternal ruin by them. (J. Flavel.)
Chambers for Gods people
Let us view our chambers, and see how well God hath provided for His children in all the distresses that befall them in this world.
I. The first chamber which comes to be opened as a refuge to distressed believers in a stormy day is the attribute of DIVINE POWER.
1. Consider the power of God in itself. Omnipotent, supreme, everlasting.
2. In the vast extent of its operations. You will find it working beyond the line
(1) of creature power;
(2) of creature expectation;
(3) of human probability.
3. In its relation to the promises. If the power of God be the chamber, it is the promise of God which is that golden key that opens it. If we win consult the Scriptures, we shall find the almighty power of God made over to His people by promise, for many excellent ends and uses in the day of their trouble.
4. As it is continually opened by the hand of Providence, to receive and secure the people of God in all their dangers (2Ch 16:9).
II. The next chamber of Divine protection into which I shall lead you is, THE INFINITE WISDOM OF GOD–the original, essential, perfect, only wisdom. The wisdom of God makes advantage out of your troubles.
1. In fortifying your souls and bodies with suitable strength when any eminent trial is intended for you (2Co 1:5).
2. The wisdom of God can, and often doth, make your very troubles and sufferings so many ordinances to strengthen your faith and fortify your patience.
III. A third chamber of safety for the saints refuge is, THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD–His sincerity, firmness, and constancy in performing His word to His people in all times and cases. Let us behold with delight the faithfulness of God making good six sorts of promises to His people in the days of their affliction and trouble, namely, the promises of–
1. Preservation.
2. Support.
3. Direction.
4. Provision.
5. Deliverance.
6. Ordering and directing the event to their advantage.
IV. The faithfulness of God leads into a fourth much like unto it, namely, THE UNCHANGEABLENESS OF GOD.
V. THE CARE OF GOD FOR HIS PEOPLE in times of trouble is the fifth chamber of rest. It is–
1. A fatherly care.
2. An universal care, watching over all His people, in all ages, places, and dangers.
3. Assiduous and continual (Lam 3:22-23).
4. Exceeding tender (Isa 49:15).
5. Seasonable.
VI. THE LOVE OF GOD is a resting place to believing souls. (J. Flavel.)
Trust in Gods protection induces calmness
The heart of a good man should at all times be like the higher heavens, serene, tranquil, and clear, whatever thunders and lightnings, storms and tempests trouble and terrify the lower world. If a man have a good roof over his head, where he can sit dry and warm, what need he trouble himself to hear the winds roar, see the lightnings flash, and the rains pour down without doors? Why, this is thy privilege, Christian (Isa 32:2). (Chrysostom.)
Religious retirement
The retreat from the world which the Scripture recommends, is temporary and not total; it is advised, not indeed that we become disjoined from the world, but that we may be the fitter for intercourse with it.
I. RETIREMENT IS EMINENTLY FAVOURABLE TO SELF-EXAMINATION. It is only by a searching inquiry into the purity of his motives, and the tendencies of his actions, that the Christian can be enabled to discern and correct what in them has been amiss, and to walk worthily of the high vocation, whereunto he hath been called.
II. RETIREMENT IS FAVOURABLE TO THE CHRISTIAN, INASMUCH AS IT ENABLES HIM TO RECOVER THAT SPIRITUAL TONS OF MIND SO ESSENTIAL TO HIS HAPPINESS, which, in his unavoidable collision with the world, must necessarily have been disturbed, as well as to take off that tendency to evil which its presence always generates. As the health of the plant is affected by its soil, and the nature of the animal by the pasture on which he feeds and couches, so must the character of man catch a line from what is immediately about him, and his mind be tinged by the circumstances in which it lives and has its being. But in solitude we are in a world of our own, where we can to a great extent command our ideas and feelings.
III. RETIREMENT IS FAVOURABLE TO THE CHRISTIAN, AS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PRAYER.
IV. RETIREMENT IS EMINENTLY FAVOURABLE FOR THE CONTEMPLATION OF GOD.
V. RETIREMENT IS FAVOURABLE FOR THE CONTEMPLATION OF THE SUFFERINGS AND LOVE OF HIM WHO HATH BROUGHT LIFE AND IMMORTALITY TO LIGHT, THROUGH THE GOSPEL.
VI. RETIREMENT IS FAVOURABLE FOR THE CONTEMPLATION OF YOUR ETERNAL DESTINY. (Essex Congregational Remembrancer.)
The advantages of religious retirement
Although man was made for action, he was also intended for contemplation. There is a time when solitude has a charm for the soul; when weary of the world, its follies and its cares, we love to be alone, and in silence to commune with our heart. Such a retirement, when devoted to pious purposes, is highly useful to man, and most acceptable to God.
I. RELIGIOUS RETIREMENT TAKES OFF THE IMPRESSION WHICH THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF EVIL EXAMPLE HAS A TENDENCY TO MAKE UPON THE MIND.
II. THIS DEVOUT RETIREMENT IS FAVOURABLE FOR FIXING PIOUS PURPOSES IN THE MIND AND STRENGTHENING OUR HABITS OF VIRTUE.
III. BY MEANS OF RELIGIOUS RETIREMENT THOU WILT BE BROUGHT TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF THYSELF. Here wisdom begins.
IV. RETIREMENT AND MEDITATION WILL OPEN A SOURCE OF NEW AND BETTER ENTERTAINMENT THAN YOU MEET WITH IN THE WORLD. You will soon find that the world does not perform what it promises. The circle of earthly enjoyments is narrow, the career of sensual pleasure is soon run, and when the novelty is over, the charm is gone. But the wise man has treasures within himself. (J. Logan, F. R. S.)
The hour of solitude
The hour of solitude is the hour of meditation. He communes with his heart alone. He reviews the actions of his past life. He corrects what is amiss. He rejoices in what is right, and, wiser by experience, lays the plan of his future life. The great and the noble, the wise and the learned, the pious and the good, have been lovers of serious retirement. On this field the patriot forms his schemes, the philosopher pursues his discoveries, the saint improves himself in wisdom and goodness. Solitude is the hallowed ground which religion in every age has adopted as its own. There her sacred inspiration is felt, and her holy mysteries elevate the soul; there devotion lifts up the voice; there falls the tear of contrition; there the heart pours itself forth before Him who made, and Him who redeemed it. Apart from men, you live with nature, and converse with God. (J. Logan, F. R. S.)
Enter thou into thy chambers
The entering rote the chambers may, not improbably, allude to the command that the children of Israel should not go out during the night of the destruction of the first born of Egypt. (Sir E. Strachey, Bart.)
Duty of reflection on Gods judgments
I. THE PEOPLE ADDRESSED. My people.
1. The Lord addresses, in these words, all, in general, who profess His name, and are named from Him; who receive His Word as the rule of their faith and practice; who attend His ordinances, and use the means of grace.
2. Therefore His true people are more especially meant in this passage. But who are these! They are described by St. Peter, who, having termed them a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, says, they are translated out of darkness into His marvellous light.
II. THE ADVANCE HE GIVES THEM. Come, My people. Come to Me, and–
1. Make confession.
2. Utter your complaint.
3. Exercise trust and dependence upon Me.
4. Praise Me for My long suffering and mercies, and devote thyself to Me afresh. Come with Me into thy chambers. The word means retired, secret, and safe places. Let the storm which disperses others bring you nearer together, to Me and to each other (Henry). Withdraw into the changers of defence. The attributes of God are the secret of His tabernacle (Psa 27:5). His name is a strong tower (Pro 18:10).
III. THE REASON OF THIS ADVICE (Isa 26:21). God comes out of His place when He shows Himself in an extraordinary manner from heaven. The expression is borrowed from the usage of princes who come out of their palaces, either to sit in judgment, or to fight against their enemies. (J. Benson, D. D.)
Gods care for His people
Suppose your child is out of doors, and you see danger–a storm gathering, or something about to cross his path that may be fatal to him, what do you do? You hasten forth. You call out with anxious voice, Come in! Come in, my child! There is danger where you are! Make haste into the house, and stay here safe until the storm is over past! The great Father of the Church is not less watchful of His children. Look at Noahs case just before the flood broke forth. Look again at Israels case on the night of the Passover. Behold, in my text, a third instance of the Lords fatherly care over His people. It is an instance which extends even to ourselves.
I. THE DANGER POINTED OUT. The words are applicable, in some measure, to every instance of almighty vengeance. But they seem to refer to some more sweeping act of vengeance than ever yet has taken place. It is the day of judgment that we must cast our eyes upon. It is then that, in the fullest sense, the Lord will come out of His place, to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. An awful phrase that! The Lord will come out of His place. For what is His place–the place He occupies at present? It is a mercy seat. He sits there as a Saviour–to receive and bless applying sinners. But on that day He will come out of His place. He will leave the mercy seat for a throne of judgment.
II. THE COUNSEL GIVEN. How tender this invitation! For such it is. Look at the first word of it. Come–not go. Not go and seek a shelter where you can; but Come. Come is an inviting word. Come, My people; that is a general invitation. Enter thou into thy chambers; that is an invitation addressed to each particularly, calling them in one by one.
III. THE PROMISES IMPLIED. Hide thyself, etc. These words are a command so worded as to convey, at the same time, three comfortable promises
1. Hide thyself. What is this but to assure them that by doing what He had just been telling them to do they shall be hid? We may safely view this as a promise of security to all who separate from the world and flee for refuge to a Saviour.
2. For a little moment. Here is another comfortable hint thrown out for the believer. As soon as this short life is over with him, all danger shall be past. There will be nothing more to hide from. He will have a broad Heaven to move about in, where there are no enemies to fear, no wrath to apprehend.
3. The indignation shall be over past–there is the third encouraging assurance. The clouds will be dispersed forever; and, having put all enemies under His feet, He will bless all those that are about Him with His constant smile. (A. Roberts, M. A.)
Good advice for troublous times
I. BEFORE OR IN TIMES OF TROUBLE IT IS WELL TO DRAW NEAR TO GOD. As the hen gives her peculiar cluck when the hawk is in the air, to bid her chicks come and hide under her wings, so does God here give a gentle, loving note of alarm, and a gracious call of invitation. We should come–
1. To spread our case before God.
2. To consider His mind about such a case.
3. To make sure of the greatest matters. The world may come and take away many of our external and temporary comforts, but we have a treasure that it never gave us, and cannot take away from us.
4. Having made sure of the great things, you may leave all the little things with God.
II. IT IS WISE TO ENTER INTO THE CHAMBERS OF SECURITY WHICH GOD HAS PROVIDED FOR US.
1. The store chamber of Divine power.
2. The council chamber of Divine wisdom.
3. The drawing room of Divine love.
4. The muniment room of Divine faithfulness.
5. The strong room of Divine immutability.
6. The best chamber of Divine salvation.
III. WHEN WE ENTER THOSE CHAMBERS IT IS NECESSARY TO SHUT THE DOOR.
1. To shut out all doubt.
2. To shut ourselves in with God.
IV. IT IS DELIGHTFUL TO THINK THAT TROUBLE WILL NOT LAST LONG. A little moment. (C. H. Spurgeon)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 20. Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers] An exhortation to patience and resignation under oppression, with a confident expectation of deliverance by the power of God manifestly to be exerted in the destruction of the oppressor. It seems to be an allusion to the command of Moses to the Israelites, when the destroying angel was to go through the land of Egypt, “not to go out at the door of their houses until the morning;” Ex 12:22. And before the passage of the Red Sea: “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of JEHOVAH. JEHOVAH shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace,” Ex 14:13-14.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Having foretold the wonderful deliverance and great happiness of Gods people, and the utter destruction of their enemies, lest they should think they were now entering into the possession of this felicity, he adds what here follows, and intimates, that for the present they were to expect storms, and to prepare for them, and patiently to wait Gods time for the accomplishment of so great a mercy.
Enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee; withdraw thyself from the company and conversation of the wicked world, lest partaking with them in their sins thou dost also partake of their plagues; pour out thy prayers to God in thy closet, as this may be explained by comparing Mat 6:6; put thyself under the protection of my providence and grace by faith and prayer. He alludes to the common practice of men, who when there are storms or dangers abroad, betake themselves into their own houses or chambers for safety; or, as some think, to that history, Exo 9:19,20, or to that command of not going out of their houses, Exo 12:22, or to the like charge given to Rahab, as the condition of her preservation, Jos 2.
For a little moment; whereby he intimates that all their afflictions, how long and tedious soever they may seem, are but short and momentary, in comparison of that happiness which is reserved for them.
The indignation; the dreadful effects of Gods anger, those sore judgments of God mentioned in the following verse.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
20. enter . . . chambersWhenGod is about to take vengeance on the ungodly, the saints shall beshut in by Him in a place of safety, as Noah and his family were inthe days of the flood (Ge 7:16),and as Israel was commanded not to go out of doors on the night ofthe slaying of the Egyptian first-born (Exo 12:22;Exo 12:23; Psa 31:20;Psa 83:3). The saints are calmlyand confidently to await the issue (Exo 14:13;Exo 14:14).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers,…. These words are either to be connected with the preceding verse
Isa 26:19, and considered as a part of the song; and then the design of them is, to let the people of God know that there would be times of great trouble and distress, previous to that glorious one before mentioned; whether it is to be understood of a spiritual resurrection, the conversion of Jews and Gentiles in the latter day, which the judgments on antichrist will antecede, Re 19:2 or of the first resurrection, upon the coming of Christ, Da 12:1 and therefore should expect such a time of trouble, and concern themselves for shelter and security: or else, the song being finished, as is generally thought; in the last verse Isa 26:19, these words begin a new subject, and should a new chapter, in which it is foretold what punishment would be inflicted on a wicked world; and therefore, to comfort the Lord’s people that should dwell among them, and to let them know what provision was made for their retreat and safety, and where they might be secure during the storm, these words are delivered out; in which the Lord addresses his people in a very kind and tender manner, claiming an interest in them, and expressing great affection for them, and concern for their welfare: “my people”, whom I have loved with an everlasting love, chosen to be a special people above all people, made a covenant with them in my Son, and redeemed them by his blood, and called them by my Spirit and grace; “come”, away from the wicked, be separate from them, have no fellowship with them; much the same with that in Re 18:4 and referring to the same time, “come out of her, my people”, c. or “come” to me, who have been the dwelling place of my people in all generations, a strong habitation, to which they may continually resort, Ps 90:1 or “come” along with me, I will lead you to a place where you may be safe as he did Noah and his family into the ark, to which there may be an allusion, Ge 7:1,
enter thou into thy chambers; alluding to persons abroad in the fields, who, when they perceive a storm coming, make haste home, and get into their houses, and into the more retired and safer parts of them, till it is over; or to the Israelites, who kept within the doors, while the destroying angel passed through the land of Egypt; or to Rahab and her family being within her house, when Jericho was destroyed: these “chambers” may be taken literally for places of prayer and devotion; prayer being very proper to have recourse unto in times of trouble, and which as it should be performed by single persons privately, Mt 6:6 which text is a comment on this; and perhaps respect may be had to the manner of the performance of it by societies, in times of great persecution; so it is the safety of God’s people; and there is nothing better for them, in times of trouble, than to commit themselves to God in prayer, and to his divine protection: and it may be that God himself, and the perfections of his nature, are here meant by “chambers”; his name is a strong tower, whither the righteous run and are safe, Pr 18:10 and every perfection in him is as a chamber in this tower, where the saints betaking themselves may securely lodge, till the trouble is over; as the everlasting love of God, which changes not, and therefore the sons of Jacob are not consumed; the faithfulness of God, in his covenant and promises, which never fails; and his power, in which they are kept, as in a garrison, 1Pe 1:5 and these chambers may not be unfitly applied to Christ and to his blood and righteousness, who is a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the storm, a strong hold for prisoners of hope; in whose person are rest, peace, and safety in the midst of trouble; whose righteousness secures from condemnation and wrath; and not good works, as the Targum, which it says will protect in a time of distress; but the righteousness of Christ will, as also his precious blood; which was typified by the blood of the passover lamb, sprinkled on the door posts of the Israelites, whereby they were preserved by the destroying angel; and was signified by the scarlet thread in Rahab’s window, the token by which her house was known, and so all in it saved. The general design of the words is to exhort the people of God to a composed and tranquil state of mind; to calmness, quietness, and rest, while the judgments of God were upon the earth; to be still and easy, whatever hurly burleys there were in the world; to commit themselves to God, and look upon themselves safe and secure, under his providence and protection. Some of the ancients, by “chambers”, understand the graves, and not amiss; especially if the words are to be considered in connection with the preceding, thus, since the dead saints will arise as sure as Christ is risen, and in like manner as he, and those that sleep in the dust of the earth will awake and sing, then do not be afraid of death and the grave; enter here, as into your bedchambers; where, being taken away from the evil to come, you will enter into peace, lie down and rest on your beds, in the utmost secrecy and safety, until the resurrection morn; while storms of divine wrath fall upon a wicked and ungodly world; see Isa 57:1:
and shut thy doors about thee; a phrase expressive of safety and secrecy, and may be applied to the several things above mentioned:
hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast; not the indignation of Satan, or of wicked persecutors against the saints, but the indignation of God; and that not upon his own people, or on the Jewish nation, but on a wicked world; not in hell, for that will be everlasting, and never over, and much less be only for a little moment; but as it will be in time, and fall upon all the nations of the world, and especially the Romish antichrist, and the antichristian states; and refers chiefly to the seven vials of God’s wrath, which will be poured forth upon them; which, when they begin, will soon be over; see Isa 34:2 and so will be the burning of the world, the last instance of God’s indignation on earth, it will soon be at an end; and, in the meanwhile, the saints will be with Christ in the air; and those troubles, in which the people will be involved before happy times come, will be very short; as indeed all their afflictions are but for a moment, a little moment; the temptation that will come upon all the earth, to try the inhabitants of it, will be but an hour; and the slaying of the witnesses, and their lying slain, will be but three days and a half; this time of trouble will be shortened for the elect’s sake, Mt 24:21 compare with this Ps 57:1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The judgment upon them is not mentioned, indeed, till after the completion of the church through those of its members that have died, although it must have actually preceded the latter. Thus the standpoint of the prophecy is incessantly oscillating backwards and forwards in these four chapters (Isaiah 24-27). This explains the exhortation in the next verses, and the reason assigned. “Go in, my people, into thy chambers, and shut the door behind thee; hide thyself a little moment, till the judgment of wrath passes by. For, behold, Jehovah goeth out from His place to visit the iniquity of the inhabitants of the earth upon them; and the earth discloses the blood that it has sucked up, and no more covers her slain.” The shr is now at an end. The prophecy speaks once more as a prophet. Whilst the judgment of wrath ( zaam ) is going forth, and until it shall have passed by (on the fut. exact., see Isa 10:12; Isa 4:4; and on the fact itself, acharith hazzaam , Dan 8:19), the people of God are to continue in the solitude of prayer (Mat 6:6, cf., Psa 27:5; Psa 31:21). They can do so, for the judgment by which they get rid of their foes is the act of Jehovah alone; and they are to do so because only he who is hidden in God by prayer can escape the wrath. The judgment only lasts a little while (Isa 10:24-25; Isa 54:7-8,. cf., Psa 30:6), a short time which is shortened for the elect’s sake. Instead of the dual (as the house-door is called, though not the chamber-door), the word is pointed (from = ), just as the prophet intentionally chooses the feminine instead of . The nation is thought of as feminine in this particular instance (cf., Isa 54:7-8); because Jehovah, its avenger and protector, is acting on its behalf, whilst in a purely passive attitude it hides itself in Him. Just as Noah, behind whom Jehovah shut the door of the ark, was hidden in the ark whilst the water-floods of the judgment poured down without, so should the church be shut off from the world without in its life of prayer, because a judgment of Jehovah was at hand. “He goeth out of His place” (verbatim the same as in Mic 1:3), i.e., not out of His own divine life, as it rests within Himself, but out of the sphere of the manifested glory in which He presents Himself to the spirits. He goeth forth thence equipped for judgment, to visit the iniquity of the inhabitant of the earth upon him (the singular used collectively), and more especially their blood-guiltiness. The prohibition of murder was given to the sons of Noah, and therefore was one of the stipulations of “the covenant of old” (Isa 24:5). The earth supplies two witnesses: (1.) the innocent blood which has been violently shed (on damim , see Isa 1:15), which she has had to suck up, and which is now exposed, and cries for vengeance; and (2.) the persons themselves who have been murdered in their innocence, and who are slumbering within her. Streams of blood come to light and bear testimony, and martyrs arise to bear witness against their murderers.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| The Sure Refuge. | B. C. 718. |
20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. 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 blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
These two verses are supposed not to belong to the song which takes up the rest of the chapter, but to begin a new matter, and to be rather an introduction to the following chapter than the conclusion of this. Of whereas, in the foregoing song, the people of God had spoken to him, complaining of their grievances, here he returns an answer to their complaints, in which,
I. He invites them into their chambers (v. 20): “Come, my people, come to me, come with me” (he calls them nowhere but where he himself will accompany them); “let the storm that disperses others bring you nearer together. Come, and enter into thy chambers; stay not abroad, lest you be caught in the storm, as the Egyptians in the hail,” Exod. ix. 21. 1. “Come into chambers of distinction; come into your own apartments, and continue not any longer mixed with the children of Babylon. Come out from among them, and be you separate,” 2Co 6:17; Rev 18:4. If God has set apart those that are godly for himself, they ought to set themselves apart. 2. “Into chambers of defence, in which by the secresy or the strength of them you may be safe in the worst of times.” The attributes of God are the secret of his tabernacle, Ps. xxvii. 5. His name is a strong tower, into which we may run for shelter, Prov. xviii. 10. We must be faith find a way into these chambers, and there hide ourselves; that is, with a holy security and serenity of mind, we must put ourselves under the divine protection. Come, as Noah into the ark, for he shut the doors about him. When dangers are threatening it is good to retire, and lie hid, as Elijah did by the brook Cherith. 3. Into chambers of devotion. “Enter into thy closet, and shut thy door, Matt. vi. 6. Be private with God: Enter into thy chamber, to examine thyself, and commune with thy own heart, to pray, and humble thyself before God.” This work is to be done in times of distress and danger; and thus we hide ourselves, that is, we recommend ourselves to God to hide us, and he will hide us either under heaven or in heaven. Israel must keep within doors when the destroying angel is slaying the first-born of Egypt, else the blood on the door-posts will not secure them. So must Rahab and her family when Jericho is being destroyed. Those are most safe that are least seen. Qui bene latuit, benevixit–He has lived well who has sought a proper degree of concealment.
II. He assures them that the trouble would be over in a very short time, that they should not long be in any fright or peril: “Hide thyself for a moment, the smallest part of time we can conceive, like an atom of matter; may, if you can imagine one moment shorter than another, it is but for a little moment, and that with a quasi too, as it were for a little moment, less than you think of. When it is over it will seem as nothing to you; you will wonder how soon it is gone. You shall not need to lie long in confinement, long in concealment. The indignation will presently be over-past; that is, the indignation of the enemies against you, their persecuting power and rage, which force you to abscond. When the wicked rise, a man is hid. This will soon be over; God will cut them off, will break their power, defeat their purposes, and find a way for your enlargement.” When Athanasius was banished from Alexandria by an edict of Julian, and his friends greatly lamented it, he bade them be of good cheer. Nubecula est qu cito pertransibit–It is a little cloud, that will soon blow over. You shall have tribulation ten days; that is all, Rev. ii. 10. This enables God’s suffering people to call their afflictions light, that they are but for a moment.
III. He assures them that their enemies should be reckoned with for all the mischief they had done them by the sword, either of war or persecution, v. 21. The Lord will punish them for the blood they have shed. Here is, 1. The judgment set, and process issued out: The Lord comes out of his place, to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity, in giving such disturbance to all about them. There is a great deal of iniquity among the inhabitants of the earth; but though they all combine in it, though hand join in hand to carry it on, yet it shall not go unpunished. Besides the everlasting punishment into which the wicked shall go hereafter, there are often remarkable punishments of cruelty, oppression, and persecution, in this world. When men’s indignation is over-past, and they have done their worst, let them then expect God’s indignation, for he sees that his day is coming, Ps. xxxvii. 13. God comes out of his place to punish. He shows himself in an extraordinary manner from heaven, the firmament of his power, from the sanctuary, the residence of his grace. He is raised up out of his holy habitation, where he seemed before to conceal himself; and now he will do something great, the product of his wise, just, and secret counsels, as a prince that goes to take the chair or take the field, Zech. ii. 13. Some observe that God’s place is the mercy-seat; there he delights to be; when he punishes he comes out of his place, for he has no pleasure in the death of sinners. 2. The criminals convicted by the notorious evidence of the face: The earth shall disclose her blood; the innocent blood, the blood of the saints and martyrs, which has been shed upon the earth like water, and has soaked into it, and been concealed and covered by it, shall not be brought to light, and brought to account; for God will make inquisition for it, and will give those that shed it blood to drink, for they are worthy. Secret murders, and other secret wickednesses, shall be discovered, sooner or later. And the slain which the earth has long covered she shall no longer cover, but they shall be produced as evidence against the murderers. The voice of Abel’s blood cries from the earth, Gen 9:10; Gen 9:11; Job 20:27. Those sins which seemed to be buried in oblivion will be called to mind, and called over again, when the day of reckoning comes. Let God’s people therefore wait awhile with patience, for behold the Judge stands before the door.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
20. Come, my people. In this verse he exhorts the children of God to exercise patience, to shut themselves up, and to bear with moderation their troubles and afflictions, and to stand unmoved in opposition to the fierce tempests which seemed likely to overwhelm them. This exhortation was highly necessary; for the lamentable state to which the nation was afterwards reduced was, to outward appearance, very inconsistent with that promise. The Prophet, therefore, when the people are distressed and know not where to go, takes them, as it were, by the hand, and conducts them to some retired spot, where they may hide themselves in safety till the storms and tempests are abated. When he calls them “his own people,” he speaks in the name of God, and not in his own.
Enter into thy chamber. By chamber he means calmness and composure of mind, by which we encourage and strengthen our hearts with firm belief, and calmly wait for the Lord, as Habakkuk, after having foretold the calamities which were about to fall on the Jews, says that he will go up “to his watch-tower,” that is, to a place of safety, in which he may patiently and silently await the result. (Hab 2:1.) Isaiah gives a similar injunction in this passage, that the godly, when they see that they are attacked by various storms which they are unable to resist, should shut themselves up in a “chamber,” or some place of retirement.
Shut thy doors behind thee. As it would not be enough that we should once be fortified against the fierce attacks of tempests, he bids us also “shut the doors.” This relates to steadfastness; as if he enjoined us to take good heed not to leave any chink open for the devil; for he will easily break through and penetrate into our hearts, if the smallest entrance be allowed him.
Hide thyself for a little moment. When he bids them “hide” or “conceal” themselves, he means that it will be a very safe refuge for believers, if they are courageous and patiently wait for the Lord; for though we must boldly and valiantly maintain the contest, yet since the power of God is displayed in our weakness, (2Co 12:9,) there is nothing better for us than to take refuge, with all humility, under God’s wings, that they who tremble may be placed by him in perfect safety.
Again, because we are naturally rash, and hurried away by impatience, when we do not see that the Lord’s assistance is immediate, on this account he says that these storms are “momentary.” (187) True, we must continually struggle with afflictions, and, so long as we live, must not hope to see an end of them; and, consequently, the afflictions are, in our opinion, of very long duration. But if we compare them with that eternity, in which we shall possess immortal joys, it will be but “a very little moment.” In like manner, Paul also shews that the light and momentary afflictions which we endure in this life, ought not to be compared to that weight of eternal glory which we expect to receive. (2Co 4:17; Rom 8:18.)
Till the indignation pass over. By adding this he intends to remove all doubt from believers, as if he promised that they would quickly be delivered. I interpret “indignation” as meaning simply the affliction which proceeds from the Lord’s anger. Others refer it to enemies; and I do not object to that interpretation, but prefer the former; for we see that the prophets earnestly teach that no evil happens to us that does not come from the hand of God, who does not inflict them on us without good reason, but when he has been provoked by our iniquities and transgressions. (Amo 3:6.) We are thus reminded that God’s wrath against the Church will not last always, but that, like storms and tempests, it will come to an end, and on this account believers endure it more patiently. Hence it is said elsewhere, (Mic 7:9,) “I will bear the Lord’s wrath;” for they know that he chastises them for their salvation. He introduces the Lord speaking, as I mentioned a little before, that his exhortation may have greater authority.
(187) Bogus footnote
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
GODS INVITATION TO SHELTER
(For a Time of National Distress.)
Isa. 26:20. Come, my people, &c.
The history of humanity as a whole, and of nations and communities as a part, is like that of individual man, diversified and varying, made up of hope and fear, of joy and sorrow. There is a but in every condition, a crook in every lot. The people of God, however, have alleviations which the world knows not of. They have promises of present comfort and help, hopes of future recompense, and they are invited to make God their Refuge now. This was very much the case with the captive Jews in Babylon. Wars and commotions would rage as a tempest around Babylon, and bring its overthrow. But while the storm raged, the people of God were to be calm and tranquil; were to enter into their places of retirement, and avoid the commotions of war. This passage is a word in season to Gods people now.
I. THE PERSONS INVITED. My people. This was addressed to the Jews, who stood in a peculiar relation to God. It has now a wider range. It may include
1. Those who are His by profession. This includes a large portion of the people of this land. Many of these, however, are out of Christ, and they are specially invited to repair to Him as their complete and only refuge from the storms of conscience and the righteous displeasure of a Holy God.
2. Those who are His by personal consecration. Not only received into the visible Church by an outward profession, but have become living members of that mystical body of which Christ is the Head. In times of danger and distress, when the judgments of God are in the earth, they are invited to repair to Christ. He is a complete refuge from every storm.
II. THE DUTY ENJOINED.
1. The form of the injunction. No terrible threatening, but mild and compassionate invitation. Though our Redeemer and Master has a right to command, yet He more frequently employs the language of invitation.
2. The place of retreat. We may think of many sacred localities to which we may repair in the time of national or individual sorrow. There is the open sanctuary. This to many is a place of refuge and comfort. There is the home. Families may meet and together commune with God. There is the private closet. There we may humble ourselves, mourn our own faults and those of others, and seek Gods favour. But after we have thought of all these places we must go much further, into a more mysterious and safer sanctuary. These are only the way to the City of Refuge; only the plank by which we may ascend to the Ark; only the door-way into the Temple. Ours must be the language of the Apostle (Joh. 6:68).
3. The purpose of retirement. For defence. Israel must remain within the blood-sprinkled doors while the destroying angel wields his sword outside. Rahab and her family abide within their dwelling while Jericho is destroyed. Amid the tokens of danger and the coming storm, we are to hide ourselves in the perfections of God, in the merits of Christ. We must enter into the ark, and like Noah expect the Lord to shut us in. When the Hebrews had sprinkled the blood of the Paschal lamb, the command was, None of you shall go out of his house till the morning. The manslayer could not go within the City of Refuge. Here in Christ, God manifest in the flesh, is safety from every danger, a complete Refuge in every time of need.
CONCLUSION.The whole of this year has been marked more or less by personal, relative, or national calamity. It opened in storm, and a fine ship, the London, perished. Pestilence among the cattle followed. War broke out and mercantile prosperity waned. Now a painful visitation is among us. God is now calling you to Himself.George Smith, D.D., August 9, 1866.
CHAMBERS OF SAFETY
Isa. 26:20. Enter into thy chambers, &c.
The religion of Christ, as a religion of consolation, is eminently suited to the condition of men in a sinful, suffering, and dying world. The same Saviour who died to save, lives to bless, saying, Lo, I am with you always, &c. The same Holy Spirit sanctifies and comforts. This Scripture suggests, that in the worst of storms Gods people have a secure hiding-place.
I. A CONSOLATORY TRUTH IMPLIED. Gods people have chambers of security and defence in time of danger. Every perfection of the divine character, every office of Christ, every divine promise is a chamber of defence (Pro. 18:10).
II. A WELCOME DUTY ENJOINED. Enter, &c.
1. Who gives this invitation? The Lord Jehovah, with whom is Everlasting Strength.
2. To whom this invitation is given, My people. Not Babylon, not Egypt, but my people.
3. What it is to which He calls them. To enter their closets, hold communion with Him, trust themselves to His keeping.
III. THE REASONS FOR THIS RETREAT.
1. Because the calamity anticipated is very great. God comes out of His place to judge the nations, &c.
2. The season of danger is short. For a little moment. Self-sacrifice and self-restraint for Christs sake will not last long.
3. Because the blessings promised are very valuable. Present purity and peace, future glory, &c.Samuel Thodey.
RELIGIOUS RETIREMENT
Isa. 26:20. Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee.
An exhortation to religious retirement. Man was intended for society, but also for contemplation. When devoted to pious purposes, retirement is highly useful to man and most acceptable to God (H. E. I., 34663525). It is commended to us both by precept and example (Gen. 24:63; Mat. 14:23, &c.) But the retreat which the Scriptures commend is temporary, not total; not that of a monk to his cell, in which he passes his days in barren and unprofitable speculation, but that of men living in the world, who go out of it for a time in order that they may return to it better fitted for the duties which God has assigned them there. That you may be stimulated to this duty, consider its advantages.
I. Religious retirement takes off the impression which the neighbourhood of evil example has a tendency to make upon the mind. We need often to escape from it in order that we may see its true character, and renew our strength to resist it.
II. Religious retirement is favourable for fixing pious purposes in the mind, and strengthening our habits of virtue. Dazzled no longer by the false glitter of the world, we open our eyes to the beauties of the better country; stunned no more with the noise of folly, we can listen in silence to the still small voice. At leisure we can reflect by what temptations we were formerly foiled, that we may guard against them in time to come; for seeing the evil day, we can prepare ourselves for its conflicts.
III. In religious retirement we attain to self-knowledge. Here wisdom begins. We can never ascend to the knowledge of Him whom to know is life eternal, without knowing ourselves; and we can never know ourselves without retiring from the world, without stripping off whatever is artificial about us, without throwing off the veil which we wear before men, and devoting our sacred hours to serious consideration.
IV. Retirement and meditation will open up a source of new and better entertainment than you meet with in the world (Psa. 104:34).John Logan: Sermons, vol. ii. pp. 156164.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(20) Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers.The vision of the judgments and the glory of the future leads the prophet to his work as a preacher of repentance in the present. His people also need the preparation of silent and solitary prayer (Mat. 6:6; Psa. 27:5; Psa. 31:21). As men seek the innermost recesses of their homes while the thunderstorm sweeps over the city, so should they seek God in that solitude till the great tempest of His indignation has passed by.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
20. The foregoing song now ends, and Isaiah again speaks as a prophet. While judgment passes on the world hostile to Israel, Israel, restored to Zion in vision, is called to silent adoration and prayer.
Come into thy chambers The last great victories are not achieved. Not yet is the time for final triumph. The rage of the enemy is not yet over. Be circumspect, cautious, prayerful, till the trial ceases.
Indignation God’s wrath against the Babylonians and all enemies of his people. The Jews, though confident of ultimate triumph, are not to be jubilant prematurely, but to wait till the retributive storm be overpast.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 26:20-21. Come, my people These verses contain the conclusion wherewith the prophet, speaking in the name of God, seals and confirms the hope of the piousdelivered in the preceding verses. He exhorts them to hide themselves, and patiently to await, amid the exercises of piety and devotion, for a short time, the completion of their promised deliverance, during the rage of a terrible persecution permitted by God, for the proving and purifying of his church; assured that God would most certainly repress and severely punish the fury of their enemies, the blood of the martyrs and confessors of the truth, which the earth might seem to have covered, being disclosed and avenged; while on the other hand, he would perfect the deliverance of his people, and increase his blessings of every kind upon them. The metaphor is taken from the raging of a mighty storm; during the continuance whereof, men fly into their houses, and shut their doors to secure themselves from its devastation.
REFLECTIONS.1st, The work of heaven is everlasting praise, and true believers delight to begin the service upon earth. We have here the song which, in the latter day, shall be sung in the land of Judah, the church of the firstborn.
1. God hath prepared for his faithful people a city, his church; a strong city, which needs no human defences, when God himself is in the midst of her; and his salvation her walls and bulwarks. Note; They dwell in safety who have fled to Jesus, the city of refuge, and live by faith in him the Son of God who loved them, and gave himself for them.
2. He commands the gates to be opened for the admission of the righteous nation, that keepeth the word of his truth. All that in Jesus Christ the way, the truth, and the life, draw near to God, are now accepted as righteous, welcome to partake of the ordinances of his church below, and, continuing to cleave to him, shall have hereafter an entrance ministered to them abundantly, into the everlasting kingdom of our God and Saviour above.
3. The prophet exults in the security of those who thus receive and trust God’s promises. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee; peace with God, peace of conscience, peace under every provocation, peace in every trial, peace that passeth all understanding, shall the soul enjoy, which is content to trust its all in the hands of Jesus. Lord, increase our faith! increase our peace!
4. He exhorts to exercise faith at all times in the Saviour, and under all difficulties to trust in his meritorious sacrifice for pardon and acceptance, in his grace for strength, in his promises for every future blessing; and he will never disappoint our hopes, for in the Lord Jah Jehovah is everlasting strength, or the rock of ages; he is able to save to the uttermost; while fixed on him, we shall be immoveable, since the rock of ages is our foundation. Note; Had we a heart to trust God more firmly, we should certainly find cause to praise him more frequently and joyfully.
2nd, We have,
1. The humiliation of the proud, and the destruction of the lofty city, Babylon, now trod upon by those who before were oppressed by her; or of spiritual Babylon, on which the poor persecuted saints of the Most High shall trample, when it is utterly laid waste before the Lord in the latter day.
2. The regard that God shews his people. The way of the just is uprightness, a strait path of uniform and steady obedience: or, as it may be read, the way of the Lord to the just is evennesses, agreeable to his own perfections of wisdom, goodness, truth, and equity; so that they have ever cause to address him as thou most upright, whose ways of providence and grace are perfectly pure, and transcendantly excellent; thou dost weigh, or mark out, or make even, the path of the just, dost consider and approve it as good, or, removing every obstacle, enable him to walk in the paths of holiness.
3. The people of God profess their attendance on him, and desires after him. In the way of to judgments, thy word, and ordinances, or thy chastisements which we have endured, we have waited for thee, patiently expecting to see thy salvation: the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee; in the midst of our heaviest afflictions, to thee our affections go forth; we think upon thee, and derive support from the remembrance of thy grace, power, love, and faithfulness. With my soul ardently have I desired thee in the night, literally waking when others slept, or under the darkest dispensations of Providence; yea, with my spirit within me, will I seek thee early, not forgetting him in prosperity; but when the day returned, with the dawn meeting him with prayer and praise: for when thy judgments are in the earth, (those that shall be laid upon the sinners, and the followers of Antichrist) the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness, the justice of God in his judgments on others, and his afflictions on themselves; and, profiting under them, will bring forth the peaceable fruits of righteousness, in penitence, faith, patience, love and obedience. Note; (1.) They who wait for God in his ways shall assuredly meet him to their comfort. (2.) If our affections be not warm towards God, we need be jealous lest there be a rival in our hearts. (3.) The earlier in life we begin to seek God, the pleasanter shall we find his ways. (4.) Under our own corrections we must humble our souls, and from his visitations on others take warning; then, however heavy the stroke, the issue will be to us righteousness and peace.
4. The impenitence of the wicked is observed as the prelude to their ruin. Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness; providential mercies are no more effectual to lead him to repentance, than judgments to drive him: in the land of uprightness, where the most plentiful knowledge of gospel-truth is diffused, and the power of gospel-grace most eminently displayed, will he deal unjustly, persist in his iniquities, in opposition to every warning of God’s word and ministers, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord, acknowledge his power, providence, and goodness: nor worship, serve, and obey him, as in duty bound. Lord, when thy hand is lifted up, or thy high hand, they will not see that hand in their mercies, or in the judgments visible in the earth, and hanging over their own heads, obstinately hardened, and wilfully shutting their eyes against conviction. Note; (1.) To dwell in a land of uprightness is an inestimable mercy; and there to dwell in sin and darkness, where light and grace plentifully abound, will be aggravated guilt. (2.) Forgetfulness of God, and inattention to his word and works, are the ruin of men’s souls. (3.) They who will not see are justly given up to judicial blindness.
5. Their destruction is near and sure. The judgments which they would not fear, they must feel. They shall see the prosperity of God’s people, and be ashamed for their envy: the zeal thou hast for thy people, the Lord’s regard for them, and his care to vindicate their wrongs, yea, fire shall devour thine enemies, the fire of present judgments, or the unquenchable fire which shall torment their bodies and souls in hell. Let the enemies of God’s people hear and tremble!
3rdly. We have,
1. The church’s dependance on God, ascribing to his grace alone all the good which was found in her. Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us, whatever enemy seeks to trouble our repose; for thou also hast wrought all our works in us, or for us; whatever good is in our souls, thou, Lord, art alone the author of it; whatever good we are the instruments of communicating to others, thy grace is alone to be acknowledged; whatever blessings or comforts we receive, from thy hand alone they come.
2. The humbling confession and gracious purpose of God’s people. O Lord our God, whose we are, and whom we ought and desire to serve, with shame we acknowledge other lords besides thee have had dominion over us; either this is the confession of the Jews, bewailing their captivity and idolatries, or of the church, oppressed by the persecuting powers of Antichrist; or, more generally, of every believer who laments the bondage of corruption, and earnestly longs for a deliverance from it, every vile affection being a tyrant; or of the penitent burdened under the guilt of sin, and more or less led captive by Satan. But now recovered by grace, we shall be enabled to say, by thee only, by thy grace supported, and by thy power delivered, will we make mention of thy name, cleave alone to thee as our God and guide, and ascribe to thee the praise of all our salvation.
3. They triumph over their oppressors. They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise; either the Babylonish monarchs, whose kingdom never rose from its ruins, or the enemies of the church in general, whether Pagan, Papal, or Mahomedan, who will be finally destroyed, and no more oppress the people of God, therefore, or because, thou hast visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish, consigned them to eternal shame in the place of torment.
4. The great increase of the church is declared. Thou hast increased the nation, O Lord, thou hast increased the nation, either the Jewish nation by proselytes, or rather the Christian church, called the righteous nation, by numerous converts of Jews and Gentiles: and this is spoken as already done, because known of God in his infinite prescience. Thou art glorified in the salvation of thy people, and in the ruin of their enemies: thou hast removed it far unto all the ends of the earth, in a state of dispersion, from whence they are now delivered; or he had spread into every land the knowledge of his grace, and gathered a people for himself out of all nations.
5. Before their restoration, a state of great trouble is foreseen and lamented; either of the Jews groaning under their captivity, or the church, under the perilous times which precede the destruction of Antichrist. Lord, in trouble have they visited thee; this being the great use and benefit of afflictions, to bring us nearer to God, from whom prosperity is too apt to alienate our hearts: they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them; for this is the constant method of all God’s people, in prayer and supplications to make their requests known unto him: nor are they, alas! in general ever so earnest and importunate, as when they see his chastisements bringing to remembrance their sins. Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs, which are the most acute and bitter, so have we been in thy sight, O Lord, in deep distress, and crying for deliverance: we have been with child, big with hopes; we have been in pain, travailing in prayers and tears, yet disappointed, and our hopes abortive, so long is our salvation delayed: we have brought forth wind, our prayers ineffectual and unanswered; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth, so as to regain our liberty, or, as Bishop Lowth reads it, Salvation is not wrought in the land, to deliver us from our enemies; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen, but continue to oppress the cause of godliness and truth. Note; (1.) God may, for wise ends, long suffer his own cause and people to be oppressed by wicked men. (2.) However long or severe our trials, we must continue to pray, and not faint. (3.) If we do so, we shall assuredly not be disappointed at the last. For,
6. Christ answers his people’s prayers. Thy dead men shall live; spiritually, by the power of Jesus, the dead in sin shall be quickened, and in the latter day vast additions of living souls be made to the church; or it refers to the resurrection, when the dead in Christ shall rise first, and reign with him, together with my dead body shall they arise, as the bodies of many saints did, when Jesus himself arose, Mat 27:51-53 or as my dead body shall they arise, certainly, and as gloriously: awake, and sing, ye that dwell in the dust; awake at the gospel call, ye dead in sin; or awake from the dust of death, ye sleeping saints; arise to meet your Lord in the air, and join in songs of praise that never will have an end: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, thy spirit as effectual to quicken the souls and bodies of the spiritually and naturally dead, as the dew causes the herb to shoot that seemed dead in the ground, during the sleep of winter, and the earth shall cast out the dead; when, at the word of Jesus, they that are in their graves shall hear and live. Note; Whatever our afflictions here may be, if we have but a part in the resurrection of the just, we need not ask or wish for more.
4thly, We have the conclusion of the former song.
1. Christ calls his people to a place of safety, when he is about to execute his wrath on the wicked. Come my people, the endearing title of property and relation, and the assurance of safety; enter thou into thy chambers, where they may be safe; as Rahab when Jericho was taken, or the Israelites when the destroying angel passed through the land; and shut thy doors about thee, to be secure and private, to pour out the voice of prayer when danger threatens: hide thyself from the impending storm under the shadow of Almighty grace, as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast; the time will be momentary, for a short work will God make on the earth; his wrath, when it begins to consume the wicked, will quickly make an end of them.
2. He goes forth to execute his judgments. For behold, to the astonishment of the surprised world, the Lord cometh out of his place, in terrible majesty to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; be they never so great, never so numerous, their iniquity will receive a just recompence of reward: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain; the blood of saints and martyrs, from Abel to the last persecuted believer, shall then be brought to light; and, however secretly murders may have been committed, blood will cry for vengeance; or it may signify the immense carnage to be made in the battle of Armageddon, so that the earth shall not be able to drink up the blood. Rev 14:20; Rev 19:17-18. Note; The day is near when God will bring every secret thing into judgment. Let the guilty tremble.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 896
THE ONLY REFUGE OF SINNERS
Isa 26:20-21. Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity.
GOD has been pleased to manifest at all times such a tender concern for the welfare of his people, that he has scarcely ever done any thing of importance, which he has not revealed to them beforehand by his servants the prophets [Note: Amo 3:7.]. Did he determine to destroy the earth with a flood? he instructed Noah first to build an ark for the preservation of himself and his family [Note: Gen 6:13-14.]. Was he about to rain fire and brimstone upon Sodom and Gomorrha? he could not execute his vengeance till righteous Lot had retired to a place of safety [Note: Gen 19:22.]. Had he decreed to bring on Jerusalem such judgments as the world had never before seen? he warns his people to escape from it, and provides them a retreat in the neighbouring mountains [Note: Luk 21:21-22.]. Thus he had decreed the destruction of Babylon; and the preceding part of the chapter contains a hymn of triumph, which should be sung by his people on that occasion. But, as there would be great danger of their being involved in the common calamity, he apprises them of his intention, and exhorts them to hide themselves, till the danger should be overpast. It is not, however, necessary to confine the words to this sense; because there are many other occasions on which God comes forth to punish mankind; and because the advice given, is suitable to all such occasions.
In discoursing on this passage, we shall call your attention to,
I.
The warning here given
Heaven is the habitation of Gods holiness and glory [Note: Isa 57:15; Isa 63:15.]. And from thence he is said to come forth, when he manifests himself in any signal manner upon earth [Note: Mic 1:3.]. And, alas! how often do the iniquities of men necessitate him to come down and visit them with his sore judgments [Note: If this were the subject of a Fast Sermon, the particular judgments that are deprecated, should be specified here as the tokens of Gods displeasure, and should be dwelt upon at some length.]! But there is one period in particular, when God shall come, not to punish one particular nation only, but all who shall have lived and died in sin, from the foundation of the world.
[The day of judgment is called the day of wrath, the day of vengeance, the day of the revelation of Gods righteous judgments, the day of the perdition of ungodly men [Note: Rom 2:5. 2Pe 3:7.]. In that day the Lord Jesus Christ, whom the heavens have received till the time of the restitution of all things [Note: Act 3:21.], shall come in power and great glory: and the express end of his coming will be to reveal his wrath against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men [Note: Rom 1:18.].
Now he winks, as it were, at mens iniquities [Note: Act 17:30.]; and endures with much patience and longsuffering the vessels of wrath that are fitting themselves for destruction [Note: Rom 9:22.]: yea, to such a degree does he exercise forbearance towards them, that scoffers are ready to say, Where is the promise of his coming [Note: 2Pe 3:3-4.]? But soon the time fixed for the exercise of his grace, shall come to an end, and all the dead shall be summoned to his tribunal, to receive at his hands according to their works [Note: Rev 20:12-13.].
Nor let any one think that gross iniquities only shall be noticed in that day; for God will manifest even the counsels of mens hearts, and bring every secret thing into judgment [Note: 1Co 4:5.]: then a forgetfulness of God, or a rejection of his Gospel, shall as surely be punished with everlasting destruction, as any of those sins which are more reprobated and condemned by the world [Note: Psa 9:17. 2Th 1:7-8.].]
The warning being of such universal and infinite importance, let us consider,
II.
The advice accompanying it
[The exhortation in the text may simply import, that we should retire to our chambers to commune with our own hearts, and with our God [Note: Psa 4:4. Mat 6:6.]. In this view it recommends the duty, the indispensably necessary duty of secret prayer.
But by chambers we may understand God himself, who is often spoken of in this light [Note: Psa 90:1; Psa 57:1.], and who is the sure refuge of all that flee unto him. Every perfection of his forms, as it were, a hiding-place whereto we may run for safety. His wisdom would be our guide, his power our defence, his faithfulness and truth our shield and buckler.
To us, who are taught to view God in the person of Christ, the word chambers may convey a more immediate intimation respecting Christ himself, who is our refuge [Note: Heb 6:18.], and whom this very prophet describes as an hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the storm [Note: Isa 32:2.]. His person, work, and offices are a security to his people, that they shall never perish, but shall have eternal life.
To him therefore we should flee by faith, and hide ourselves from the impending judgments. As Noah entered into the ark [Note: Gen 7:7.], which was the appointed mean of delivering him from the deluge, and as the Israelites shut themselves up in their houses to escape the sword of the destroying angel [Note: Exo 12:22; Exo 12:28.], so are we to take refuge, as it were, in Christ, that the sword of divine justice may not slay, or the deluge of Gods wrath overwhelm us.]
While we listen to the voice of God, we must not overlook,
III.
The particular manner in which the advice is given
[Almost every word of this exhortation contains an argument for our compliance with it.
If we were bidden to hide ourselves in a pit or a dungeon, methinks, any place should be a welcome hiding-place from the wrath of God. But it is to our own chamber, where every thing is provided for our rest and comfort; yea, it is a pavilion [Note: Psa 27:5.], surrounded by guards, and furnished with royal dainties; it is even to the tabernacle [Note: Psa 27:5.] wherein God himself dwells, and where we shall have most intimate communion with him, that we are told to flee. Shall we need any inducement to yield to such advice?
If we cannot endure confinement (though surely we can have no reason to complain of that in such a retreat) we are told it is to be only for a moment, yea, lest that should appear too long, it is said to be only for a little moment. Did the Israelites think a single night too long, when they were to be screened from the destroying angel? and shall we think a moment, a little moment (for such in truth is the present life), too long to abide in Christ, that we may escape the wrath of an incensed God?
The certainty of success is another argument which may well induce us to follow this advice. Were there only a distant probability of obtaining deliverance from such unspeakable miseries, it were a very sufficient reason for our trying the experiment: but when success, as the text intimates, is certain to attend our efforts, shall we need any persuasion to exert ourselves?
On the other hand, the certainty that Gods indignation must fall upon us, if we be not found in Christ, ought to operate powerfully on our hearts: for who can stand before his indignation? who can abide the fierceness of his anger [Note: Nah 1:6.]? The fate of those who despised the warnings of Moses, and sought not shelter from the storms of hail, shews us what we must expect, if we seek not refuge in Christ Jesus [Note: Exo 9:19; Exo 9:25.].
Above all, the earnestness of the exhortation should overcome the reluctance of our hearts. To enter fully into its spirit, we should conceive a parent, seeing a savage beast running towards his heedless and unprotected child in order to destroy him. The affrighted father calls to him in the agony of his mind; Come, my son, run into the house, shut the door, hide yourself till the danger be overpast. Thus, precisely thus, does God himself cry to each of us. He knows our danger; he sees our inadvertence; and, with all the anxiety of a parent, he calls to us. Must we not be more deaf than adders, more obdurate than rocks, if we will not obey his voice?
But there is one thing yet, which must on no account be overlooked. The language is intentionally changed from the plural to the singular; Come, my people, enter thou, &c. One it ready to think, that he has no need to fear the indignation of God: another thinks he is too unworthy to be admitted into the chamber to which others have fled. But God addresses both the one and the other of them; Enter thou; for, however secure thou mayest think thyself, there is no security but in Christ; and thou; for unworthy as thou art, it is thy chamber; it was erected for such as thee; and the more unworthy thou art in thy own estimation, the more ready admittance shalt thou find there; the more certainly also shalt thou enjoy in it everlasting security [Note: This section might not improperly form the basis of a particular application to the self-righteous Pharisee, and the self-condemning penitent.].
Thus whether we consider the chamber to which we are to flee, the time we are to abide in it, the certainty of success, the danger of delay, or the earnest manner in which God addresses every one of us in particular, we should without hesitation follow the advice, and seek deliverance in Christ our Lord. None of us should indulge security; none of us should give way to desponding fears. But, rejoicing that the chamber is not yet barred against us, we should all hide ourselves in it; nor venture out of it one single moment, till the danger be for ever past.]
END OF VOL. VII.
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Oh! what blessedness is contained in these words! and what a blessedness have thousands now in glory, found in them, when upon earth! If I mistake not, here are all the persons of the Godhead inviting the children of Christ; yea, taking them by the hand, to come into God’s pavilion; and as the Lord once said unto Noah, Come thou and all thine house into the ark; so he saith now to all who by faith, like Noah, prepare an ark, in Jesus, to the saving of their house. And he that takes by the hand, and leads them; the same almighty hand shuts them in. See Gen 7:1-16 ; Heb 11:7 . But what are these chambers, which are here spoken of, and which the Lord calls the Church’s chambers? Hath the Lord indeed built for them some secret enclosures, into which the righteous may run and be safe in times of public or private calamity, when the Lord’s judgments are in the earth? Oh! no; in the event of common providences, God saith, I will draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked; Eze 21:3 . In things of nature, Solomon remarks, All things come alike to all; Ecc 9:2 ; that is, the fever, or the sword, will, if commissioned by the Lord, destroy all. But the feelings, and supports from the Lord, even in those exercises, will still mark the godly from the sinner. But what then are these chambers into which the Lord brings his people? Surely the chambers of his covenant of redemption, in which are found all the attributes and perfections of God the Father; all the fulness of right and interest in the person, blood, righteousness, and grace of God the Son as Mediator; and all the precious comforts and influences of God the Holy Ghost. All the chambers of his love, promises, grace, and mercy. Here they find repose and shelter from all evil; and, Noah-like, ride out the storm in the ark, Christ Jesus; while, like the deluge, the indignation of God’s wrath against sin is poured down upon the Christless and the ungodly. Oh! for grace to enter into the chambers; and to see the Lord’s hand both shutting our souls in, and every enemy out by which danger might be introduced. Precious Jesus! may it be my portion, in thee to have peace, while in the world there is nothing but tribulation! Joh 16:33 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 26:20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.
Ver. 20. Come, my people. ] Thus God lovingly bespeaketh his, as leading them by the hand to a hiding place of his providing. So he shut up Noah in the ark, secured Lot in Zoar, hid Jeremiah and Baruch when sought for to the slaughter, bade Daniel to go away and rest before those great troubles foretold. Dan 12:13 Augustine and Paraeus died a little before Hippo and Heidelberg were taken, so did Luther before the bloody wars of Germany. For Mr Brightman a pursuivant was sent a day or two after he was buried. a The burying place is not unfitly called , a resting room to the saints; the grave a “bed”; Isa 57:2 the bier that carrieth men to it, Matteh, i.e., a pallet. 2Sa 3:31 Lyra and others by “chambers” here understand the graves, compare Rev 6:11 Joh 16:33 those chambers of rest, and beds of down, to the bodies of the saints until the last day. There are those who by “chambers” will have meant the closets of God’s providence and protection, such as Pella was to the primitive Christians. Hitherto the saints are exhorted to retire till the storm be over, the enemy gone, the destroying angel passed over, as Exo 12:12 possessing their souls in patience.
As it were for a little moment.
a Life of King James, by Wilson.
b Sozom., lib. xv. cap. 5.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Isa 26:20-21
20Come, my people, enter into your rooms
And close your doors behind you;
Hide for a little while
Until indignation runs its course.
21For behold, the LORD is about to come out from His place
To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;
And the earth will reveal her bloodshed
And will no longer cover her slain.
Isa 26:20 God’s people have sinned. There are consequences. Judgment is coming upon them, but it will pass.
There are four IMPERATIVES in this verse that address the faithful and how they should act during the period of divine judgment.
1. come, BDB 229, KB 246, Qal IMPERATIVE
2. enter, BDB 97, KB 112, Qal IMPERATIVE
3. close, BDB 688, KB 742, Qal IMPERATIVE
4. hide, BDB 285, KB 285, Qal IMPERATIVE
They are all MASCULINE SINGULAR, but refer collectively to the faithful.
This is an allusion to the Passover experience of Exodus 12.
1. close door
2. VERB, pass over (BDB 716) is not the same VERB used in Exodus 12 (BDB 820), but the same idea
The faithful are saved from God’s judgment.
Isa 26:21 the LORD is about to come out from His place This phrase is used only here and Mic 1:3. It seems to refer to
1. heaven (i.e., God’s throne)
2. the temple (i.e., God’s footstool)
the earth Isaiah 24-27 speaks of a worldwide judgment!
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Come = Go.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
We will read a short passage in the Book of the prophet Isaiah, commencing with the twenty-sixth chapter, and the twentieth verse.
Isa 26:20. Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.
There is never a flood for the wicked without an ark for the righteous. Never shall a storm sweep over the earth till God hath prepared a great rock wherein his people may be hidden.
Isa 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 blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
The earth has often covered up the evidences of human guilt. Blood shed in battle has soaked into the soil, and men have forgotten the violence of tyrants and conquerors, but the earth shall disclose her blood. Sin, though it be sown in the earth, shall spring up like wheat, but to a terrible harvest. Be sure your sin will find you out.
This exposition consisted of readings from Isa 26:20-21; and Isa 27:1-9.
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible
my: Isa 51:4, Isa 51:16, Jer 7:23, Jer 31:14
enter: Isa 32:18, Isa 32:19, Gen 7:1, Gen 7:16, Exo 12:22, Exo 12:23, Psa 32:7, Psa 91:4, Pro 18:10, Eze 11:16, Mat 23:37
shut: Mat 6:6
hide: Psa 17:8, Psa 27:5, Psa 31:20, Psa 143:9
for a: Isa 54:7, Isa 54:8, Psa 30:5, Psa 57:1, 2Co 4:17
Reciprocal: Gen 6:18 – come Deu 4:4 – General 2Ki 4:4 – thou shalt shut 2Ch 18:24 – into an inner chamber Job 14:13 – until Psa 94:13 – mayest Pro 14:26 – his Pro 22:3 – prudent Pro 27:12 – General Isa 3:10 – Say ye Isa 4:4 – have purged Isa 8:14 – he shall be Isa 27:4 – Fury Isa 32:2 – an hiding Isa 35:4 – behold Jer 36:26 – but Jer 51:35 – The violence Dan 12:1 – there shall Hab 3:16 – that I Zep 2:3 – hid Zec 2:13 – for Mal 3:17 – and I Mat 24:6 – see Heb 10:37 – General Rev 6:11 – that they Rev 7:3 – till
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 26:20-21. Come, my people, &c. These two verses are supposed not to belong to the song which takes up the preceding part of the chapter, but to be an address of the prophet to the people of God on the contents of it. Having foretold their wonderful deliverance, and the utter destruction of their enemies, lest they should suppose that these predictions would immediately begin to be fulfilled, and thereby should meet with a disappointment, which might shake their faith respecting the future fulfilment of them, he here warns them that they must first expect storms, and exhorts them to prepare for them, and patiently to wait Gods time for the accomplishment of his promises. Enter thou into thy chambers, &c. Withdraw thyself from the company and conversation of the people of the world, lest, partaking with them in their sins, thou shouldst also partake of their plagues; and shut thy doors about thee Separate and seclude thyself, as far as may be, from men and things, and give thyself up to meditation on these awful dispensations of divine justice and mercy, and to prayer. Having entered into thy closet, and shut thy door, pour out thy supplications and intercessions before thy Father, who seeth in secret. Hide thyself, as it were In this time of danger and calamity, when the judgments of God are so awfully abroad in the earth, put thyself under the protection of his providence and grace, by faith and prayer. He alludes to the common practice of men, who, when there are storms or dangers abroad, betake themselves to their houses or chambers for safety: or, it may be, to the history, Exo 9:19-20; or, to the command of Moses to the Israelites, (Exo 12:22,) not to go out of the doors of their houses: while the destroying angel was going through the land of Egypt; or, to the like charge given to Rahab, as the condition of her preservation, Joshua 2. For a little moment Whereby he intimates, that all their afflictions, how long and tedious soever they might seem, were but short and momentary in comparison of that happiness which was reserved for them; until the indignation be overpast The dreadful effects of Gods anger, mentioned in the next verse. For the Lord cometh out of his place Cometh down from heaven, which, in Scripture, he is frequently said to do, when he undertakes any great and glorious work, either of delivering his people or destroying their enemies. The expression is borrowed from the manner of princes, who come out of their palaces either to sit in judgment, or to fight against their enemies, both which things God is here represented as doing. To punish the inhabitants of the earth All the enemies of God and of his people; for their iniquity For all their sins, and especially for oppressing and persecuting his church. The earth also shall disclose her blood The innocent blood which hath been shed upon the earth shall be brought to light, and shall be severely revenged upon the murderers.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 26:20 to Isa 27:1. Let Yahwehs People Take Shelter, for He is about to Execute Judgment.Here the apocalypse is resumed. The Jews are warned that Yahwehs indignation is about to break loose on the earth, which will reveal the bloodshed she has concealed; let them take shelter, for His wrath will soon be executed. In that day He will punish the two leviathans and the dragon in the sea.
Isa 26:21 b. Cf. Gen 4:10*.
Isa 27:1. It is generally thought that the three monsters here mentioned are to be identified with empires. If so, the dragon is probably here, as elsewhere, Egypt. The fleeing (mg.) serpent has been identified with Assyria, Babylon, Persia, and Syria; the winding serpent with Babylon, Persia, Greece, or Parthia, according to the historical circumstances which are supposed to lie behind the oracle. It is possible that constellations are intended: if so, Smend and Burney may be right in identifying the first leviathan with Serpens, the second with Draco, and the dragon with Hydra. The sea will in this case be the heavenly ocean. It must be remembered that the stars were thought of as personal powers (cf. Jdg 5:20), and they would be connected with the host of the high ones on high of Isa 24:21.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
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.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
A warning 26:20-21
The prophet now addressed his people rather than God.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Before the restoration of Israel, however, God’s people would experience hard times (in the Tribulation, cf. Revelation 12). Before God opened the gates of the new city to the redeemed (Isa 26:2), they would need to shut their doors against their foes (cf. Gen 7:1; Gen 7:16; Exo 12:22-23). Shutting the doors suggests both safety from danger and separation from others, in this case, pagans.