Глава 26

“Behold, the city is strong, and salvation will build for us a wall and a fence” (Is. 26:1), but it was not they who saved me. “Open the gates, so that people who keep righteousness and keep the truth may come in” (Is. 26:2), that is, open the gates of the church so that a host of the righteous may enter into it for praise, because the city is saved by faith and trust in God, and not by the strength and sword of man. “We also have peace” (Is. 26:3). Preserve for us forever the peace and silence that we enjoy now. “The way of the poor is right” (Is. 26:7), that is, those pious who draw close to God. “My soul remembers and desires Your name” (Is. 26:8). By the name by which the Egyptians were struck, the sea was divided, Pharaoh was drowned, the Canaanites were destroyed; my soul longs for this name, in the sorrow and distress that befell us from the Assyrians. “The night makes my spirit hard.” A strong desire to come to You awakens me from sleep; the hope that lies deep in my soul draws me before Your face and, even before the day, in the darkness of the night, I rushed to You, I had You in my mind and begged You to do to me, as You always do to the host of Your righteous. “For according to Thy judgments are they upon the earth, and according to Thy righteousness shall he that dwelleth on the earth learn” (Is. 26:9). This is in accordance with what the Spirit of God teaches in the book of Psalms: “The Lord knoweth the maker of destiny” (Ps. 9:17). The Prophet expresses by this that, seeing the vengeance which the Lord has wrought upon the Assyrians in our land, those who dwell on the earth will know how righteous is your punishment. “For you are righteous and you are not a God of iniquity” (Ps. 5:5). “The wicked departs, so as not to know righteousness.” The wicked are in error; his thoughts wander in countries and clans distant from him, and his spirit wanders, and therefore he does not understand the ways of the righteous judgment performed by You at the present time; he does not understand the righteousness of the judgments You have previously committed, although it is hereby confirmed that what You did before was righteous, for Your judgments are right at all times. By saying, “so as not to know the truth,” the prophet means either those Jews who gave themselves up to flight, not believing that they could be saved from the invasion of the Assyrians by anything other than flight, or those who, although they did not give themselves up to flight, did not become righteous after the miracle. “Admonishment on earth serves as a lesson, so the admonition given to the Assyrians serves as a lesson for the whole earth, so that I may not see the glory of the Lord” (Is. 26:10). Thus, the unrepentant, after they have seen the salvation wrought by the Lord for the Jewish people, do not see the glory of the Lord. “Your arm is high, and not in and desha.” They do not see the hand that punished the Assyrians. But those who do not see the salvation of the people of Judah, “will see and be ashamed ... jealousy and the people,” that is, those few who remain will see the love and jealousy of God for His people and will be ashamed of their idols, which did not provide them with any help. “You will destroy the adversaries like fire.” Yours" (Isaiah 26:11). Thou shalt destroy those who have angered Thy majesty and who have kindled the fire of Thy wrath against themselves with the blasphemy of their lips. “There were rulers over us besides You, - that is, the Assyrians, who wanted to reign over us instead of our God, - but... we call Your name” - a hidden name, but revealing itself among us in signs performed from generation to generation (Is. 26:13). “The dead do not raise themselves, nor do their gods raise giants from the dead” (Is. 26:14). They will not raise from the dust, like You, who raises “poor from the earth” (Ps. 112:7), and raises the dead from the dust. “Because You visited and destroyed them” (Is. 26:14), that is, the ancient giants whom You destroyed with the flood under Noah, and the princes of Egypt, whom You drowned with their chariots in the sea, and You hid their horsemen in the waves of the sea. “Thou hast multiplied Thy people, O Lord, thou hast multiplied, and added new ones to the previous blessings shown to Thy people. He retreated from their backbone, so as not to punish them with the same severity. And he repulsed all the ends of the earth” (Is. 26:15), that is, the whole multitude of warriors that gathered with the Assyrians from all the ends of the earth. “Lord, in sorrow they remembered You, that is, the Jews, and in distress they complained, enduring Your punishment” (Is. 26:16), because they considered it heavy and, due to the weakness of their strength, unbearable. “And as a sick woman draws near to give birth, and in her illness cries out” (Is. 26:17), so they are shuddered by the punishment that the Lord imposed on them. “He saved us too, so that we may not perish on earth.” Save us so that we are not conquered in our land, we are not taken captive to a foreign land, and we do not perish among the pagans. “And let not... those who dwell on the earth... fall” (Is. 26:18), that is, those who live on Your land, the admirers of Your name, may not cease to glorify the miracle You created for our salvation. “Let your dead rise, let those who are in their graves arise,” that is, the Jews. “Rise up... you who lie in the dust.” Let them praise You, and together with us, let all those cast into sorrow rejoice in our resurrection as into dust. “The dew that comes from You... is the dew of light,” because Your salvation is light, and it illuminates all nations turning to You, just as dew strengthens earthly plants. “The land of giants will fall” (Is. 26:19), that is, the Assyrian army will be destroyed. “Go, My people, enter your church.” God calls the Jews his people. “Hide yourselves a little, until the wrath of the Lord passes by” (Is. 26:20), that is, either the Assyrian army, which is the instrument of the wrath of the Lord, passes by, or the time of tribulation, predetermined for the sons of wrath, will pass. “For behold, the Lord comes out from His place,” that is, “from His dwelling,” where He sits on the wings of Cherubim. “And he will visit the wickedness of the inhabitants of the earth,” that is, for wickedness he will punish all sinners living on earth and especially the blasphemy of Rabshakeh. “And the earth will reveal its blood and not cover its slain” (Is. 26:21). During the punishment that will befall the Assyrians for shedding the blood of the sons of Judah, the Assyrians, miraculously destroyed by the Angel, will not hide from it. You might be interested in: