Isaiah 26:14
The dead will not live; the departed spirits will not rise. Therefore You have punished and destroyed them; You have wiped out all memory of them.
Sermons
The Argument from the PastW. Clarkson Isaiah 26:12-18
Bondage and FreedomJ. J. Goadby.Isaiah 26:13-14
Confession, Resolution, and DependenceT. Mortimer, B. D.Isaiah 26:13-14
The Captivity and the ReturnJ. J. Goadby.Isaiah 26:13-14
The Moral History of the SoulHomilistIsaiah 26:13-14














This may be regarded as still a part of the song which the exiles would sing when the way was made plain for their return to their own beloved land. The way would not be plain until the great oppressing city of Babylon, and the great oppressing dynasty of Nebuchadnezzar, had been humbled. Then God would "ordain peace" for his people; and then the full and glad allegiance of Ms people to him could be fully and freely expressed and manifested. The answering spiritual truth is that we are under the tyranny of other lords - "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life." Even while we struggle and suffer under their oppression, the power of this "body of sin and death," we may hold fast our allegiance to God in heart and purpose; and we may look on to the time that is speedily coming, when God shall himself accomplish our deliverance, and then our allegiance shall gain full and hearty expression; we shall praise him only, we shall serve him only, and praise and serve him as we ought. Getting illustration from the historical circumstances, we may set forth this point in its personal applications under three divisions.

I. ISRAEL'S TIMES OF OPPRESSION UNDER HEATHEN RULERS. These include the oppression under Pharaoh in Egypt; the inroads of neighboring nations in the times of the Judges; the temporary supremacy of the Philistines; the degrading supremacy of foreign idolatrous systems in the age of the later kings; the crushing of the national life by the self-aggrandizing Assyrians and Babylonians. Israel had a full experience of the power of the oppressor, many "other lords" had held dominion over Israel. These may represent the tyrannies of social custom, prevailing opinion, bodily lust, easily besetting sins, and worldly persecution, which now bear so hardly upon the saints of God. If these do but hold a usurped dominion, it is too often so stringent as almost to crush out all expressions of the life unto God.

II. ISRAEL'S HEART OF ALLEGIANCE TO GOD IN TIMES OF OPPRESSION. The elect remnant, in every age, kept the allegiance, though they had to hide it in secret places. A "ten righteous" ever kept the nation from utter destruction. There is a holy leaven among us now.

III. ISRAEL'S FREEDOM FOR FULL ALLEGIANCE IN THE DIVINE INTERVENTION. Sooner or later God would deliver them, and will deliver us; and then we can open our lips, "make mention of his Name," and give ourselves openly to him, as we have held ourselves secretly for him all through the trying time. - R.T.

Other lords beside Thee have had dominion over us.
About five hundred years before the birth of Christ an event occulted which stands almost alone in the world's history. After a long period of exile a whole nation, at least so much of it as was disposed, was freely permitted to return to its own land. The despotic king under whose sceptre they were then living not only issued an edict to that effect, but gave up the sacred vessels of the Holy House which had been brought away as trophies by previous monarchs, empowered the leader of the host to draw on the royal treasury for whatever might be necessary to refurnish the Holy House, and supplied him liberally with money, corn, wine, and oil for the homeward journey. For three days that mighty host of returning exiles rested in their tents on the banks of the Ahava. A solemn and sacred fast succeeded. Then came the marshalling of the enormous caravan. At last, on the dawning of the fifteenth morning from their first setting out, they began in real earnest their homeward march. Four long and wearisome months did that great caravan of exiles creep on towards their beloved land. At the beginning of the fifth month, with their ranks greatly swelled by others who had joined them during their progress, they stood in sight of Jerusalem. The song now broke forth, "We have a strong city: salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks"; to which a chorus of many thousand voices responded, "Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth truth may enter in." Then followed the declaration of the first voices, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee. Trust ye in the Lord forever; for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength." So the mighty song of praise rolled on, until, with all voices blending as the voice of many waters, the words were heard, "O Jehovah our God! other lords beside Thee have ruled over us; but henceforth Thee, Thy name only, will we celebrate. They are dead, they shall not live; they are shades, they shall not rise; because Thou hast visited and destroyed them, and hast made all their memory to perish." In effect these words describe the whole history of that nation in its exile, and its purpose now it had come back to Judah.

(J. J. Goadby.)

A nation is, after all, only an aggregate of single units; and that which is thus declared of a whole nation was equally true of each separate man of whom that nation was composed. It is the history and purpose of a single soul.

I. Here is an illustration of THE MANIFOLD BONDAGE OF THE SOUL. The Jews had bowed before many idols. They had served under many kings. Each idol and king had ruled them according to the caprice of the hierophants or viziers. There are also many lords who rule over the souls of men; whose dominion is capricious, despotic, and even destructive.

1. There is worldliness, one of the hardest of tyrants.

2. Closely akin to worldliness is frivolity; the disposition which shows itself in a strong dislike to anything grave in thought, or speech, or life; a vague belief, so far as frivolity can entertain belief, that the chief end in life is to be amused.

3. Others are in the thralls of doubt. One man doubts concerning all goodness whatsoever. He has been bitterly deceived by some unworthy man who had won his confidence, and he refuses to believe now that disinterestedness is possible in any quarter. Another man doubts whether it. be possible to discover truth amidst such a wrangle of apparently conflicting opinions, upon it. Perhaps he has allowed his mind to be biassed in one direction, and has never seriously set himself to get free from his bias. Or, he may never have struggled after the truth with any deep and true wrestling of soul. A third has doubts concerning evangelic Christianity. A fourth doubts of the possibility of his own salvation.

4. There are other forms of tyranny over the soul; e.g., the slavery of that which is known to be sin. The particular kind of sin differs with different mere.

5. Does it not become of unspeakable interest to know if deliverance can actually be secured; by whom it is to be effected, and by what means; and what are the signs that freedom has been actually obtained? To all these questions the song of the liberated exiles points to the sufficient answer. "O Jehovah our God! other lords beside Thee have ruled over us," etc.

II. Jehovah was the Author of the Jews' liberation: GOD ALONE EFFECTS THE DELIVERANCE OF THE SOUL.

1. He conceived the plan of that redemption, not as a temporary expedient, a Divine after thought, but as an "eternal purpose which He purposed in His Son Jesus Christ our Lord."

2. The method of this deliverance is also depicted in the words of the exiles. "Thou hast visited and destroyed them." "Visited," that is, searched out with the keenest scrutiny, examined, exposed. How, then, deem God "visit" these tyrants of man's soul? He reveals their true character to those who are under their dominion. God lays bare the worthlessness and the wickedness of worldliness, frivolity, and sin. Sometimes He does this, by the force of contrast, bringing in close proximity the brightness of an opposite life to the life which w ourselves are living. Sometimes He awakens a seed of Divine truth that has long been buried in our hearts. Sometimes the revelation is made by creating a sense of satiety, or of nausea. Sometimes the change is produced by incidents of God's good providence. But the one great means which Divine wisdom has set apart for the spiritual liberation of man is — the Gospel of His love.

3. There are, therefore, certain criteria by which men may surely know that they have actually entered this condition of freedom. One is, their relation to the past. The Jews did not forget the hard usage they tad received from those idol priests and capricious tyrants who had "ruled them with a rod of iron." But the grave closed over their oppressors, one after another. They were extinct tyrants; "shades," not men; powerless phantoms, fallen to rise no more. They were remembered, but as dead men. Nor can anyone who has obtained spiritual deliverance utterly forget the past. The recollection of what that past was flits across the mind, like a cloud over the face of the sun at noonday. But there is no desire to return to that condition. The past has lost its power of attraction, and has become hateful. The old tyrants are dead; and so long as we keep ourselves in the love of God they shall live no more. There is, further, the soul's relation to the future. But henceforth Thee, Thy name only, will we celebrate. Whatever allegiance may have been rendered to others in the past, the allegiance is now to be given alone to God. We have also the idea of service. The "celebration" is incomplete without this, the worship a solemn and offensive pretence. But he who worships most sincerely is certain to live most uprightly. He is bound to faithful service by the strongest of all ties — the tie of a grateful love.

4. "But," says someone, "is not this mere poetic exaggeration? Where are the proofs that this freedom has actually been won?" Where? In every age of the Church's history, from the day when publicans and sinners crowded about the pathway of the Divine Redeemer, until this hour. The Gospel is not an exhausted force. It is "the power of God unto salvation, to everyone that believeth."

(J. J. Goadby.)

Homilist.
Here we have the soul under the sway —

I. OF MANY DEITIES. "Other lords beside Thee." The Jews in Babylon had knelt at the shrine of many false deities, and rendered allegiance to a succession of kings. Many "lords" had ruled them. This is true of all souls in an unregenerate state. Who is the real Lord or God of the soul? Unhesitatingly and emphatically, the chief love. Whatever man loves most, is his spiritual monarch, the deity of his life. The chief love of some is money. The chief love of others is pleasure — sensual indulgence. "Their god is their belly." The chief love of others is power. Ambition is their god.

II. OF ONE GOD. "By Thee only will we make mention of Thy name," or, as some render it, "Henceforth Thee, Thy name, will we celebrate. They had left heathen altars, and come back to the altar of Jehovah. What a blessed change from many masters to one, and therefore free from spiritual distraction. From worthless masters to the supremely good, and therefore realising all that the soul craves for or requires.

1. The rule of this one God is the rule of right.

2. The rule of peace. From the moral constitution of man no peace of soul can be experienced under the sway of any other. Under no other will the various sympathies flow into one channel, the faculties blend in harmonious action, the heart fix itself in a centre.

3. The rule of growth. Can vegetation grow and flourish under the reign of stars, however numerous or brilliant? No; it must have the empire of the sun. And can the soul advance under the sway of any infinite powers, however illustrious? No; it must have the rule of God, the "Sun of Righteousness." Here we have the soul —

III. PASSING FROM THE SWAY OF THE MANY TO THE ONE. It is that great moral experience which is represented in the New Testament as a new birth, a resurrection, a conversion, a repentance, etc.

(Homilist.)

I. CONFESSION. "O Lord our God, other lords beside Thee have had dominion over us." There are two things connected with this confession; one is recollection, and the other adoration.

II. RESOLUTION. "Henceforth we will make mention of Thy name." God's name is His character, — what He is in Himself, and what He is to His people. And it is a name not to be ashamed of: it is connected with every thing that is excellent, glorious, and sacred. It is a "name that is above every name." Not only so, it is a name you need not be afraid of with a slavish fear; but you may well be afraid of it with a holy fear. It is a name that you ought to love with all your hearts!

III. DEPENDENCE. "By Thee only will we make mention of Thy name"; as much as if it was said, We are full of sin, but Thou art full of grace and mercy; we are not worthy to take Thy name upon our lips — to stand before Thee, or to enter into covenant with Thee, but we do it depending upon Thee, and upon Thee alone.

(T. Mortimer, B. D.)

People
Isaiah
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Arise, Cause, Caused, Dead, Deceased, Departed, Destroy, Destroyed, Destroyest, Destruction, Hast, Inspected, Memory, Perish, Punished, Remembrance, Rephaim, Rise, Ruin, Shades, Spirits, Visited, Wiped, Yea
Outline
1. Trust in God's Provision

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Isaiah 26:14

     4195   spirits
     9110   after-life

Library
Our Strong City
'In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.'--ISAIAH xxvi 1-2. What day is 'that day'? The answer carries us back a couple of chapters, to the great picture drawn by the prophet of a world-wide judgment, which is followed by a burst of song from the ransomed people of Jehovah, like Miriam's chant by the shores of the Red Sea.
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Song of Two Cities
'In that day shall this song he sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. 2. Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. 3. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee; because he trusteth in Thee. A. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength: 5. For He bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, He layeth it low; He layeth it low,
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Inhabitant of the Rock
'Thou wilt keep him In perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.'--ISAIAH xxvi. 3-4. There is an obvious parallel between these verses and the two preceding ones. The safety which was there set forth as the result of dwelling in the strong city is here presented as the consequence of trust. The emblem of the fortified place passes into that of the Rock of Ages. There is the further resemblance
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Desire of the Soul in Spiritual Darkness
"Tis midnight on the mountains' brown, The cold round moon shines deeply down; Blue roll the waters, blue the sky Spreads like an ocean hung on high, Bespangled with those isles of light, So wildly, spiritually bright; Who ever gazed upon them shining, And turning to earth without repining, Nor wish'd for wings to flee away, And mix with their eternal ray." Even with the most irreligious person, a man farthest from spiritual thought, it seems that there is some power in the grandeur and stillness
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 1: 1855

The Song of a City, and the Pearl of Peace
This song of a city may, however, belong to us as much as to the men of Judah, and we may throw into it a deeper sense of which they were not aware. We were once unguarded from spiritual evil, and we spent our days in constant fear; but the Lord has found for us a city of defence, a castle of refuge. We have a burgess-ship in the new Jerusalem which is the mother of us all; and within that strong city we dwell securely. Let us sing this morning, "We have a strong city." The man that hath come into
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 31: 1885

A Sermon on Isaiah xxvi. By John Knox.
[In the Prospectus of our Publication it was stated, that one discourse, at least, would be given in each number. A strict adherence to this arrangement, however, it is found, would exclude from our pages some of the most talented discourses of our early Divines; and it is therefore deemed expedient to depart from it as occasion may require. The following Sermon will occupy two numbers, and we hope, that from its intrinsic value, its historical interest, and the illustrious name of its author, it
John Knox—The Pulpit Of The Reformation, Nos. 1, 2 and 3.

O, this is Blessing, this is Rest --
"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed in Thee: because he trusteth in Thee." -- Isaiah 26:3. O, this is blessing, this is rest -- Unto Thine arms, O Lord, I flee: I hide me in Thy faithful breast, And pour out all my soul to Thee. There is a host dissuading me, -- But, all their voices far above, I hear Thy words -- "O taste and see The comfort of a Savior's love." And, hushing every adverse sound, Songs of defence my soul surround, As if all saints encamped about One trusting
Miss A. L. Waring—Hymns and Meditations

Sleeping and Waking
C. P. C. Is. xxvi. 19 We slept--a sleep of death, and yet of dreams, Fair dreams that pass, and sad dreams that abide, Where yearneth to the sound of distant streams The soul unsatisfied. We woke--but oh for speech of that fair land Wherein the soul awaketh, to declare The wonders that no heart can understand, That hath not entered there. For there the light that is not sun nor moon, That glows as morning, and as eve is sweet, And hath the glory of eternal noon, Doth guide the joyful feet. And
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others

From his Return from Russia to his Last Journey.
1853-1858. John Yeardley had scarcely returned to England before war was declared with Russia. The confirmation he received from this lamentable event, that his journey had been made at the opportune time, filled his heart with gratitude. The work he had been able to do had been small, but he had the satisfaction of knowing that it had been accomplished at the only juncture in which it would have been practicable. The year 1853, he writes, closed with many mercies to a poor unworthy servant. I consider
John Yeardley—Memoir and Diary of John Yeardley, Minister of the Gospel

I Fear, I Say, Greatly for Thee, Lest...
39. I fear, I say, greatly for thee, lest, when thou boastest that thou wilt follow the Lamb wheresoever He shall have gone, thou be unable by reason of swelling pride to follow Him through strait ways. It is good for thee, O virgin soul, that thus, as thou art a virgin, thus altogether keeping in thy heart that thou hast been born again, keeping in thy flesh that thou hast been born, thou yet conceive of the fear of the Lord, and give birth to the spirit of salvation. [2142] "Fear," indeed, "there
St. Augustine—Of Holy Virginity.

Pleading
We shall consider our text, then, as one of the productions of a great master in spiritual matters, and we will study it, praying all the while that God will help us to pray after the like fashion. In our text we have the soul of a successful pleader under four aspects: we view, first, the soul confessing: "I am poor and needy." You have next, the soul pleading, for he makes a plea out of his poor condition, and adds, "Make haste unto me, O God!" You see, thirdly, a soul in it's urgency, for he cries,
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 17: 1871

"For the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus Hath Made Me Free from the Law of Sin and Death. "
Rom. viii. 2.--"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." You know there are two principal things in the preceding verse,--the privilege of a Christian, and the property or character of a Christian. He is one that never enters into condemnation; He that believeth shall not perish, John iii. 15. And then he is one that walks not after the flesh, though he be in the flesh, but in a more elevate way above men, after the guiding and leading
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Nature of Spiritual Hunger
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness Matthew 5:6 We are now come to the fourth step of blessedness: Blessed are they that hunger'. The words fall into two parts: a duty implied; a promise annexed. A duty implied: Blessed are they that hunger'. Spiritual hunger is a blessed hunger. What is meant by hunger? Hunger is put for desire (Isaiah 26:9). Spiritual hunger is the rational appetite whereby the soul pants after that which it apprehends most suitable and proportional
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Out of Sectarian Confusion
I was still a Methodist. The Methodist did not license women to preach; but when the preachers found out that God was using me in the salvation of souls and that I was not especially interested in building up any certain denomination, I had an abundance of calls. God had already begun talking to my brother Jeremiah about the sin of division, and he was beginning to see the evils of sectarianism. The winter after I was healed, he had attended the Jacksonville, Illinois, holiness convention, and had
Mary Cole—Trials and Triumphs of Faith

His Journey to South Russia.
1853. The call which John Yeardley had received to visit the German colonies in South Russia, and which had lain for a long time dormant, now revived. A friend who had watched with regret his unsuccessful attempts on former journeys to enter that jealous country, and who augured from the political changes which had taken place that permission might probably now be obtained, brought the subject again under his notice. The admonition was timely and effectual. After carefully pondering the matter--with,
John Yeardley—Memoir and Diary of John Yeardley, Minister of the Gospel

Of the Last Resurrection.
1. For invincible perseverance in our calling, it is necessary to be animated with the blessed hope of our Savior's final advent. 2. The perfect happiness reserved for the elect at the final resurrection unknown to philosophers. 3. The truth and necessity of this doctrine of a final resurrection. To confirm our belief in it we have, 1. The example of Christ; and, 2. The omnipotence of God. There is an inseparable connection between us and our risen Savior. The bodies of the elect must be conformed
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

The Heart's Desire Given to Help Mission Work in China.
"Sept. 30 [1869].--From Yorkshire L50.--Received also One Thousand Pounds to-day for the Lord's work in China. About this donation it is especially to be noticed, that for months it had been my earnest desire to do more than ever for Mission Work in China, and I had already taken steps to carry out this desire, when this donation of One Thousand Pounds came to hand. This precious answer to prayer for means should be a particular encouragement to all who are engaged in the Lord's work, and who may
George Müller—Answers to Prayer

The Love of the Holy Spirit in Us.
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not."--Matt. xxvii. 37. The Scripture teaches not only that the Holy Spirit dwells in us, and with Him Love, but also that He sheds abroad that Love in our hearts. This shedding abroad does not refer to the coming of the Holy Spirit's Person, for a person can not be shed abroad. He comes, takes possession, and dwells in us; but that which is shed abroad
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

"But if the Spirit of Him that Raised up Jesus from the Dead Dwell in You, He that Raised up Christ from the Dead, Shall Also
Rom. viii. 11.--"But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead, shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you." As there is a twofold death,--the death of the soul, and the death of the body--so there is a double resurrection, the resurrection of the soul from the power of sin, and the resurrection of the body from the grave. As the first death is that which is spiritual, then that which is bodily, so
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Love
The rule of obedience being the moral law, comprehended in the Ten Commandments, the next question is: What is the sum of the Ten Commandments? The sum of the Ten Commandments is, to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind, and our neighbour as ourselves. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.' Deut 6: 5. The duty called for is love, yea, the strength of love, with all
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

Another Shorter Evening Prayer.
O eternal God and heavenly Father, if I were not taught and assured by the promises of thy gospel, and the examples of Peter, Mary Magdalene, the publican, the prodigal child, and many other penitent sinners, that thou art so full of compassion, and so ready to forgive the greatest sinners, who are heaviest laden with sin, at what time soever they return unto thee with penitent hearts, lamenting their sins, and imploring thy grace, I should despair for mine own sins, and be utterly discouraged from
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

The Iranian Conquest
Drawn by Boudier, from the engraving in Coste and Flandin. The vignette, drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a statuette in terra-cotta, found in Southern Russia, represents a young Scythian. The Iranian religions--Cyrus in Lydia and at Babylon: Cambyses in Egypt --Darius and the organisation of the empire. The Median empire is the least known of all those which held sway for a time over the destinies of a portion of Western Asia. The reason of this is not to be ascribed to the shortness of its duration:
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 9

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