Isaiah 26:4

Isa 26:4 Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH [is] everlasting strength:

Ver. 4. Trust in the Lord for ever.] To trust in God is to be unbottomed of thyself and of every creature, and so to lean upon God, that if he fail thee thou sinkest.

For in the Lord Jehovah.] Heb., For in Jah Jehovah; in him who is the all-powerful Essentialor and faithful promise keeper, &c. Here, then, look not downward, saith one, upon the rushing and roaring streams of miseries and troubles which run so swiftly under us, for then we shall be taken with a giddiness, &c., but steadfastly fasten on the power and promise of Jah Jehovah and ye shall be established.

Is everlasting strength.] Heb., The rock of ages, or, The old rock, so called of old, {Deu 32:4; Deu 32:18; Deu 32:31} and so found to be from the beginning. Et quia in aeternum non mutat aut nutat ergapios, lieet montes et colles nutent {Isa 54:10} The name of the Lord is a strong tower; {Pro 18:10} a munition of rocks; {Isa 33:16} rocks so deep no pioneer can undermine them; so thick, no cannon can pierce them; so high, no ladder can scale them.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Isa_26:4

Trust ye in the Lord forever

Trusting in the Lord

I.

THE DUTY ITSELF.

1. It implies an acquiescence or submission to the will of God, whatever it may be--trusting in Him, assured that He is doing, and will do, what is right. This was the spirit of Eli of old, who, though under great family trial, still said, It is the Lord; let Him do what seemeth Him good. This was the spirit of the patriarch Job, who under all his trials could say, Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.

2. It implies also an application to the Lord, with confidence that the application will not be in vain. Perhaps the best passage I can give you upon this subject will be that which contains the character given of Hezekiah. In 2Ki_18:5, we are told, He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him. For he clave to the Lord, and departed not from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord commanded Moses. There was habitual confidence in the Lord, which led Hezekiah to apply to the Lord in his hours of trial; and therefore, when he was in danger of being besieged, he instantly felt that his whole confidence must be in the Lord! So he took the letter, and in close communion with God read aloud that letter, trusting that the Lord would deliver him from all the threatenings which the letter contained.

3. Closely connected with these two explanations is that which I may call dependence and expectation; so that we may say, in our hours of anxiety, Jehovah-jireh, the Lord will provide. All this is perfectly compatible with the energetic use of means for deliverance out of our trials. Indeed, wherever there is the neglect of means, there is simple presumption.

4. Notice, again, in the description of the duty set before us in the text, that it is to endure forever. We read here, Trust in the Lord forever. This revolves both time and circumstances.

II. THE ENCOURAGEMENT. The text tells us, For in the Lord Jehovah there is everlasting strength; or, The Lord Jehovah is the Rock of Ages. The encouragement, therefore, is based on the everlasting strength of God. (H. M.Villiers, M. A.)

Trust in God

I. AS A RELIGIOUS DUTY. God, in our view, either in His wisdom, power, grace, love, or fidelity, must always be the object of religions trust and confidence; and I think it will be found that all these great qualities and perfections in God are peculiarly exercised for the benefit and happiness of believers. It is not merely in these abstract qualities that the Christian is to trust, but in their exercise and development, for his own benefit and advantage.

II. WHAT IS ESSENTIAL TO THE EXERCISE OF TRUST IN GOD.

1. It will be essential for you to cultivate scriptural knowledge. The more the mind is brought under the illumination of the Spirit and the Word of God--the more we are in the habit of connecting time with eternity, taking a large and extended view of both--the more we consult the nature of Divine providence, as developed in the history of His ancient people, in every age of the world, and the manner of His dealings with them--the better we become acquainted with the nature and spirit of His own work, the work of religion in the human heart, and, certainly, the more confidence we shall be enabled to exercise in God. We are very often brought into a state of darkness, doubt, perplexity, bondage, and suffering, for the want merely of enlightened and scriptural views of God, and the method of His dealings with His church.

2. Another state is also necessary-that is, living in a reconciled state with God.

III. THE EXTENT TO WHICH WE OUGHT TO CARRY THIS CONFIDENCE IN GOD. And first of all we may say, we ought to trust Him with everything. But then, there is this remark to be made--that we ought to engage in nothing that is unlawful and sinful; for we cannot trust God with that which is evil. Let us not classify events, and consider some little and some great, some to be reposed on God and others not. The fact is, we ought to take everything to Him in the spirit of humble prayer and confidence, imploring His blessing upon it. Let me remark, too, that we ought to trust God for everything, as well as with everything. (J. Dixon, D. D.)

Unchanging trust in an unchanging God

The grandest and profoundest truths of the Old and New Testament with regard to the Divine nature are always presented as the bases of exhortations to conduct and to emotion. There is no such thing in Scripture as an aimless revelation of the Divine character. That great for of my text links together the two clauses.

I. Observe THE NAME OF JEHOVAH here given as the ground of invitation to our trust. In the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength, or the Rock of Ages. The expression that is here employed, the singular reduplication of the name, which only occurs in one other place in Scripture, is no doubt intended to emphasise the idea that underlies the name. We find here the same singular appellation which occurs in one of the Psalms, where we read of God as riding in the Heavens by His name Jah. So here the name appears as Jah, Jehovah--the former name being, as I suppose, the abbreviated form of the latter, and the purpose of employing both being to call attention emphatically to the name and what it means. What does it mean It speaks--

(1) Of unchangeableness.

(2) Of a sure asylum and safe dwelling place and inexpugnable fortress into which we may all retreat. His place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks, and high above all possibility of escalade and safe from all fear of assault or of change they may dwell who dwell in the secret place of the Most High.

(3) And besides the thought of a safe asylum is the other thought of a rock for a foundation; who builds on it builds secure.

II. THE TRUST which corresponds to, and lays hold of the Rock. Trust ye in the Lord forever: for in the Lord Jehovah is the Rock of Ages. The word which is here rendered trust is an extremely graphic and significant one, and teaches us a great deal more of the meaning and essence of the act of faith than many more elaborate treatises would do. It simply means to depend. Charles Wesley, in his great hymn, has, with the Christian poets unerring instinct, laid his finger on the precise meaning of the word when he says--

Hangs my helpless soul on Thee.

Incongruous as the metaphor hanging on the rock may seem, It conveys to us the true idea of the trust which is peace and life. But did you ever notice that in our use of the word depend we have two different expressions, which convey two different though kindred meanings? To be dependent on gives a different shade of signification from to depend on. The former acknowledges inferiority, takes a position of receptivity, and recognises that from another, who is conceived as being above us, there flow down upon us all good things, strengths, and graces that we may require. So, in this hanging upon God, there is the consciousness of utter emptiness in myself and of my need of receiving all that I can have or want from His full hand. But in faith or trust we hang on God in that other sense too. We are not only consciously dependent upon Him, as conscious of our emptiness and of His fulness, but we depend upon Him, as being calmly and completely certain of Him and of His being and doing all that we need. In other words, trust is reliance. Dependence and reliance are both metaphors. Both picture resting ones whole weight on some person or thing beyond ones self, but dependence pictures the weight as hanging from and upheld by a fixed point above, and reliance pictures it as reposing on and upheld by a fixed point beneath; and each sets forth in graphic fashion the act of the soul which Old and New Testament alike regard as the condition of vital union with God. That trust is reasonable. People pit faith against reason, as if the two things were antagonists. Faith is the outcome of reason. The only difference between it and reason, in the narrow sense of the word, is that faith has got longer sight than reason, and can see into what is dark to it. There is nothing so reasonable as to trust utterly in Him whose name is Jehovah, and in whom is the Rock of Ages.

III. THE PERPETUITY OF THE CONFIDENCE which corresponds with the eternity of the Rock. Trust ye in the Lord forever. It is a commandment and a promise. An unchanging God ought to secure an unchanging trust. Forever! Amid all the fluctuations of our minds and dispositions, there ought to be this one steadfast attitude of our spirits kept up continuously through a whole life. Forever! Whatever may happen in the way of changing conditions and altered circumstances, for the same unchanging purpose brings all changes. The same diurnal motion brings day and night. The same annual revolution brings summer and winter. It is the same unchanging purpose of the steadfast God that creates the wintry darkness through which the orb of our lives has to pass, and the long summer hours of sunshine. But my text, like an Gods commandments, carries a promise hidden in its bosom. All that build on the Rock of Ages build imperishable homes, which last as long as the Rock on which they are founded. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)

Strong by trusting the strong

Readers of Darwin will recall the description he gives of a marine plant which rises from a depth of one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet, and floats on the surface of the water in the midst of the great breakers of the Western Ocean. The stem of this plant is less than an inch through; yet it grows and thrives and holds its own against the fierce smitings and pressures of breakers which no masses of rock, however hard, could long withstand. What is the secret of this marvellous resistance and endurance? How can this little, slender plant face the fury of the elements so successfully, and, in spite of storms and tempests, keep its hold, and perpetuate itself from century to century? It reaches down into the still depths, where it fixes its grasp, after the fashion of the instinct that has been put into it, to the naked rocks; and no commotion of the upper waters can shake it loose. (Weekly Pulpit.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Lord JEHOVAH--Hebrew, Jah, Jehovah. The union of the two names expresses in the highest degree God's unchanging love and power (compare Psa 68:4). This passage, and Isa 12:2; Exo 6:3; Psa 83:18, are the four in which the English Version retains the JEHOVAH of the original. MAURER translates, "For JAH (the eternal unchangeable One, Exo 3:14) is JEHOVAH, the rock of ages" (compare Isa 45:17; Deu 32:15; Sa1 2:2).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 4. In the Lord JEHOVAH - "In JEHOVAH"] In JAH JEHOVAH, Heb.; but see Houbigant, and See Clarke on Isa 12:2.

Everlasting strength] צור עולמים tsur olamim, "the rock of ages;" or, according to Rab. Maimon, - the eternal Fountain, Source, or Spring. Does not this refer to the lasting streams from the rock in the desert? And that rock was Christ. ge han hoped in the Lord fro the everlastinge worldis. - Old MS. BIBLE.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(4) For in the Lord Jehovah.—The Hebrew presents, as in Isa_12:2, the exceptional combination of the two names Jah (Psa_68:4) and Jehovah. In the Hebrew for “everlasting strength,” we have, literally, the Rock of Ages of the well-known hymn. We have the same name of Rock applied to express the unchangeableness of God, as in Deu_32:4.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4. for in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength] Render: for Yah Yahveh (see on Isa_12:2) is an everlasting Rock (lit. “a Rock of Ages”). The preposition in may be omitted in English (Bêth essentiae).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Trust ye in the Lord for ever,.... In the Word of the Lord for ever and ever, as the Targum again; that is, at all times, in every state and condition, in times of affliction, temptation, and darkness; for he will support under, and in his own time deliver out of every trouble, and cause all things to work to gether for good; and trust in him always, for everything, for all temporal blessings, and for all spiritual ones, and for eternal life and happiness; for he has them, has promised them, and will give them:

for in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength; Christ is the Lord JEHOVAH, which is, and was, and is to come, self-existent, eternal, and immutable; and in him is strength, as well as righteousness for his people; and that for everything it is wanted for, to bear up under temptations and afflictions, to withstand every spiritual enemy, to exercise every grace, and discharge every duty: and this strength is everlasting; it always continues in him, and is always to be had from him; he is the "eternal" God, who is the refuge of his people, and his "arms" of power and might "underneath" them are "everlasting": the words may be rendered, "for in Jah" is "Jehovah, the Rock of ages" (q); Jehovah the Son is in Jehovah the Father, according to Joh 10:38 or "Jah Jehovah" is "the Rock of ages", so Vitringa; he is the "Rock" on which the church and every believer is built, against which "the gates of hell cannot prevail"; and he has been the Rock of his people in ages past, and will be in ages to come: or "of worlds"; this world, and that to come; and so it is explained in the Talmud (r), he that trusts in the Lord has a refuge in this world, and in the world to come.

(q) "in Jah est Jehovah, rupes saeculorum". (r) T. Bab. Menachot, fol. 29. 2.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Trust ye in the Lord for ever - The sense is, ‘Let your confidence in God on no occasion fail. Let no calamity, no adversity, no persecution, no poverty, no trial of any kind, prevent your reposing entire confidence in him.’ This is spoken evidently in view of the fact stated in the previous verse, that the mind that is stayed on him shall have perfect peace.

For in the Lord Jehovah - ‘This is one of the four places where our translators have retained the original word Yahweh (compare Exo 6:3; Psa 133:1-3 :18; the notes at Isa 12:2). The original is יהוה ביה beyâhh yehovâh; the first word, יה yâhh, (compare Psa 68:4), being merely an abridged form of Yahweh. The same form occurs in Isa 12:2. The union of these two forms seems designed to express, in the highest sense possible, the majesty, glory, and holiness of God; to excite the highest possible reverence where language fails of completely conveying the idea.

Is everlasting strength - Hebrew as in the Margin, ‘The rock of ages;’ a more poetic and beautiful expression than in our translation. The idea is, that God is firm and unchangeable like an eternal rock; and that in him we may find protection and defense for everlasting ages (see Deu 32:4, et al.; 1Sa 2:2; 2Sa 22:32, 2Sa 22:47; 2Sa 23:3; Psa 18:31; Psa 19:14; Psa 28:1; Psa 42:9; Psa 62:2, Psa 62:6-7, ..., where God is called ‘a rock’).

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

You, people of Juda.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

For ever; in all times and conditions.

Everlasting strength, Heb. the Rock of ages; a sure refuge to all those that trust in him, through all generations; therefore you may safely trust in him, and that for ever.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4. And as if from heaven comes the encouragement to Israel to trust in the Lord for ever, to permit it on no occasion to fail.

For in the Lord Jehovah — Original, Jah Jehovah. On this combination, see note at Isa_12:2. Delitzsch regards the two names as the proper name of God the Redeemer in the most emphatic form.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Trust ye in the Lord. The faithful exhort each other to perfect trust, in the new Jerusalem, as in the old. (see Psa_115:9-11) In the Lord Jehovah; literally, in Jab Jehorah. (comp. Isa_12:2) Is everlasting strength; literally, is the Rock of ages. A certain refuge throughout all eternity is, no doubt, intended. (see the comment on Isa_17:10)

The call to continuous trust.

"Trust ye in the Lord forever." The words "forever" in the prophetical books are a figure for "always," "continuously," under all conditions; even in times when trust seems to have no foundations we may keep on trusting, because our trust really is in God.

I WE CANNOT KEEP ON TRUSTING IF OUR TRUST IS IN THINGS. "The fashion of this world passeth away;" "Here we have no abiding city; Moth and rust corrupt, and thieves break through and steal." So often things will not be "according to our mind." Often we sadly say that "nothing is stable," and "we are sure of nothing.

II WE CANNOT KEEP ON TRUSTING IF OUR TRUST IS IN MAN. For the pain of life is our disappointment in our best-loved friends. Live on to old age, and we are almost alone; some are changed, and some are dead, and some have proved unworthy. Cease ye from man.

III WE CANNOT KEEP ON TRUSTING IF OUR TRUST IS IN SELF. The self-revelations which come with advancing years humble us in the dust. Youth can have its self confidences. But man has learned the life-lesson badly if he is not ready to say, It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.

IV WE CAN KEEP ON TRUSTING IF OUR TRUST IS IN JEHOVAH. For he is what he was; he will be what he is and has ever been. He is an "everlasting Rock." He has been abundantly proved. Secure and blessed always are they who put their trust in him. R.T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For ever - In all times and conditions.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

A cry goes forth again, as if from heaven, exhorting Israel to continue in this mind. "Hang confidently on Jehovah for ever: for in Jah, Jehovah, is an everlasting rock." The combination Jah Jehovah is only met with here and in Isa 12:2. It is the proper name of God the Redeemer in the most emphatic form. The Beth essentiae frequently stands before the predicate (Ges. 151, 3); here, however, it stands before the subject, as in Psa 78:5; Psa 55:19. In Jah Jehovah (munach, tzakeph) there is an everlasting rock, i.e., He is essentially such a rock (compare Deu 32:4, like Exo 15:2 for Isa 12:2).

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

“Trust ye in Jehovah forever (literally, even to eternity), for in Jah Jehovah is a rock of ages (or an everlasting rock).” To the general truth stated in v. 3, a general exhortation is now added, not addressed by one chorus to another but by the same ideal speakers to all who hear them or are willing to receive the admonition. This is one of the few places in which the name Jehovah is retained by the common English Version. On the origin and usage of the name Jah, see above (on Isa 12:2). The occurrence of the combination here confirms its genuineness there. The figurative name rock, as applied to God, includes the two ideas of a hiding place and a foundation, or the one complex idea of a permanent asylum.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Prophecies of Isaiah (1846–1847; New York: Scribner, 1870–1878) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

for in Yah, the Lord For we must rely on Him for He is the fear of God, the rock and everlasting shelter.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

Trust ye, etc. Therefore fathers will say to their children, Trust in the Lord, etc.

ביה In the Lord. ב is a preposition, and has its usual meaning., גיה,ביה,איה, and so on. In his commentary on the book of Psalms (68:5), I. E. rejects this opinion, but without giving the explanation which is promised here., גיה,ביה,איה, and so on. In his commentary on the book of Psalms (68:5), I. E. rejects this opinion, but without giving the explanation which is promised here., גיה,ביה,איה, and so on. In his commentary on the book of Psalms (68:5), I. E. rejects this opinion, but without giving the explanation which is promised here.

צור עולמים Everlasting strength. ביה In some books all the letters of the Alphabet are combined with this word (יה), which consists of one-half the number of letters composing the full name of God, in order to form new names for the Divine Being. In the book of Psalms (68:5) I shall explain this.

Ibn Ezra on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0); and “Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.