◄ Isaiah 26:11 ►
O LORD, Your hand is upraised, but they do not see it. They will see Your zeal for Your people and be put to shame. The fire set for Your enemies will consume them!
Study Bible
O LORD, Your hand is upraised, but they do not see it.

This phrase indicates God's active involvement and power, often symbolized by His "hand." In biblical terms, the "upraised hand" signifies readiness to act, whether in judgment or deliverance. The people’s inability to see it suggests spiritual blindness or ignorance, a recurring theme in the prophets (Isaiah 6:9-10). This blindness can be linked to a hardened heart, as seen in Pharaoh's story (Exodus 7:13). The context here is a warning to those who oppose God, emphasizing that His actions are evident to those who are spiritually discerning.

Isa 5:12 At their feasts are the lyre and harp…
Psa 28:5 Since they show no regard for the works of the LORD…
Isa 42:24-25 Who gave Jacob up for spoil, and Israel to the plunderers?…

They will see Your zeal for Your people and be put to shame.

God's "zeal" refers to His passionate commitment to His covenant people, Israel. This zeal is often demonstrated through His protection and deliverance, as seen in the Exodus (Exodus 14:13-14). The shame mentioned here is a common biblical consequence for those who oppose God’s plans (Psalm 83:16-18). Historically, this could relate to the Assyrian threat during Isaiah's time, where God’s intervention would vindicate His people. Theologically, it points to the ultimate vindication of God’s people at the end of times, as seen in Revelation 19:11-16.

Zec 8:2 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “I am jealous for Zion”…
Isa 59:17-18 He put on righteousness like a breastplate,…
Mic 7:10 Then my enemy will see and will be covered with shame…

The fire set for Your enemies will consume them!

Fire is a frequent biblical symbol of judgment and purification (Deuteronomy 4:24). In this context, it represents God's righteous judgment against His enemies. The imagery of consuming fire is used throughout scripture to depict God's holiness and justice (Hebrews 12:29). This phrase assures that those who oppose God and His people will face inevitable destruction. It echoes the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24-25) and foreshadows the final judgment described in Revelation 20:9-10. This serves as a warning and a comfort, affirming God's ultimate justice and sovereignty.

Psa 21:9 You will place them in a fiery furnace…
Psa 97:3 Fire goes before Him and consumes His foes on every side.
Mal 4:1 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace,”…

Persons / Places / Events
1. The LORD (Yahweh)
The covenant God of Israel, who is both just and merciful. His actions and character are central to the message of Isaiah.

2. The People of Israel
The intended audience of Isaiah's prophecy, often struggling with faithfulness to God amidst external pressures and internal sin.

3. Enemies of God
Those who oppose God's will and His people, often representing nations or individuals who do not acknowledge God's sovereignty.

4. Isaiah
The prophet who conveyed God's messages to the people of Judah and Jerusalem, calling them to repentance and faithfulness.

5. The Zeal of the LORD
Represents God's passionate commitment to His people and His purposes, often resulting in both protection for the faithful and judgment for the unfaithful.
Teaching Points
God's Visible Hand
Even when God's hand is lifted in action, many fail to recognize His work. Believers are called to discern and acknowledge God's presence and activity in the world.

The Zeal of the LORD
God's zeal for His people is a source of comfort and assurance. It reminds us of His unwavering commitment to His covenant and His ultimate plan for redemption.

Judgment and Justice
God's judgment is both a warning and a promise. It serves as a call to repentance for those who oppose Him and a reassurance of justice for those who are faithful.

The Consuming Fire
The imagery of fire represents purification and judgment. Believers are encouraged to live in a way that aligns with God's holiness, avoiding the fate of those who are consumed by His righteous fire.

Shame and Repentance
The shame of the unrepentant is a recurring theme. It serves as a reminder of the consequences of ignoring God's call and the importance of turning back to Him.
Bible Study Questions
1. How can we become more aware of God's "lifted hand" in our daily lives, and what practices can help us recognize His work?

2. In what ways does understanding God's zeal for His people impact our faith and trust in His promises?

3. How does the concept of God as a consuming fire influence our understanding of His holiness and our response to sin?

4. What are some modern-day examples of individuals or groups who might be considered "enemies of God," and how should we pray for them?

5. How can we apply the lessons of shame and repentance in Isaiah 26:11 to our personal spiritual journey and our interactions with others?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Exodus 15:6
This verse speaks of God's mighty hand, similar to Isaiah 26:11, emphasizing His power and authority over His enemies.

Hebrews 12:29
The concept of God as a consuming fire is echoed here, highlighting His holiness and the seriousness of His judgment.

Psalm 79:6
A call for God's judgment on the nations that do not acknowledge Him, paralleling the plea in Isaiah for God's enemies to be consumed.
Sermons
Man's Blindness to the Divine WorkingR. Roberts.Isaiah 26:11
The Vision of Future GloryE. Johnson Isaiah 26:1-13
Insensibility of the WickedJ. Benson, D. D.Isaiah 26:10-11
Man's Wickedness Provokes God's WrathIsaiah 26:10-11
People
Isaiah
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Adversaries, Ashamed, Burned, Consume, Consumeth, Devour, Disappointed, Enemies, Envy, Fire, Haters, Indeed, Jealousy, Lifted, O, Reserved, Shame, Yea, Yes, Yet, Zeal
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Isaiah 26:11

     1185   God, zeal of
     1265   hand of God
     5558   storing
     8370   zeal
     8650   hands, lifting up
     8773   jealousy

Isaiah 26:10-11

     5350   injustice, hated by God

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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