Albert Barnes Commentary Isaiah 26:9

"With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee earnestly: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness." — Isaiah 26:9 (ASV)

With my soul ... in the night - Desiring God in the night and seeking Him early means that the desire to seek Him was unceasing and constant. The prophet speaks of the pious Jews who were in captivity in Babylon; and says that it was their constant, earnest desire to please God and to do His will.

For when your judgments are in the earth - This is given as a reason for what was just said: that in their calamity they had sought God unceasingly. The reason is that the punishments He inflicted were intended to lead people to learn righteousness. This idea is expressed generally, though there is no doubt that the immediate reference is to the calamities the Jews had suffered in their removal to Babylon as a punishment for their sins.

Learn righteousness - Its purpose is to warn, restrain, and reform them. The immediate reference here was undoubtedly to the Jews, among whom this effect was seen remarkably in their captivity in Babylon. But this is also true of other nations; and though the effect of calamity is not always to turn a people to God, or to make them permanently righteous, yet it restrains them and leads them at least to an outward reformation. It is also true for nations, as well as individuals, that they make more decisive progress in virtue and piety during times of affliction than in times of great outward prosperity .