Charles Spurgeon Commentary Isaiah 26:8-9

"Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Jehovah, have we waited for thee; to thy name, even to thy memorial [name], is the desire of our soul. 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 26:8-9 (ASV)

Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

Alas! it is often the case that, when God's judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness for a little while, and then forget it. All too often, they are like the child who merely learns his lesson by rote, and repeats it under the fear of the rod, and then forgets all about it the next day. They learn righteousness, but, soon, the effect of the warning is all gone, and then God sends fresh judgments upon the earth to teach the inhabitants further lessons.

Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. With my soul have I desired thee in the night;

Some poor darkened spirit will, I trust, be able to join in this utterance of the prophet. It is night-time with you now; you are not enjoying the light of God's countenance; but be very thankful that you can say, "With my soul have I desired thee in the night."

If you are not a child of God, you will be able to do without God; but the fact that some of you cannot be happy except you are living in the light of God's love, proves that you belong to him. A child can be content without a stranger's smile, but if the one who is looking at him is his father, just because he is his father's child he must have the assurance of that father's love, or else he cannot be happy.

Yes, in the way of your judgments, O LORD, we have waited for you; the desire of our soul is for your name, and for the remembrance of you. With my soul I have desired you in the night; yes, with my spirit within me I will seek you early: for when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

You notice that the song given to us in this chapter is all concerning God. We are instructed to trust in him, we are told how safe are those who do so, we are shown how futile is all strength apart from him, and now the desire of his saints is set forth as being toward him, and toward him alone.