Recently, I was reflecting on Isaiah 26:3 which says, “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” I wasn’t aware (though I have heard it said before) that Isaiah 26 is called “a song of salvation”. So, for a little context, let’s read vs 1-3:
“We have a strong city;
God will appoint salvation for walls and bulwarks.
Open the gates,
That the righteous nation which keeps the truth may enter in.
You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.”
From time to time, I like to use the Blue Letter Bible app because it has so many ways to study the Word. One of the tools it offers is commentaries, of which Matthew Henry is one. Over the years, Matthew Henry has been a great resource for me. He made a powerful statement that encouraged me about the passage in verse one. He said, “The church is a strong city, for it has walls and bulwarks, or counterscarps, and those of God›s own appointing; for he has, in his promise, appointed salvation itself to be its defense. Those that are designed for salvation will find that to be their protection.” He then referenced 1 Peter 1:4, “to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you...”
And all this is before we get to the faith-building Isaiah 26:3, “You will keep him in perfect peace/Whose mind is stayed on You/ Because he trusts in You.” This is such a powerful promise and highlights the necessity of fully placing our trust in God, in what we can’t see, but believe is true because He Is.
I’ve read this verse many times, but this time it struck me differently. At first, I thought it might be because I was reflecting more deeply on the passage, but as I lingered on it, I realized something that many of us often do. We tend to focus on a portion of scripture, emphasizing its significance and divine inspiration—which is certainly valuable—but we only quote part of the passage. It’s become clear to me that when we do this, we might miss out on a deeper experience with the Word. By engaging with the entire passage, we open ourselves to so much more than what a single verse can offer.
For some, there may be an internal question: what does it truly mean to “keep our minds stayed on Him”? Being someone who values the depth of words, I often find myself digging into their meanings, beyond what I initially understand. The word “stayed” is one of those words that intrigued me. At first, it reminded me of trying to train a pet to stay in one place—when we use the word “stay,” we mean to remain in a specific spot. That seemed to align with what Isaiah might be saying, right? However, the Hebrew word for “stayed” is saw-mak’, which carries a deeper meaning: to lean, lay, or rest upon, or to lean against. It also means to support, uphold, or sustain. So, the true idea here is that if our minds are stayed on Him, we are leaning on Him, resting in Him, relying on His support, and trusting Him to uphold us in the present moment. Suddenly, the word blossoms into something far more profound and powerful. It’s in this “staying” that we experience the peace—the Shalom—of God.
Now that I see this passage more fully, it reveals a more powerful truth about Father God. Ephesians 2:14 tells us that He, Jesus, Himself is our peace. The promise here is HUGE. When we are in Him, in Christ, we gain tremendous benefits by keeping our minds stayed—fixed upon and leaning on Him. We allow Him to carry the weight of our lives, the weight of our burdens, our sorrows. Because we place our full confidence in Christ Jesus, because we trust Him completely, it is through this trust that we are kept in the Shalom of God, regardless of our circumstances. Can you feel the strength of this truth? Just as He is, so too is this truth unwavering.
May the peace of God guard your hearts and minds (Philippians 4:7).