Chapter 26 opens with a song of salvation. The Malbim presents two possibilities for understanding this prophecy: either it is destined to be fulfilled in the End of Days, or it was already fulfilled in the days of King Chizkiyahu. Both possibilities remain open, for redemption will occur in the future, and salvation also took place in the days of Chizkiyahu. The first part of the chapter comprises the words of the song itself, and from the seventh verse onward an entirely new theme begins: the profound question of why the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper.
בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יוּשַׁר הַשִּׁיר הַזֶּה בְּאֶרֶץ יְהוּדָה: עִיר עׇז לָנוּ, יְשׁוּעָה יָשִׁית חוֹמוֹת וָחֵל - On that day this song shall be sung in the land of Judah: "We have a strong city; He sets salvation as walls and rampart."
When salvation arrives, they will sing this song. Who will sing? Those returning from exile in the days of Chizkiyahu, for as is known, following that miraculous salvation, members of the ten tribes returned from exile. And they will say in the land of Judah: "We have a strong city" - we have Jerusalem, and it is a city of strength (oz), an expression of might and power. Yet do not think that its might derives from physical walls of stone. "He sets salvation as walls and rampart" - its true strength will come from the salvation bestowed by the Holy One, blessed be He. The salvation itself will be both the high wall (chomah) and the lower rampart (cheil) surrounding it. If until now we had to seek refuge behind stone barriers, at the time of redemption the walls will be His, and He will protect us.
We will not need an Iron Dome; we will have the supreme spiritual canopy guarding over us. As one of the Gedolei Yisrael once remarked: when all of Israel wear a kippah, we will no longer need an Iron Dome. The moment there is fear of Hashem, all other defenses become superfluous. This is the entire matter: what makes the city a true stronghold and refuge? "He sets salvation" - Hashem Himself is the One Who will grant us salvation, and it will take the place of walls and ramparts.
פִּתְחוּ שְׁעָרִים, וְיָבֹא גוֹי צַדִּיק שֹׁמֵר אֱמֻנִים - Open the gates, that a righteous nation keeping faith may enter.
"Open the gates" - they will ask the gatekeepers to open the entrance and permit those arriving to enter the city. For until now the gates were shut. And why? Because the ten tribes had worshipped idols, which caused their exile and prevented them from entering the Land; they were estranged from the people of Judah. But now, "that a righteous nation... may enter" - since they uphold Hashem's commandments and have become a righteous nation, the gates can be opened for them.
Furthermore: "keeping faith" (shomer emunim). Previously, they had rebelled against the Davidic dynasty, refusing to accept the sovereignty of the House of David and appointing Yarov'am as their king. Now, however, they remain faithful to the kingdom of David, and therefore they may be welcomed inside. That very nation which until now was wayward has transformed into "a righteous nation keeping faith."
יֵצֶר סָמוּךְ תִּצֹּר שָׁלוֹם שָׁלוֹם, כִּי בְךָ בָּטוּחַ - A steadfast mind You preserve in perfect peace, for he trusts in You.
Here, the song seemingly turns to peace itself and declares: You, O peace, please preserve the one whose mindset is steadfast and trusting in Hashem, blessed be He. The one whose inner thoughts rely with strength and faith upon the Creator - you, peace, shall protect him, granting him true and secure peace. "For he trusts in you" - through his reliance on peace no harm will come to him, and through you he is confident that no misfortune will strike.
בִּטְחוּ בַיהוה עֲדֵי עַד, כִּי בְּיָהּ יְהוה צוּר עוֹלָמִים - Trust in Hashem forever and ever, for in God, Hashem, is an everlasting Rock.
To this the prophet replies: Do not rely upon peace itself, and do not petition peace to be your guardian. Who is the true Guardian? "Trust in Hashem forever and ever" - let your trust be an eternal trust, placed solely in Hashem, blessed be He.
And the reason is: for you to truly place your trust in something, two conditions must be met. First, it must possess the ability to fulfill your request. If one faces a financial problem and says he trusts so-and-so to pull him out of the mud, that person must have financial means; if he is a pauper, what is there to rely upon? The second condition is that this ability must be constant. If for a single moment he happens to have some cash in his pocket, how can you rely on him? It may well be that he must immediately use that very money to pay off a debt or a fine. There must therefore be both capability and the permanence of that capability, unchanging.
These two qualities are found only in Hashem, may He be blessed: on the one hand, absolute power and capability, and on the other hand, uninterrupted eternity. This is what the verse means: "For in Yah Hashem" - the Holy One, blessed be He, is the ultimate Being: He was, He is, and He will be; His existence is eternal. "Tzur olamim" (the Rock of eternity) - He is the strength upon which all worlds lean, and the very existence of all worlds comes entirely from Him, blessed be He. Thus you have both elements: permanence and power. Therefore, one can surely rely upon Him, knowing that salvation will come from Him.
כִּי הֵשַׁח יֹשְׁבֵי מָרוֹם קִרְיָה נִשְׂגָּבָה, יַשְׁפִּילֶנָּה יַשְׁפִּילָהּ עַד אֶרֶץ, יַגִּיעֶנָּה עַד עָפָר - For He has brought down those who dwell on high, the towering city; He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He brings it down to the dust.
We need not fear that someone will rise up against us or that any nation will oppress us. Look and see: "He has brought down those who dwell on high" - those who sat, as it were, in heaven by virtue of their immense might and power. And not only them, but also "the towering city [kiryah nisgavah]." A kiryah, as explained, as distinct from an ordinary city (ir), is a place fortified with walls; and a kiryah nisgavah is a place whose walls are exceedingly strong, where one can find refuge - that is, hide and be saved. Even such elevated places, what did Hashem do to them? "Heishach" - an expression of bringing low. And not only that, but "He lays it low," bringing it down lower and lower. To what extent? "He lays it low to the ground," the lowest degradation. And even further: "He brings it down to the dust," until not a trace of it remains, level with the dust, so that it will not even be noticeable that anything was ever here; not even a mound will remain of that mighty nation. And when that time comes, we will be able to rest entirely confident and secure in Hashem.
The Malbim asks: what is the difference between heishach and hishpil? After all, both heishach (from the root meaning to diminish or stoop) and hishpil mean to lower. He explains: heishach refers to a quantitative reduction. If a cup was full and now contains only a quarter, the volume of liquid has diminished - it was high and went down. By contrast, hushpal means to lower the object itself from its physical place. If one takes the cup and moves it to a lower surface, we do not say heishach, but hushpal. Initially, when its contents were reduced, that was heishach; when the cup itself was brought down, that was hushpal. Heishach denotes a decrease in quantity or stature, whereas hishpil refers to being physically displaced downward.
And what is the difference between eretz (earth) and afar (dust), which appear to be the same thing? The Malbim explains: the term eretz is a general designation, whereas afar refers specifically to the top layer. No one would call the center of the earth afar; afar is the surface layer. It all depends on the context of the expression. When both terms appear together in parallel, eretz refers to the deeper interior of the ground, while afar refers to the outer layer on top. As it is written: "Though its root grow old in the earth [eretz] and its stump die in the dust [afar]" - the root grows old deep inside the earth, while the trunk above ground dies in the dust, because the dust is higher up.
However, when speaking of earth in contrast to heaven, dust represents that which is lower still. Heaven is high above; earth is the surface of the land - a person may sit on a chair and still be described as being on the earth - while dust is the absolute bottom, that which is trodden underfoot. Thus, the meaning shifts relative to the contrast being drawn. Here, "He lays it low to the ground [eretz]" - from heaven, as the verse spoke of "those who dwell on high," down to the earth, which is low; and then from the earth lower still, "down to the dust [afar]," the very dust of the earth.
תִּרְמְסֶנָּה רָגֶל, רַגְלֵי עָנִי פַּעֲמֵי דַלִּים - Foot shall trample it, the feet of the poor, the steps of the destitute.
And since it is ruined, just as Hashem brought down those who dwell on high and humbled the towering city, it will reach a state where "foot shall trample it" - passersby will walk over it and trample it underfoot. And whose foot? That of a warrior? A mighty man? No, but "the feet of the poor": even an ordinary, powerless person, even a poor man, will be able to trample it. Here once stood something grand that reached the heavens, yet the Holy One, blessed be He, diminished it, laid it low, and brought it down to the dust, until even a poor man passing by will step upon it without even realizing that anything had once stood there.
What is the difference between an ani (poor) and a dal (destitute)? The Malbim explains: ani generally signifies poverty of spirit or humility, whereas dal denotes a lack of money. Humility of spirit exists whether one has wealth or not, and such a person is still referred to as an ani. Notice that King David consistently says of himself, "I am poor [ani]," using the term ani and never dal. For David was a king, and poverty of wealth does not apply to a king; financial poverty was irrelevant to him. Rather, only in spirit was he considered poor - meaning he did not pursue lusts or honor, humble and lowly of spirit. Therefore, at first "the feet of the poor [ani] shall trample it," referring to one who possesses humility of spirit, and then even "the steps of the destitute [dalim]" - even the pauper who does not possess a penny and is held in low esteem will likewise be able to trample it. Fall after fall.
There is also a distinction between raglei (feet) and pa'amei (steps). Pa'am refers to the stride itself, as in pa'amei ragleinu ("the footsteps of our feet"), and from this root comes the word pe'imot (beats). Regel encompasses the entire foot, whereas pa'am denotes merely the imprint of the step. Therefore, at first, "a foot shall trample it," and later it will reach a stage where nothing of it remains at all, so that even with pe'amim - even with a mere step, not with the full foot, but just the heel, just the tread of the sole of the foot - it will already be trampled. In other words, nothing whatsoever will remain of it.
For such is always the way of the poet: to proceed step by step. He would not say, "He does not have a shekel, nor even a million shekels," but rather follows a logical order: he does not have a million shekels, nor a thousand shekels, nor a hundred shekels, nor even a single shekel. This is his method, descending from the severe to the minor: a fall, then brought low, then lower still, then humbled, then to the earth, until nothing remains. Here as well: first a foot, then a step; first that of a poor person (ani), who might possess material wealth and whose poverty is merely spiritual, and then "the footsteps of the destitute" (dalim), the heel of one who owns nothing at all. This teaches that in the end, nothing whatsoever will remain of those mighty nations.
Up to this point, the Malbim explains, are the words of the song that will be sung in the future to come. From here on begins, as it were, a new chapter and a new subject: the question of why the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper (tzaddik ve-ra lo, rasha ve-tov lo). Many have wrestled with this dilemma; it is already recorded in Sefer Tehillim, and other prophets raised it as well. Chavakuk questioned and sought answers, and in Sefer Iyov the topic is addressed at great length (those interested can listen to the shiurim on Sefer Iyov). Among others, Yeshayahu also touches upon this matter, here in verse 7.
אֹרַח לַצַּדִּיק מֵישָׁרִים, יָשָׁר מַעְגַּל צַדִּיק תְּפַלֵּס - The path for the righteous is straightness; You, Who are upright, smooth the course of the righteous.
Before the prophet begins to question the serenity of the wicked, he provides an introduction. The Malbim explains: whenever one comes to address the question of why the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper, one must preface it with an apology, as it were - that, Heaven forbid, I do not come as one complaining about the ways of Hashem, nor as one who doubts Hashem's providence or questions whether it is just. Rather, "the path for the righteous is straightness": I know with certainty that the judgments of Hashem are true and righteous altogether. I come only to plead that the Holy One, Blessed is He, reveal His ways and His guidance. And all the seers, says the Malbim, whenever they raised this question, always introduced it with this preface.
What, then, is the request? Since His providence is not readily apparent as just and upright, and instead arouses doubts and perplexity, this leads people to distance themselves from the service of Hashem, to raise objections, and consequently to abandon faith. Therefore: Master of the Universe, clarify Your providence, or at least make Your guidance evident even to human eyes - not only to the eyes of the believer, but also to the observer, so that he may see how the wicked suffer and how it is well with the righteous, and thereby leave no questions about Hashem's ways. Yet for myself, my faith remains pure and complete that the providence of the Holy One, Blessed is He, is guided by justice and uprightness.
The Malbim notes: see how in Tehillim chapter 73, when Asaf asks this question, he first prefaces by saying, "Truly God is good to Israel, to those pure of heart; but as for me, my feet had almost stumbled." That is to say: I know that God is good to Israel, and even the Attribute of Justice that strikes the righteous person is good for Israel. There is no reason to doubt His providence; the "pure of heart," people whose hearts are upright, know that Hashem's conduct is just. Rather, the concern is, "as for me, my feet had almost stumbled" - that it is possible, Heaven forbid, to come to a loss of faith because this justice and uprightness are not plainly visible to human eyes.
Yirmiyahu similarly made the very same preface when he came to ask this question: "Righteous are You, Hashem, when I contend with You." That is: I know that on Your part, Master of the Universe, there is no injustice in Your providence. It is clear to me that if the wicked are tranquil and the treacherous raise their heads, there is wisdom, uprightness, and justice in it that elude human intellect. "Yet I will speak of judgments with You: Why does the way of the wicked prosper?" Why is it that "You planted them, they also took root; they grow, they also bear fruit"? For the moment they prosper, they form the impression that their path is correct: "Here I act wickedly and succeed," and their conclusion is that it is good to do evil. And this runs contrary to the will of the Creator, blessed be He. This is the perplexity: Master of the Universe, when You allow such a state of affairs, the wicked bears fruit through his success, causing others to sin and leading more people to follow him.
As is known, at the time of the founding of the State of Israel and shortly thereafter, the state of Torah-observant Jews was very low, at a tremendous nadir, for this very reason. For they saw how "You planted them, they also took root; they grow, they also bear fruit": those who cast off the covenant succeeded, everything they did prospered, whereas the observant community dwindled and declined; people lost their children, abandoned religious observance, and lost their families. It was a situation of profound decline and great crisis. When one witnesses the wicked prospering, it sparks a desire to join the successful side, and even a sense of shame at not being part of them - feeling perceived as outdated and archaic: "Are you still serving Hashem? Look, there is something new now." This is the difficulty: Your providence is absolute truth, but when You grant success to the wicked, it raises doubts for the righteous, questions for those who wish to serve Hashem, while the wicked receive encouragement: "We are succeeding, which proves our way is right."
So too here. Yeshayahu says: It is clear to me that "the path for the righteous is straightness," that the proper path for the righteous person to tread is one of straightness - that he should not question, doubt, or complain about Hashem's ways, but rather believe that everything is done with justice and uprightness. This is the way the righteous must walk, without harboring doubts or questions. Nevertheless, You are upright, Master of the Universe, and therefore "You smooth the course (ma'agal) of the righteous": when You see that the righteous person deviates from the orah - the orah being the main highway - and does not walk upon the main road but turns into a circuitous byway, You pave and level it for him.
The Malbim explains (and in Sefer Mishlei he elaborates on this extensively; this principle is repeated often there): There are two ways to reach a destination. An orach (path) is the direct, straight way to get from one point to another. A ma'agal (circuit) is when one cannot go in a straight line because the direct path is blocked, leaving no choice but to carve out a roundabout route in order to ultimately reach that same destination. When walking along an orach, it is clear that one will reach the intended destination; but when taking a ma'agal, there is a risk that one might not reach the desired point in the end. Therefore it says, tefales ("You level/pave") - from the word peles, levelness or uprightness: ensure that even though he travels in a circuit, with his goal being to reach the point of truth, he will arrive along a straight path and truly reach the right place.
And this is the plea: Master of the Universe, when I ask questions, the righteous person is, as it were, walking in a circuit. He comes with difficulties, he has questions, and he is not walking on the straight path of simple faith and unquestioning acceptance of Hashem's ways, but rather wondering about the ways of Hashem. Do not count this as a sin against him, and do not regard him as someone who has, Heaven forbid, doubts or criticisms regarding Hashem's providence. Rather, Master of the Universe, level this winding circuit and weigh it on the scales of justice, knowing that his heart is truly not that of one who comes to deny Hashem's providence, but of one who believes with complete faith and merely desires explanations - wanting to understand so that things settle peacefully in his heart. The goal is to level, to straighten matters out and to understand them properly. And if I come and ask questions, let it not be considered heresy.
In truth, what he wants to say is not even an erroneous thought, for everything he says is solely so that it will not appear as unfitting conduct. For as we explained, the moment divine providence is not understood by everyone - though to You, Master of the Universe, it is understood, and I believe with complete faith that it is righteous - it can encourage people toward heresy, reinforcing the heretic in his disbelief when he sees that he prospers. In the Future to Come, everything will be clearly seen eye to eye, and then there will no longer be a test, since the entire trial and difficulty exist only in this world. But he asks about right now: Master of the Universe, establish conduct right now that leaves no room for questions.
אַף אֹרַח מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ יְהוה קִוִּינוּךָ, לְשִׁמְךָ וּלְזִכְרְךָ תַּאֲוַת נָפֶשׁ - Even in the path of Your judgments, Hashem, we have hoped for You; to Your Name and to Your remembrance is the soul's desire.
He says: Master of the Universe, I do not question the suffering of the righteous. The reason for this is simple, and in Sefer Iyov, Iyov and his companions make this very claim: one cannot question the suffering of the righteous. For in order to state that a righteous person is suffering, I must first establish the initial premise that he is indeed righteous. You point and say, "Here is a righteous man," and question why he suffers - but let us examine that initial premise: who says he is truly righteous?
And one can cast doubt on this for several reasons. First, perhaps his righteousness is only superficial, and in truth he is not righteous. Second, it is possible that he is righteous internally as well, but not as righteous as is expected of him - just as the Gemara says regarding Nakdimon ben Gurion, who gave charity, but not in proportion to his immense means. Third, perhaps he appears righteous now, but he has sins from a previous reincarnation (gilgul). Thus, there are several reasons why I cannot be certain of the initial premise before you come and ask why he suffers. And since it is impossible to determine with certainty that he is righteous, there is consequently no room to ask why he suffers.
However, what will you answer regarding the wicked who prospers? Here, it is truly a profound question: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? What can you say about the wicked man - that he is righteous at heart? You see him driving on Shabbat, you see him smoking, and you see that he harmed this person and stole from that one - and yet at heart he is righteous? How can such a thing be said? When someone is wicked and commits wicked deeds, one cannot say he is righteous in his heart, nor can one find such excuses for him. Regarding a righteous person, one might say that perhaps in secret his intentions are not for the sake of Heaven, or perhaps he sins in private; but what can you say about a wicked person - that he performs mitzvot in secret? Even if he did, what about the fact that he drives on Shabbat? What about the sins he commits openly? Does he not deserve punishment for that? Certainly he does. And that alone is sufficient reason to question why the wicked person prospers here in this world. Even if we were to claim that he is righteous in secret, I still see him committing severe transgressions, and that is already reason enough to ask why he has it good.
And this is what he is saying: "Even in the path of Your judgments, Hashem, we have hoped for You" - even when You deal with us through the attribute of judgment, nevertheless we have hoped for You, still yearning for You and confident that everything is from You and everything is just. But "to Your Name and to Your remembrance is the soul's desire" - we yearn for Your Name and Your remembrance, which are our soul's desire. For through the judgment You execute, Your Name is magnified in the world, and through this the world comes to know that there is a Creator of the universe, when You collect retribution from the wicked. But if You do not punish the wicked, it appears, as it were, Heaven forbid, as a sign of weakness. That is the difficulty.
What is "Your Name" (shimcha) and what is "Your remembrance" (zichracha)? The Malbim explains: The glory of Hashem is recognized through two things. First, by looking at creation and seeing that everything is the work of His hands. Second, by observing the novel manifestations in every generation, meaning the miracles, signs, and wonders that the Holy One, blessed be He, performs. There is the standard, natural conduct in which Hashem's hand is visible - as we mentioned in earlier lessons, one can see Divinity even in a clementine - and there are overt miracles in which Hashem is recognized in a clearer and more revealed manner, each matter according to its context and what is fitting for that generation. And this is what is written, "This is My Name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations."
The Malbim explains in Sefer Shemot, chapter 3, the meaning of "This is My Name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations": There is a distinction between a name (shem) and a memorial (zecher). "Name" refers to the essential Name, whereas "remembrance" refers to the descriptors portraying Hashem according to His actions. The essential Name is the Four-Letter Name (the Shem Havayah), which is the Name of His very Essence, blessed be He - Y-H-V-H. All other names are descriptions. Notice that in all the other names by which we designate Hashem, blessed be He, an action of the Holy One, blessed be He, is described: Shaddai, for He who said to His world "enough" (dai); Tzevaot, for all hosts (tzevaot) are His; Elokim, Mighty, Omnipotent, and Master of all forces, for El denotes power and Elokim denotes powers, with Hashem reigning supreme over all forces. But Y-H-V-H is His essential Name, blessed be He.
We explained that the proper Name applies only after the Sefirot unfolded, because prior to that, no thought can grasp Him at all - not even a thought, let alone a name, and even "Ein Sof" is not a descriptive title of Him. But once the Sefirot cascaded down, the proper Name is the Tetragrammaton, Y-H-V-H. "This is My Name forever" - the Name Y-H-V-H represents the fixed, unchanging order of divine governance, which is how the Holy One, blessed be He, is perceived through nature: in anything a person contemplates, even a tiny fingernail, one can see Y-H-V-H, perceiving that constant existence (Havayah) is His blessed Name.
"And this is My remembrance unto all generations" - the remembrance reflects how the Holy One, blessed be He, relates to the righteous according to their stature and performs miracles to deliver the Jewish people according to their needs. This is not fixed, but tailored to each generation as it warrants. In the generation of the Exodus from Egypt, Hashem's remembrance was particularly manifest in miracles, signs, and wonders that overturned nature; and in every generation, the Holy One, blessed be He, performs miracles and wonders as needed for that era. This is unlike the Name Y-H-V-H, which represents the constant governance "forever", but rather "My remembrance" - Names such as Elokim, Tzeva-ot, and the like, through which the Holy One, blessed be He, suspends the natural order according to the needs of the generation.
This is what the verse means by "to Your Name and to Your remembrance is the desire of our soul": our soul yearns for Your Name and Your remembrance, to witness Hashem's governance, to see how the Holy One, blessed be He, exacts retribution from the wicked and thereby reveals His kingship. This falls not only under the category of "Name" but also under "remembrance", where the Holy One, blessed be He, punishes the wicked to repay him according to his deeds.
נַפְשִׁי אִוִּיתִיךָ בַּלַּיְלָה, אַף רוּחִי בְקִרְבִּי אֲשַׁחֲרֶךָּ, כִּי כַּאֲשֶׁר מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ לָאָרֶץ צֶדֶק לָמְדוּ יֹשְׁבֵי תֵבֵל - "With my soul have I desired You at night, yea, with my spirit within me do I seek You early; for when Your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness."
"My soul" - You, Hashem, are my soul; You animate, move, and guide me, just as the soul animates, moves, and guides the body. "I have desired You at night" - even when darkness reigns, even in times of trouble, even when there is concealment of the Divine Countenance and His blessed kingship is not apparent, I have desired You; I yearn for You alone. Even if there is suffering, which is an expression of darkness, a state in which I do not see the illumination of His blessed Countenance - even then, I rejoice in the suffering, knowing that through it Your Name is magnified in the world.
"Yea, with my spirit within me do I seek You early (ashachrekha)" - You, Hashem, are the spirit within me, and I seek You, also at the time the dawn (shachar) breaks, when the night dissolves and day begins to shine, for it is You Who rolls away darkness before light. There is also an allusion here: at night during sleep, what remains with a person? Only the soul (nefesh), while the rest ascends above to give an accounting; and when he awakens at dawn, the spirit (ruach) returns to him. Therefore, "With my soul (nafshi) have I desired You at night" - nighttime corresponds to the level of nefesh; "with my spirit within me do I seek You early" - the ruach returns within me at dawn, when one awakens. As it were, the prophet is saying: You, Hashem, bestow good even in times of distress, even when it appears to be concealment of the Divine Face, even when it is an aspect of night; and You also awaken me at the break of dawn, at the time of salvation, when the spirit of Hashem rests upon us.
"For when Your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness" - when Your judgments come upon the earth, through this the inhabitants of the world learn to act righteously, for they see that there is a God on earth, and Hashem judges and exacts retribution from the wicked.
יֻחַן רָשָׁע בַּל לָמַד צֶדֶק, בְּאֶרֶץ נְכֹחוֹת יְעַוֵּל, וּבַל יִרְאֶה גֵּאוּת יְהוה - "Let favor be shown to the wicked, yet he will not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness he will deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of Hashem."
And upon this the question arises: Why "let favor be shown to the wicked (yuchan rasha)"? Why is the wicked granted clemency? Why does he prosper, why does he find favor? For two reasons the wicked ought to be punished. The first: if the wicked does not receive retribution for his wickedness, he continually adds more evil. If he received an immediate blow, he would stop; but when he sees that things are going well for him, he adds more wickedness and yet more wickedness. This is "he will not learn righteousness" - because You grant him favor and clemency, he does not learn to act righteously and persists in his corrupt path. If so, why should favor be shown to the wicked, when it only corrupts him further?
And the second reason: through his success, others see the prosperity of the wicked and wish to emulate him, learning from him and doing wickedness like him. This is "in the land of uprightness he will deal unjustly" - in a land where people would walk before Hashem and conduct themselves in the fear of Hashem, a land of uprightness, what does he do? He corrupts others, causing others to commit injustice and say, "Look, the wicked does evil and prospers, I will do the same." He causes the multitude to sin.
"And will not behold the majesty of Hashem" - Master of the Universe, why do You not show him the majesty of Hashem? Show him Hashem's might, exact retribution from him, show him that there is a Judge in the earth Who repays the evildoer with evil commensurate with his wickedness! Why do You allow the wicked person to remain, enabling him to continue doing evil at will, whereby he himself will not learn righteousness, and he also corrupts others, causing them to follow in his footsteps?
The first part of the chapter is the song of salvation that will be sung in the land of Judah: Jerusalem will be a "strong city" not by virtue of stone walls, but by virtue of the salvation that the Holy One, blessed be He, will establish; the gates will open before the Ten Tribes who have become a "righteous nation that keeps faith"; and the one who truly trusts does not place his trust in peace itself, but in Hashem forever - for in Him alone do the two conditions of trust unite: absolute capability ("the Rock of eternity") and eternal constancy ("for in Yah, Hashem"). And whoever has seen how the Holy One, blessed be He, brought down and humbled those who dwell on high and the lofty city, down to the earth and into the dust, until the feet of the poor and the steps of the destitute trample it, no longer needs to fear anything. From the seventh verse onward, the prophet turns to the question of the righteous who suffer and the wicked who prosper, prefacing, as do all the seers, that he harbors no doubt whatsoever regarding the righteousness of Divine Providence ("the path of the righteous is uprightness"), and asking that the Holy One, blessed be He, level his path and not consider his question as heresy. Regarding the suffering of the righteous there is no room to question, for the very definition of a "tzaddik" is not clear; yet regarding the success of the wicked there is reason to ask, as it causes him to increase in wickedness and leads the multitude to sin. And his entire plea is that Hashem's Name and His remembrance be magnified in the world, that His judgments come upon the earth, and that the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.