ISAIAH 64 COMME�TARYWritten and edited by Glenn Pease

1 Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you!

1. God is present everywhere, and we know it, but like Isaiah we cannot escape the feeling thatGod is up above the heavens, and for us to experience his presence he must come down. When hedoes come down with a special earthly presence his power will be like a magnet in the presence ofpieces of metal. They will tremble as they are attracted or repelled by the magnet. That is the waythe mountains will react to God's presence as they tremble before his unseen power. This is poeticlanguage, but the reality is doubtless true, that if God came swooping out of heaven descending tothe earth, there would be some radical effects seen in nature. Isaiah wants to see God in action soplainly that nature will reveal his presence by radical reaction. He is praying for God todemonstrate his power so mightily that none can fail to see his awesome glory. Isaiah is sayingthat God is being so heavenly minded that he is doing no earthly good. Stop hiding and comedown, and show the nations your power. Stop being a no show, and instead blast your way intothe consciousness of every one of your enemies.

2. The KJV has “That the mountains might flow down at thy presence.” The �IV changes this,but the concept of the mountains melting is biblical. Barnes wrote, “The idea here is, that thepresence of Yahweh would be like an intense burning heat, so that the mountains would melt andflow away. It is a most sublime description of his majesty, and is one that is several timesemployed in the Bible. Thus in relation to his appearance on Mount Sinai, in the song of DeborahJdg_5:4-5 :

The earth trembled and the heavens dropped,The clouds also dropped water.The mountains melted from before Yahweh,Even Sinai from before Yahweh, the God of Israel.

So Psa_97:5 :

The hills melted like wax at the presence of Yahweh,At the presence of Yahweh (the God) of the whole earth.

So also in Mic_1:3-4 :

Lo, Yahweh cometh forth out of his place,And will come down and tread upon the high places of the earthAnd the mountains shall be molten under him.And the valleys shall be cleft,

As wax before the fire,And as the waters pour down a precipice.

3. Gill, “Before, the church prayed that the Lord would look down from heaven and behold,Isa_63:15, now that he would open the heavens, and descend from thence; not by change of place,for he fills heaven and earth with his presence; but by some visible display of his power, indestroying her enemies, and delivering her from them. Some take this to be a prayer for the firstcoming of Christ from heaven to earth, by his incarnation, in order to redeem and save hispeople; and others that it is for his second coming to judgment, to take vengeance on hisadversaries, when his wrath will burn like fire; but rather it is for his spiritual coming, to avengehis church and people on antichrist, and the anti-christian states. She had seen him, as atriumphant conqueror, stained with the blood of his enemies; and now she prays for theaccomplishment of what she had seen in vision and prophecy:

that the mountains might flow down at thy presence; kings and princes of the earth, andkingdoms and states governed by them, compared to mountains for their seeming firmness andstability; yet these will melt like wax, and flow like water, tremble and disappear at the presenceof the King of kings, when he comes forth in his great wrath against them.”

4. Henry, “ Their case was represented in the close of the foregoing chapter as very sad and veryhard, and in this case it was time to cry, “Help, Lord; O that God would manifest his zeal and hisstrength!” They had prayed (Isa_63:15) that God would look down from heaven; here they praythat he would come down to deliver them, as he had said, Exo_3:8. 1. They desire that God wouldin his providence manifest himself both to them and for them. When God works someextraordinary deliverance for his people he is said to shine forth, to show himself strong; so, here,they pray that he would rend the heavens and come down, as when he delivered David he is said tobow the heavens, and come down (Psa_18:9), to display his power, and justice, and goodness, in anextraordinary manner, so that all may take notice of them and acknowledge them. This God'speople desire and pray for, that they themselves having the satisfaction of seeing him though hisway be in the sea, others may be made to see him when his way is in the clouds. This is applicableto the second coming of Christ, when the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout.

Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. 2. They desire that he would vanquish all opposition and that itmight be made to give way before him: That the mountains might flow down at thy presence, thatthe fire of thy wrath may burn so fiercely against thy enemies as even to dissolve the rockiestmountains and melt them down before it, as metal in the furnace, which is made liquid and castinto what shape the operator pleases; so the melting fire burns, Isa_64:2.”

2 As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down to make your name known to your enemiesand cause the nations to quake before you!

1. Most everyone has prayed a prayer with this same emotion, or at least dreamed of it. I know I

have when I get the feeling that there is just too much folly and sin going on in the world, and Iwant to be able to pray God down into our time and place and start shaking people up about thereality of their blindness. I can't stop their foolish lives that hurt themselves and others, and so Iwant God to break into history and take people by the neck and shake some sense into their thicksculls. And when I am really aggravated with stupidity, I wish he would come down and crack afew sculls.

Isaiah is not asking God to come down for a visit. He wants God to smash through the heavensand come in power to seek vengeance on his enemies. He wants God to scare the pants off thepeople of nations that reject him. He and his people are weak, but God could come and shock theGentile nations that have persecuted them. Come down Lord and through fear into these peoplewho think we are weak because we serve a weak God. Break into time and let them see yourawesome power that they might tremble and quake along with the mountains.

2. Barnes, “It should be remembered that the main idea in the passage before us is that ofYahweh coming down to destroy his foes. His people entreat him to descend with the proofs of hisindignation, so that every obstacle shall be destroyed before him, Thus he is described inPsa_144:5-6 :

Bow thy heavens, O Lord, and come down;Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke;Cast forth lightning, and scatter them,Shoot out thine arrows, and destroy them.

3. Henry, “Let things be put into a ferment, in order to a glorious revolution in favour of thechurch: As the fire causes the waters to boil. There is an allusion here, some think, to thevolcanoes, or burning mountains, which sometimes send forth such sulphureous streams as makethe adjacent rivers and seas to boil, which, perhaps, are left as sensible intimations of the powerof God's wrath and warning - pieces of the final conflagration. 3. They desire that this may tendvery much to the glory and honour of God, may make his name known, not only to his friends(they knew it before, and trusted in his power), but to his adversaries likewise, that they mayknow it and tremble at his presence, and may say, with the men of Bethshemesh, Who is able to

stand before this holy Lord God? Who knows the power of his anger? �ote, Sooner or later Godwill make his name known to his adversaries and force those to tremble at his presence that wouldnot come and worship in his presence. God's name, if it be not a stronghold for us, into which wemay run and be safe, will be a strong-hold against us, out of the reach of which we cannot runand be safe. The day will come when nations shall be made to tremble at the presence of God,though they be ever so numerous and strong.”

4. Barnes, “The comparison is a very vivid and sublime one, as it is in the view given above - thatthe presence of Yahweh would set on fire the mountains, and cause them to flow down as underthe operation of an intense heat. I do not know that there is reason to suppose that the prophethad any reference to a volcanic eruption, or that he was acquainted with such a phenomenon -though Syria and Palestine abounded in volcanic appearances, and the country around the DeadSea is evidently volcanic (see Lyell’s Geology, i. 299); but the following description may furnishan illustration of what would be exhibited by the flowing down of the mountains at the presenceof Yahweh, and may serve to show the force of the language which the prophet employs in theseverses. It is a description of an eruption of Vesuvius in 1779, by Sir William Hamilton. ‘Jets of

liquid lava,’ says he, ‘mixed with stones and scoriae, were thrown up to the height of at least10,000 feet, having the appearance of a column of fire.

The falling matter being nearly as vividly inflamed as that which was continually issuing forthfrom the crater, formed with it one complete body of fire, which could not be less than two milesand a half in breadth, and of the extraordinary height above mentioned, casting a heat to thedistance of at least six miles around it.’ Speaking of the lava which flowed from the mountain, hesays, ‘At the point where it issued from an arched chasm in the side of the mountain, the vividtorrent rushed with the velocity of a flood. It was in perfect fusion, unattended with any scoriaeon its surface, or any gross material not in a state of complete solution. It flowed with thetranslucency of honey, in regular channels, cut finer than art can imitate, and glowing with all thesplendor of the sun’ (Lyell’s Geology, i. 316). Perhaps there can be conceived no more sublimerepresentation of what was in the mind of the prophet than such an overflowing volcano. Itshould be observed, however, that Gesenius supposes that the word which is rendered Isa_64:1-3,‘flow down’ (נזלּו nāzolû), is derived, not from נזל nāzal, to flow, to run as liquids do; but from זללzâlal, to shake, to tremble, to quake as mountains do in an earthquake. But it seems to me thatthe connection rather demands the former signification, as the principal elements in the figure isfire - and the office of fire is not to cause to tremble, but to burn or melt. The effect heredescribed as illustrative of the presence of God, was that produced by intense burning heat.

The fire causeth the waters to boil - Such an effect was anticipated at the presence of Yahweh.The idea is still that of an intense heat, that should cause all obstacles to be consumed before thepresence of the Lord. To illustrate this, the prophet speaks of that which is known to be mostintense, that which causes water to boil; and the prayer is, that Yahweh would descend in themanner of such intense and glowing fire, in order that a the foes of the people might be destroyed,and all the obstacles to the restoration of his people removed. The exact point of the comparison,as I conceive, is the intensity of the heat, as emblematic of the majesty of Yahweh, and of thecertain destruction of his foes.To make thy name known - By the exhibition of thy majesty andglory.”

5. Gill, “as the fire, under the pot, causes the waters to boil in it; the church here prays that thewrath of God might break forth upon his and her enemies, like fire that melts metals, and boilswater. The figures used seem to denote the fierceness and vehemency of it. The Targum is, "aswhen thou sendedst thine anger as fire in the days of Elijah, the sea was melted, the fire licked upthe water;'' as if the allusion was to the affair in 1Ki_18:38, but rather the allusion is, as Kimchiand others think, to the fire that burnt on Mount Sinai, when the Lord descended on it, and thecloud which flowed with water, as the above writer supposes, and which both together caused thesmoke:

to make thy name known to thine adversaries; his terrible name, in the destruction of them; hispower and his glory: that the nations may tremble at thy presence; as Sinai trembled when theLord was on it; and as the anti-christian states will when Christ appears, and the vials of hiswrath will be poured out; and the Lord's people will be delivered, and the Jews particularlyconverted.”

3 For when you did awesome things that we did notexpect, you came down, and the mountains trembled

before you.

1. Isaiah thinks back on history and remembers the awesome ways in which God came to theirrescue. God did things for Israel that no one could dream to expect. He sent the plagues on Egypt,and he opened up the sea for them to pass through, and he drowned the Egyptian army in thesea. It was all beyond anyone's imagination what God did on their behalf. When times are toughwe tend to look back on what God did for us in the past. We know what he can do, because he hasalready done it, and so we long for him to do it again. Come down as you did before and showyourself in power. It is a plea for God to do a repeat performance on the stage of history so thatthe nations get the point that God's people are still under his protection and care.

2. Henry, “They plead what he had done for his people Israel in particular when he brought themout of Egypt, Isa_64:3. He then did terrible things in the plagues of Egypt, which they looked not

for; they despaired of deliverance, so far were they from any thought of being delivered with sucha high hand and outstretched arm. Then he came down upon Mount Sinai in such terror as madethat and the adjacent mountains to flow down at his presence, to skip like rams (Psa_114:4), totremble, so that they were scattered and the perpetual hills were made to bow, Hab_3:6. In themany great salvations God wrought for that people he did terrible things which they looked not

for, made great men, that seemed as stately and strong as mountains, to fall before him, and greatopposition to give way. See Jdg_5:4, Jdg_5:5; Psa_68:7, Psa_68:8. Some refer this to the defeat ofSennacherib's powerful army, which was as surprising an instance of the divine power as themelting down of rocks and mountains would be.”

3. Barnes, “When thou didst terrible things - In delivering the people from Egypt, and inconducting them to the promised land.

Which we looked not for - Which we had never before witnessed, and which we had no right toexpect.

Thou camest down - As on Mount Sinai.

The mountains flowed down - (See the notes above). The reference is to the manifestations ofsmoke and fire when Yahweh descended on Mount Sinai (see Exo_19:18).

4. Gill, “When thou didst terrible things, which we looked not for, thou camest down,....Referring to the wonderful things God did in Egypt, at the Red sea, and in the wilderness, andparticularly at Mount Sinai, things that were unexpected, and not looked for; then the Lord camedown, and made visible displays of his power and presence, especially on Mount Sinai; seeExo_19:18,

the mountains flowed down at thy presence; not Sinai only, but others also; Kimchi says Seir andParan; Jdg_5:4.”

4 Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived,

no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.

1. Isaiah reviews history and declares that there is no God who has ever come to the aid of hispeople like the God of Israel has come to the aid of his people. There is no doubt that the God ofIsrael has a track record that beats all rivals, for there is no history of other people who havebeen delivered by such miraculous means. All nations have their gods, but none of them have ahistory of breaking into time and nature to rescue them like the God of Israel.

2. Jamison, “perceived by the ear — Paul (1Co_2:9) has for this, “nor have entered into the heartof man”; the virtual sense, sanctioned by his inspired authority; men might hear with theoutward ear, but they could only by the Spirit “perceive” with the “heart” the spiritualsignificancy of God’s acts, both those in relation to Israel, primarily referred to here, and thoserelating to the Gospel secondarily, which Paul refers to.

O God ... what he ... prepared — rather, “nor hath eye seen a god beside thee who doeth such

things.” They refer to God’s past marvelous acts in behalf of Israel as a plea for His nowinterposing for His people; but the Spirit, as Paul by inspiration shows, contemplated further

God’s revelation in the Gospel, which abounds in marvelous paradoxes never before heard of bycarnal ear, not to be understood by mere human sagacity, and when foretold by the prophets notfully perceived or credited; and even after the manifestation of Christ not to be understood savethrough the inward teaching of the Holy Ghost. These are partly past and present, and partlyfuture; therefore Paul substitutes “prepared” for “doeth,” though his context shows he includesall three. For “waiteth” he has “love Him”; godly waiting on Him must flow from love, and notmere fear.”

3. Barnes, “For since the beginning of the world - This verse is quoted, though not literally, by theapostle Paul, as illustrating the effects of the gospel in producing happiness and salvation (see thenotes at 1Co_2:9). The meaning here is, that nowhere else among people had there been suchblessings imparted, and such happiness enjoyed; or so many proofs of love and protection, asamong those who were the people of God, and who feared him.

Men have not heard - In no nation in all past time have deeds been heard of such as thou hastperformed.

�or perceived by the ear - Paul 1Co_2:9 renders this ‘neither have entered into the heart ofman,’ ‘which,’ says Lowth, ‘is a phrase purely Hebrew, and which should seem to belong to theprophet.’ The phrase, ‘�or perceived by the ear,’ he says, is repeated without force or propriety,and he seems to suppose that this place has been either willfully corrupted by the Jews, or thatPaul made his quotation from some Apocryphal book - either the ascension of Esaiah, or theApocalypse of Elias, in both of which the passage is found as quoted by Paul. The phrase iswholly omitted by the Septuagint and the Arabic, but is found in the Vulgate and Syriac. There isno authority from the Hebrew manuscripts to omit it.

�either hath the eye seen - The margin here undoubtedly expresses the true sense. So Lowthrenders it, ‘�or hath the eye seen a God beside thee, which doeth such things for those that trustin him.’ In a similar manner, the Septuagint translates it, ‘�either have our eyes seen a Godbeside thee (οὐδὲ οἱ ὀφθαλµοὶ ἡµῶν εἶδον θεὸν πλήν σου oude hoi ophthalmoi hēmōn eidon theon

plēn sou), and thy works which thou hast done for those who wait for mercy.’ The sense is, no eyehad ever seen such a God as Yahweh; one who so richly rewarded those who put their trust inhim. In the Hebrew, the word rendered ‘O God,’ may be either in the accusative or vocative case,and the sense is, that Yahweh was a more glorious rewarder and protector than any of the godswhich had ever been worshipped by the nations.

What he hath prepared - Hebrew, יעׂשה ya‛ăs'eh - ‘He doeth,’ or will do. So the Septuagint, Ἅποιήσεις Ha poiēseis - ‘What thou wilt do.’ The sense given by our translators - ‘What he hathprepared,’ has been evidently adopted to accommodate the passage to the sense given by Paul1Co_2:9, ἅἠτοίµασεν, κ.τ.λ. ha ētoimasen, etc. ‘What God has prepared.’ But the idea is, in theHebrew, not what God has prepared or laid up in the sense of preserving it for the future; butwhat he bad already done in the past. �o god had done what he had; no human being had everwitnessed such manifestations from any other god.

For him that waiteth for him - Lowth and �oyes, ‘For him who trusteth in him.’ Paul rendersthis, ‘For them that love him,’ and it is evident that he did not intend to quote this literally, butmeant to give the general sense. The idea in the Hebrew is, ‘For him who waits (למחכה limchakēh)for Yahweh,’ that is, who feels his helplessness, and relies on him to interpose and save him. Pietyis often represented as an attitude of waiting on God Psa_25:3, Psa_25:5, Psa_25:21; Psa_27:14;Psa_37:9; Psa_130:5. The sense of the whole verse is, that God in his past dealings had givenmanifestations of his existence, power, and goodness, to those who were his friends, which hadbeen furnished nowhere else. To those interpositions the suppliants appeal, as a reason why heshould again interpose, and why he should save them in their heavy calamities.”

4. Gill, “ For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear,....�ot only the things unexpected, undesired, and undeserved, had been done for the Lord's peopleof old; but there were other things, unheard of and unseen, which God, in his secret counsels, hadprepared for them; and for which reason his appearance in his providential dispensations was themore to be desired and entreated. The Apostle Paul has cited this passage in 1Co_2:9 and appliedit to Gospel times, and to evangelical truths, which are not discoverable by the light of nature;had there not been a revelation from God, the ears of men had never heard them, nor the eyes ofmen ever seen them:

neither hath the eye seen, O God, besides thee; and though there is a revelation made, yet, unlessGod gives men eyes to see, and ears to hear, divine truths will remain unknown to them; andthose who have knowledge of them, it is but imperfect; perfect knowledge of them is reserved toanother state. These are mysteries and, though revealed, remain so; the modes of them beingunknown, or the manner how they are is inscrutable; such as the mode of each Person'ssubsisting in the Trinity; and how the two natures, human and divine, are united in the person ofChrist. Moreover, under the Old Testament dispensation, these things were not so clearlyrevealed as now; they were the fellowship of the mystery hid in God, the treasure of Gospel truthshid in the field of the Scriptures; they were wrapped up in the dark figures and shadows of theceremonial law, and expressed in obscure prophecies; they were kept secret since the beginning ofthe world, from ages and generations past, and, not so made known, as now, to the holy apostlesand prophets; a more full and clear knowledge of them was reserved to Gospel times. This mayalso include the blessings of grace, more peculiarly prepared and provided for the church ofChrist under the Gospel dispensation, especially in the latter part of it, as the promise of theSpirit; more spiritual light and knowledge; peace in abundance, and such as passeth allunderstanding; and particularly what will be enjoyed in the personal reign of Christ, described

in so pompous a manner, Rev_20:1 and it may be applied to the glories of the future state, whichare such as the eye of man has never seen, nor his ear heard; and, as the apostle adds, have notentered into the heart of man to conceive of; and, as Jarchi paraphrases the words here,

"the eye of any prophet hath not seen what God will do for him that waits for him, except thineeyes, thou, O God;''

having cited a passage of their Rabbins out of the Talmud (o), which interprets the words of theworld to come,

"all the prophets say, they all of them prophesied only of the days of the Messiah; but as to theworld to come, eye hath not seen, &c.''

Some read the words, "neither has the eye seen God besides thee who will do for him that waitethfor him" (p); that is, none besides thee, O Christ, who lay in the bosom of the Father, and wasprivy to all, Joh_1:18, what

he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him; the apostle quotes it, "for them that love him";which describes the same persons; for those that wait for the Lord love him, and those that lovehim will wait for him; as Old Testament saints did for the first coming of Christ, and as �ewTestament saints now wait on him, in the ministry of his word and ordinances, for his spiritualpresence, and also are waiting for his second coming, and for the ultimate glory; and for suchpersons unseen and unheard of things are prepared in the counsels and purposes of God, and inthe covenant of his grace; Christ, and all things with him; the Gospel, and the truths of it,ordained before the world was; and all the blessings of grace and glory. The Targum is,

"and since the world was, ear hath not heard the voice of mighty deeds, nor hearkened to thespeech of trembling; nor hath eye seen, what thy people saw, the Shechinah of the glory of theLord, for there is none besides thee, what thou wilt do to thy people, the righteous, who were ofold, who wait for thy salvation.''

5. Henry, “It is very rich, Isa_64:4. Men have not heard nor seen what God has prepared for those

that wait for him. Observe the character of God's people; they are such as wait for him in the wayof duty, wait for the salvation he has promised and designed for them. Observe where thehappiness of this people is bound up; it is what God has prepared for them, what he has designedfor them in his counsel and is in his providence and grace preparing for them and preparingthem for, what he has done or will do, so it may be read. Some of the Jewish doctors haveunderstood this of the blessings reserved for the days of the Messiah, and to them the apostleapplies these words; and others extend them to the glories of the world to come. It is all thatgoodness which God has laid up for those that fear him, and wrought for those that trust in him,

Psa_31:19. Of this it is here said that since the beginning of the world, in the most prying andinquisitive ages of it, men have not, either by hearing or seeing, the two learning senses, come tothe full knowledge of it. �one have seen, nor heard, nor can understand, but God himself, whatthe provision is that is made for the present and future felicity of holy souls. For, [1.] Much of itwas concealed in former ages; they knew it not, because the unsearchable riches of Christ werehidden in God, were hidden from the wise and prudent; but in latter ages they were revealed by thegospel; so the apostle applies this (1Co_2:9), for it follows (Isa_64:10), But God has revealed them

unto us by his Spirit; compare Rom_16:25, Rom_16:26, with Eph_3:9. That which men had not

heard since the beginning of the world they should hear before the end of it, and at the end of itshould see, when the veil shall be rent to introduce the glory that is yet to be revealed. Godhimself knew what he had in store for believers, but none knew besides him. [2.] It cannot befully comprehended by the human understanding, no, not when it is revealed; it is spiritual, andrefined from those ideas which our minds are most apt to receive in this world of sense; it is verygreat, and will far outdo the utmost of our expectations. Even the present peace of believers,much more their future bliss, is such as surpasses all conception and expression, Phi_4:7. �onecan comprehend it but God himself, whose understanding is infinite. Some give another readingof these words, referring the transcendency, not so much to the work itself as to the author of it:0either has the eye seen a god besides thee, who doth so (or has done or can do so) for him that

waits for him. We must infer from God's works of wonderous grace, as well as from his works ofwondrous power, from the kind things, as well as from the great things, he does, that there is no

god like him, nor any among the sons of the mighty to be compared with him.”

6. Moellerhaus Publishers “This verse is quoted by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:9,10: 1 Corinthians 2:9,10 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neitherhave entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them thatlove him. 10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searchethall things, yea, the deep things of God.

It is wrong to conclude in Isaiah that this verse refers to what some call "end time." It is obviousthat Paul sees the fulfillment of this in the humble Messiah of �azareth and of the call of theGentiles into Zion as a spiritual thing which is fulfilled in his day through the gospel. "Unto usthey have been revealed" And their spiritual power exceeded what was done when the shekinaglory led the children of Israel for 40 years out of Egypt into the promised land.”

5 You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways. But when we continued to sin against them, you were angry. How then can we be saved?

1. God gladly came to the help of those who gladly did right and remembered what God's will forthem was. However, this changed when they forsook the ways and will of God, and went theirown way in sin. This made God angry, and now the problem is, how can God's people be saved?The only way is always by the grace of God when his people return to walk in his ways. This ismy simple understanding, but there is much speculation about this verse, and I quote some, butskip most, for it only confuses the reader. It is best to take a simple solution and more on, for nocommentator has any assurance that their speculation is correct.

2. This is an extremely difficult verse to interpret, and Barnes does his best to explain why, andhow he comes to the best guess he can come to as to its meaning. He is working from the KJV,which makes it even more confusing. He wrote, “Thou meetest him - Perhaps there are fewverses in the Bible that have given more perplexity to interpreters than this; and after all that hasbeen done, the general impression seems to be, that it is wholly inexplicable, or without meaning -as it certainly is in our translation. �oyes says of his own translation of the last member of theverse, ‘I am not satisfied with this or any other translation of the line which I have seen.’ Lowthsays, ‘I am fully persuaded that these words as they stand at present in the Hebrew text areutterly unintelligible. There is no doubt of the meaning of each word separately, but put togetherthey make no sense at all. I conclude, therefore, that the copy has suffered by transcribers in thisplace.’ And after proposing an important change in the text, without any authority, he says,‘perhaps these may not be the very words of the prophet, but, however, it is better than to imposeupon him what makes no sense at all, as they generally do who pretend to render such corruptedpassages.’ Arch. Secker also proposed an important change in the Hebrew text, but there is nogood authority in the manuscripts, it is believed, for any change.

Without repeating what has been said by expositors on the text, I shall endeavor to state whatseems to me to be its probable signification. Its general purpose, I think, is clear. It is to urge, asan argument for God’s interposition, the fact that he was accustomed to regard with pleasurethose who did well; yet to admit that he was now justly angry on account of their sins, and thatthey had continued so long in them that they had no hope of being saved but in his mercy. Anexamination of the words and phrases which occur, will prepare us to present at a single view theprobable meaning. The word rendered ‘thou meetest,’ (פגעת pâga‛ethâ) means probably to strikeupon, to impinge; then to fall upon in a hostile manner, to urge in any way as with petitions andprayers; and then to strike a peace or league with anyone. See the word explained in the notes atIsa_47:3. Here it means, as I suppose, to meet for purposes of peace, friendship, protection; thatis, it was a characteristic of God that he met such persons as are described for purposes ofkindness and favor; and it expresses the belief of the petitioners that whatever they weresuffering, still they had no doubt that it was the character of God to bless the righteous.

That rejoiceth - This translation evidently does not express the sense of the Hebrew, unless it beunderstood as meaning that God meets with favor those who rejoice in doing righteousness. SoGesenius translates it, ‘Thou makest peace with him who rejoices to do justice; that is, with thejust and upright man thou art in league, thou delightest in him.’ So �oyes renders it, ‘Thou artthe friend of those who joyfully do righteousness.’ Lowth ‘Thou meetest with joy those who workrighteousness.’ Jerome, ‘Thou meetest him who rejoices and does right.’ The phrase used (את־ׂשׂש'eth-s'ās') seems to me to mean, ‘With joy,’ and to denote the general habit of God. It was acharacteristic of him to meet the just ‘with joy,’ that is, joyfully.

And worketh righteousness - Hebrew, ‘And him that doeth righteousness;’ that is, ‘thou artaccustomed to meet the just with joy, and him that does right.’ It was a pleasure for God to do it,and to impart to them his favors.

Those that remember thee in thy ways - On the word ‘remember,’ used in this connection, seethe notes at Isa_62:6. The idea is, that such persons remembered God in the modes which he hadappointed; that is, by prayer, sacrifices, and praise. With such persons he delighted to meet, andsuch he was ever ready to succor.

Behold, thou art wroth - This is language of deep feeling on the part of the suppliants.�otwithstanding the mercy of God, and his readiness to meet and bless the just, they could not beignorant of the fact that he was now angry with them. They were suffering under the tokens of

his displeasure; but they were not now disposed to blame him. They felt the utmost assurancethat he was just, whatever they might have endured. It is to be borne in mind, that this islanguage supposed to be used by the exiles in Babylon, near the close of the captivity; and theevidences that God was angry were to be seen in their heavy sorrows there, in their desolate land,and in the ruins of their prostrate city and temple (see the notes at Isa_64:10-11).

In those is continuance - Lowth has correctly remarked that this conveys no idea. To what doesthe word ‘those’ refer? �o antecedent is mentioned, and expositors have been greatly perplexedwith the passage. Lowth, in accordance with his too usual custom, seems to suppose that the textis corrupted, but is not satisfied with any proposed mode of amending it. He renders it, ‘becauseof our deeds, for we have been rebellious;’ changing entirely the text - though followingsubstantially the sense of the Septuagint. �oyes renders it, ‘Long doth the punishment endure,until we be delivered;’ but expresses, as has been already remarked, dissatisfaction even with thistranslation, and with all others which he has seen. Jerome renders it, In ipsis fuimus semper - ‘Wehave always been in them,’ that is, in our sins. The Septuagint, ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἐπλανήθηµεν Dia touto

eplanēthēmen, etc. ‘Because of this we wandered, and became all of us as unclean, and all ourrighteousness as a filthy rag.’ It seems to me that the phrase בחם bâhem, ‘in them,’ or ‘in those,’refers to sins understood; and that the word rendered ‘continuance’ (עולם ‛ôlâm) is equivalent toa long former period; meaning that their sins had been of long continuance, or as we wouldexpress it, ‘we have been always sinners.’ It is the language of humble confession, denoting thatthis had been the characteristic of the nation, and that this was the reason why God was angry atthem.

And we shall be saved - Lowth renders this, or rather substitutes a phrase for it, thus, ‘For wehave been rebellious’ - amending it wholly by conjecture. But it seems to me that Castellio hasgiven an intelligible and obvious interpretation by regarding it as a question: ‘Jamdiupeccavimus, et serv-abimur?’ ‘Long time have we sinned, and shall we be saved?’ That is, wehave sinned so long, our offences have been so aggravated, how can we hope to be saved? Issalvation possible for such sinners? It indicates a deep consciousness of guilt, and is languagesuch as is used by all who feel their deep depravity before God. �othing is more common inconviction for sin, or when suffering under great calamities as a consequence of sin, than to askthe question whether it is possible for such sinners to be saved. I have thus given, perhaps attedious length, my view of this verse, which has so much perplexed commentators. And thoughthe view must be submitted with great diffidence after such a man as Lowth has declared it to bewithout sense as the Hebrew text now stands, and though no important doctrine of religion isinvolved by the exposition, yet some service is rendered if a plausible and probable interpretationis given to a much disputed passage of the sacred Scriptures, and if we are saved from thenecessity of supposing a corruption in the Hebrew text.”

3. Henry, ““Behold, thou hast many a time been wroth with us because we have sinned, and wehave been under the tokens of thy wrath; but in those, those ways of thine, the ways of mercy inwhich we have remembered thee, in those is continuance,” or “in those thou art ever” (his mercyendures for ever), “and therefore we shall at last be saved, though thou art wroth, and we havesinned.” This agrees with the tenour of God's covenant, that, if we forsake the law, he will visit

our transgression with a rod, but his lovingkindness he will not utterly take away, his covenant he

will not break (Psa_89:30, etc.), and by this his people have been many a time saved from ruinwhen they were just upon the brink of it; see Psa_78:38. And by this continuance of the covenantwe hope to be saved, for its being an everlasting covenant is all our salvation. Though God hasbeen angry with us for our sins, and justly, yet his anger has endured but for a moment and hasbeen soon over; but in his favour is life, because in it is continuance; in the ways of his favour he

proceeds and perseveres, and on that we depend for our salvation, see Isa_54:7, Isa_54:8. It iswell for us that our hopes of salvation are built not upon any merit or sufficiency of our own (forin that there is no certainty, even Adam in innocency did not abide), but upon God's mercies andpromises, for in those, we are sure, is continuance.”

6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.

1. Kyle, “The people who ask the question in Isa_64:5 do not regard themselves as worthy ofredemption, as their self-righteousness has been so thoroughly put to shame. “We all became like

the unclean thing, and all our virtues like a garment soiled with blood; and we all faded away

together like the leaves; and our iniquities, like the storm they carried us away.” The whole nation islike one whom the law pronounces unclean, like a leper, who has to cry “tâmē, tâmē “as he goesalong, that men may get out of his way (Lev_13:45). Doing right in all its manifold forms(tsedâqōth, like Isa_33:15, used elsewhere of the manifestations of divine righteousness), whichonce made Israel well-pleasing to God (Isa_1:21), has disappeared and become like a garmentstained with menstruous discharge (cf., Eze_36:17);”

2. Jamison, “unclean thing — legally unclean, as a leper. True of Israel, everywhere now cut offby unbelief and by God’s judgments from the congregation of the saints.

righteousness — plural, “uncleanness” extended to every particular act of theirs, even to theirprayers and praises. True of the best doings of the unregenerate (Phi_3:6-8; Tit_1:15; Heb_11:6).

filthy rags — literally, a “menstruous rag” (Lev_15:33; Lev_20:18; Lam_1:17).

fade ... leaf — (Psa_90:5, Psa_90:6).

3. Barnes, “But we are all as an unclean thing - We are all polluted and defiled. The word usedhere ( טמא ṭâmē'), means properly that which is polluted and defiled in a Levitical sense; that is,which was regarded as polluted and abominable by the law of Moses Lev_5:2; Deu_14:19, andmay refer to animals, people, or things; also in a moral sense Job_14:4. The sense is, that theyregarded themselves as wholly polluted and depraved.

And all our righteousnesses - The plural form is used to denote the deeds which they hadperformed - meaning that pollution extended to every individual thing of the numerous actswhich they had done. The sense is, that all their prayers, sacrifices, alms, praises, were mingledwith pollution, and were worthy only of deep detestation and abhorrence.

As filthy rags - ‘Like a garment of stated times’ (עדים ‛iddiym) - from the obsolete root עדד‛âdad, “to number, to reckon, to determine,” e. g., time. �o language could convey deeperabhorrenee of their deeds of righteousness than this reference - as it is undoubtedly - to the vestis

menstruis polluta...”

And we all do fade as a leaf - We are all withered away like the leaf of autumn. Our beauty isgone; our strength is fled (compare the notes at Isa_40:6-7; Isa_50:1-11 :30). What a beautifuldescription this is of the state of man! Strength, vigor, comeliness, and beauty thus fade away,and, like the ‘sere and yellow leaf’ of autumn, fall to the earth. The earth is thus strewed withthat which was once comely like the leaves of spring, now falling and decaying like the fadedverdure of the forest. And our iniquities like the wind - As a tempest sweeps away the leaves ofthe forest, so have we been swept away by our sins.

4. Gill, “ But we are all as an unclean thing,.... Or "we have been" (t); so all men are in a state ofnature: man was made pure and holy, but by sinning became impure; and this impurity ispropagated by natural generation, and belongs to all, none are free from it; and there is nocleansing from it but by the grace of God and blood of Christ: all are not sensible of it; some are,as the church here was, and owns it, and the universality of it, and compares herself andmembers to an "unclean thing", on account of it; so men, defiled with sin, are compared tounclean creatures, dogs, and swine, and to unclean persons; to such as are covered withloathsome diseases, and particularly to leprous persons, and who may be chiefly intended here;they being defiled and defiling, loathsome and abominable, their disease spreading andcontinuing, and incurable by physicians; hence they were separated from the company of men;and the words may be rendered, "as an unclean person" (u), as such were by the law: or we are,in our own sense and apprehension of things; and this may respect not only the impurity ofnature, but a general corruption in doctrine and manners among the professors of religion; suchas was in the Jewish church about the time of Christ's coming.

And all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; which is to be understood not of the righteousnessof some persons in the church, which lay in outward rites, ceremonies, and sacrifices, which wereno righteousness before God, and could not take away sin; and were indeed on many accounts, asthey were performed, loathsome and abominable; see Isa_1:11, or of others that lay in outwardlegal duties and works of the law, which were not done from right principles, as well as notperfect; and so, because of the impurity, imperfection, pride, and vanity, that appeared in them,were abominable to the Lord: but of the righteousnesses of the church herself; not of therighteousness of Christ, which was made hers by imputation; for this is not rags, but a robe, thebest robe, and wedding garment; much less filthy, but pure and spotless, beautiful and glorious,as well as a proper covering; but then, though this is the church's, and all true believers', by gift,by imputation and application, yet its is properly Christ's and is in him, and is opposed to theirown righteousness; which is what is intended here, even the best of it; such works ofrighteousness as are done by them in the best manner; they are "rags", not whole, but imperfect,not fit to appear in before God, and by which they cannot be justified in his sight; they are"filthy" ones, being attended with imperfection and sin; and these conversation garments needcontinual washing in the blood of Jesus; this is the language not of a natural man, or of aPharisee, but of a sensible sinner, a truly gracious soul. The words may be rendered, "as amenstruous cloth" (w), as some; or "as a garment of spoil or prey" (x), as Aben Ezra, rolled inblood, either in war, or by a beast of prey; or as a foul plaster or cloth taken off a sore, withpurulent matter on it (y), as others; or any other impure and nauseous thing. Hottinger (z) thinksthe word has some affinity with the Arabic עדד, which signifies "running water", such as thewater of a fountain or well; so that the sense may be, that the church's righteousness was like acloth, so polluted and spotted that it could not be washed out clean but with clear and runningwater; and, in every sense in which it may be taken, it serves to set forth the impurity andimperfection of the best righteousness of men, and to show that their works are not the cause of

salvation, the church had an assurance of in the preceding verse:

and we all do fade as a leaf; or "fall" (a) as one; as leaves in autumn: this is to be understood of agreat part, and perhaps of the greater part, of the visible members of the church; not of truebelievers and real members, for these are rooted in the love of God, and in Christ, and have theroot of the matter in them, the true grace of God; and therefore, though they meet with manyblustering storms, yet do not cast their leaf of profession; indeed there may be, as there often are,decays and declensions in them; but rather this is to be interpreted of carnal professors, withwhich, at this time, the church abounded, who had no true grace in them; and so dropped theirprofession, and became like trees whose fruit withered, were without fruit; or like trees, in the fallof the year, which are without fruit, and shed their leaves, Jud_1:12,

and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away; as a leaf falling from the tree is carriedaway with the wind, which it is not able to withstand; so formal and carnal professors are carriedaway, through their sins, with the wind of persecution, and apostatize: or rather for their sins theJews were carried captive, as before, to Babylon; so now by the Romans into various countries,where they are dispersed at this day; to which this passage may have some respect. "Iniquities"are put for the punishment of them; so the Targum, "and, because of our sins, as the wind we aretaken away.''

5. Henry, “As we have the Lamentations of Jeremiah, so here we have the Lamentations ofIsaiah; the subject of both is the same - the destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans and thesin of Israel that brought that destruction - only with this difference, Isaiah sees it at a distanceand laments it by the Spirit of prophecy, Jeremiah saw it accomplished. In these verses,

I. The people of God in their affliction confess and bewail their sins, thereby justifying God intheir afflictions, owning themselves unworthy of his mercy, and thereby both improving theirtroubles and preparing for deliverance. �ow that they were under divine rebukes for sin they hadnothing to trust to but the mere mercy of God and the continuance of that; for among themselvesthere is none to help, none to uphold, none to stand in the gap and make intercession, for they areall polluted with sin and therefore unworthy to intercede, all careless and remiss in duty andtherefore unable and unfit to intercede.

1. There was a general corruption of manners among them (Isa_64:6): We are all as an unclean

thing, or as an unclean person, as one overspread with a leprosy, who was to be shut out of thecamp. The body of the people were like one under a ceremonial pollution, who was not admittedinto the courts of the tabernacle, or like one labouring under some loathsome disease, from thecrown of the head to the sole of the foot nothing but wounds and bruises, Isa_1:6. We have all bysin become not only obnoxious to God's justice, but odious to his holiness; for sin is thatabominable thing which the Lord hates, and cannot endure to look upon. Even all our

righteousnesses are as filthy rags. (1.) “The best of our persons are so; we are all so corrupt andpolluted that even those among us who pass for righteous men, in comparison with what ourfathers were who rejoiced and wrought righteousness (Isa_64:5), are but as filthy rags, fit to becase to the dunghill. The best of them is as a brier.” (2.) “The best of our performances are so.There is not only a general corruption of manners, but a general defection in the exercises ofdevotion too; those which pass for the sacrifices of righteousness, when they come to be enquiredinto, are the torn, and the lame, and the sick, and therefore are provoking to God, as nauseous asfilthy rags.” Our performances, though they be ever so plausible, if we depend upon them as ourrighteousness and think to merit by them at God's hand, are as filthy rags - rags, and will notcover us - filthy rags, and will but defile us. True penitents cast away their idols as filthy rags

(Isa_30:22), odious in their sight; here they acknowledge even their righteousness to be so inGod's sight if he should deal with them in strict justice. Our best duties are so defective, and sofar short of the rule, that they are as rags, and so full of sin and corruption cleaving to them thatthey are as filthy rags. When we would do good evil is present with us; and the iniquity of ourholy things would be our ruin if we were under the law.”

7 �o one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and made us waste away because of our sins.

1. People have forsaken their duty of intercession because God has seemed to have withdrawnfrom them, and abandoned them to their sins to perish in utter defeat. Here we see the final follyof giving up on intercession. It seems so hopeless, and so men give up. That is just when men needall the more to come to God on their face in utter humility and repentance, for even when itseems that God has given up on men, men need to never give up on God. When all hope is gone, itis time all the more to hope in God and intercede on behalf of abandoned sinners.

2. Kyle, “There was no one (see Isa_59:16) who had risen up in prayer and intercession out of thisdeep fall, or had shaken himself out of the sleep of security and lethargy of insensibility, to layfirm hold of Jehovah, i.e., not to let Him go till He blessed him and his people again. The curse ofGod pressed every one down; God had withdrawn His grace from them, and given them up to theconsequences of their sins.

3. Barnes, “And there is none that calleth upon thy name - The nation is corrupt and degenerate.�one worship God in sincerity.

That stirreth up himself - The word used here (מתעורר mite‛ôrēr) refers to the effort which isrequisite to rouse oneself when oppressed by a spirit of heavy slumber; and the idea here is, thatthe nation was sunk in spiritual torpor, and that the same effort was needful to excite it whichwas requisite to rouse one who had sunk down to deep sleep. How aptly this describes the state ofa sinful world! How much disposed is that world to give itself to spiritual slumber! Howindisposed to rouse itself to call upon God! �o man rises to God without effort; and unless menmake an effort for this, they fall into the stupidity of sin, just as certainly as a drowsy man sinksback into deep sleep.

To take hold of thee - The Hebrew word ( חזק châzaq) means properly to bind fast, to gird tight,and then to make firm or strong, to strengthen; and the idea of strengthening oneself is implied inthe use of the word here. It means, that with the consciousness of feebleness we should seekstrength in God. This the people referred to by the prophet were indisposed to do. This the worldat large is indisposed to do.

For thou hast hid thy face - Thou bast withdrawn thy favor from us, as a people, on account ofour sins. This is an acknowledgment that one effect of his withdrawing his favor, and one

evidence of it was, that no one was disposed to call upon his name. All had sunk into the deeplethargy of sin.

And hast consumed us - Margin, ‘Melted.’ The Hebrew word (מוג mûg) means “to melt, to flowdown”; and hence, in Piel, to cause to melt or flow down. It is used to denote the fact that anarmy or host of people seem to melt away, or become dissolved by fear and terror Exo_15:15;Josh. 2:9-24; Job_30:22. ‘Thou dissolvest (תמגגני thı̂mogegēniy) my substance;’ that is, thoucausest me to dissolve before thy indignation. This is described as one of the effects of the wrathof God, that his enemies vanish away, or are dissolved before him.

Because of our iniquities - Margin, as Hebrew, ‘By the hand;’ that is, our iniquities have beenthe hand, the agent or instrument by which this has been done.

4. Gill, “ And there is none that calleth upon thy name,.... Upon the Lord himself, who is graciousand merciful, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, and all sufficient, a God hearing andanswering prayer, and the Father of his people; all which should engage to call upon him: or,"there is none that prays in thy name", as the Targum; none that prays to God in the name of hisSon, the only Mediator between God and men; he is the way of access to the Father; his name isto be used and made mention of in prayer; acceptance is only through him, and all favours areconveyed by him; see Joh_14:13, not that there were absolutely none at all that prayed to God,and called upon or in his name, but comparatively they were very few; for that there were some itis certain, since this very complaint is made in a prayer; but the number of such was small,especially that prayed in faith, in sincerity, with fervency and importunity; and, when this is thecase, it is an argument and evidence of great declension:

that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee; to exercise faith on God, as their covenant God; tolay hold on the covenant itself, the blessings and promises of it, and plead them with God: or topray unto him, which is a wrestling with him, when faith lays hold upon God, and will not let himgo without the blessing; and is an entreaty of him not to depart when he seems to be about it; or adetaining of him, as the disciples detained Christ, when he seemed as if he would go from them;and is also an importunate desire that he would return when he is departed; and an earnestrequest not to strike when his hand is lifted up: faith in prayer does, as it were, take hold of thehands of God, and will not suffer him to strike his children; just as a friend lays hold on afather's hand when he is about to give his child a blow with it for his correction; and such is theamazing condescension of God, that he suffers himself to be held after this manner; seeGen_32:26, now, to "stir up" a man's self to this is to make diligent use of the means in seekingthe Lord; particularly a frequent use of the gift of prayer, and a stirring of that up; a callingupon a man's soul, and all within him, to engage therein; to which are opposed slothfulness, &c.cold, lukewarm, negligent performance of duty, which is here complained of; there were none, orat least but few, that stirred up or "aroused" (b) themselves. God's professing people aresometimes asleep; and though it is high time to awake out of sleep, yet no one arouses himself orothers.

For thou hast hid thy face from us: or removed the face of thy Shechinah, or divine Majesty fromus, as the Targum; being provoked by such a conduct towards him, as before expressed: for itmay be rendered, "therefore thou hast hid"; &c.; or "though", or "when" (c), this was the case,yet no man sought his face and favour, or entreated he would return again: and hast consumed usbecause of our iniquities; by the sword, famine, pestilence, and captivity.”

5. Henry, “ There was a general coldness of devotion among them, Isa_64:7. The measure wasfilled by the abounding iniquity of the people, and nothing was done to empty it. (1.) Prayer wasin a manner neglected: “There is none that calls on thy name, none that seeks to thee for grace toreform us and take away sin, or for mercy to relieve us and take away the judgments which oursins have brought upon us.” Therefore people are so bad, because they do not pray; comparePsa_14:3, Psa_14:4, They have altogether become filthy, for they call not upon the Lord. It bodes illto a people when prayer is restrained among them. (2.) It was very negligently performed. Ifthere was here and there one that called on God's name, it was with a great deal of indifferency:There is none that stirs up himself to take hold of God. �ote, [1.] To pray is to take hold of God, byfaith to take hold of the promises and the declarations God has made of his good-will to us and toplead them with him, - to take hold of him as of one who is about to depart from us, earnestlybegging of him not to leave us, or of one that has departed, soliciting his return, - to take hold ofhim as he that wrestles takes hold of him he wrestles with; for the seed of Jacob wrestle with himand so prevail. But when we take hold of God it is as the boatman with his hook takes hold on theshore, as if he would pull the shore to him, but really it is to pull himself to the shore; so we pray,not to bring God to our mind, but to bring ourselves to him. [2.] Those that would take hold ofGod in prayer so as to prevail with him must stir up themselves to do it; all that is within us mustbe employed in the duty (and all little enough), our thoughts fixed and our affections flaming. Inorder hereunto all that is within us must be engaged and summoned into the service; we must stir

up the gift that is in us by an actual consideration of the importance of the work that is before usand a close application of mind to it; but how can we expect that God should come to us in waysof mercy when there are none that do this, when those that profess to be intercessors are meretriflers?

II. They acknowledge their afflictions to be the fruit and product of their own sins and God'swrath. 1. They brought their troubles upon themselves by their own folly: “We are all as an

unclean thing, and therefore we do all fade away as a leaf (Isa_64:6), we not only wither and loseour beauty, but we fall and drop off” (so the word signifies) “as leaves in autumn; our professionof religion withers, and we grow dry and sapless; our prosperity withers and comes to nothing;we fall to the ground, as despicable and contemptible; and then our iniquities like the wind have

taken us away and hurried us into captivity, as the winds in autumn blow off, and then blowaway, the faded withered leaves,” Psa_1:3, Psa_1:4. Sinners are blasted, and then carried away,by the malignant and violent wind of their own iniquity; it withers them and then ruins them. 2.God brought their troubles upon them by his wrath (Isa_64:7): Thou hast hidden thy face from

us; hast been displeased with us and refused to afford us any succour. When they madethemselves as an unclean thing no wonder that God turned his face away from them, as loathingthem. Yet this was not all: Thou hast consumed us because of our iniquities. This is the samecomplaint with that (Psa_90:7, Psa_90:8), We are consumed by thy anger; thou hast melted us, sothe word is. God had put them in the furnace, not to consume them as dross, but to melt them asgold, that they might be refined and new-cast.”

8 Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.

1. As bad as things are, you are still our father, and we are your creation. We are the clay, and youare the potter that forms us, and we are all a product of your creative hand.

2. Jamison, “clay ... potter — (Isa_29:16; Isa_45:9). Unable to mould themselves aright, they begthe sovereign will of God to mould them unto salvation, even as He made them at the first, and istheir “Father.”

3. Henry, “ They claim relation to God as their God, and humbly plead it with him, and inconsideration of it cheerfully refer themselves to him (Isa_64:8): “But now, O Lord! thou art our

Father: though we have conducted ourselves very undutifully and ungratefully towards thee, yetstill we have owned thee as our Father; and, though thou hast corrected us, yet thou hast not castus off. Foolish and careless as we are, poor and despised and trampled upon as we are by ourenemies, yet still thou art our Father; to thee therefore we return in our repentance, as theprodigal arose and came to his father; to thee we address ourselves by prayer; from whom shouldwe expect relief and succour but from our Father? It is the wrath of a Father that we are under,who will be reconciled and not keep his anger for ever.” God is their Father, 1. By creation; hegave them their being, formed them into a people, shaped them as he pleased: “We are the clay

and thou our potter, therefore we will not quarrel with thee, however thou art pleased to deal withus, Jer_18:6. �ay, therefore we will hope that thou wilt deal well with us, that thou who madestus wilt new-make us, new-form us, though we have unmade and deformed ourselves: We are all

as an unclean thing, but we are all the work of thy hands, therefore do away our uncleanness, thatwe may be fit for thy use, the use we were made for. We are the work of thy hands, thereforeforsake us not,” Psa_138:8. 2. By covenant; this is pleaded (Isa_64:9): “Behold, see, we beseech

thee, we are all thy people, all the people thou hast in the world, that make open profession of thyname. We are called thy people, our neighbours look upon us as such, and therefore what wesuffer reflects upon thee, and the relief that our case requires is expected from thee. We are thy

people; and should not a people seek unto their God? Isa_8:19. We are thine; save us,” Psa_119:94.�ote, When we are under providential rebukes from God it is good to keep fast hold of ourcovenant-relation to him.”

4. Barnes, “But now, O Lord, thou art our Father - (See the notes at Isa_63:16).We are the clay - The idea seems to be, that their condition then had been produced by him as

clay is moulded by the potter, and that they were to be returned and restored entirely by him - asthey had no more power to do it than the clay had to shape itself. The sense is, that they werewholly in his hand and at his disposal (see the notes at Isa_29:16; Isa_45:9).

And thou our potter - Thou hast power to mould us as the potter does the clay.

And we all are the work of thy hand - That is, as the vessel made by the potter is his work. Wehave been formed by thee, and we are dependent on thee to make us what thou wilt have us to be.This whole verse is an acknowledgment of the sovereignty of God. It expresses the feeling whichall have when under conviction of sin; and when they are sensible that they are exposed to thedivine displeasure for their transgressions. Then they feel that if they are to be saved, it must beby the mere sovereignty of God; and then they implore his interposition to ‘mould and guidethem at his will.’

5. Gill, “ But now, O Lord, thou art our father,.... �otwithstanding all that we have done againstthee, and thou hast done to us, the relation of a father continues; thou art our Father by creation

and adoption; as he was in a particular manner to the Jews, to whom belonged the adoption; andtherefore this relation is pleaded, that mercy might be shown them; and so the Targum,

"and thou, Lord, thy mercies towards us "are" many (or let them be many) as a father towards"his" children.''

We are the clay, and thou our potter: respecting their original formation out of the dust of theearth; and so expressing humility in themselves, and yet ascribing greatness to God, who hadcuriously formed them, as the potter out of the clay forms vessels for various uses: it may respecttheir formation as a body politic and ecclesiastic, which arose from small beginnings, under thepower and providence of God; see Deu_32:6,

and we all are the work of thy hand; and therefore regard us, and destroy us not; as men do notusually destroy their own works: these relations to God, and circumstances in which they were ascreatures, and as a body civil and ecclesiastic, are used as arguments for mercy and favor.”

9 Do not be angry beyond measure, O LORD; do not remember our sins forever. Oh, look upon us, we pray, for we are all your people.

1. This is a sad and desperate plea to God to forgive even the most unforgivable people who havebetrayed him. Anger and judgment are deserved and accepted, but give us hope that we canagain be your people. Look on us with pity for our folly, but see us also as people who have thepotential of being your people again, and a people who can walk in obedience to your will. This isa plea for anger and judgment to be temporary and not permanent.

2. Henry, “They are importunate with God for the turning away of his anger and the pardoningof their sins (Isa_64:9): “Be not wroth very sore, O Lord! though we have deserved that thoushouldst, neither remember iniquity for ever against us.” They do not expressly pray for theremoval of the judgment they were under; as to that, they refer themselves to God. But, 1. Theypray that God would be reconciled to them, and then they can be easy whether the affliction becontinued or removed: “Be not wroth to extremity, but let thy anger be mitigated by the clemencyand compassion of a father.” They do not say, Lord, rebuke us not, for that may be necessary, but0ot in thy anger, not in thy hot displeasure. It is but in a little wrath that God hides his face. 2.They pray that they may not be dealt with according to the desert of their sin: 0either remember

iniquity for ever. Such is the evil of sin that it deserves to be remembered for ever; and this is thatwhich they deprecate, that consequence of sin, which is for ever. Those make it to appear thatthey are truly humbled under the hand of God who are more afraid of the terror of God's wrath,and the fatal consequences of their own sin, than of any judgment whatsoever, looking upon theseas the sting of death.”

3. Barnes, “Be not wroth very sore, O Lord,.... They knew not how to deprecate the displeasure ofGod entirely; having sinned so greatly against him, they were sensible they deserved his wrath;but entreat it might not be hot and very vehement, and carried to the highest pitch, which wouldbe intolerable:

neither remember iniquity for ever; to afflict and punish for it, but forgive it, for not toremember sin is to forgive it; and not inflict the deserved punishment of it, but take off andremove the effects of divine displeasure, which as yet continued, and had a long time, as thispetition suggests; and therefore suits better with the present long captivity of the Jews than theirseventy years' captivity in Babylon.

Behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people; look upon all our troubles and distresses, andupon us under them, with an eye of pity and compassion; and consider that we are thy people,not only by creation, but by covenant and profession; even everyone of us; or we are all thepeople thou hast, the Jews looking upon themselves to be the special and peculiar people of God,and the Gentiles as having no claim to such a relation; this is the pure spirit of Judaism. TheTargum is, "lo, it is manifest before thee that we are all of us thy people.''

10 Your sacred cities have become a desert; even Zion is a desert, Jerusalem a desolation.

1. What a sad site it was. It was God's chosen land, and with his chosen temple in which theywere to worship him, and now it is a wasteland with endless desolation. Such is the result ofpeople rebelling against God. You never win, but always lose when you defy God's will in yourlife, and this picture is designed to be the reminder and proof of this reality for all history. Does itever pay to disobey? This scene is your answer, and it shouts out �O!

2. Henry, “They lodge in the court of heaven a very melancholy representation, or memorial, ofthe lamentable condition they were in and the ruins they were groaning under. 1. Their ownhouses were in ruins, Isa_64:10. The cities of Judah were destroyed by the Chaldeans and theinhabitants of them were carried away, so that there was none to repair them or take any noticeof them, which would in a few years make them look like perfect deserts: Thy holy cities are a

wilderness. The cities of Judah are called holy cities, for the people were unto God a kingdom ofpriests. The cities had synagogues in them, in which God was served; and therefore theylamented the ruins of them, and insisted upon this in pleading with God for them, not so muchthat they were stately cities, rich or ancient ones, but that they were holy cities, cities in whichGod's name was known, professed, and called upon. “These cities are a wilderness; the beauty ofthem is sullied; they are neither inhabited nor visited, as formerly. They have burnt up all the

synagogues of God in the land,” Psa_74:8. �or was it only the smaller cities that were thus left asa wilderness unfrequented, but even “Zion is a wilderness; the city of David itself lies in ruins;Jerusalem, that was beautiful for situation and the joy of the whole earth, is now deformed, and

has become the scorn and scandal of the whole earth; that noble city is a desolation, a heap ofrubbish.” See what devastations sin brings upon a people; and an external profession of sanctitywill be no fence against them; holy cities, if they become wicked cities, will be soonest of allturned into a wilderness, Amo_3:2.

3. Jamison, “holy cities — �o city but Jerusalem is called “the holy city” (Isa_48:2; Isa_52:1); theplural, therefore, refers to the upper and the lower parts of the same city Jerusalem [Vitringa]; orall Judea was holy to God, so its cities were deemed “holy” [Maurer]. But the parallelism favorsVitringa. Zion and Jerusalem (the one city) answering to “holy cities.”

4. Barnes, “Thy holy cities are a wilderness - It is to be remembered that this is supposed to bespoken near the close of the exile in Babylon. In accordance with the usual custom in this book,Isaiah throws himself forward by prophetic anticipation into that future period, and describesthe scene as if it were passing before his eyes (see the Introduction, Section 7). He uses languagesuch as the exiles would use; he puts arguments into their mouths which it would be proper forthem to use; he describes the feelings which they would then have. The phrase, ‘thy holy cities,’may either mean the cities of the holy land - which belonged to God, and were ‘holy,’ as theypertained to his people; or it may mean, as many critics have supposed, the different parts ofJerusalem. A part of Jerusalem was built on Mount Zion, and was called the ‘upper city,’ incontradistinction from that built on Mount Acra, which was called the ‘lower city.’ But I think itmore probable that the prophet refers to the cities throughout the land that were laid waste.

Are a wilderness - They were uninhabited, and were lying in ruins.

Zion is a wilderness - On the name ‘Zion,’ see the notes at Isa_1:8. The idea here is, thatJerusalem was laid waste. Its temple was burned; its palaces destroyed; its houses uninhabited.This is to be regarded as being uttered at the close of the exile, after Jerusalem had been lying inruins for seventy years - a time during which any forsaken city would be in a condition whichmight not improperly be called a desert. When �ebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem, he burnedthe temple, broke down the wall, and consumed all the palaces with fire (2Ch_36:19). We haveonly to conceive what must have been the state of the city seventy years after this, to see the forceof the description here.

5. Gill, “Thy holy cities are a wilderness,.... Meaning either Zion, the city of David, andJerusalem; the one called the upper, the other the lower city; now uninhabited, and a merewilderness: or else the other cities of Judea, in which were formerly synagogues for religiousservice, and in which dwelt many godly families where the worship of God was kept up; but nowa desert, at least quite devoid of true religion and godliness.

Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation; which are either explanative of the holy cities in thepreceding clauses, or are mentioned as distinct from them; the account proceeding from thelesser to the metropolitan cities, which fared no better than they did, but equally lay desolate; andwhich fulfilled the prophecy in Mic_3:12 and was the case of those cities, at the destruction ofthem by Titus; and to this day are in a ruinous condition in the hands of the Turks.”

11 Our holy and glorious temple, where our fathers

praised you, has been burned with fire, and all that wetreasured lies in ruins.

1. �othing was spared in the destruction brought on by the rebellion of Israel. All that used to befor the worship of God was burned up, and all of the beauty that meant so much to the peoplewas now lying in ugly ruins.

2. Henry, “God's house was in ruins, Isa_64:11. This they lament most of all, that the temple was

burnt with fire; but, as soon as it was built, they were told what their sin would bring it to.2Ch_7:21, This house, which is high, shall be an astonishment. Observe how pathetically theybewail the ruins of the temple. (1.) It was their holy and beautiful house; it was a most sumptuousbuilding, but the holiness of it was in their eye the greatest beauty of it, and consequently theprofanation of it was the saddest part of its desolation and that which grieved them most, that thesacred services which used to be performed there were discontinued. (2.) It was the place where

their fathers praised God with their sacrifices and songs; what a pity is it that that should lie inashes which had been for so many ages the glory of their nation! It aggravated their presentdisuse of the songs of Zion that their fathers had so often praised God with them. They interestGod in the cause when they plead that it was the house where he had been praised, and put him inmind too of his covenant with their fathers by taking notice of their fathers' praising him. (3.)With it all their pleasant things were laid waste, all their desires and delights, all those thingswhich were employed by them in the service of God, which they had a great delight in; not onlythe furniture of the temple, the altars and table, but especially the sabbaths and new moons, andall their religious feasts, which they used to keep with gladness, their ministers and solemnassemblies, these were all a desolation. �ote, God's people reckon their sacred things their mostdelectable things; rob them of holy ordinances and the means of grace, and you lay waste all their

pleasant things. What have they more? Observe here how God and his people have their interesttwisted and interchanged; when they speak of the cities for their own habitation they call themthy holy cities, for to God they were dedicated; when they speak of the temple wherein God dweltthey call it our beautiful house and its furniture our pleasant things, for they had heartilyespoused it and all the interests of it. If thus we interest God in all our concerns by devoting themto his service, and interest ourselves in all his concerns by laying them near our hearts, we maywith satisfaction leave both with him, for he will perfect both.

3. Barnes, “Our holy and our beautiful house - The temple. It was called ‘holy,’ because it wasdedicated to the service of God; and ‘beautiful,’ on account of its extraordinary magnificence.The original word more properly means glorious.

Where our fathers praised thee - Few attachments become stronger than that which is formedfor a place of worship where our ancestors have long been engaged in the service of God. It wasnow a great aggravation of their sufferings, that that beautiful place, consecrated by the fact thattheir forefathers had long there offered praise to God, was lying in ruins.

Is burned up with fire - (See 2Ch_36:19).

And all our pleasant things - All that is precious to us (Hebrew); all the objects of our desire.The reference is to their temples, their homes, their city - to all that was dear to them in theirnative land. It would be difficult to find a passage anywhere in the Bible - or out of it - that equalsthis for tenderness and true pathos. They were an exiled people; long suffering in a distant land

with the reflection that their homes were in ruins; their splendid temple long since fired and lyingin desolation; the rank grass growing in their streets, and their whole country overrun with wildbeasts, and with a rank and unsubdued vegetation. To that land they longed to return, and herewith the deepest emotion they plead with God in behalf of their desolate country. The sentimenthere is, that we should go to God with deep emotion when his church is prostrate, and that then isthe time when we should use the most tender pleadings, and when our hearts should be meltedwithin us.

4. Gill, “Our holy and our beautiful house,.... Meaning the temple, the house of God, as AbenEzra: called "holy", because dedicated to holy uses; where the holy sacrifices were offered up, theholy service of God performed; and where the holy God granted his presence, and where werethe symbols of it: and "beautiful", in its building, as the first temple was that was built bySolomon; but here the second temple is meant, built by Zerubbabel, which being repaired andbeautified by Herod, was a very beautiful building; and the Jews say (d), that "he who has notseen the building of Herod has never seen a beautiful building;'' or it may be rendered, "thehouse of our holiness, and of our glory" (e); where their holy services were performed, and whichwas the glory of their nation, and on which they gloried and boasted:

where our fathers praised thee: with psalms and songs; the singers in the temple, as Aben Ezra;and the priests and all the people also, who, by their various services, as well as songs, gave praiseand glory to God in this place; they do not mention their own services and praises, which theyhad been very negligent of, or not sincerely performed; but their fathers, which had beenacceptable to the Lord, and therefore would bear mentioning when theirs would not: now thisplace, in which the glory of God and the interest of his people were concerned, is burnt up withfire; this is true, as Kimchi observes, both of the first and second temple; the first was burnt withfire by �ebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Jer_52:13, and the second by the Romans under Titusthe man emperor, as Josephus (f) relates: and all our pleasant things are laid waste; theirpleasant land, and pleasant cities, and especially Jerusalem, the palaces of their princes andnobles, and all the riches and grandeur of them, the temple, and all the rich vessels and utensilsin it.”

12 After all this, O LORD, will you hold yourself back? Will you keep silent and punish us beyond measure?

1. He seems to be asking God, is this not enough? Can we move on to better things now that wehave hit the bottom? If not now, when? Can you go on punishing us when we already havenothing left? Please do not keep avoiding us, for we are desperate, and we admit that we needyou, and are hopelessly sunk without your grace and mercy. Please stop hiding from us, and cometo us in mercy. It is interesting how often people are asking God questions in prayer, andespecially questions like how long will this abandonment continue. It is a common question whenone feels forsaken by God. How long must I endure this rejection?

2. Henry, “ They conclude with an affectionate expostulation, humbly arguing with Godconcerning their present desolations (Isa_64:12): “Wilt thou refrain thyself for these things? Or,

Canst thou contain thyself at these things? Canst thou see thy temple ruined and not resent it, notrevenge it? Has the jealous God forgotten to be jealous? Psa_74:22, Arise, O God! plead thy own

cause. Lord, thou art insulted, thou art blasphemed; and wilt thou hold thy peace and take nonotice of it? Shall the highest affronts that can be done to Heaven pass unrebuked?” When weare abused we hold our peace, because vengeance does not belong to us, and because we have aGod to refer our cause to. When God is injured in his honour it may justly be expected that heshould speak in the vindication of it; his people prescribe not to him what he shall say, but theirprayer is (as here) Psa_83:1, Keep not thou silence, O God! and Psa_109:1, “Hold not thy peace, O

God of my praise! Speak for the conviction of thy enemies, speak for the comfort and relief of thypeople; for wilt thou afflict us very grievously, or afflict us for ever?” It is a sore affliction to goodpeople to see God's sanctuary laid waste and nothing done towards the raising of it out of itsruins. But God has said that he will not contend for ever, and therefore his people may dependupon it that their afflictions shall be neither to extremity nor to eternity, but light and for a

moment.”

3. Barnes, “Wilt thou refrain thyself - Wilt thou refuse to come to our aid? Wilt thou decline tovisit us, and save us from our calamities?

Wilt thou hold thy peace - Wilt thou not speak for our rescue, and command us to bedelivered? Thus closes this chapter of great tenderness and beauty. It is a model of affectionateand earnest entreaty for the divine interposition in the day of calamity. With such tender andaffectionate earnestness may we learn to plead with God! Thus may all his people learn toapproach him as a Father: thus feel that they have the inestimable privilege, in times of trial, ofmaking known their needs to the High and Holy One. Thus, when calamity presses on us; whenas individuals or as families we are afflicted; or when our country or the church is sufferingunder long trials, may we go to God and humbly confess our sins, and urge his promises, andtake hold of his strength, and plead with him to interpose. Thus pleading, be will hear us; thuspresenting our cause, he will interpose to save.

4. Gill, “Wilt thou refrain thyself for these things, O Lord?.... From delivering us out of ourtroubles and miseries, and taking vengeance on our enemies, and showing thy zeal for thine ownglory; or, as Kimchi paraphrases it, "how canst thou contain thyself for these things, and nothave mercy?''

how canst thou bear to see Judea, and all its cities, a wilderness; Jerusalem, and the temple of it,in ruins? wilt thou hold thy peace? or, "be silent"; and not plead thine own cause, and the causeof thy people? and afflict us very sore? exceedingly, even to extremity; or for ever, as the Targum,thinking it long, as well as heavy. Jerome observes, that the Jews say these words in theirsynagogues every day; which show that they look upon this prophecy to respect their presentcase.