Bible Commentaries

Isaiah 64:1-12. Transition from complaint to prayer.

rend … heavens — bursting forth to execute vengeance, suddenly descending on Thy people‘s foe (Psalm 18:9; Psalm 144:5; Habakkuk 3:5, Habakkuk 3:6).

flow down — (Judges 5:5; Micah 1:4).

Oh, that Thy wrath would consume Thy foes as the fire. Rather, “as the fire burneth the dry brushwood” [Gesenius].

When — Supply from Isaiah 64:2, “As when.”

terrible things — (Psalm 65:5).

we looked not for — far exceeding the expectation of any of our nation; unparalleled before (Exodus 34:10; Psalm 68:8).

camest down — on Mount Sinai.

mountains flowed — Repeated from Isaiah 64:1; they pray God to do the very same things for Israel now as in former ages. Gesenius, instead of “flowed” here, and “flow” in Isaiah 64:1, translates from a different Hebrew root, “quake … quaked”; but “fire” melts and causes to flow, rather than to quake (Isaiah 64:2).

perceived by the ear — Paul (1 Corinthians 2:9) has for this, “nor have entered into the heart of man”; the virtual sense, sanctioned by his inspired authority; men might hear with the outward ear, but they could only by the Spirit “perceive” with the “heart” the spiritual significancy of God‘s acts, both those in relation to Israel, primarily referred to here, and those relating 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 now interposing 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 by carnal ear, not to be understood by mere human sagacity, and when foretold by the prophets not fully perceived or credited; and even after the manifestation of Christ not to be understood save through the inward teaching of the Holy Ghost. These are partly past and present, and partly future; therefore Paul substitutes “prepared” for “doeth,” though his context shows he includes all three. For “waiteth” he has “love Him”; godly waiting on Him must flow from love, and not mere fear.

meetest — that is, Thou makest peace, or enterest into covenant with him (see on Isaiah 47:3).

rejoiceth and worketh — that is, who with joyful willingness worketh [Gesenius] (Acts 10:35; John 7:17).

those — Thou meetest “those,” in apposition to “him” who represents a class whose characteristics “those that,” etc., more fully describes.

remember thee in thy ways — (Isaiah 26:8).

sinned — literally, “tripped,” carrying on the figure in “ways.”

in those is continuance — a plea to deprecate the continuance of God‘s wrath; it is not in Thy wrath that there is continuance (Isaiah 54:7, Isaiah 54:8; Psalm 30:5; Psalm 103:9), but in Thy ways (“those”), namely, of covenant mercy to Thy people (Micah 7:18-20; Malachi 3:6); on the strength of the everlasting continuance of His covenant they infer by faith, “we shall be saved.” God “remembered” for them His covenant (Psalm 106:45), though they often “remembered not” Him (Psalm 78:42). Castellio translates, “we have sinned for long in them (‹thy ways‘), and could we then be saved?” But they hardly would use such a plea when their very object was to be saved.

unclean thing — legally unclean, as a leper. True of Israel, everywhere now cut off by unbelief and by God‘s judgments from the congregation of the saints.

righteousness — plural, “uncleanness” extended to every particular act of theirs, even to their prayers and praises. True of the best doings of the unregenerate (Philemon 3:6-8; Titus 1:15; Hebrews 11:6).

filthy rags — literally, a “menstruous rag” (Leviticus 15:33; Leviticus 20:18; Lamentations 1:17).

fade … leaf — (Psalm 90:5, Psalm 90:6).

stirreth — rouseth himself from spiritual drowsiness.

take hold — (Isaiah 27:5).

father — (Isaiah 63:16).

clay … potter — (Isaiah 29:16; Isaiah 45:9). Unable to mould themselves aright, they beg the sovereign will of God to mould them unto salvation, even as He made them at the first, and is their “Father.”

(Psalm 74:1, Psalm 74:2).

we are … thy people — (Jeremiah 14:9, Jeremiah 14:21).

holy cities — No city but Jerusalem is called “the holy city” (Isaiah 48:2; Isaiah 52:1); the plural, therefore, refers to the upper and the lower parts of the same city Jerusalem [Vitringa]; or all Judea was holy to God, so its cities were deemed “holy” [Maurer]. But the parallelism favors Vitringa. Zion and Jerusalem (the one city) answering to “holy cities.”

house — the temple.

beautiful — includes the idea of glorious (Mark 13:1; Acts 3:2).

burned — (Psalm 74:7; Lamentations 2:7; 2 Chronicles 36:19). Its destruction under Nebuchadnezzar prefigured that under Titus.

pleasant things — Hebrew, “objects of desire”; our homes, our city, and all its dear associations.

for these things — Wilt Thou, notwithstanding these calamities of Thy people, still refuse Thy aid (Isaiah 42:14)?