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Isaiah 64

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A Prayer for God's Dramatic Presence 1–5

1
Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might quake at thy presence, ​
2
as when fire kindleth the brushwood, and the fire causeth the waters to boil; to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence! ​
3
When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains quaked at thy presence.
4
For from of old men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen a God besides thee, who worketh for him that waiteth for him. ​
5
Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou wast wroth, and we sinned: in them have we been of long time; and shall we be saved? ​

Confession of Sin and Unworthiness 6–7

6
For we are all become as one that is unclean, and all our righteousnesses are as a polluted garment: and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. ​
7
And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee; for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us by means of our iniquities. ​

Appeal to God as Father and Potter 8–9

8
But now, O Jehovah, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand. ​
9
Be not wroth very sore, O Jehovah, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, look, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.

Lament Over Jerusalem’s Desolation 10–12

10
Thy holy cities are become a wilderness, Zion is become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. ​
11
Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned with fire; and all our pleasant places are laid waste. ​
12
Wilt thou refrain thyself for these things, O Jehovah? wilt thou hold thy peace, and afflict us very sore? ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Isaiah 64

Verse 1

rend the heavens — The wish is for the LORD to 'come down', as David asked, 'Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke' (Ps 144:5). The mountains that 'flow down' recall Sinai, which 'quaked greatly' when 'the LORD descended upon it in fire' (Ex 19:18).

Verse 2

the melting fire burneth — Hamas, a dry twig or brushwood (the 'melting' fire), occurs only here. The fire is the one of Sinai (Ex 19:18) and the figure of 'our God is a consuming fire' (Heb 12:29). The purpose is stated: 'to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence'.

Verse 4

what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him — The verse is the nearest source of Paul's 'Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard… the things which God hath prepared for them that love him' (1 Cor 2:9). 'Waiteth' is chakah, the verb of 'blessed are all they that wait for him' (30:18). 'O God, beside thee' says that no other god does such things.

Verse 5

Thou meetest him — Paga', to meet or fall upon, is the verb of 53:6, 'the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all', and of 'made intercession' in 53:12. Here the LORD 'meets' those who 'rejoiceth and worketh righteousness' and who remember him 'in thy ways'. The confession follows: 'behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned'.

Verse 6

filthy rags — 'Ed ('filthy', in the plural) is found only here, a word for the soiling of uncleanness, and 'rags' translates beged, the ordinary word for a garment. Even 'righteousnesses' are unclean. 'Fade as a leaf' echoes 1:30, 'an oak whose leaf fadeth', and 'the wind' bearing them away echoes Ps 1:4, 'the chaff which the wind driveth away'.

Verse 7

stirreth up himself to take hold of thee — The verbs are 'ur, to rouse oneself, and chazaq, to grip fast. 'Hid thy face' is the warning of Deut 31:17, 'I will hide my face from them'; 59:2 gives the cause, 'your sins have hid his face from you'. 'Consumed' is mug, to melt, and 'because of' is literally 'by the hand of' (yad) the iniquities.

Verse 8

we are the clay, and thou our potter — Yatsar, to form, is the verb of the LORD as Maker throughout Isaiah (43:1; 44:2, 24). 'Father' answers 63:16. The same figures are used in Jer 18:6, 'as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand', and in Rom 9:21, 'Hath not the potter power over the clay'.

Verse 10

Thy holy cities are a wilderness — The cities of Judah, with 'Zion' and 'Jerusalem', are named as laid waste. 'Desolation' (shemamah) is the word set in 62:4 against the new name: 'neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate'. The two chapters answer one another.

Verse 11

Our holy and our beautiful house — 'Beautiful' is tiphereth, the word translated 'glory' in 62:3 and 63:15. The house 'is burned up with fire', as 2 Kings 25:9 records: 'he burnt the house of the LORD'. 'Pleasant things' (machmad) are the word of Lam 1:10, where the adversary 'spread out his hand upon all her pleasant things'.

Verse 12

wilt thou hold thy peace — 'Hold thy peace' is chashah, the verb of 62:1, 'For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace', and of 62:6, the watchmen who 'shall never hold their peace'. The prayer ends by asking whether he will keep silent. 'Refrain thyself' is the verb of 63:15, 'are they restrained?'