(11) Our holy and our beautiful house . . .—The destruction of the Temple, which, on the assumption of Isaiah’s authorship, the prophet sees in vision, with all its historic memories, comes as the climax of suffering, and, therefore, of the appeal to the compassion of Jehovah.All our pleasant things . . .—Probably, as in 2 Chronicles 36:19, the precincts, porticoes, and other “goodly buildings” of the Temple. read more
(12) Wilt thou refrain . . .?—The final appeal to the fatherly compassion of Jehovah reminds us of the scene when Joseph could not “refrain” (Genesis 45:1), and natural tenderness would find a vent. Could the God of Israel look on the scene of desolation, and not be moved to pity? read more
Isaiah 64:1 'A phantasmagoria of men and events floats before the historian,' says Mr. J. H. Shorthouse; 'men seem in history to have walked in a vain show; the more he inquires into men and creeds, the more he is perplexed he finds none which he can say is absolutely right, no one fully wrong; the course of Nature maintains its impartial calm, shutting out the sight of God from him, and his constant prayer is that ejaculation of Isaiah, "O that thou wouldest rend the heavens and come down! "'... read more
CHAPTER XXVA LAST INTERCESSION AND THE JUDGMENTIsaiah 63:7 through Isaiah 66:1-24WE might well have thought, that with the section we have been considering the prophecy of Israel’s Redemption had reached its summit and its end. The glory of Zion in sight, the full programme of prophecy owned, the arrival of the Divine Saviour hailed in the urgency of His feeling for His people, in the sufficiency of His might to save them, -what more, we ask, can the prophecy have to give us? Why does it not... read more
CHAPTER 63:7-19-64:12 The Great Intercessory Prayer 1. Jehovah’s loving kindness and power in the past remembered (Isaiah 63:7-14 ) 2. Their deepest need (Isaiah 63:15 ) 3. The cry of faith, Thou art our Father (Isaiah 63:16 ) 4. The increasing plea (Isaiah 63:17-19 ) 5. The prayer for Jehovah’s manifestation (Isaiah 64:1-4 ) 6. Confession and humiliation (Isaiah 64:5-7 ) 7. The cry for mercy and help (Isaiah 64:8-12 ) This is one of the greatest prayers in the Bible. The... read more
64:1 O that thou wouldest {a} rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence,(a) The prophet continues his prayer, desiring God to declare his love toward his Church by miracles and mighty power, as he did in mount Sinai. read more
64:2 As [when] the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth {b} the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thy adversaries, [that] the nations may tremble at thy presence!(b) Meaning, the rain, hail, fire, thunder and lightning. read more
64:4 For since the beginning of the world [men] have not {c} heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, besides thee, [what] he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.(c) Paul uses the same kind of admiration, 1 Corinthians 2:9 marvelling at God’s great benefit showed to his Church, by the preaching of the gospel. read more
64:5 Thou meetest him {d} that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, [those that] remember thee in thy {e} ways: behold, thou art angry; for we have sinned: in {f} those is continuance, and we {g} shall be saved.(d) You showed favour toward our fathers, when they trusted in you and walked after your commandments.(e) They considered your great mercies.(f) That is, in your mercies, which he calls the ways of the Lord.(g) You will have pity on us. read more
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Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 64:10
(10) Thy holy cities . . .—There is no other instance of the plural, and this probably led the LXX. and Vulg. to substitute the singular. It probably rests on the thought that the whole land was holy (Zechariah 2:12), and that this attribute extended, therefore, to all its cities, especially to those which were connected with historical memories. Possibly, however, Zion and Jerusalem—the former identified with the Temple, the latter with the people of Jehovah—are thought of as two distinct... read more