Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Isaiah
Book: Isaiah
Chapter: 64
Overview:
The
Church prays that
God's power may be manifested.
(1-5) A
Confession of
Sin, and
Afflictions bewailed.
(6-12)
1-5 They desire that
God would manifest himself to them and for
them,
So that all may see it. This is applicable to the second
Coming of Christ, when the
Lord himself shall descend from
Heaven. They plead what
God had used to do, and had declared his
gracious purpose to do, for his people. They need not fear being
disappointed of it, for it is sure; or disappointed in it, for
it is sufficient. The happiness of his people is bound up in
what
God has designed for them, and is preparing for them, and
preparing them for; what he has done or will do. Can we believe
this, and then think any thing too great to expect from his
Truth, power, and
Love? It is spiritual and cannot be
comprehended
By human understanding. It is ever ready. See what
Communion there is between a gracious
God and a gracious soul.
We must make
Conscience of doing our duty in every thing the
Lord our
God requires. Thou meetest him; this speaks his
freeness and forwardness in doing them good. Though
God has been
angry with us for our sins, and justly, yet his
Anger has soon
ended; but in his favour is
Life, which goes
On and continues,
and
On that we depend for our
Salvation.
6-12 The people of
God, in affliction, confess and bewail their
sins, owning themselves unworthy of his
Mercy.
Sin is that
abominable thing which the
Lord hates. Our deeds, whatever they
may seem to be, if we think to merit
By them at
God's
Hand, are
as rags, and will not cover us; filthy rags, and will but defile
us. Even our few good
Works in which there is real excellence,
as fruits of the
Spirit, are
So defective and defiled as done
By
us, that they need to be washed in the
Fountain open for
Sin and
uncleanness. It bodes ill when
Prayer is kept back. To pray, is
By Faith to take
Hold of the promises the
Lord has made of his
good-will to us, and to plead them; to take
Hold of him,
earnestly begging him not to leave us; or soliciting his return.
They brought their troubles upon themselves
By their own folly.
Sinners are blasted, and then carried away,
By the wind of their
own iniquity; it withers and then ruins them. When they made
themselves as an unclean thing,
No wonder that
God loathed them.
Foolish and careless as we are,
Poor and despised, yet still
Thou art our
Father. It is the wrath of a
Father we are under,
who will be reconciled; and the relief our case requires is
expected only from him. They refer themselves to
God. They do
not say, "
Lord, rebuke us not," for that may be necessary; but,
"Not in thy displeasure." They state their lamentable condition.
See what ruin
Sin brings upon a people; and an outward
profession of
Holiness will be
No defence against it.
God's
people presume not to tell him what he shall say, but their
Prayer is, Speak for the comfort and relief of thy people. How
few
Call upon the
Lord with their whole hearts, or stir
themselves to lay
Hold upon him!
God may delay for a time to
answer our prayers, but he will, in the
End, answer those who
Call On his name and
Hope in his
Mercy.