Charles Ellicott Commentary Isaiah 64:5

"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?" — Isaiah 64:5 (ASV)

You meet him ... —The “meeting” is obviously one of favour. That was the law of God’s dealings with men. He met, in this sense, those who at once rejoiced in righteousness and practised it. But with Israel it was not so. Their sins had brought them under His anger, not under His favour.

In those is continuance ... —The clause is difficult, and has been variously interpreted:

1. “In these (the ways of God) there is permanence (literally, eternity), that we may be saved;”
2. “In these (the ways of evil) have we been a long time, and shall we be saved?”

The latter seems preferable. So taken, the clause carries on the confession of the people’s sinfulness.