Charles Spurgeon Commentary Isaiah 64
Charles Spurgeon Commentary
Isaiah 64
Charles Spurgeon Commentary
Isaiah 64
"Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might quake at thy presence, 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!" — Isaiah 64:1-2 (ASV)
Or, much better, "as when the brushwood burns"; for if God only comes to his people, they are ready to catch the flame, like the dry heather which is soon ablaze; and his enemies also shall be like brushwood before the fire.
"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! When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains quaked at thy presence." — Isaiah 64:2-3 (ASV)
O Lord, come again! You came in the past; repeat your former acts, and let us see what you can do for the avenging of your people.
"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." — Isaiah 64:4 (ASV)
God is ready to help. He has everything in preparation before our needs begin. He has laid in supplies for all our wants. Before our prayers are presented, he has prepared his answers to them; blessed be his name! You remember how Paul uses this passage, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit. The spiritual man is a privileged man.
"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)
Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways:
God does not wait for us to return to him. He meets us. He comes to us the moment that we turn our feet towards his throne.
While we are, like the prodigal, a great way off, he sees us, and has compassion upon us, and runs to meet us.
Behold, you are angry, for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we will be saved.
In your faithfulness, in your love, in yourself, in your ways of mercy there is continuance. This is our safety. What are we? Here is the answer:
"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." — Isaiah 64:6 (ASV)
It is not a flattering picture that the prophet draws. Even our righteousnesses are like filthy rags, fit only for the fire; what must our righteousnesses be like? We, ourselves, are like the withered leaves on the trees; and just as the wind carries away the faded leaves of autumn, so our sins, like a mighty blast, carry us away.
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