Matthew Henry Commentary Isaiah 63
Matthew Henry Commentary
Isaiah 63
Matthew Henry Commentary
Isaiah 63
"Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winevat? I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the peoples there was no man with me: yea, I trod them in mine anger, and trampled them in my wrath; and their lifeblood is sprinkled upon my garments, and I have stained all my raiment. For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my wrath, it upheld me. And I trod down the peoples in mine anger, and made them drunk in my wrath, and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth." — Isaiah 63:1-6 (ASV)
The prophet, in vision, sees the Messiah returning in triumph from the conquest of his enemies, of whom Edom was a type. Traveling, not as wearied by the battle, but, in the greatness of his strength, prepared to overcome every opposing power. Messiah declares that he had been treading the winepress of the wrath of God (Revelation 14:19; Revelation 19:13), and by his own power, without any human help, he had crushed his obstinate opponents, for the day of vengeance was determined, being the appointed season for rescuing his church.
Once, he appeared on earth in apparent weakness, to pour out his precious blood as an atonement for our sins; but he will in due time appear in the greatness of his strength. The vintage ripens quickly; the day of vengeance, fixed and determined, approaches quickly; let sinners seek to be reconciled to their righteous Judge before he brings down their strength to the earth.
Does Christ say, I come quickly? Let our hearts reply, Even so, come; let the year of the redeemed come.
"I will make mention of the lovingkindnesses of Jehovah, [and] the praises of Jehovah, according to all that Jehovah hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses. For he said, Surely, they are my people, children that will not deal falsely: so he was their Saviour. In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled, and grieved his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, [and] himself fought against them. Then he remembered the days of old, Moses [and] his people, [saying], Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit in the midst of them? that caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses? that divided the waters before them, to make himself an everlasting name? that led them through the depths, as a horse in the wilderness, so that they stumbled not? As the cattle that go down into the valley, the Spirit of Jehovah caused them to rest; so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious name." — Isaiah 63:7-14 (ASV)
The latter part of this chapter, and the whole of the next, seem to express the prayers of the Jews concerning their manner of life. They acknowledge God's great mercies and favors to their nation. They confess their wickedness and hardness of heart; they entreat his forgiveness, and deplore the miserable condition under which they have so long suffered.
The only-begotten Son of the Father became the Angel or Messenger of his love; thus he redeemed and bore them with tenderness. Yet they murmured, and resisted his Holy Spirit, despising and persecuting his prophets, rejecting and crucifying the promised Messiah. All our comforts and hopes spring from the loving-kindness of the Lord, and all our miseries and fears from our sins.
But he is the Saviour, and when sinners seek after him, who in past ages glorified himself by saving and feeding his purchased flock, and leading them safely through dangers, and has given his Holy Spirit to prosper the labours of his ministers, there is good ground to hope they are discovering the way of peace.
"Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where are thy zeal and thy mighty acts? the yearning of thy heart and thy compassions are restrained toward me. For thou art our Father, though Abraham knoweth us not, and Israel doth not acknowledge us: thou, O Jehovah, art our Father; our Redeemer from everlasting is thy name. O Jehovah, why dost thou make us to err from thy ways, and hardenest our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants` sake, the tribes of thine inheritance. Thy holy people possessed [it] but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary. We are become as they over whom thou never barest rule, as they that were not called by thy name." — Isaiah 63:15-19 (ASV)
They implore him to look down on the miserable condition of their once-favored nation. Would it not be glorious to his name to remove the veil from their hearts, to return to the tribes of his inheritance?
The Babylonian captivity, and the subsequent deliverance of the Jews, were shadows of the events prophesied here. The Lord looks down upon us in tenderness and mercy.
Spiritual judgments are more to be feared than any other disasters; and we should most carefully avoid those sins which rightly provoke the Lord to leave people to themselves and to their deceiver.
Our Redeemer from everlasting is your name; your people have always looked upon you as the God to whom they might appeal. The Lord will hear the prayers of those who belong to him, and deliver them from those not called by his name.
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