THE LORD IS OUR FATHER
Isaiah 63:1-64:12 / Keywords 64:8-9
God’s Day of Vengeance and Redemption
63:1 Who is this coming from Edom,
from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson?
Who is this, robed in splendor,
striding forward in the greatness of his strength?
“It is I, proclaiming victory,
mighty to save.”
2 Why are your garments red,
like those of one treading the winepress?
3 “I have trodden the winepress alone;
from the nations no one was with me.
I trampled them in my anger
and trod them down in my wrath;
their blood spattered my garments,
and I stained all my clothing.
4 It was for me the day of vengeance;
the year for me to redeem had come.
5 I looked, but there was no one to help,
I was appalled that no one gave support;
so my own arm achieved salvation for me,
and my own wrath sustained me.
6 I trampled the nations in my anger;
in my wrath I made them drunk
and poured their blood on the ground.”
Praise and Prayer
7 I will tell of the kindnesses of the Lord,
the deeds for which he is to be praised,
according to all the Lord has done for us—
yes, the many good things
he has done for Israel,
according to his compassion and many kindnesses.
8 He said, “Surely they are my people,
children who will be true to me”;
and so he became their Savior.
9 In all their distress he too was distressed,
and the angel of his presence saved them.[a]
In his love and mercy he redeemed them;
he lifted them up and carried them
all the days of old.
10 Yet they rebelled
and grieved his Holy Spirit.
So he turned and became their enemy
and he himself fought against them.
11 Then his people recalled[b] the days of old,
the days of Moses and his people—
where is he who brought them through the sea,
with the shepherd of his flock?
Where is he who set
his Holy Spirit among them,
12 who sent his glorious arm of power
to be at Moses’ right hand,
who divided the waters before them,
to gain for himself everlasting renown,
13 who led them through the depths?
Like a horse in open country,
they did not stumble;
14 like cattle that go down to the plain,
they were given rest by the Spirit of the Lord.
This is how you guided your people
to make for yourself a glorious name.
15 Look down from heaven and see,
from your lofty throne, holy and glorious.
Where are your zeal and your might?
Your tenderness and compassion are withheld from us.
16 But you are our Father,
though Abraham does not know us
or Israel acknowledge us;
you, Lord, are our Father,
our Redeemer from of old is your name.
17 Why, Lord, do you make us wander from your ways
and harden our hearts so we do not revere you?
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes that are your inheritance.
18 For a little while your people possessed your holy place,
but now our enemies have trampled down your sanctuary.
19 We are yours from of old;
but you have not ruled over them,
they have not been called[c] by your name.
64:1 [d]Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,
that the mountains would tremble before you!
2 As when fire sets twigs ablaze
and causes water to boil,
come down to make your name known to your enemies
and cause the nations to quake before you!
3 For when you did awesome things that we did not expect,
you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.
4 Since ancient times no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.
5 You come to the help of those who gladly do right,
who remember your ways.
But when we continued to sin against them,
you were angry.
How then can we be saved?
6 All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
7 No one calls on your name
or strives to lay hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us
and have given us over to[e] our sins.
8 Yet you, Lord, are our Father.
We are the clay, you are the potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
9 Do not be angry beyond measure, Lord;
do not remember our sins forever.
Oh, look on us, we pray,
for we are all your people.
10 Your sacred cities have become a wasteland;
even Zion is a wasteland, Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and glorious temple, where our ancestors praised you,
has been burned with fire,
and all that we treasured lies in ruins.
12 After all this, Lord, will you hold yourself back?
Will you keep silent and punish us beyond measure?
Footnotes
a. Isaiah 63:9 Or Savior 9 in their distress. / It was no envoy or angel / but his own presence that saved them
b. Isaiah 63:11 Or But may he recall
c. Isaiah 63:19 Or We are like those you have never ruled, / like those never called
d. Isaiah 64:1 In Hebrew texts 64:1 is numbered 63:19b, and 64:2-12 is numbered 64:1-11.
e. Isaiah 64:7 Septuagint, Syriac and Targum; Hebrew have made us melt because of
1. The divine warrior comes with his garment soaked in
blood. His coming is the day of vengeance for the enemies of his people,
symbolized by Edom. It is also the day of salvation for his people. We look
forward to this day when Jesus comes again to put all his enemies, even sin and
death, under his feet.
2. The prophet remembers God’s steadfast love for his people, demonstrated in his people’s redemption from slavery in Egypt in the days of Moses. In light of God’s faithfulness to Israel in the past, Isaiah asks God to show mercy and
compassion on them. He asks for God’s active intervention to save them. God acts on behalf of
those who wait on him and helps those who do right and remembers his ways.
Isaiah confesses their sins, identifying himself with his sinful and unclean
people. Even all their righteous acts are like filthy rags (12). We cannot
claim anything from God. We need God’s grace of forgiveness. We must put on Jesus Christ, God’s righteousness. The prophet asks God for mercy, as a child comes to his
father, asserting: “LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay; you are the
potter. We are all the work of your hand.” Our hope lies only in God who will not keep silent
forever but helps those who ask for mercy and wait patiently on him.
Prayer Lord, I am not able to do what is right in your sight without your grace.
Cleanse me and clothe me with the righteousness of Christ.
One Word God is our Father and Redeemer
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