Isaiah 64

Isaiah 64:1-12 . TRANSITION FROM COMPLAINT TO PRAYER.

1. rend . . . heavens--bursting forth to execute vengeance, suddenly descending on Thy people's foe ( Psalms 18:9 , 144:5 , Habakkuk 3:5 Habakkuk 3:6 ).
flow down--( Judges 5:5 , Micah 1:4 ).

2. Oh, that Thy wrath would consume Thy foes as the fire. Rather, "as the fire burneth the dry brushwood" [GESENIUS].

3. When--Supply from Isaiah 64:2 , "As when."
terrible things--( Psalms 65:5 ).
we looked not for--far exceeding the expectation of any of our nation; unparalleled before ( Exodus 34:10 , Psalms 68:8 ).
camest down--on Mount Sinai.
mountains flowed--Repeated from Isaiah 64:1 ; they pray God to do the very same things for Israel now as in former ages. GESENIUS, instead of "flowed" here, and "flow" in Isaiah 64:1 , translates from a different Hebrew root, "quake . . . quaked"; but "fire" melts and causes to flow, rather than to quake ( Isaiah 64:2 ).

4. perceived by the ear--Paul ( 1 Corinthians 2:9 ) has for this, "nor have entered into the heart of man"; the virtual sense, sanctioned by his inspired authority; men might hear with the outward ear, but they could only by the Spirit "perceive" with the "heart" the spiritual significancy of God's acts, both those in relation to Israel, primarily referred to here, and those relating to the Gospel secondarily, which Paul refers to.
O God . . . what he . . . prepared--rather, "nor hath eye seen a god beside thee who doeth such things." They refer to God's past marvellous acts in behalf of Israel as a plea for His now interposing for His people; but the Spirit, as Paul by inspiration shows, contemplated further God's revelation in the Gospel, which abounds in marvellous paradoxes never before heard of by carnal ear, not to be understood by mere human sagacity, and when foretold by the prophets not fully perceived or credited; and even after the manifestation of Christ not to be understood save through the inward teaching of the Holy Ghost. These are partly past and present, and partly future; therefore Paul substitutes "prepared" for "doeth," though his context shows he includes all three. For "waiteth" he has "love Him"; godly waiting on Him must flow from love, and not mere fear.

5. meetest--that is, Thou makest peace, or enterest into covenant
rejoiceth and worketh--that is, who with joyful willingness worketh [GESENIUS] ( Acts 10:35 , John 7:17 ).
those--Thou meetest "those," in apposition to "him" who represents a class whose characteristics "those that," &c., more fully describes.
remember thee in thy ways--( Isaiah 26:8 ).
sinned--literally, "tripped," carrying on the figure in "ways."
in those is continuance--a plea to deprecate the continuance of God's wrath; it is not in Thy wrath that there is continuance ( Isaiah 54:7 Isaiah 54:8 , Psalms 30:5 , 103:9 ), but in Thy ways ("those"), namely, of covenant mercy to Thy people ( Micah 7:18-20 Malachi 3:6 ); on the strength of the everlasting continuance of His covenant they infer by faith, "we shall be saved." God "remembered" for them His covenant ( Psalms 106:45 ), though they often "remembered not" Him ( Psalms 78:42 ). CASTELLIO translates, "we have sinned for long in them ('thy ways'), and could we then be saved?" But they hardly would use such a plea when their very object was to be saved.