4 Will you not have mercy on him who takes pleasure in doing righteousness, even on those who keep in mind your ways? Truly you were angry, and we went on doing evil, and sinning against you in the past.
O how great is your grace, which you have put in store for your worshippers, and which you have made clear to those who had faith in you, before the sons of men!
But as it says in the holy Writings, Things which the eye saw not, and which had not come to the ears or into the heart of man, such things as God has made ready for those who have love for him. But God has given us the revelation of these things through his Spirit, for the Spirit makes search into all things, even the deep things of God.
The secret which has been kept from all times and generations, but has now been made clear to his saints, To whom God was pleased to give knowledge of the wealth of the glory of this secret among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
And in that day it will be said, See, this is our God; we have been waiting for him, and he will be our saviour: this is the Lord in whom is our hope; we will be glad and have delight in his salvation.
I am waiting for the Lord, my soul is waiting for him, and my hope is in his word.
See what great love the Father has given us in naming us the children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not see who we are, because it did not see who he was. My loved ones, now we are children of God, and at present it is not clear what we are to be. We are certain that at his revelation we will be like him; for we will see him as he is.
So that Christ may have his place in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and based in love, May have strength to see with all the saints how wide and long and high and deep it is, And to have knowledge of the love of Christ which is outside all knowledge, so that you may be made complete as God himself is complete. Now to him who is able to do in full measure more than all our desires or thoughts, through the power which is working in us, To him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations for ever and ever. So be it.
So that having every grace you are living in the hope of the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ;
And there was then in Jerusalem a man whose name was Simeon; and he was an upright man, fearing God and waiting for the comfort of Israel: and the Holy Spirit was on him.
For this cause the Lord will be waiting, so that he may be kind to you; and he will be lifted up, so that he may have mercy on you; for the Lord is a God of righteousness: there is a blessing on all whose hope is in him.
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were gone; and there was no more sea. And I saw the holy town, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, like a bride made beautiful for her husband. And there came to my ears a great voice out of the high seat, saying, See, the Tent of God is with men, and he will make his living-place with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them, and be their God. And he will put an end to all their weeping; and there will be no more death, or sorrow, or crying, or pain; for the first things have come to an end.
But now their desire is for a better country, that is to say, for one in heaven; and so it is no shame to God to be named their God; for he has made ready a town for them.
And without argument, great is the secret of religion: He who was seen in the flesh, who was given God's approval in the spirit, was seen by the angels, of whom the good news was given among the nations, in whom the world had faith, who was taken up in glory.
Which in other generations was not given to the sons of men, but the revelation of it has now been made to his holy Apostles and prophets in the Spirit; Which is that the Gentiles have a part in the heritage, and in the same body, and in the same hope in Christ through the good news, Of which I was made a preacher, through that grace of God which was given to me in the measure of the working of his power. To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, was this grace given, so that I might make clear to the Gentiles the good news of the unending wealth of Christ: And make all men see what is the ordering of the secret which from the first has been kept in God who made all things; So that now to the rulers and the authorities in the heavens might be made clear through the church the wide-shining wisdom of God,
And not only so, but we who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we have sorrow in our minds, waiting for the time when we will take our place as sons, that is, the salvation of our bodies. For our salvation is by hope: but hope which is seen is not hope: for who is hoping for what he sees? But if we have hope for that which we see not, then we will be able to go on waiting for it.
Then will the King say to those on his right, Come, you who have the blessing of my Father, into the kingdom made ready for you before the world was:
<To the chief music-maker. After Jeduthun. A Psalm. Of David.> My soul, put all your faith in God; for from him comes my salvation.
And I saw a river of water of life, clear as glass, coming out of the high seat of God and of the Lamb, In the middle of its street. And on this side of the river and on that was the tree of life, having twelve sorts of fruits, giving its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree give life to the nations. And there will be no more curse: and the high seat of God and of the Lamb will be there; and his servants will be worshipping him; And they will see his face; and his name will be on their brows. And there will be no more night; and they have no need of a light or of the shining of the sun; for the Lord God will give them light: and they will be ruling for ever and ever.
And I saw no Temple there; because the Lord God, the Ruler of all, and the Lamb are its Temple. And the town has no need of the sun, or of the moon, to give it light: for the glory of God did make it light, and the light of it is the Lamb. And the nations will go in its light: and the kings of the earth will take their glory into it.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Isaiah 64
Commentary on Isaiah 64 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 64
This chapter goes on with that pathetic pleading prayer which the church offered up to God in the latter part of the foregoing chapter. They had argued from their covenant-relation to God and his interest and concern in them; now here,
And this was not only intended for the use of the captive Jews, but may serve for direction to the church in other times of distress, what to ask of God and how to plead with him. Are God's people at any time in affliction, in great affliction? Let them pray, let them thus pray.
Isa 64:1-5
Here,
Isa 64:6-12
As we have the Lamentations of Jeremiah, so here we have the Lamentations of Isaiah; the subject of both is the same-the destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans and the sin of Israel that brought that destruction-only with this difference, Isaiah sees it at a distance and laments it by the Spirit of prophecy, Jeremiah saw it accomplished. In these verses,