7 I will record the loving-kindnesses of Jehovah, the praises of Jehovah, according to all that Jehovah hath bestowed upon us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel which he hath bestowed upon them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his loving-kindnesses.
but God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love wherewith he loved us,
{To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David; when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bath-sheba.} Be gracious unto me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness; according to the abundance of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.
But thou, Lord, art a ùGod merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in goodness and truth.
For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive, and art of great loving-kindness unto all that call upon thee.
And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all good things, wells digged, vineyards and olive-gardens, and fruit trees in abundance. And they did eat and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness.
On the eighth day he sent the people away; and they blessed the king, and went to their tents, joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that Jehovah had done to David his servant, and to Israel his people.
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto Jehovah, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
And I passed by thee, and saw thee weltering in thy blood, and I said unto thee, in thy blood, Live! yea, I said unto thee, in thy blood, Live! I caused thee to multiply, as the bud of the field; and thou didst increase and grow great, and thou camest to fulness of beauty; [thy] breasts were fashioned, and thy hair grew: but thou wast naked and bare. And I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, and behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness; and I swore unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord Jehovah, and thou becamest mine. And I washed thee with water, and thoroughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil; and I clothed thee with embroidered work, and shod thee with badgers' skin, and I bound thee about with byssus, and covered thee with silk. And I decked thee with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck; and I put a ring on thy nose, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thy head. Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver, and thy raiment was byssus, and silk, and embroidered work. Thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil; and thou becamest exceedingly beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom. And thy fame went forth among the nations for thy beauty; for it was perfect through my magnificence, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord Jehovah.
For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! Corn shall make the young men flourish, and new wine the maidens.
or despisest thou the riches of his goodness, and forbearance, and long-suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads thee to repentance?
to [the] praise of [the] glory of his grace, wherein he has taken us into favour in the Beloved: in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of offences, according to the riches of his grace;
But the grace of our Lord surpassingly over-abounded with faith and love, which [is] in Christ Jesus.
But when the kindness and love to man of our Saviour God appeared, not on the principle of works which [have been done] in righteousness which *we* had done, but according to his own mercy he saved us through [the] washing of regeneration and renewal of [the] Holy Spirit, which he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that, having been justified by *his* grace, we should become heirs according to [the] hope of eternal life.
Remember his wondrous works which he hath done, his miracles and the judgments of his mouth: Ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye sons of Jacob, his chosen ones. He, Jehovah, is our God; his judgments are in all the earth. He is ever mindful of his covenant, -- the word which he commanded to a thousand generations, -- Which he made with Abraham, and of his oath unto Isaac; And he confirmed it unto Jacob for a statute, unto Israel for an everlasting covenant, Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance; When they were a few men in number, of small account, and strangers in it. And they went from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people. He suffered no man to oppress them, and reproved kings for their sakes, [Saying,] Touch not mine anointed ones, and do my prophets no harm. And he called for a famine upon the land; he broke the whole staff of bread. He sent a man before them: Joseph was sold for a bondman. They afflicted his feet with fetters; his soul came into irons; Until the time when what he said came about: the word of Jehovah tried him. The king sent and loosed him -- the ruler of peoples -- and let him go free. He made him lord of his house, and ruler over all his possessions: To bind his princes at his pleasure, and teach his elders wisdom. And Israel came into Egypt, and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. And he made his people exceeding fruitful, and made them mightier than their oppressors. He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal subtilly with his servants. He sent Moses his servant, [and] Aaron whom he had chosen: They set his signs among them, and miracles in the land of Ham. He sent darkness, and made it dark; and they rebelled not against his word. He turned their waters into blood, and caused their fish to die. Their land swarmed with frogs, -- in the chambers of their kings. He spoke, and there came dog-flies, [and] gnats in all their borders. He gave them hail for rain, [and] flaming fire in their land; And he smote their vines and their fig-trees, and broke the trees of their borders. He spoke, and the locust came, and the cankerworm, even without number; And they devoured every herb in their land, and ate up the fruit of their ground. And he smote every firstborn in their land, the firstfruits of all their vigour. And he brought them forth with silver and gold; and there was not one feeble among their tribes. Egypt rejoiced at their departure; for the fear of them had fallen upon them. He spread a cloud for a covering, and fire to give light in the night. They asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of heaven. He opened the rock, and waters gushed forth; they ran in the dry places [like] a river. For he remembered his holy word, [and] Abraham his servant; And he brought forth his people with gladness, his chosen with rejoicing; And he gave them the lands of the nations, and they took possession of the labour of the peoples: That they might keep his statutes, and observe his laws. Hallelujah!
Jehovah is slow to anger, and abundant in goodness, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but by no means clearing [the guilty], visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and fourth [generation]. Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of thy loving-kindness, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.
Thou art the Same, Jehovah Elohim, who didst choose Abram and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham; and foundest his heart faithful before thee, and madest the covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, -- to give it to his seed; and thou hast performed thy words, for thou art righteous. And thou sawest the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red Sea; and didst shew signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and upon all his servants, and upon all the people of his land; for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them, and thou didst make thee a name, as it is this day. And thou didst divide the sea before them, and they went through the midst of the sea on dry [ground]; and their pursuers thou threwest into the depths, as a stone into the mighty waters. And thou leddest them in the day by a pillar of cloud, and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go. And thou camest down on mount Sinai, and didst speak with them from the heavens, and gavest them right judgments and true laws, good statutes and commandments. And thou madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and prescribedst for them commandments and statutes and a law, through Moses thy servant. And thou gavest them bread from the heavens for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and didst say to them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.
yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud departed not from over them by day, to lead them on the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go. Thou gavest also thy good Spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst. Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing; their clothes grew not old, and their feet swelled not.
And thou gavest them into the hand of their oppressors, and they oppressed them; and in the time of their distress, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them from the heavens, and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their oppressors.
Nevertheless for thy manifold mercies' sake, thou didst not make a full end of them nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful ùGod.
For thy loving-kindness is better than life: my lips shall praise thee.
And forgot his doings, and his marvellous works which he had shewn them. In the sight of their fathers had he done wonders, in the land of Egypt, the field of Zoan. He clave the sea, and caused them to pass through; and made the waters to stand as a heap; And he led them with a cloud in the daytime, and all the night with the light of fire. He clave rocks in the wilderness, and gave [them] drink as out of the depths, abundantly; And he brought streams out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers. Yet they still went on sinning against him, provoking the Most High in the desert; And they tempted ùGod in their heart, by asking meat for their lust; And they spoke against God: they said, Is ùGod able to prepare a table in the wilderness? Behold, he smote the rock, and waters gushed out, and streams overflowed; is he able to give bread also, or provide flesh for his people? Therefore Jehovah heard, and was wroth; and fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also went up against Israel: Because they believed not in God, and confided not in his salvation; Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and had opened the doors of the heavens, And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them the corn of the heavens. Man did eat the bread of the mighty; he sent them provision to the full. He caused the east wind to rise in the heavens, and by his strength he brought the south wind; And he rained flesh upon them as dust, and feathered fowl as the sand of the seas, And he let it fall in the midst of their camp, round about their habitations: And they did eat, and were well filled; for that they lusted after, he brought to them. They were not alienated from their lust, their meat was yet in their mouths, When the anger of God went up against them; and he slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel. For all this, they sinned still, and believed not in his marvellous works; And he consumed their days in vanity, and their years in terror. When he slew them, then they sought him, and returned and sought early after ùGod; And they remembered that God was their rock, and ùGod, the Most High, their redeemer. But they flattered him with their mouth, and lied unto him with their tongue; For their heart was not firm toward him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant. But he was merciful: he forgave the iniquity, and destroyed [them] not; but many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his fury: And he remembered that they were flesh, a breath that passeth away and cometh not again. How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert! And they turned again and tempted ùGod, and grieved the Holy One of Israel. They remembered not his hand, the day when he delivered them from the oppressor, How he set his signs in Egypt, and his miracles in the field of Zoan; And turned their rivers into blood, and their streams, that they could not drink; He sent dog-flies among them, which devoured them, and frogs, which destroyed them; And he gave their increase unto the caterpillar, and their labour unto the locust; He killed their vines with hail, and their sycamore trees with hail-stones; And he delivered up their cattle to the hail, and their flocks to thunderbolts. He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and distress, -- a mission of angels of woes. He made a way for his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence; And he smote all the firstborn in Egypt, the first-fruits of their vigour in the tents of Ham. And he made his own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock; And he led them safely, so that they were without fear; and the sea covered their enemies. And he brought them to his holy border, this mountain, which his right hand purchased; And he drove out the nations before them, and allotted them for an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents. But they tempted and provoked God, the Most High, and kept not his testimonies, And they drew back and dealt treacherously like their fathers: they turned like a deceitful bow. And they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images. God heard, and was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel: And he forsook the tabernacle at Shiloh, the tent where he had dwelt among men, And gave his strength into captivity, and his glory into the hand of the oppressor; And delivered up his people unto the sword, and was very wroth with his inheritance: The fire consumed their young men, and their maidens were not praised in [nuptial] song; Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation. Then the Lord awoke as one out of sleep, like a mighty man that shouteth aloud by reason of wine; And he smote his adversaries in the hinder part, and put them to everlasting reproach. And he rejected the tent of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim, But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved; And he built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which he hath founded for ever. And he chose David his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds: From following the suckling-ewes, he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance. And he fed them according to the integrity of his heart, and led them by the skilfulness of his hands.
And Jehovah passed by before his face, and proclaimed, Jehovah, Jehovah ùGod merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy unto thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but by no means clearing [the guilty]; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, upon the third and upon the fourth [generation].
Let them give thanks unto Jehovah for his loving-kindness, and for his wondrous works to the children of men;
Let them give thanks unto Jehovah for his loving-kindness, and for his wondrous works to the children of men,
Let them give thanks unto Jehovah for his loving-kindness, and for his wondrous works to the children of men;
Give ye thanks unto Jehovah, for he is good; for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever: Give thanks unto the God of gods, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever; Give thanks unto the Lord of lords, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever. To him who alone doeth great wonders, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever: To him that by understanding made the heavens, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever; To him that stretched out the earth above the waters, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever; To him that made great lights, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever; The sun for rule over the day, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever, The moon and stars for rule over the night, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever: To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever, And brought out Israel from among them, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever, With a powerful hand and with a stretched-out arm, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever; To him that divided the Red sea into parts, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever, And made Israel to pass through the midst of it, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever, And overturned Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever; To him that led his people through the wilderness, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever; To him that smote great kings, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever, And slew famous kings, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever; Sihon king of the Amorites, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever, And Og king of Bashan, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever; And gave their land for an inheritance, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever, An inheritance unto Israel his servant, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever: Who hath remembered us in our low estate, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever; And hath delivered us from our oppressors, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever: Who giveth food to all flesh, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever. Give ye thanks unto the ùGod of the heavens; for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever.
He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel. He hath not dealt thus with any nation; and as for [his] judgments, they have not known them. Hallelujah!
But thou, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham, my friend -- thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from the extremities thereof, and to whom I said, Thou art my servant, I have chosen thee and not rejected thee,
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Isaiah 63
Commentary on Isaiah 63 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 63
Isa 63:1-19. Messiah Coming as the Avenger, in Answer to His People's Prayers.
Messiah, approaching Jerusalem after having avenged His people on His and their enemies, is represented under imagery taken from the destruction of "Edom," the type of the last and most bitter foes of God and His people (see Isa 34:5, &c.).
1. Who—the question of the prophet in prophetic vision.
dyed—scarlet with blood (Isa 63:2, 3; Re 19:13).
Bozrah—(See on Isa 34:6).
travelling—rather, stately; literally, "throwing back the head" [Gesenius].
speak in righteousness—answer of Messiah. I, who have in faithfulness given a promise of deliverance, am now about to fulfil it. Rather, speak of righteousness (Isa 45:19; 46:13); salvation being meant as the result of His "righteousness" [Maurer].
save—The same Messiah that destroys the unbeliever saves the believer.
2. The prophet asks why His garments are "dyed" and "red."
winefat—rather, the "wine-press," wherein the grapes were trodden with the feet; the juice would stain the garment of him who trod them (Re 14:19, 20; 19:15). The image was appropriate, as the country round Bozrah abounded in grapes. This final blow inflicted by Messiah and His armies (Re 19:13-15) shall decide His claim to the kingdoms usurped by Satan, and by the "beast," to whom Satan delegates his power. It will be a day of judgment to the hostile Gentiles, as His first coming was a day of judgment to the unbelieving Jews.
3. Reply of Messiah. For the image, see La 1:15. He "treads the wine-press" here not as a sufferer, but as an inflicter of vengeance.
will tread … shall be … will stain—rather preterites, "I trod … trampled … was sprinkled … I stained."
blood—literally, "spirited juice" of the grape, pressed out by treading [Gesenius].
4. is—rather, "was." This assigns the reason why He has thus destroyed the foe (Zep 3:8).
my redeemed—My people to be redeemed.
day … year—here, as in Isa 34:8; 61:2, the time of "vengeance" is described as a "day"; that of grace and of "recompense" to the "redeemed," as a "year."
5. The same words as in Isa 59:16, except that there it is His "righteousness," here it is His "fury," which is said to have upheld Him.
6. Rather, preterites, "I trod down … made them drunk." The same image occurs Isa 51:17, 21-23; Ps 75:8; Jer 25:26, 27.
will bring down … strength to … earth—rather, "I spilled their life-blood (the same Hebrew words as in Isa 63:3) on the earth" [Lowth and Septuagint].
7. Israel's penitential confession and prayer for restoration (Ps 102:17, 20), extending from Isa 63:7 to 64:12.
loving-kindnesses … praises … mercies … loving-kindnesses—The plurals and the repetitions imply that language is inadequate to express the full extent of God's goodness.
us—the dispersed Jews at the time just preceding their final restoration.
house of Israel—of all ages; God was good not merely to the Jews now dispersed, but to Israel in every age of its history.
8. he—Jehovah "said," that is, thought, in choosing them as His covenant-people; so "said" (Ps 95:10). Not that God was ignorant that the Jews would not keep faith with Him; but God is here said, according to human modes of thought to say within Himself what He might naturally have expected, as the result of His goodness to the Jews; thus the enormity of their unnatural perversity is the more vividly set forth.
lie—prove false to Me (compare Ps 44:17).
so—in virtue of His having chosen them, He became their Saviour. So the "therefore" (Jer 31:33). His eternal choice is the ground of His actually saving men (Eph 1:3, 4).
9. he was afflicted—English Version reads the Hebrew as the Keri (Margin), does, "There was affliction to Him." But the Chetib (text) reads, "There was no affliction" (the change in Hebrew being only of one letter); that is, "In all their affliction there was no (utterly overwhelming) affliction" [Gesenius]; or, for "Hardly had an affliction befallen them, when the angel of His presence saved them" [Maurer]; or, as best suits the parallelism, "In all their straits there was no straitness in His goodness to them" [Houbigant], (Jud 10:16; Mic 2:7; 2Co 6:12).
angel of his presence—literally, "of His face," that is, who stands before Him continually; Messiah (Ex 14:19; 23:20, 21; Pr 8:30), language applicable to no creature (Ex 32:34; 33:2, 14; Nu 20:16; Mal 3:1).
bare them—(Isa 46:3, 4; 40:11; Ex 19:4; De 32:11, 12).
10. vexed—grieved (Ps 78:40; 95:10; Ac 7:51; Eph 4:30; Heb 3:10, 17).
he fought—rather, "He it was that fought," namely, the angel of His presence [Horsley], (La 2:5).
11. remembered—Notwithstanding their perversity, He forgot not His covenant of old; therefore He did not wholly forsake them (Le 26:40-42, 44, 45; Ps 106:45, 46); the Jews make this their plea with God, that He should not now forsake them.
saying—God is represented, in human language, mentally speaking of Himself and His former acts of love to Israel, as His ground for pitying them notwithstanding their rebellion.
sea—Red Sea.
shepherd—Moses; or if the Hebrew be read plural, "shepherds," Moses, Aaron, and the other leaders (so Ps 77:20).
put … Spirit … within him—Hebrew, "in the inward parts of him," that is, Moses; or it refers to the flock, "in the midst of his people" (Nu 11:17, 25; Ne 9:20; Hag 2:5).
12. The right hand of Moses was but the instrument; the arm of God was the real mover (Ex 15:6; 14:21).
dividing the water—(Ne 9:11; Ps 78:13).
13. deep—literally, "the tossing and roaring sea."
wilderness—rather, the "open plain" [Horsley], wherein there is no obstacle to cause a horse in its course the danger of stumbling.
14. As a beast … rest—image from a herd led "down" from the hills to a fertile and well-watered "valley" (Ps 23:2); so God's Spirit "caused Israel to rest" in the promised land after their weary wanderings.
to make … name—(So Isa 63:12; 2Sa 7:23).
15. Here begins a fervent appeal to God to pity Israel now on the ground of His former benefits.
habitation of … holiness—(Isa 57:15; De 26:15; 2Ch 30:27; Ps 33:14; 80:14).
zeal … strength—evinced formerly for Thy people.
sounding of … bowels—Thine emotions of compassion (Isa 16:11; Jer 31:20; 48:36; Ho 11:8).
16. thou … father—of Israel, by right not merely of creation, but also of electing adoption (Isa 64:8; De 32:6; 1Ch 29:10).
though Abraham … Israel—It had been the besetting temptation of the Jews to rest on the mere privilege of their descent from faithful Abraham and Jacob (Mt 3:9; Joh 8:39; 4:12); now at last they renounce this, to trust in God alone as their Father, notwithstanding all appearances to the contrary. Even though Abraham, our earthly father, on whom we have prided ourselves, disown us, Thou wilt not (Isa 49:15; Ps 27:10). Isaac is not mentioned, because not all his posterity was admitted to the covenant, whereas all Jacob's was; Abraham is specified because he was the first father of the Jewish race.
everlasting—an argument why He should help them, namely, because of His everlasting immutability.
17. made us to err—that is, "suffer" us to err and to be hardened in our heart. They do not mean to deny their own blameworthiness, but confess that through their own fault God gave them over to a reprobate mind (Isa 6:9, 10; Ps 119:10; Ro 1:28).
Return—(Nu 10:36; Ps 90:13).
18. people of … holiness—Israel dedicated as holy unto God (Isa 62:12; De 7:6).
possessed—namely, the Holy Land, or Thy "sanctuary," taken from the following clause, which is parallel to this (compare Isa 64:10, 11; Ps 74:6-8).
thy—an argument why God should help them; their cause is His cause.
19. thine … never—rather, "We are Thine from of old; Thou barest not rule over them" [Barnes]. Lowth translates, "We for long have been as those over whom Thou hast not ruled, who are not called by Thy name"; "for long" thus stands in contrast to "but a little while" (Isa 63:18). But the analogy of Isa 63:18 makes it likely that the first clause in this verse refers to the Jews, and the second to their foes, as English Version and Barnes translate it. The Jews' foes are aliens who have unjustly intruded into the Lord's heritage.