Isaiah 64:5 - We Need A Savior.
Isa.64:5; We Need A Savior.
CONTENT; What's in the verse; Translations; Paraphrase; Word
Study:
Isa 64:5 (KJV) Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh
righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth;
for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved.
Isaiah 64:5 (NKJV) You meet him who rejoices and does
righteousness, Who remembers You in Your ways. You are indeed angry, for we
have sinned -- In these ways we continue; And we need to be saved.
Isa 64:5 (NIV) 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?
Isaiah 64:5 (NLT) You welcome those who cheerfully do good, who
follow godly ways. But we are not godly. We are constant sinners, so
your anger is heavy on us. How can people like us be saved?
Isa 64:5 (CEV) You help all who gladly obey and do what you
want, but sin makes you angry. Only by your help can we ever be
saved.
Thou meetest him. Heaven is not far away from earth. God meets
with those who are willing to meet with Him. Since God is a righteous
and a holy God, and since wickedness constitutes rebellion against
Him and against the principles of His kingdom, He walks in closeness
of fellowship only with those who seek after righteousness. [SDA
Commentary]
Remember. Not only do they keep God in their conscious memory;
they do that which a knowledge of God and of the divine way should
lead men to do. [SDA Commentary]
In those is continuance. The Hebrew here is brief and obscure.
Many reconstructions have been attempted. Some think that the
reference is to a continuance of God's mercy and saving grace to the
penitent. Others believe that the pronoun "those" refers to Israel's
rebellion against God. [SDA Commentary]
The word indeed (NKJV) provides a transition from the petition
(63:15-64:5) to the confession of sin (64:5-7). [Nelson SB]
CONTEXT; What's around the verse; Overview; Topic:
63:7-64:12 The Remnant's Praise And Plea
Redeemed Israel acknowledged God's past mercies (Isa. 63:7-14)
and prayed for him to deal kindly with his repentant people. The
phrase "divided the waters" (63:12) is an allusion to one of the great
miracles of the exodus, the parting of the Red Sea (Exod. 14:16). Even
though "Abraham" and "Israel" might disown their descendants because of
their sin, certainly God, "our Father," cannot deny his own children
(Isa. 63:16; cf. 2 Tim. 2:13). Paul quoted Isaiah 64:4 in 1
Corinthians 2:9 with reference to the heavenly glories awaiting the believer
in Christ. Israel's unworthiness for God's mercy was highlighted.
The appeal for forgiveness and restoration was based totally on
God's grace (Isa. 64:5-12). [New Bible Companion]
Overview
A vision of God's apocalyptic day of vengeance (63:1-6) moved
Isaiah to desperate prayer for his people (v. 7-64:12). God replied.
Sinners must be punished, but a remnant of Israel would survive
(65:1-16). God will then create a new heaven and new earth (vv. 17-25).
After the judgment, Zion will suddenly be repopulated (66:1-17), and
all peoples will worship as brothers before God's throne (vv.
18-24). [The 365-Day Devotional Commentary]
SECTION HEADINGS
A prayer for divine intervention. [Ryrie SB]
A Prayer of Penitence
Prayer for Mercy and Pardon
CROSS REFERENCES; What's in verses elsewhere.
Psalm 25:10 (KJV) All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth
unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.
Psalm 103:17 (KJV) But the mercy of the Lord is from
everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness
unto children's children;
Psalm 112:1 (KJV) Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that
feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.
Hosea 6:3 (KJV) Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the
Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come
unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.
Acts 10:35 (KJV) But in every nation he that feareth him, and
worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.
Philip. 3:13-14 (KJV) Brethren, I count not myself to have
apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are
behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, [14] I
press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in
Christ Jesus.
Hebrews 4:16 (KJV) Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne
of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time
of need.
COMMENTARY / APPLICATION: Moving From The Head To The Heart
What is God teaching here? What does it teach about Jesus?
64:5-12 God's anger and seeming withdrawal are understandable
and appropriate, because his people have neglected and disobeyed
him. He shapes human affairs, as is evident in his punishing them by
causing the destruction of their cities, the desolation of the land, and
the ruin of the temple. [Cambridge Annotated SB]
ISAIAH 64:1-12 People experience their own sinfulness and the
absence of God. God's anger stands over the lost person. Good deeds are
worthless when the person is not rightly related to God. The only hope for
a lost person is to confess sins and call on God for salvation.
[Disciple SB]
ISAIAH 64:4-7 Sin destroys us spiritually and physically because
God intervenes in our lives to discipline sinners. Habitual sin
brings God's judging anger from which salvation appears impossible.
Such sin makes us feel filthy, unworthy of speaking to God. We see
our basic sin as failing to call on God in moments of distress
because we feel He will not hear us. Still we have hope. We can express
our feelings to God as the prophet did in this strong prayer of
lament and confession. [Disciple SB]
ISAIAH 64:5, 9 Sinners suffering under God's wrath may pray for
relief. [Disciple SB]
We do not become righteous by being good. This passage can
easily be misunderstood. It does not mean that God will reject us if we
come to him in faith, nor does it mean that he despises our efforts
to please him. It means that if we come to him demanding acceptance
on the basis of our "good" conduct, God will point out that our
righteousness is nothing compared to his infinite righteousness. Sin makes us
unclean so that we cannot approach God (Romans 3:23) any more than a
beggar in rotten rags could dine at a king's table. Our best efforts
are still infected with sin. Our only hope, therefore, is faith in
Jesus Christ, who can cleanse us and bring us into God's presence.
[Life Application SB]
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