There is no one who calls on your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have consumed us by means of our iniquities.
Parallel Translations
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There is no one who calls on your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have consumed us by means of our iniquities.
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And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.
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(64-6) And there is none that calleth upon Thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of Thee; for Thou hast hid Thy face from us, and hast consumed us by means of our iniquities.
Cross-references (20)
Passages linked to Isaiah 64:7 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Ezekiel 22:30 “I sought for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I would not destroy it; but I found no one.
- Isaiah 50:2 Why, when I came, was there no one? When I called, why was there no one to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it can’t redeem? Or have I no power to deliver? Behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea. I make the rivers a wilderness. Their fish stink because there is no water, and die of thirst.
- Isaiah 59:16 He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor. Therefore his own arm brought salvation to him; and his righteousness sustained him.
- Hosea 7:14 They haven’t cried to me with their heart, but they howl on their beds. They assemble themselves for grain and new wine. They turn away from me.
- Isaiah 27:5 Or else let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me. Let him make peace with me.”
- Isaiah 54:8 In overflowing wrath I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting loving kindness I will have mercy on you,” says Yahweh your Redeemer.
- Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have separated you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
- Hosea 7:7 They are all hot as an oven, and devour their judges. All their kings have fallen. There is no one among them who calls to me.
- Deuteronomy 31:17-18 Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall come on them; so that they will say in that day, ‘Haven’t these evils come on us because our God is not among us?’ I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evil which they have done, in that they have turned to other gods.
- Deuteronomy 32:19-25 Yahweh saw and abhorred, because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters. He said, “I will hide my face from them. I will see what their end will be; for they are a very perverse generation, children in whom is no faithfulness. They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God. They have provoked me to anger with their vanities. I will move them to jealousy with those who are not a people. I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation. For a fire is kindled in my anger, that burns to the lowest Sheol, devours the earth with its increase, and sets the foundations of the mountains on fire. “I will heap evils on them. I will spend my arrows on them. They shall be wasted with hunger, and devoured with burning heat and bitter destruction. I will send the teeth of animals on them, with the venom of vipers that glide in the dust. Outside the sword will bereave, and in the rooms, terror on both young man and virgin, the nursing infant with the gray-haired man.
- Job 8:4 If your children have sinned against him, he has delivered them into the hand of their disobedience.
- Psalms 14:4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and don’t call on Yahweh?
- Isaiah 1:15 When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you. Yes, when you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood.
- Isaiah 56:4 For Yahweh says, “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, choose the things that please me, and hold fast to my covenant,
- Isaiah 57:17 I was angry because of the iniquity of his covetousness and struck him. I hid myself and was angry; and he went on backsliding in the way of his heart.
- Isaiah 59:4 No one sues in righteousness, and no one pleads in truth. They trust in vanity, and speak lies. They conceive mischief, and give birth to iniquity.
- Jeremiah 9:7 Therefore Yahweh of Armies says, “Behold, I will melt them and test them; for how should I deal with the daughter of my people?
- Ezekiel 22:18-22 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me. All of them are bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the middle of the furnace. They are the dross of silver. Therefore the Lord Yahweh says: ‘Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the middle of Jerusalem. As they gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the middle of the furnace, to blow the fire on it, to melt it; so I will gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will lay you there, and melt you. Yes, I will gather you, and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you will be melted in the middle of it. As silver is melted in the middle of the furnace, so you will be melted in the middle of it; and you will know that I, Yahweh, have poured out my wrath on you.’ ”
- Ezekiel 24:11 Then set it empty on its coals, that it may be hot, and its bronze may burn, and that its filthiness may be molten in it, that its rust may be consumed.
- Hosea 5:15 I will go and return to my place, until they acknowledge their offense, and seek my face. In their affliction they will seek me earnestly.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 64:7 And [there is] none that calleth upon…
Isa 64:7 And [there is] none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.
Ver. 7. And there is none that calleth upon thy name,] i.e., Very few; {a} for that God had then a praying people, this very prayer declareth; but they were drowned in the multitude, being scarce discernible.
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That stirreth up himself to take hold of thee.] That rouseth up himself and wrestleth with God, laying hold on him by faith and prayer, resolved to retain him. Let us go forth, as Samson did, and shake up ourselves against that indevotion and spiritual sloth that will creep upon us in doing good. See for this Mr Whitfield’s Help to Stirring Up, an excellent treatise, written upon this text.
For thou hast hid thy face from us.] Or, Though thou hast hid thy face, Ne tuis quidem ferulis caesi resipuimus.
{a} Apparent rari nantes in gurgite vasto.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain And there is none; or, yet there is none,…
And there is none; or, yet there is none, i.e. few, Psa 14:3; they are not to be discerned among the multitude.
That calleth; such as call upon thee as they ought, as Jacob, and Moses, and David, &c. did, which often prevents the ruin of a state or kingdom: it points out the universal apostacy of the last times of the Jewish state, for which they were cut off.
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To take hold of thee; either to stay thee from departing from us; see Luk 24:28,29; or to fetch thee back, when departed, Jer 12:7; or it is an allegorical allusion to one struck down and still smitten, but never stirs to lay hold on the arm that smites him, Isa 27:5; it notes their great slothfulness and carelessness, and some refer it to their lukewarmness and dead-heartedness, relying upon their privileges before they went into captivity, and so a great presage of their approaching judgments.
For, or when; so the particle is used Job 5:21; Psa 75:2.
Consumed us; or, melted us; our sins have kindled such a fire of thy wrath, that we are melted with it.
Because of our iniquities, Heb. in the hands of our iniquities, i.e. either, in the place of our iniquities, the land wherein they were committed; or, into the hands of our iniquities, to be punished by them, and as it were consumed, or melted down, or our strength exhausted by them, as wax before the fire, Lev 26:39; Eze 33:10; or, as we translate it, our iniquities being the procuring cause of it.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And there is none that calleth upon thy name,....…
And there is none that calleth upon thy name,.... Upon the Lord himself, who is gracious and merciful, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, and all sufficient, a God hearing and answering prayer, and the Father of his people; all which should engage to call upon him: or, "there is none that prays in thy name", as the Targum; none that prays to God in the name of his Son, the only Mediator between God and men; he is the way of access to the Father; his name is to be used and made mention of in prayer; acceptance is only through him, and all favours are conveyed by him; see Joh 14:13, not that there were absolutely none at all that prayed to God, and called upon or in his name, but comparatively they were very few; for that there were some it is certain, since this very complaint is made in a prayer; but the number of such was small, especially that prayed in faith, in sincerity, with fervency and importunity; and, when this is the case, it is an argument and evidence of great declension:
that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee; to exercise faith on God, as their covenant God; to lay hold on the covenant itself, the blessings and promises of it, and plead them with God: or to pray unto him, which is a wrestling with him, when faith lays hold upon God, and will not let him go without the blessing; and is an entreaty of him not to depart when he seems to be about it; or a detaining of him, as the disciples detained Christ, when he seemed as if he would go from them; and is also an importunate desire that he would return when he is departed; and an earnest request not to strike when his hand is lifted up: faith in prayer does, as it were, take hold of the hands of God, and will not suffer him to strike his children; just as a friend lays hold on a father's hand when he is about to give his child a blow with it for his correction; and such is the amazing condescension of God, that he suffers himself to be held after this manner; see Gen 32:26, now, to "stir up" a man's self to this is to make diligent use of the means in seeking the Lord; particularly a frequent use of the gift of prayer, and a stirring of that up; a calling upon a man's soul, and all within him, to engage therein; to which are opposed slothfulness, &c. cold, lukewarm, negligent performance of duty, which is here complained of; there were none, or at least but few, that stirred up or "aroused" (b) themselves. God's professing people are sometimes asleep; and though it is high time to awake out of sleep, yet no one arouses himself or others.
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For thou hast hid thy face from us: or removed the face of thy Shechinah, or divine Majesty from us, as the Targum; being provoked by such a conduct towards him, as before expressed: for it may be rendered, "therefore thou hast hid"; &c.; or "though", or "when" (c), this was the case, yet no man sought his face and favour, or entreated he would return again:
and hast consumed us because of our iniquities; by the sword, famine, pestilence, and captivity.
(b) "seipsum exsuscitat", Forerius; "excitans se", Montanus, Junius & Tremellius. So the Targum, "that awakes". (c) "quamvis", Gataker; "cum", Junius & Tremellius; "quando", Forerius.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain That calleth - That call upon thee as they…
That calleth - That call upon thee as they ought. Take hold - Either to stay thee from departing from us, or to fetch thee back when departed.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 7. There is none] Twelve MSS. have אין…
Verse 7. There is none] Twelve MSS. have אין ein, without the conjunction ו vau prefixed; and so read the Chaldee and Vulgate.
And hast consumed us because of our iniquities - "And hast delivered us up into the hands of our iniquities."] For ותמוגנו vattemugenu, "hast dissolved us," the Septuagint, Syriac, and Chaldee had in their copies תמגננו temaggenenu, "hast delivered us up." Houbigant. Secker.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain And there is none that calleth upon thy name…
And there is none that calleth upon thy name - The nation is corrupt and degenerate. None worship God in sincerity.
That stirreth up himself - The word used here (מתעורר mite‛ôrēr) refers to the effort which is requisite to rouse oneself when oppressed by a spirit of heavy slumber; and the idea here is, that the nation was sunk in spiritual torpor, and that the same effort was needful to excite it which was requisite to rouse one who had sunk down to deep sleep. How aptly this describes the state of a sinful world! How much disposed is that world to give itself to spiritual slumber! How indisposed to rouse itself to call upon God! No man rises to God without effort; and unless men make an effort for this, they fall into the stupidity of sin, just as certainly as a drowsy man sinks back into deep sleep.
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To take hold of thee - The Hebrew word (חזק châzaq) means properly to bind fast, to gird tight, and then to make firm or strong, to strengthen; and the idea of strengthening oneself is implied in the use of the word here. It means, that with the consciousness of feebleness we should seek strength in God. This the people referred to by the prophet were indisposed to do. This the world at large is indisposed to do.
For thou hast hid thy face - Thou bast withdrawn thy favor from us, as a people, on account of our sins. This is an acknowledgment that one effect of his withdrawing his favor, and one evidence of it was, that no one was disposed to call upon his name. All had sunk into the deep lethargy of sin.
And hast consumed us - Margin, ‘Melted.’ The Hebrew word (מוג mûg) means “to melt, to flow down”; and hence, in Piel, to cause to melt or flow down. It is used to denote the fact that an army or host of people seem to melt away, or become dissolved by fear and terror Exo 15:15; Josh. 2:9-24; Job 30:22. ‘Thou dissolvest (תמגגני thı̂mogegēniy) my substance;’ that is, thou causest me to dissolve before thy indignation. This is described as one of the effects of the wrath of God, that his enemies vanish away, or are dissolved before him.
Because of our iniquities - Margin, as Hebrew, ‘By the hand;’ that is, our iniquities have been the hand, the agent or instrument by which this has been done.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Of thee; to remove thy indignation, like Moses, Jeremias,…
Of thee; to remove thy indignation, like Moses, Jeremias, (vii. 15.) &c. See Ezechiel xiii. 5.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain stirreth--rouseth himself from spiritual drowsiness.
stirreth--rouseth himself from spiritual drowsiness.
take hold-- (Isa 27:5).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 7. And there is none that calleth, &c.] an…
7. And there is none that calleth, &c.] an easily intelligible hyperbole.
stirreth himself up] “arouseth himself,” the same verb as in Isa_51:17.
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consumed us, because of our iniquities] lit. “melted us by the hand of our iniquities.” Cf. Eze_33:10, “Our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we waste away in them, how should we then live?” A better reading, supported by LXX., Pesh. and Targ., is delivered us into the hand (i.e. the power) of our iniquities. Cf. Job_8:4.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (7) Hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.—Better, hast…
(7) Hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.—Better, hast delivered us into the hand (scil., the power) of our iniquities. The previous clause had pointed to the people s forgetfulness of God—what we should call their indifference—as the root-evil. This states that that sin led, in the righteous judgment of God, to open iniquities. The thought is parallel to that of Rom_1:21-24.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain There is none that calleth on thy Name. A…
There is none that calleth on thy Name. A hyperbole, like Psa_19:1, Psa_19:3, "There is none that doeth good, no, not one." A general lethargy and apathy had come over the people, so that they could with difficulty rouse themselves to faith and calling upon God. But this general lethargy was not universal; there was a "remnant" which prayed and did not faint." That stirreth up himself to take hold of thee. This expresses more than mere prayer; it is earnest, intense, "effectual fervent" prayer. Perhaps none among the exiles may have been capable of such supplication as this, especially as God had hid his face from them, and no longer looked on them with favour. And hast consumed us, because of our iniquities; rather, and hast delivered us into the power (literally, hand) of our iniquities. Men"s sins are their masters, and exercise a tyrannical control over them, which they are often quite unable to resist. (comp. Eze_33:10, "If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live? God at times judicially delivers the wicked into the power of their sins. (see Rom_1:24, Rom_1:26, Rom_1:28)
HOMILIES BY W.M. STATHAM Ver. 7. The averted face.
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"Thou hast bid thy face from us." If so we cannot be happy. The universe itself will refuse to strike out its sweetest notes of joy for us. It is a Father"s world, and must have a Father"s love in it all to make us blessed! One of the oldest, sweetest prayers in the Bible is, "God be merciful to us, and bless us, and cause his face to shine upon us." The Christian must have this blessing. You say, "Ah! but men of the world can enjoy nature and society without God." It is manifest, you declare, that they do. Certainly; but even then it is a surface-joy, even then it may be disturbed by the Egyptian death"s-head at the feast; by memories flashing across the mind; some vulture may suddenly swoop down upon its prey in their hearts. But a Christian has his joy in God, and without him he is out of health, sick, faint, weary, sad. Spiritual health is necessary to the soul who has known God, to make enjoyment complete and real.
I THIS IS NOT AN ARBITRARY ACT. Some parents are by turn tender and severe; they indulge and they punish in hasty moods. Their frame of mind is not regulated by high principle, by a healthy estimate of things. It is otherwise with God. The earliest records tell us that to deal with the righteous as with the wicked is far from him. Yes, very far! We read in Isaiah that God had hidden his face from the house of Jacob, but it was because they had "sought out them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards." "Should not," says the prophet, "a people seek unto their God?" And again Isaiah says, "But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you" This is the secret of the hiding. Sin is against the peace, purity, beauty, order of the universe, and it wrongs a man"s own soul. Would it be right to smile, then? Mark, God does not hide his face because of old sins that have been repented of and forgiven. Remember that there is no human meanness in God"s nature. He does not touch the heart with pain about old delinquencies. "Thy sins and thine iniquities will I remember no more." I am told that there are some people who do not pray for the forgiveness of sins, because they are Christians, and all has been forgiven them unto the end. What a perversion! Is not the very test of their being Christ"s at all something more than present feeling; viz. that enduring unto the end they shall be saved? Then they find the Lord"s Prayer a difficulty us our trespasses," and they suggest that that was only a provisionary prayer, until the dispensation of the Spirit came! Such methods would destroy the whole authority of Scripture. A man might hear me take a text and say, That was said to apostles," implying it was only meant for them. No! we sin every day, and we need a fountain ever open for sin and uncleanness. We need as much the prayer for daily forgiveness as we do for daily bread. It is when sin is indulged in by us who profess to love him when it becomes sweet, when it becomes habitual, when it has withdrawn us from the Divine fellowship that God hides his face.
II THIS IS DETRIMENTAL TO ALL JOY. We are made to enjoy nature and men. We are constituted for every variety of joy. But as one nerve in agony can destroy all the rest of night, so a sin that separates us from God can darken all other joy. Even in the sweet summer-time, when holiday comes, we still need him. The golden-sanded bay, the landscape full of greens and greys, the iridescence of light through the clouds above the mountains, the scent of the pines, the delicate harmonies of colour in the fields, the mossy carpet of the woods, the russet roofs of cottages half hidden in the blossoms of summer, all these, so restful and refreshing, lose their charm if the Saviour"s smile be absent, if we cannot hear his voice amid the groves and hills, and at evening feel "we have walked with God to-day." It was true in the old dispensation, when the revelation was through patriarchs, and prophets, and symbols, and sacrifices; but it is intensely true now , that we have seen God in the face of Jesus Christ that God"s averted face is the soul"s severest punishment. We have come very near to God. No human priesthood intervenes now. We have boldness of access by faith to the throne of God. No veil is over the holy of holies now. We draw near through the rent veil that is to say, Christ"s flesh. Consequently enjoyment deepens; consequently also the sorrow deepens when I sin. Why? Because the more clearly I have seen the face, the more I feel its averted glance.
III THIS IS THE MOST SPIRITUAL OF ALL TESTS. It has to do with the life within as well as the conduct without. There, where no eye of man reachesthere, in the galleries where no foot of man ever treads are the sights and sounds which may drive away the Divine Guest. Long before sin incarnates itself in deeds, before it becomes actual and open, the evil is at work. The tree is rotten while the bark is sound. First make the tree good. Yes; and remember that decay always begins at central points outside the reach of man"s observation. Yes, and outside the reach of our own observation sometimes. Hence the prayer, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; and see if there be any evil way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
1. Men like other tests. Their "opinions," their attendance at sacraments, their absolution by confessors, their consistency of conduct.
2. Men realize the power of this in times of anxiety and trial, Now that they are brought low in sickness; now that friends are separated from them who used to cheer and inspire them; now that they are very near to the valley of the shadow of death nothing will do but reality then. The words of others, their good opinions of us, all these stand for less than nothing then. May God"s face shine in again upon our souls now! That is heaven at least, it is the premonition of it. All our worst sorrows will flee like the weird shadows on the mountains before the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness. It is pleasant for others to smile on us to walk in the light of human appreciation and love. Households feel this; Churches feel it. Sometimes noble and valiant men in great Reformation eras have to do without it. The light varies so, too; it is so uncertain at the best. But this shining of the face of God makes the heart restful and gladsome everywhere. We shall one day enjoy it to the full. No clouds of sin or doubt will intervene between us and God. So is it with the blessed dead. Many times the beautiful descriptions St. John gives of heaven in the Apocalypse are negative. "No curse," "no night," "no sorrow," "no more death." But once it is positive: "They shall see his face, and his Name shall be in their foreheads. W.M.S.
Taking hold of God.
We do well to associate with the words of the text those of Isa_27:5, "Let him take hold of my strength;" thus connected, we have before us
I THAT WHICH CONSTITUTES GOD"S STRENGTH TO US, or that in him of which we have the greatest need. The strength of the father is, to the family, his providing and directing power; the strength of the mother is her affection and her unfailing sympathy; the strength of the elder brother is his protection, of the elder sister her example. The strength of any one to whom we are related is that in him which most powerfully affects our welt-being. There may be in creation many millions of beings to whom God"s strength appears to be that of his majesty, his infinity, his omniscience, his holiness. We also, the children of men, have a very large and deep interest in these, especially in his holiness. We give thanks at the remembrance of it. (vide Psa_30:4 Psa_97:12) Without it we should not be what we are, and should have no hope of rising to the noble heights we have before us. But that in God of which we have most conscious need is
(1) Divine mercy;
(2) Divine bounty and guidance;
(3) Divine succour.
The one hope we have is in the assurance that God is strong in these, and we feel that if they are but directed toward us and embrace us in their beneficent course, all will be well with us.
II THE NECESSITY WE ARE UNDER TO APPROPRIATE IT. It may be said that God is so generous a Being that he does not wait for any action on our part to bestow his blessings upon us; that, notwithstanding human disregard and rebellion, he multiplies his mercies unto us; that the magnanimous Father in heaven makes his sun to shine on the evil as well as on the good. This is true, but it is far from exhausting the truth. To what extent we shall be recipients of Divine mercy depends on whether or not we "take hold" upon it. God is so strong, so abundant in mercy, that his grace overflows to those who seek not for it, and they are not "dealt with according to their sins;" they derive great benefit from the abundance of God"s patience. But if we wish to know all the fulness of Divine mercy as it is to be known by any seeking human spirit, we must lay hold on God"s strength in this direction. We must "call upon his Name" with penitential spirit and with true faith in Jesus Christ, and we shall have not merely the overflow, but the full cup of Divine mercy, his grace in all its richness and fulness outpoured upon our own heart the forgiveness of all past sin and all present unworthiness, admission to his full friendship, freedom to partake of all the privileges which belong to the child at home, heirship of the heavenly kingdom. In the same way, it is necessary, if we would experience the fulness, the height and depth, and length, and breadth, open to us of God"s bounty and guidance, or of his succour in a time of special need, that we should "lay hold on him," on "his strength," in all these things; and we do lay hold by
(1) maintaining toward him the attitude of sonship, and
(2) going to him in the act of earnest, believing prayer.
III THE NEED FOR HOLY ENERGY IN OUR SPIRITUAL LIFE. "There is none that stirreth up himself," etc. If men complain that they have not felt the peace and joy, or found the provision and the guidance, or experienced the delivering succour which they looked for from waiting on God, the answer and the explanation may be this that they have been cold in their approach and their requests to God, when they should have been eager and ardent; formal, when they should have been spiritual; unexpectant, when they should have been full of faith and hope; languid, when they should have been energetic; easily daunted, when they should have been earnestly persistent. They have made a feeble and futile effort, when they should have thrown their whole soul into the sacred exercise, into the spiritual work. They must arouse themselves, "stir themselves up. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain And there is none that calleth upon Thy name
Isa_64:7
And there is none that calleth upon Thy name
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Neglected religion
1.
There is a confession of neglected privilege and duty. There is none that calleth upon Thy name.
2. There is a definition of true and saving religion. That stirreth himself up to take hold of Thee. This latter is the most striking and important, for it shows what a man must do in order to approach God, the act requiring exertion and activity. Multitudes of so-called Christians live on without the semblance of devotion, while with many more this worship is a mere matter of form.
I. WHAT ARE THE CAUSES? There are many things which operate to make a man neglect God.
1. Devotion to the world. No man can serve two masters, and he who loves the world cannot consistently love God.
2. Selfish indulgence. There are many who do not, strictly speaking, love the world, who nevertheless so pamper their bodies with temporal comforts that they sink down into a dreamy sloth.
3. Want of desire. Deadness of soul makes a man sluggish. If we keep out of the sunshine, we cannot feel its warmth. If men hide from God, they can neither desire nor love Him.
II. WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES? A terrible roll-call of iniquity and sin. Evil rolls on like the waves of the troubled sea. Prayer-less souls are marching on to perdition; Satan triumphs over the ungodly world; God is dishonoured; angels weep.
III. WHAT IS THE REMEDY? Such reflections ought--
1. To arouse us to new efforts in prayer.
2. To excite us to greater personal efforts. We can all do something. Many can do much.
3. To awaken us to indirect work. We can send others to preach and to labour.
4. To see that we ourselves are not among those who fail to take hold, and that our personal example is not hindering the progress of the truth. (Homilist.)
Neglect of prayer
This chapter may be considered as an act of humiliation and confession by the prophet, in behalf of the Jews, similar to that in the ninth chapter of Daniel. In the text he aggravates their other crimes by that of hypocrisy, for he does not mean by the expression that none called upon or prayed to God at all, but that they did not do it spiritually, heartily, fervently. The last clause in the sentence explains (as is common in the prophetic writings) the former. None calleth upon Thy name; that is, None stirreth up himself to take hold of Thee.
I. PRAYER, PROPERLY SO CALLED, CONSISTS IN CERTAIN EXERCISES OF THE MIND.
1. Attention to our wants. Without this, prayer is vain babbling. Our wants arise from our sinful conduct--our unholy nature--powerful opposition--daily circumstances in our experience. Our state ought to be asdiligently attended to as the most assiduous tradesman attends to his business--as the humane physician attends to the symptoms of disease in his patient.
2. Regard to God as the Being who alone can relieve us.
3. Strong and fervent desire.
4. Affiance in God.
5. Humble and patient expectation.
II. HOWEVER FREQUENTLY OR FORCIBLY WE PRAY, IF OUR PRAYERS ARE SEPARATE AND DISTINCT FROM THESE EXERCISES, WE SHALL BE REGARDED BY GOD AS THOUGH WE NEVER PRAYED AT ALL--THAT IS, WE SHALL DERIVE NO BENEFIT FROM OUR SERVICES.
1. This will appear from the ancient Jews, who drew near to God with their lips, but their hearts were far from Him.
2. That prayer must be distinguished hi right dispositions of the mind, is evident from the very design of prayer Consider its parts--Adoration; thanksgiving; confession: Intercession. The whole of this duty is designed to promote piety, by working certain holy dispositions in our hearts, by the help and blessing of God. Will not these remarks account for the barrenness of mere professors? Christians, stir up the gift of God that is within you. (J. Walker, D. D.)
Universal forgetfulness of God
Universal forgetfulness of God was the consequence of self-incurred abandonment by God. (F. Delitzsch, D. D.)
The dully of taking hold of God
I. IT IMPLIES TO TAKE HOLD OF GOD IN THE EXERCISE OF SAVING FAITH. Expressions almost the same occur in this sense in two other parts of Isaiah Isa_27:5; Isa_56:6). To take hold of God, to take hold of His strength, to take hold of His covenant, to join ourselves to Him, all imply the one act of a sinner taking hold of Christ, or of God in Christ in the exercise of saving faith. But this first and essential exercise of saving faith is not what is principally referred to in our text. There is, then--
II. A further exercise implied in taking hold of God, one which true believers alone can engage in, and one in which they may be very deficient. This exercise is alluded to by the apostle Paul, in Php_3:12, where he Bays of himself, Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect; but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. The Greek word translated apprehend, corresponds, with the Hebrew word in our text translated take hold of. Therefore, we Infer, that the second exercise implied in taking hold of God, is TO APPREHEND HIS MORAL IMAGE. Those who are engaged in this exercise are blessings to the world and to the Church, and are objects of complacency to God.
III. The third great exercise implied in taking hold of God is WRESTLING, IMPORTUNATE, PLEADING PRAYER. It is not every kind even of acceptable prayer that deserves the name of taking hold of God. Five ways may be mentioned in which a soul, through pleading prayer, taketh hold of God.
1. By taking hold of or pleading His perfections. God call do nothing contrary to His perfections. All His actings are the immediate result of them. But it pleaseth Him that His saints should plead His perfections, and, as it were, take hold of them in holy, humble, fervent importunity.
2. By pleading His relations to His people as Father, Creator, Preserver and Redeemer.
3. By pleading His promises, declarations and engagements.
4. By pleading His past dealings. Thou hast begun a good work in my soul; carry it on. Thou hast delivered Thy Church and people of old; do it now. Thou hast shamed and confounded Thine enemies, when their pride and their might were at the highest; shame and confound them now. Thou hast planted a vine in our land; look down from heaven; revive and quicken this Thy vine.
5. By acquiescing in the sovereignty, and looking to the unsearchable mercies of God. Conclusion: How lofty an exercise of soul it is to take hold of God. How marvellous the thought, a worm of the dust to influence the thoughts and operations of the Almighty God! It is a work too mighty for the feeble powers of man. No creature ever did or could accomplish it, except so far as strengthened by the Spirit. (W. Mackenzie.)
Lethargy in prayer
I. WE HAVE A STRIKING DEFINITION OF TRUE PRAYER. It is a taking hold of God, in no material sense, but by a spiritual apprehension so real and vivid that we seem to touch the Angel of the Covenant and say, with realizing perception of His Presence: We will not let Thee go, except Thou bless us. This definition greatly helps us--
1. When, for instance, men insist that prayer is only acceptable as it arises from special fanes, we can reply that the hand of faith may feel after, find, and grasp the hand of God in the press of the busy street, the woodland glade, and the sequestered chamber. Since God is everywhere we may take hold of Him anywhere.
2. Again, when men tell us that prayers must be uttered in words of solemn grandeur and rhythm, we may remind them that prayer is a taking hold of God, and that it may exist in its intensest, truest form when not a word is uttered.
3. When, again, men suggest that priestly intervention is necessary to present our supplications, let us find refuge in this definition; for surely God will as much allow Himself to be grasped by the ungloved hand of the labourer, as by the dimpled hand of the little child. We need none to instruct us how to take hold; and each can best take hold for his own preservation. The intervention of a third person is indeed a source of weakness when it comes between us and the gracious Hand which reaches down to draw us out of many and deep waters.
II. THE GRIEVOUS COMPLAINT. There is none that stirreth up himself to take hold of Thee. Why this fatal lethargy?
1. In the case of some, it no doubt arises from the stupefying effect of worldliness and self-indulgence. If the unwary traveller sits down to rest in the forest or the cave, where gases lie heavily on the ground, they may so invade his sense and benumb his mind that he will be presently unable to arouse himself to further exertion. This is the state of the opium-eater and the drunkard, of all who, like Tennysons Lotus-eaters, come under the fatal spell of the narcotic. And is there not a mephitic poison issuing always from worldly amusements and society?
2. In the case of others, lethargy in prayer arises from a mistaken idea of the privilege of the child of God. They say that God is so wise and good, that it is a mistake and a sin to seek to impose our will on Him; that it is enough to take what He sends, and to bear what He imposes, without attempting to interfere by the urging of our desires. But there is nothing of this in the teachings of our Saviour. He perpetually says, Ask, seek, knock. He evidently would have us regard prayer as a means of obtaining blessings which otherwise we would altogether miss.
3. Others yield to this lethargy because they have intellectual difficulties in respect to prayer. They point to the majestic reign of law, the unbroken chain of cause and effect, the unalterable plan of the Divine procedure. How can God rule the realm (and prayer is one of these) may be used to cancel and overcome those of the lower. Besides, is it not enough that Jesus prayed, and so unmistakably taught His disciples to do the same?
4. Yet others, again, do not stir themselves up to pray, because they say that they have prayed so long in vain. Prayer, they say, is so irregular and uncertain. There is no counting on it. Why, then, they argue, should they waste time and energy on that which is as likely to disappoint as to help them This latter difficulty is possibly the most common of all, and does more than any other to relax mens energy in prayer. It in of the utmost importance, therefore, to insist that prayer has a law as constant and unchangeable as gravitation, and if we do not succeed, it is because we are ourselves to blame. Nay, more, if we seldom obtain answers to our prayers, we must examine carefully into the cause; because, almost certainly, there is some flaw or fault in our own character, by reason of which our prayers are as missives lost in the post, or ships that have gone down at sea.
III. THE LAMENT OVER THIS LETHARGY IN PRAYER.
1. It is very dangerous. The first step in spiritual declension is almost invariably in the closet. The whole stress of Satanic temptation is to induce us to relax our prayerfulness; and perhaps there is no time when we need to pray more than when this fatal disinclination begins to creep over us.
2. It is very sinful. Is it not wrong to reject the advances of our God, and refuse to comply with His commands to pray? This surely is a dishonour, a slight, a crime.
3. It is very strange. It must be the wonder of the angels, as they look on our tired and perplexed faces, amid our complicated cares, that we are so slack in our approaches to the strongest, wisest, gentlest Being in the universe, and are so reluctant to stir ourselves up to take hold of God. (Ills of Faith.)
Self-influence
I. CERTAIN TRUTHS WHICH THIS LAMENTATION IMPLIES.
1. That God was ready to receive them graciously.
2. That man is prone to be slow of heart to seek unto God.
3. That man may oppose that slowness of heart--may stir himself up to take hold on God. Such was the view of Joshua when he said, Incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel (Jos_24:23). This truth wasregarded by the Lord Himself when He proclaimed, Incline your ear, etc. Isa_55:8). With a view to this, man may stir up--
(1) The memory.
(2) The imagination.
(3) The reason.
(4) The will.
II. THE LAMENTATION ITSELF. Of it we may emphatically say (Eze_19:14), This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation. Why?
1. On account of present loss. They forsake their own mercies, wrong their own selves as to present good.
2. On account of the uncertainty of life on earth.
3. On account of the force of habit (Jer_13:23). Through the force of habit conscience may become so seared and the heart so hardened that the likelihood may rapidly lessen of the deteriorated mind ever stilting itself up to take hold on God. Let not the peculiarly encouraging character of the kind call be overlooked--Let him take hold of My strength. (J. Elliot.)
No man to pray
(with Isa_62:1):--The general condition of the nation was deplorable enough (Isa_64:6). But there was one vein of sadness lying deeper than the sadness which filled the prophets heart because of the condition of the people generally; he knew not of any man who was ,wounded and oppressed and driven to prayer as his only refuge, and as the peoples only hope,, by this grievous state of things. One man may be a Churchs, a citys, a nations saviour. Indifference to all interests but our own is a powerful narcotic which may put a Church or a nation to sleep. Perfect is the picture of this luxurious, cynical indifference drawn by the prophet Amos (Amo_6:1-6). This very indifference to things not directly our own, to things not reckoned our own according to conventional standards, is again and again spoken of in Scripture as a cause of great astonishment to God; as if there was something too selfish, too cruel, too unbrotherly in it to be believed; as if men could not be so careless of what was good and right. The Lord saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no judgment, and He saw there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor. He says, And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold. He says again, The People of the land have used oppression,, etc. (Eze_22:29-30). And here it should be--distinctly observed that the taking an interest In things beyond the narrow limits of our own personal affairs is an interest full of tender concern, of self-abnegation, of brotherly love. Many a harsh man can look over his own boundary walls to grumble and find fault; but it was not the want of that of which Isaiah complained. Many can sit in judgment and condemn; but it was not judgment of that kind, that he wanted. He did not want any one bitterly to point out the Churchs faults, heartlessly to mock at her nakedness and poverty, self-righteously to cry shame upon her sir--he wanted a man to pray for her. When there was no man who could or would shake off his selfish indolence to pray for the Church, the prophet himself said, For Zions sake I will not hold my peace, etc. Then, as if he were confident of success, and saw the fruits of his prayers, and tears, and toils, he says, And the Gentiles shall see Thy righteousness, and all kings Thy glory, etc. (Isa_62:2-4). Howdifferent this attitude towards the Church to the cold selfishness which stands aloof altogether, or comes from its seclusion only to complain, and, by disturbance, to make bad worse! How different from the worldliness which is content for the Church also to be worldly; for her glory to be hidden by carnal pleasures and carnal things! How different from the mere denominational fervour--the fervour for church or chapel, which is satisfied with outside show and with prosperity that can be measured, and cares little or nothing for the growth of faith, hope and love, for the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and for the salvation of souls ] For Isaiah is bent upon seeing a Church whose righteousness should go forth as brightness, whose salvation should go forth as a burning lamp; on whose glory the Gentiles and kings should look; which should be named by a new name by the mouth of the Lord Himself, a name indicating the delightful change that has passed over her, and the new relation in which she stands to God and man. And surely it is worth any Christians while to take up any good cause, in this sympathetic way; to identify himself with it; to become responsible for it before God and man and his own conscience. To do so is to follow the example of all the noblest and holiest of our race, it is to follow the example of Him who, though He was rich, for our sakes became poor, that we, through His poverty, might be rich, identifying Himself in the most absolute manner with our nature and our condition, until He redeemed us from all our sins, and raised us to sit at His right hand in His kingdom. (J. P. Gladstone.)
Taking hold upon God
The prophet reveals the very essence and soul of prayer. It is a stirring up of ones self to take hold of God. The very soul of devotion lies in realizing the Divine presence, in dealing with God as a real person, in firm confidence in His faithfulness,--in a word, in taking hold of Him. Men do not take hold of a shadow, they cannot grasp the unsubstantial fabric of a dream. Taking hold implies something real which we grasp; and there is wanted to make prayer truthful and acceptable with God the grip and grasp of a tenacious faith, which believes the fact that God is, and that He is the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Taking hold implies a reverent familiarity with the Lord, by which we use a holy force to win a blessing from His hand. Laying hold upon God is not the act of a dead man, neither is it the deed of one who is destitute of spiritual perception; it is the act of one who is quickened and kept alive by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. Men will do anything sooner than stir up themselves to take hold of God: they will build churches, and rear altars, and say masses and perform pilgrimages, and a thousand other things, but they do not want God, and will not have Him. It is great condescension on the Lords part that He should permit it to be so, but so it is, and when He bares His right arm to smite you your safety lies in grasping that very hand which apparently is lifted for your destruction.
I. The first form of taking hold, that which is intended in the text, is that in which THE AWAKENED SINNER TAKES HOLD UPON GOD.
II. We very greatly need to have among us many THOROUGH BELIEVERS WHO TAKE HOLD UPON GOD BY FIDELITY TO HIM. I have seen applied to Calvin the motto, He took fast hold. If ever a man did take fast hold on invisible things, it was that famous reformer. What he grasped he held with force of clear conviction, intelligent apprehension, and devout reverence. Such a man opens his Bible and resolves to find out what Gods will is, and be judges for himself, for he knows that he will have to render a personal account. Such a man sets himself to extend the kingdom of Christ, impelled by inward zeal. Having obtained a solid fulcrum of assured knowledge, he now begins to use his lever and work upon others. He knows that he cannot be placed where God is not, and therefore he feels that his best Friend is always near. He is a man that calleth upon God, not merely in prayer, but by confessing His name, and owning His cause; and he stirs up himself to take hold upon God in the doing of all these things.
III. We take a step further in advance when we mention a third form of this taking hold of God: We need a development in the form of THE WRESTLING PLEADER. The expression is borrowed from Jacob at the brook of Jabbok. A man who can take hold of God in prayer will be of the utmost value to the Church.
IV. The fourth point is THE TAKING HOLD OF GOD BY THE STRENGTHENED BELIEVER: the man who has got beyond doubts and fears, and grasped the eternal verities. No question now as to whether there is a God or no: he knows Him, speaks with Him, walks with Him, He is quite sure about Gods keeping His promises, he dares not doubt that, for he has had too many proofs already of the faithfulness of God for him to distrust Him. Now, see how steadily that man moves about: trial does not bow him down, he expected it, and he expects to be delivered out of it. If you rush in upon him with the most terrible information it does not distress him, for he is not afraid of evil tidings; his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. (C. H.Spurgeon.)
Delivered unto iniquity
For hast consumed, read hast delivered us into the hand of our iniquities. Their sin has been allowed by God to breed deeper sin. (A. B. Davidson, D. D.)
Melted into the hands of iniquity
We may suppose with Rosenmuller that the phrase strictly means, Thou dost melt us into the hand of our iniquities, i.e subject us to them, make us unable to resist them, and passively submissive to their power. (J. A. Alexander.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain Isa_64:7. There is none that … stirreth up himself…
THE ABSENCE OF IMPORTUNATE PRAYER DEPLORED
Isa_64:7. There is none that … stirreth up himself to take hold of Thee.
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THE SUBJECT OF COMPLAINT AND LAMENTATION. Not the neglect of ordinances, or the lack of profession, &c., but the lack of importunate prayer. How wonderful the permission and privilege here implied! The meaning is obvious. Similar expressions occur (Isa_27:5; Isa_56:6). These are representations of one act—the act of believing with the heart unto righteousness. But this is not mainly intended, but that of those who had taken hold of the covenant for salvation none was stirring up himself to take hold of God by importunate, wrestling, prevailing prayer. It is not every kind of prayer that can be thus designated. There is a holy violence about such supplication. In prayer we take hold of God—
1. By pleading His perfections. These constitute the encouragement of prayer. Thus Jacob, &c. God does nothing contrary to His perfections, but He is pleased to permit His people to plead these, and wait for their illustration.
2. By pleading His relations to His Church. What parent can hear unmoved the cry of his own offspring, &c. (Isa_63:15-19). Such pleadings affect our own mind, and put us into a right frame to receive answers.
3. By pleading the promises of His Word.
4. By remembering His former interpositions.
5. By absolute submission to His will.
II. THE FACTS IMPLIED IN THE EXISTENCE OF THE APATHY MOURNED.
1. That few if any were striving after eminent piety.
2. That in taking hold of God we are to use appropriate means.
3. That the work is individual and personal.
4. That extraordinary methods were to be adopted—
(1) Obtain solemn impressions of Divine realities.
(2) Secure extraordinary times for prayer.
(3) Exercise holy watching, &c.
III. THE EVILS TO BE DEPRECATED IN CONNECTION WITH THE NEGLECT OF THIS DUTY.
1. In the dishonour done to God.
2. In the advantage withheld from the Church. 3. In the benefit we ourselves lose.
4. In our neglected obligation to benefit the world.—George Smith, D.D.
I. The nature of prayer described. II. The neglect of prayer deplored. III. The encouragement of prayer suggested.—S. Thodey. (See also G. Brooks’ Outlines, p. 229–231.)
Isa_64:8. God’s people are distinguished—I. By their childlike confidence. II. Their implicit submission to His will. III. Their grateful acknowledgment of their dependence.
Isa_64:9. I. The evil deprecated—God’s anger. Merited. Acknowledged. II. The terms in which it is deprecated. Imply the justice of God’s procedure. Beseech a limitation of its severity. III. The plea by which it is deprecated. Humble. Confident. Founded in God’s covenant relation to His people.
Isa_64:10-11. Sin—I. Turns a scene of beauty into desolation. II. Profanes what is most sacred. III. Embitters what is most sacred in the associations of memory. IV. Destroys all that is most pleasant.—J. Lyth, D.D.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 64:7 you have turned away from us: See 1:15;…
64:7 you have turned away from us: See 1:15; 30:20; 59:2. • turned us over to our sins: Because the people were so bent on sinning, God left them to perish in their sinful ways (see Rom 1:24).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.