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The Lord’s Day of Vengeance
63 Who is this who comes from Edom,
in crimsoned garments from Bozrah,
he who is splendid in his apparel,
marching in the greatness of his strength?
“It is I, speaking in righteousness,
mighty to save.”
Why is your apparel red,
and your garments like his who treads in the winepress?
“I have trodden the winepress alone,
and from the peoples no one was with me;
I trod them in my anger
and trampled them in my wrath;
their lifeblood spattered on my garments,
and stained all my apparel.
For the day of vengeance was in my heart,
and my year of redemption had come.
I looked, but there was no one to help;
I was appalled, but there was no one to uphold;
so my own arm brought me salvation,
and my wrath upheld me.
I trampled down the peoples in my anger;
I made them drunk in my wrath,
and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.”
The Lord’s Mercy Remembered
I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD,
the praises of the LORD,
according to all that the LORD has granted us,
and the great goodness to the house of Israel
that he has granted them according to his compassion,
according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
For he said, “Surely they are my people,
children who will not deal falsely.”
And he became their Savior.
In all their affliction he was afflicted,
and the angel of his presence saved them;
in his love and in his pity he redeemed them;
he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
But they rebelled
and grieved his Holy Spirit;
therefore he turned to be their enemy,
and himself fought against them.
Then he remembered the days of old,
of Moses and his people.
Where is he who brought them up out of the sea
with the shepherds of his flock?
Where is he who put in the midst of them
his Holy Spirit,
who caused his glorious arm
to go at the right hand of Moses,
who divided the waters before them
to make for himself an everlasting name,
who led them through the depths?
Like a horse in the desert,
they did not stumble.
Like livestock that go down into the valley,
the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest.
So you led your people,
to make for yourself a glorious name.
Prayer for Mercy
Look down from heaven and see,
from your holy and beautiful habitation.
Where are your zeal and your might?
The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion
are held back from me.
For you are our Father,
though Abraham does not know us,
and Israel does not acknowledge us;
you, O LORD, are our Father,
our Redeemer from of old is your name.
O LORD, why do you make us wander from your ways
and harden our heart, so that we fear you not?
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your heritage.
Your holy people held possession for a little while;
our adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary.
We have become like those over whom you have never ruled,
like those who are not called by your name.
(ESV)
Isaiah 63 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
LORD, look upon us from heaven, where you live in your holiness and glory. Where is your great concern for us? Where is your power? Where are your love and compassion? Do not ignore us.
Isaiah 63:15 GNB
These are relevant and difficult questions to wrestle with. I was having a conversation yesterday with a close friend who is also a pastor and we were talking about the state of the world. When you look at the state of our world, it does seem, at times, that God is far away. It’s hard to wrestle through these thoughts as we know in our hearts He is not far away.
What should we do when we feel God is withholding from us? As we read Isaiah, and many others who have recorded their feelings in Scripture, we can first appreciate their brutal honesty with God. They hold nothing back. Really, it’s foolish anyway because He knows our thoughts and our motives.
Next I think we must ask ourselves, for what reason do we believe God should care about us? And by what standard should He act upon that care? He is our Father. This is Isaiah’s answer in verse 16. However, the problem is glaring. It’s sin.
The prayer here is an acknowledgment of our sin and a plea for help. It’s a call for Jesus. We need an advocate who can wipe away our sinful ways forever. This is really the heart of the prayer at the end of this chapter and it should be the thankful heart of us today. We are so blessed to be on the other side of Jesus’ sacrifice. We no longer have to call out to God for a mediator because He has already come!