1.
Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence,
1. rend . . . heavens—bursting
forth to execute vengeance, suddenly descending on Thy people's foe
(Psalms 18:9; Psalms 144:5;
Habakkuk 3:5; Habakkuk 3:6).
flow down— (Judges 5:5;
Micah 1:4).
2.
As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!
2. Oh, that Thy wrath would
consume Thy foes as the fire. Rather, "as the fire
burneth the dry brushwood" [GESENIUS].
3.
When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence.
3. When—Supply from , "As when."
terrible things— ().
we looked not for—far
exceeding the expectation of any of our nation; unparalleled before
(Exodus 34:10; Psalms 68:8).
camest down—on Mount
Sinai.
mountains flowed—Repeated
from Isaiah 64:1; they pray God to
do the very same things for Israel now as in former ages.
GESENIUS, instead of
"flowed" here, and "flow" in Isaiah 64:1, translates from a different Hebrew root, "quake
. . . quaked"; but "fire" melts and causes
to flow, rather than to quake (Isaiah 64:1).
4.
For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.
4. perceived by the ear—Paul
(1 Corinthians 2:9) has for this, "nor
have entered into the heart of man"; the virtual sense,
sanctioned by his inspired authority; men might hear with the outward
ear, but they could only by the Spirit "perceive" with the
"heart" the spiritual significancy of God's acts, both
those in relation to Israel, primarily referred to here, and those
relating to the Gospel secondarily, which Paul refers to.
O God . . . what he . . .
prepared—rather, "nor hath eye seen a god beside
thee who doeth such things." They refer to God's past
marvellous acts in behalf of Israel as a plea for His now interposing
for His people; but the Spirit, as Paul by inspiration shows,
contemplated further God's revelation in the Gospel, which
abounds in marvellous paradoxes never before heard of by carnal ear,
not to be understood by mere human sagacity, and when foretold by the
prophets not fully perceived or credited; and even after the
manifestation of Christ not to be understood save through the inward
teaching of the Holy Ghost. These are partly past and present, and
partly future; therefore Paul substitutes "prepared" for
"doeth," though his context shows he includes all three.
For "waiteth" he has "love Him"; godly waiting
on Him must flow from love, and not mere fear.
5.
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.
5. meetest—that is, Thou
makest peace, or enterest into covenant with him (see on ).
rejoiceth and worketh—that
is, who with joyful willingness worketh [GESENIUS]
(Acts 10:35; John 7:17).
those—Thou meetest
"those," in apposition to "him" who represents a
class whose characteristics "those that," c., more fully
describes.
remember thee in thy ways—
(Isaiah 26:8).
sinned—literally,
"tripped," carrying on the figure in "ways."
in those is continuance—a
plea to deprecate the continuance of God's wrath it is
not in Thy wrath that there is continuance (Isaiah 54:7;
Isaiah 54:8; Psalms 30:5;
Psalms 103:9), but in Thy
ways ("those"), namely, of covenant mercy to Thy people
(Micah 7:18-20; Malachi 3:6);
on the strength of the everlasting continuance of His covenant they
infer by faith, "we shall be saved." God "remembered"
for them His covenant (Malachi 3:6), though they often "remembered not" Him
(Psalms 78:42). CASTELLIO
translates, "we have sinned for long in them ('thy ways'), and
could we then be saved?" But they hardly would use such a plea
when their very object was to be saved.
6.
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
6. unclean thing—legally
unclean, as a leper. True of Israel, everywhere now cut off by
unbelief and by God's judgments from the congregation of the saints.
righteousness—plural,
"uncleanness" extended to every particular act of
theirs, even to their prayers and praises. True of the best doings of
the unregenerate (Philippians 3:6-8;
Titus 1:15; Hebrews 11:6).
filthy rags—literally,
a "menstruous rag" (Leviticus 15:33;
Leviticus 20:18; Lamentations 1:17).
fade . . . leaf—
(Psalms 90:5; Psalms 90:6).
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.
7. stirreth—rouseth
himself from spiritual drowsiness.
take hold— ().
8.
But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
8. father— ().
clay . . . potter—
(Isaiah 29:16; Isaiah 45:9).
Unable to mould themselves aright, they beg the sovereign will of God
to mould them unto salvation, even as He made them at the
first, and is their "Father."
9.
Be not wroth very sore, O LORD, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.
9. (Psalms 74:1;
Psalms 74:2).
we are . . . thy people—
(Jeremiah 14:9; Jeremiah 14:21).
10.
Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
10. holy cities—No city but
Jerusalem is called "the holy city" (Isaiah 48:2;
Isaiah 52:1); the plural,
therefore, refers to the upper and the lower parts of the same
city Jerusalem [VITRINGA];
or all Judea was holy to God, so its cities were deemed "holy"
[MAURER]. But the
parallelism favors VITRINGA.
Zion and Jerusalem (the one city) answering to "holy
cities."
11.
Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned up with fire: and all our pleasant things are laid waste.
11. house—the temple.
beautiful—includes the
idea of glorious (Mark 13:1;
Acts 3:2).
burned— (Psalms 74:7;
Lamentations 2:7; 2 Chronicles 36:19).
Its destruction under Nebuchadnezzar prefigured that under Titus.
pleasant things—Hebrew,
"objects of desire"; our homes, our city, and all its dear
associations.
12.
Wilt thou refrain thyself for these things, O LORD? wilt thou hold thy peace, and afflict us very sore?
12. for these things—Wilt
Thou, notwithstanding these calamities of Thy people, still
refuse Thy aid (Isaiah 42:14)?