Isaiah 64:1-12
1 Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence,
2 As when the meltinga 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!
3 When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence.
4 For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen,b O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.
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.
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.
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 consumedc us, because of our iniquities.
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.
9 Be not wroth very sore, O LORD, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.
10 Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
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.
12 Wilt thou refrain thyself for these things, O LORD? wilt thou hold thy peace, and afflict us very sore?
CHAPTER 63:7-19-64:12
The Great Intercessory Prayer
1. Jehovah's loving kindness and power in the past remembered (Isaiah 63:7) 2. Their deepest need (Isaiah 63:15) 3. The cry of faith, Thou art our Father (Isaiah 63:16) 4. The increasing plea (Isaiah 63:17) 5. The prayer for Jehovah's manifestation (Isaiah 64:1) 6. Confession and humiliation (Isaiah 64:5) 7. The cry for mercy and help (Isaiah 64:8) This is one of the greatest prayers in the Bible. The prophet no doubt prayed it first of all, and the Spirit of Christ through him. But its full meaning will be reached when the faithful remnant of Israel in the end time cries for help and deliverance during the great tribulation. When Daniel discovered that the end of the Babylonian captivity was at hand, he uttered a great prayer Daniel 9:1. The same beautiful spirit of a contrite heart, confession of sin, trust in Jehovah, pleading for Jerusalem and expectation of deliverance, which characterizes Daniel's prayer is seen in this great prayer. Many of the prayers in the book of Psalms are the prayers of the remnant suffering in the land before the Second Advent.
The remaining two Chapter s contain the answer to this prayer.