Isaiah 63:7

I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord,.... These are the words of the prophet, as Jarchi and Kimchi observe; who, having heard what the Lord would do for his church and people in later

I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, and the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath

Whether this ought to be the beginning of a new chapter, or no, is not material; but certainly here begins a new matter, which contains the prophet’ s prayer, either in his own name or the church’ s, to the end of Isa 64; wherein he begins with mentioning the great kindnesses that God had shown the Jews, and that emphatically, setting it forth with the greatest advantages; and the more, either to aggravate their great unkindness, or to give them some hope of finding him the like again in their distresses, or by way of argument with God to show them mercy, because he had been so good to them.

Isaiah 63:7 I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, [and] the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.Ver. 7. I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord,] scil., As an aggravation of Israel’ s great unkindness and unthankfulness to so liberal a Lord, so bountiful a benefactor. Good turns exaggerate unkindness; and men’ s offences are increased by their obligations. See Deuteronomy 32:7; Deuteronomy 32:14. According to his mercies, &c.] Which are such as words are too weak to utter; hence this Copia verborum, and all too little. See the like, Ephesians 2:5; Ephesians 2:7. Summam Cantici sui paucis complectitur.

(7) I will mention . . .—The words begin an entirely new section, of the nature of a psalm of thanksgiving for redemption (Isaiah 63:16). Possibly, in the arrangement of the book it was thought that such a psalm followed rightly on the great dramatic dialogue which represented the victory of the Redeemer. The psalm begins, according to the implied rule of Psa 50:23, with praise, and passes afterward to narrative and supplication.

Verse 7. I will mention the loving-kindnesses of the Lord] The prophet connects the preceding mercies of God to the Jews with the present prospect he has of their redemption by the Messiah; thus making a circle in which eternal goodness revolves. The remaining part of this chapter, with the whole chapter following, contains a penitential confession and supplication of the Israelites in their present state of dispersion, in which they have so long marvellously subsisted, and still continue to subsist, as a people; cast out of their country; without any proper form of civil polity or religious worship, their temple destroyed, their city desolated and lost to them, and their whole nation scattered over the face of the earth, apparently deserted and cast off by the God of their fathers, as no longer his peculiar people. They begin with acknowledging God's great mercies and favours to their nation, and the ungrateful returns made to them on their part, that by their disobedience they had forfeited the protection of God, and had caused him to become their adversary. And now the prophet represents them, induced by the memory of the great things that God had done for them, as addressing their humble supplication for the renewal of his mercies. They beseech him to regard them in consideration of his former loving-kindness, they acknowledge him for their Father and Creator, they confess their wickedness and hardness of heart, they entreat his forgiveness, and deplore their present miserable condition under which they have so long suffered. It seems designed as a formulary of humiliation for the Israelites, in order to their conversion. The whole passage is in the elegiac form, pathetic and elegant; but it has suffered much in our present copy by the mistakes of transcribers. The praises of the Lord - "The praise of JEHOVAH"] For תהלות tehilloth, plural, twenty-nine MSS. (three ancient) and two editions, have תהלת tehillath, in the singular number; and so the Vulgate renders it; and one of the Greek versions, in the margin of Cod. Marchal. and in the text of MSS. Pachom. and I. D. II. τηναινεσινΚυριου, "the praise of the Lord." - L.

Ch. Isaiah 63:7 to Isaiah 64:12. A Prayer of the People for the Renewal of Jehovah’s former Lovingkindness(1) Isaiah 63:7-9. The prayer begins with thankful commemoration of Jehovah’s goodness to the nation in the days of old (Isaiah 63:7). The reference is to the time of Moses and Joshua, when Jehovah’s loving confidence in His children had not yet been betrayed (Isaiah 63:8), and when He continuously manifested Himself as their Saviour, bearing them safely through all dangers (Isaiah 63:9). (2) Isaiah 63:10-14. This ideal relation between Israel and its God has indeed long since been broken, through the rebellion and ingratitude of the people (Isaiah 63:10). But in seasons of distress the better mind of the nation dwells wistfully on those ancient wonders of grace, and longs that Jehovah may again put forth His strength and vindicate His glorious name (Isaiah 63:11-14). (3) Isaiah 63:15-16. From the past the writer turns to the gloomy present, be seeching Jehovah to take notice of and have compassion on the affliction of His people. For He alone, and not Abraham or Israel, is the Father of the nation, and its Redeemer from of old. (4) Isaiah 63:17-19. From this point the increasing impetuosity of the language reveals for the first time the extremity of the Church’s anguish. The prophet remonstrates with God for so withdrawing Himself from the people as to harden them in sin (Isaiah 63:17) and cause them to be as if He had never ruled over them (Isaiah 63:19). (5) Isaiah 64:1-3. A passionate wish that Jehovah might now rend asunder the solid firmament, and melt the mountains, and make Himself known to the nation by terrible acts, surpassing the expectations of His people. (6) Isaiah 63:4-7. In a more reflective strain the writer appears to seek for a reconciliation of Jehovah’s attitude to Israel with His eternally righteous character. He, the only God known who meets the righteousman, is yet wroth with His people so that they fall into sin (Isaiah 63:4-5). The lamentable consequences of this hiding of God’s face on the religious condition of the people are described in Isaiah 63:6-7. (7) Isaiah 63:8-12. Final appeal to the Fatherhood of God, and His consideration for the work of His hands (Isaiah 63:8). Let Him moderate His wrath and remember that we are His people (Isaiah 63:9). For surely the punishment of sin has been sufficient,—the holy cities ruined, Jerusalem a desolation, the Temple burned with fire (Isaiah 63:10-11). Can Jehovah look on these things and yet restrain His compassion (Isaiah 63:12)? The passage is one of the most instructive of O.T. prayers, and deserves careful study as an expression of the chastened and tremulous type of piety begotten in the sorrows of the Exile. Along with much that is of the permanent essence of prayer,—thanksgiving, confession of sin, and supplication,—it contains utterances which may cause surprise to a Christian reader, although they are paralleled in some of the Psalms, and in other portions of the literature.

I will mention - This is evidently the language of the people celebrating the praises of God in view of all his mercies in former days. See the analysis to the chapter.

THE LAST WITH ISRAEL, Isaiah 63:7 to Isaiah 65:25.Israel’s former Mercies and Sins.There are various schemes of division of the matter now following.