Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 64:4
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 7. This difficult passage contains (1) an appeal to that which distinguishes Jehovah from all other deities: He is the only God who works for them that wait for Him in the way of righteousness; (2) a confession of the people’s sinful condition due to the persistency of the divine wrath. A contrast between these thoughts is probably intended; the severity of Jehovah’s dealings with Israel seems at variance with His known character. But the text is in some places hopelessly corrupt, and the exact sense is somewhat uncertain.
For since the beginning heard ] Lit. “And from of old they have not heard.” It is tempting (with Duhm) to take this as a relative clause parallel to and continuing Isa 64:3 (“ terrible things which we hoped not for, and which from of old men have not heard”). There is an awkwardness, however, in commencing a new sentence with the next clause, and still greater difficulty in carrying on the sentence of Isa 64:3 to the word “seen” (Hitzig). Accepting the traditional division, Isa 64:4 will read nearly as in R.V., And from of old men have not heard, have not perceived by the ear, no eye hath seen a God beside Thee, Who worketh for him that waiteth for Him. The rendering of A.V. is partly accommodated to St Paul’s language in 1Co 2:9, where, however, a different text (not the LXX.) seems to be followed. Jerome says that the Apostle’s words are found in certain Apocalyptic books, although he will not admit that they are quoted from them.
“Worketh for”=“sheweth Himself active on behalf of”; without obj., as Gen 30:30; Psa 37:5.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For since the beginning of the world – This verse is quoted, though not literally, by the apostle Paul, as illustrating the effects of the gospel in producing happiness and salvation (see the notes at 1Co 2:9). The meaning here is, that nowhere else among people had there been such blessings imparted, and such happiness enjoyed; or so many proofs of love and protection, as among those who were the people of God, and who feared him.
Men have not heard – In no nation in all past time have deeds been heard of such as thou hast performed.
Nor perceived by the ear – Paul 1Co 2:9 renders this neither have entered into the heart of man, which, says Lowth, is a phrase purely Hebrew, and which should seem to belong to the prophet. The phrase, Nor perceived by the ear, he says, is repeated without force or propriety, and he seems to suppose that this place has been either willfully corrupted by the Jews, or that Paul made his quotation from some Apocryphal book – either the ascension of Esaiah, or the Apocalypse of Elias, in both of which the passage is found as quoted by Paul. The phrase is wholly omitted by the Septuagint and the Arabic, but is found in the Vulgate and Syriac. There is no authority from the Hebrew manuscripts to omit it.
Neither hath the eye seen – The margin here undoubtedly expresses the true sense. So Lowth renders it, Nor hath the eye seen a God beside thee, which doeth such things for those that trust in him. In a similar manner, the Septuagint translates it, Neither have our eyes seen a God beside thee ( oude hoi ophthalmoi hemon eidon theon plen sou), and thy works which thou hast done for those who wait for mercy. The sense is, no eye had ever seen such a God as Yahweh; one who so richly rewarded those who put their trust in him. In the Hebrew, the word rendered O God, may be either in the accusative or vocative case, and the sense is, that Yahweh was a more glorious rewarder and protector than any of the gods which had ever been worshipped by the nations.
What he hath prepared – Hebrew, yaas’eh – He doeth, or will do. So the Septuagint, Ha poieseis – What thou wilt do. The sense given by our translators – What he hath prepared, has been evidently adopted to accommodate the passage to the sense given by Paul 1Co 2:9, , … ha etoimasen, etc. What God has prepared. But the idea is, in the Hebrew, not what God has prepared or laid up in the sense of preserving it for the future; but what he bad already done in the past. No god had done what he had; no human being had ever witnessed such manifestations from any other god.
For him that waiteth for him – Lowth and Noyes, For him who trusteth in him. Paul renders this, For them that love him, and it is evident that he did not intend to quote this literally, but meant to give the general sense. The idea in the Hebrew is, For him who waits ( limchakeh) for Yahweh, that is, who feels his helplessness, and relies on him to interpose and save him. Piety is often represented as an attitude of waiting on God Psa 25:3, Psa 25:5, Psa 25:21; Psa 27:14; Psa 37:9; Psa 130:5. The sense of the whole verse is, that God in his past dealings had given manifestations of his existence, power, and goodness, to those who were his friends, which had been furnished nowhere else. To those interpositions the suppliants appeal, as a reason why he should again interpose, and why he should save them in their heavy calamities.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 64:4
Yet since the beginning of the world men have not heard
God absolutely alone in His graciousness
From of old men have not heard, nor perceived, nor has eye seen a God beside Thee, who acted for him that waits for Him.
(F. Delitzsch, D. D.)
Mystery revealed
There is perhaps, nothing more likely to withhold us from a diligent process of self-examination as to our position in reference to heaven, or to induce a sort of belief that such self-examination may safely be spared, because we have not sufficient material for conducting it, than the convenient supposition of the incomprehensibleness of heaven, and our utter incompetence with our present set of faculties to the understanding what heaven is. The words of our text are those which St. Paul quotes, when he says–Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. And there are no words more frequently or more unhesitatingly quoted than these, as if it were heaven which the writer had in view. This is only an instance of popular misapplication of Scripture. The words may, indeed, be accommodated to heaven; but as used, whether by Isaiah or St. Paul, they have nothing whatever to do with heaven; and it is nothing but by that common habit of detaching a text from the context, and thus suiting it to our own purpose without concern as to the drift of the writer, that the words are in every ones mouth whensoever discourse turns on the invisible world.
I. CONSIDER WHAT IS THE TRUE IMPORT AND MEANING OF THE PASSAGE, whether as it occurs in the writings of Isaiah, or those of St. Paul. The chapter in which our text occurs contains an earnest prayer for the manifestation of Gods power, and this prayer is generally considered as that of the first converts from among the dispersed Jews, when the nation of Israel shall be about to be reunited in the Church. It is a devout and most importunate call for some such mighty interference as had been vouchsafed to Israel in earlier days, when God made bare His holy arm, and wrought wondrously on behalf of His people. Those words are a declaration that when God shall interfere, as we yet believe that He will, on behalf of His ancient people, gathering them from their dispersion, engrafting them into His Church, and reinstating them in the land from which they have so long been exiled, there will be such exhibitions of His greatness, and goodness, and awfulness, as shall immeasurably surpass the expectations even of those who, most diligent in remembering the marvels of old, have also been most patient in awaiting the fulfilment of the long-cherished promise. Without going more at length into an examination of the prayer recorded by Isaiah, we may safely say that it is not to heaven that the suppliants refer when they use the language Eye hath not seen, etc. And if, as used by the prophet, the words do not refer to heaven, do they as thus used by the apostle? (1Co 2:1-16). You can hardly fail to perceive, if you look attentively at the context, that it is the Gospel of which St. Paul speaks–the plan of salvation through Christ, and Him crucified. And it is to this Gospel that he applies the words which are so commonly quoted, as though he spake of heaven. What are his next words?
But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit. So, then, you see the mysteriousness of which St. Paul speaks was at an end.
II. We wish to suppose that the words were used of heaven, and to EXAMINE WHETHER EVEN THEN THEY WOULD AT ALL WARRANT MEN IN NOT ENDEAVOURING TO ASCERTAIN THEIR FITNESS FOR THE INHERITANCE OF THE SAINTS. We believe of heaven, that its joys far transcend our highest imaginations, and are only imperfectly, if at all, to be apprehended by our present senses and feelings, w e are not afraid to say of heaven–Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath laid up for the righteous, but do the words prove that we can know nothing about heaven? Then, what mean the words which so immediately follow–But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit! Heaven is a mystery to the natural man. Its joys are such as lie beyond his comprehension; so that if described to him, they do not come home to his understanding. Its occupations are such that, when mentioned, they appear to him as if they must be burdens, so devoid are they of the elements for which he possesses any relish or taste. It is not, however, thus with the spiritual man. Unto him there hath come a revelation of the happiness of heaven, seeing that he has whisperings even now of that holiness which is happiness, and therefore can understand, and will be taught to feel that happiness is to be holy even as God is holy. We tell you of heaven as of that whereof there hath been made a revelation to every believer in the felt agreement between what is told him of happiness hereafter, and what is experienced by him of happiness here. And it is just one of the worst delusions to which any man can make himself a prey to suppose that he may have a place prepared for him in heaven, and yet be without proof that he is himself being prepared for that place. Heaven is not so much a place as it is a character; neither is hell so much a place as it is a character. You may already decide whether you are in possession of the tastes without which you could not enjoy heaven, without which you could not find it heaven, even if through some strange distribution you were admitted amongst its inmates. Submit yourselves to the Spirit; obey His impulses; follow His suggestions; cherish His presence; dread His absence. And thus may you become gradually fitted for that blessed abode which Eye hath not seen, but which, nevertheless, may be so unfolded to those who are so growing in grace, that they can already,, drink of that river which proceedeth from the throne of God, and of the Lamb, and already join in the anthem of the redeemed. (H. Melvill, B. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 4. For since the beginning of the world men have not heard – “For never have men heard”] St. Paul is generally supposed to have quoted this passage of Isaiah, Isa 64:1; Isa 2:9; and Clemens Romanus in his first epistle has made the same quotation, very nearly in the same words with the apostle. But the citation is so very different both from the Hebrew text and the version of the Septuagint, that it seems very difficult, if not impossible, to reconcile them by any literal emendation, without going beyond the bounds of temperate criticism. One clause, “neither hath it entered into the heart of man,” (which, by the way, is a phrase purely Hebrew, alah al leb, and should seem to belong to the prophet,) is wholly left out; and another is repeated without force or propriety; viz., “nor perceived by the ear,” after, “never have heard:” and the sense and expression of the apostle is far preferable to that of the Hebrew text. Under these difficulties I am at a loss what to do better, than to offer to the reader this, perhaps disagreeable, alternative: either to consider the Hebrew text and Septuagint in this place as wilfully disguised and corrupted by the Jews; of which practice in regard to other quotations in the New Testament from the Old, they lie under strong suspicions, (see Dr. Owen on the version of the Septuagint, sect. vi.-ix.;) or to look upon St. Paul’s quotation as not made from Isaiah, but from one or other of the two apocryphal books, entitled, The Ascension of Esaiah, and the Apocalypse of Elias, in both of which this passage was found; and the apostle is by some supposed in other places to have quoted such apocryphal writings. As the first of these conclusions will perhaps not easily be admitted by many, so I must fairly warn my readers that the second is treated by Jerome as little better than heresy. See his comment on this place of Isaiah. – L. I would read the whole verse thus; “Yea, from the time of old they have not heard, they have not hearkened to, an eye hath not seen a God besides thee. He shall work for that one that waiteth for him.” This I really think on the whole to be the best translation of the original.
The variations on this place are as follows: for shameu, they have heard, a MS. and the Septuagint read shamanu, we have heard: for the second lo, not, sixty-nine MSS. and four editions have velo, and not, and the Syriac, Chaldee, and Vulgate. And so veayin, and eye, Septuagint and Syriac. eth, the, (emphatic,) is added before Elohim, God, in MS. Bodleian. limechakkey, to them that wait, plural, two MSS. and all the ancient Versions. – L.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Whereas there are but three ways whereby men ordinarily come to the knowledge of a thing, viz. by the ear, either our own hearing, or by hearsay; and by the eye; and by reason, which the apostle adds, where he makes use of this text, 1Co 2:9; two of them are mentioned here.
Besides thee; with reference either to the gods that do them. never any other god could do like time; or to things done, never any
besides thee could do such things as were never seen or heard of. He refers to those terrible things mentioned in the former verse. It seems to be clear by comparing this with Deu 4:31-35. Not to be restrained to these, but to be applied to all the wonderful works that God at all times wrought for his people. And thus they are a plea with God, that they might well expect such things from him now, that had done such wonderful things for their fathers of old.
That waiteth for him; the apostle hath it, that love him, 1Co 2:9, to show that none can wait on him that love him not; so all that love him will wait on him. This may be taken with reference both to the state of grace and glory, those incomprehensible things that are exhibited through Christ in the mysteries of the gospel, as well as the good things of this present life, which the prophet may here literally aim at; it being not unusual for the prophets.in mentioning these temporal things to point at spiritual, especially being things that do so well suit with each other.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. perceived by the earPaul(1Co 2:9) has for this, “norhave entered into the heart of man”; the virtual sense,sanctioned by his inspired authority; men might hear with the outwardear, but they could only by the Spirit “perceive” with the”heart” the spiritual significancy of God’s acts, boththose in relation to Israel, primarily referred to here, and thoserelating to the Gospel secondarily, which Paul refers to.
O God . . . what he . . .preparedrather, “nor hath eye seen a god besidethee who doeth such things.” They refer to God’s pastmarvellous acts in behalf of Israel as a plea for His now interposingfor His people; but the Spirit, as Paul by inspiration shows,contemplated further God’s revelation in the Gospel, whichabounds in marvellous paradoxes never before heard of by carnal ear,not to be understood by mere human sagacity, and when foretold by theprophets not fully perceived or credited; and even after themanifestation of Christ not to be understood save through the inwardteaching of the Holy Ghost. These are partly past and present, andpartly future; therefore Paul substitutes “prepared” for”doeth,” though his context shows he includes all three.For “waiteth” he has “love Him”; godly waitingon Him must flow from love, and not mere fear.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear,…. Not only the things unexpected, undesired, and undeserved, had been done for the Lord’s people of old; but there were other things, unheard of and unseen, which God, in his secret counsels, had prepared for them; and for which reason his appearance in his providential dispensations was the more to be desired and entreated. The Apostle Paul has cited this passage in 1Co 2:9 and applied it to Gospel times, and to evangelical truths, which are not discoverable by the light of nature; had there not been a revelation from God, the ears of men had never heard them, nor the eyes of men ever seen them:
neither hath the eye seen, O God, besides thee; and though there is a revelation made, yet, unless God gives men eyes to see, and ears to hear, divine truths will remain unknown to them; and those who have knowledge of them, it is but imperfect; perfect knowledge of them is reserved to another state. These are mysteries and, though revealed, remain so; the modes of them being unknown, or the manner how they are is inscrutable; such as the mode of each Person’s subsisting in the Trinity; and how the two natures, human and divine, are united in the person of Christ. Moreover, under the Old Testament dispensation, these things were not so clearly revealed as now; they were the fellowship of the mystery hid in God, the treasure of Gospel truths hid in the field of the Scriptures; they were wrapped up in the dark figures and shadows of the ceremonial law, and expressed in obscure prophecies; they were kept secret since the beginning of the world, from ages and generations past, and, not so made known, as now, to the holy apostles and prophets; a more full and clear knowledge of them was reserved to Gospel times. This may also include the blessings of grace, more peculiarly prepared and provided for the church of Christ under the Gospel dispensation, especially in the latter part of it, as the promise of the Spirit; more spiritual light and knowledge; peace in abundance, and such as passeth all understanding; and particularly what will be enjoyed in the personal reign of Christ, described in so pompous a manner, Re 20:1 and it may be applied to the glories of the future state, which are such as the eye of man has never seen, nor his ear heard; and, as the apostle adds, have not entered into the heart of man to conceive of; and, as Jarchi paraphrases the words here,
“the eye of any prophet hath not seen what God will do for him that waits for him, except thine eyes, thou, O God;”
having cited a passage of their Rabbins out of the Talmud o, which interprets the words of the world to come,
“all the prophets say, they all of them prophesied only of the days of the Messiah; but as to the world to come, eye hath not seen, c.”
Some read the words, “neither has the eye seen God besides thee who will do for him that waiteth for him” p that is, none besides thee, O Christ, who lay in the bosom of the Father, and was privy to all, Joh 1:18: what
he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him; the apostle quotes it, “for them that love him”; which describes the same persons; for those that wait for the Lord love him, and those that love him will wait for him; as Old Testament saints did for the first coming of Christ, and as New Testament saints now wait on him, in the ministry of his word and ordinances, for his spiritual presence, and also are waiting for his second coming, and for the ultimate glory; and for such persons unseen and unheard of things are prepared in the counsels and purposes of God, and in the covenant of his grace; Christ, and all things with him; the Gospel, and the truths of it, ordained before the world was; and all the blessings of grace and glory. The Targum is,
“and since the world was, ear hath not heard the voice of mighty deeds, nor hearkened to the speech of trembling; nor hath eye seen, what thy people saw, the Shechinah of the glory of the Lord, for there is none besides thee, what thou wilt do to thy people, the righteous, who were of old, who wait for thy salvation.”
o T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 63. 1. Sanhedrin, fol. 99. 1. p “nono oculus vidit Deum praeter te, faciat expectanti ipsum”, Montanus “qui faciat sic expectanti se”, Pagninus, Munster.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(5)
After the long period governed by has thus been followed by the retrospect in Isa 64:3 (4.), it is absolutely impossible that Isa 64:4 (5 a) should be intended as an optative, in the sense of “O that thou wouldst receive him that,” etc., as Stier and others propose. The retrospect is still continued thus: “Thou didst meet him that rejoiceth to work righteousness, when they remembered Thee in Thy ways.” is one in whom joy and right action are paired, and is therefore equivalent to . At the same time, it may possibly be more correct to take as the object of both verses, as Hofmann does in the sense of “those who let what is right be their joy, and their action also;” for though ( ) cannot be directly construed with the accusative of the object, as we have already observed at Isa 8:6 and Isa 35:1, it may be indirectly, as in this passage and Isa 65:18. On paga , “to come to meet,” in the sense of “coming to the help of,” see at Isa 47:3; it is here significantly interchanged with of the minor clause bidrakhekha yizk e rukha , “those who remember Thee in Thy ways” (for the syntax, compare Isa 1:5 and Isa 26:16): “When such as love and do right, walking in Thy ways, remembered Thee (i.e., thanked Thee for grace received, and longed for fresh grace), Thou camest again and again to meet them as a friend.”
But Israel appeared to have been given up without hope to the wrath of this very God. Isa 64:4 (5 b). “Behold, Thou, Thou art enraged, and we stood as sinners there; already have we been long in this state, and shall we be saved?” Instead of hen attah (the antithesis of now and formerly), the passage proceeds with hen ‘ attah . There was no necessity for ‘ attah with qatsaphta ; so that it is used with special emphasis: “Behold, Thou, a God who so faithfully accepts His own people, hast broken out in wrath.” The following word cannot mean “and we have sinned,” but is a fut. consec., and therefore must mean at least, “then we have sinned” (the sin inferred from the punishment). It is more correct, however, to take it, as in Gen 43:9, in the sense of, “Then we stand as sinners, as guilty persons:” the punishment has exhibited Israel before the world, and before itself, as what it really is (consequently the fut. consec. does not express the logical inference, but the practical consequence). As has tsakeph, and therefore the accents at any rate preclude Shelling’s rendering, “and we have wandered in those ways from the very earliest times,” we must take the next two clauses as independent, if indeed is to be understood as referring to . Stier only goes halfway towards this when he renders it, “And indeed in them (the ways of God, we sinned) from of old, and should we be helped?” This is forced, and yet not in accordance with the accents. Rosenmller and Hahn quite satisfy this demand when they render it, “ Tamen in viis tuis aeternitas ut salvemur ;” but olam , , in this sense of , is not scriptural. The rendering adopted by Besser, Grotius, and Starck is a better one: “( Si vero ) in illis ( viis tuis ) perpetuo ( m ansissemus ), tunc servati fuerimus ” (if we had continued in Thy ways, then we should have been preserved). But there is no succession of tenses here, which could warrant us in taking as a paulo-post future; and Hofmann’s view is syntactically more correct, “In them (i.e., the ways of Jehovah) eternally, we shall find salvation, after the time is passed in which He has been angry and we have sinned” (or rather, been shown to be guilty). But we question the connection between and in any form. In our view the prayer suddenly takes a new turn from hen (behold) onwards, just as it did with lu’ (O that) in Isa 64:1; and in Isa 64:5 stands at the head of a subordinate clause. Hence must refer back to (“in Thine anger and in our sins,” Schegg). There is no necessity, however, to search for nouns to which to refer . It is rather to be taken as neuter, signifying “therein” (Eze 33:18, cf., Psa 90:10), like , thereupon = thereby (Isa 38:16), therein (Isa 37:16), thereout (Isa 30:6), therefrom (Isa 44:15). The idea suggested by such expressions as these is no doubt that of plurality (here a plurality of manifestations of wrath and of sins), but one which vanishes into the neuter idea of totality. Now we do justice both to the clause without a verb, which, being a logical copula , admits simply of a present sumus ; and also to olam , which is the accusative of duration, when we explain the sentence as meaning, “In this state we are and have been for a long time.” Olam is used in other instances in these prophecies to denote the long continuance of the sate of punishment (see Isa 42:14; Isa 57:11), since it appeared to the exiles as an eternity (a whole aeon), and what lay beyond it as but a little while ( m itsar , Isa 63:18). The following word needs no correction. There is no necessity to change it into , as Ewald proposes, after the lxx (“and we fell into wandering”), or what would correspond still more closely to the lxx (cf., Isa 46:8, , lxx ), but is less appropriate here, into (“and we fell into apostasy”), the reading supported by Lowth and others. If it were necessary to alter the text at all, we might simply transpose the letters, and read , “and cried for help.” But if we take it as a question, “And shall we experience salvation – find help?” there is nothing grammatically inadmissible in this (compare Isa 28:28), and psychologically it is commended by the state of mind depicted in Isa 40:27; Isa 59:10-12. Moreover, what follows attaches itself quite naturally to this.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
4. From of old they have not heard. This verse confirms what has been already said, that believers do not here ask anything strange or uncommon, but only that God may shew himself to be to them what he formerly shewed himself to be to the fathers, and that he may continue to exercise his kindness, and that, since he has been wont to assist his people, and to give them undoubted tokens of his presence, he may not cease in future to cause his strength and power to shine forth more and more brightly. He represents believers as praying to God in such a manner that they strengthen themselves by the remembrance of the past, and betake themselves; with greater courage to God’s assistance.
Eye hath not seen a God besides thee. The Prophet’s design unquestionably is, to celebrate God’s immense goodness, by relating the numerous benefits which he bestowed upon his people in ancient times; and this kind of praise is highly magnificent, when, rising to rapturous admiration, of them, he exclaims that there is no God besides him, and that those things which the Lord has carried into effect for the sake of his people are unheard-of and uncommon. But there are two ways in which these words may be read, for אלהים ( elohim) may either be in the accusative or in the vocative case. “O Lord, no one hath seen besides thee what thou doest for them that wait for thee.” But another reading is more generally approved, “No one hath ever seen or ever heard of such a God.” Yet in this reading we must supply the particle of comparison, as; for otherwise the sentence would be incomplete. The verb יעשה ( yagnaseh) is put absolutely, “No ear hath heard, and no eye hath seen, such a God as doeth such things.” And thus God is distinguished from idols, from which superstitious men imagine that they obtain all good things; for they are the mere inventions of men, and can do neither good nor harm, seeing that God bestows on his worshippers benefits of every kind.
Paul appears to explain this passage differently, and to torture it to a different purpose, and even quotes it in different words, that is, because he followed the Greek version. (1Co 2:9.) In this respect the Apostles were not squeamish; for they paid more attention to the matter than to the words, and reckoned it enough to draw the attention of the reader to a passage of Scripture, from which might be obtained what they taught. As to the addition which Paul appears to have made of his own accord, “Nor hath entered into the heart of man what God hath prepared for them that love him,” he did so for the purpose of explanation; for he added nothing that does not fully agree with the Prophet’s doctrine.
That we may understand better how thoroughly he agrees with the Prophet, we must understand his design. In that passage he treats of the doctrine of the Gospel, which he demonstrates to surpass the capacity of the human understanding; for it contains knowledge that is widely different and far removed from the perception of our flesh, and, in short, is “hidden wisdom,” so that Paul is justly led to view it with astonishment. And as the Prophet, when he takes into consideration the wonderful acts of God’s kindness, exclaims, like one who is lost in amazement, that nothing like this was ever heard of; so, in the most excellent of all benefits, namely, that in which Christ is offered to us by the Gospel, we may exclaim in the same manner, “O Lord, what thou bestowest on thy people exceeds all the capacity of the human mind: no eye, no ear, no senses, no mind can reach such loftiness.” Thus Paul applies this passage admirably to his reasoning, and does not make an improper use of the statement made by the Prophet when he elevates above the world that peculiar grace which God bestows on his Church.
There remains but one difficulty, namely, that Paul applies to spiritual blessings what the Prophet here says about blessings of a temporal nature. But we may say that Isaiah here looks merely at the cause of God’s benefits, though he has in his eye the condition of the present life; for all the benefits that we receive from God, for the sake of food and nourishment, are proofs of his fatherly kindness toward us; and it is the peculiar excellence of faith, to rise from visible favors to those which are invisible. Although therefore the Prophet appears to speak of external deliverance and other benefits of this life, yet he rises higher, and looks chiefly at those things which belonged especially to the people of God. What stupidity would it be, if, while we enjoy God’s benefits, we did not consider the fountain itself, that is, his fatherly kindness! Ordinary favors are enjoyed indiscriminately by the good and the bad; but that favor with which he embraces us belongs especially to citizens. The consequence is, that we do not merely observe those things which fall under the senses of men, but contemplate the cause itself. Although therefore neither eyes nor ears reach so far as to comprehend the grace of adoption, by which the Lord testifies that he is our Father, yet he reveals it by the testimony of his Spirit.
It is even probable that the Prophet, when he spoke of a particular instance of God’s kindness, was elevated, by means of it, to a general reflection; for, in considering God’s works, it was frequent and customary for good men to pass from a single instance to the whole class. In that way might this single but remarkable instance of the divine goodness raise the mind of the Prophet to so high a pitch as to meditate on that infinite abundance of blessings which is laid up for believers in heaven. We even see clearly that this commendation includes the gracious covenant by which God adopted the children of Abraham into the hope of eternal life. (Gen 17:7.) What has been said amounts to this: “Seeing that the goodness and power of God are so great, we have no reason to distrust him; but we ought to place our confidence in him, so as to hope that he will assuredly assist us.” And such is the design of those excellent benefits which are here mentioned by the Prophet.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(4) Neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee . . .The best commentators are in favour of rendering, Neither hath the eye seen a God beside Thee, who will work for him that waiteth for Him. The sense is not that God alone knows what He hath prepared, but that no man knows (sight and hearing being used as including all forms of spiritual apprehension) any god who does such great things as He does. St. Paul, in 1Co. 2:9, applies the words freely, after his manner, to the eternal blessings which God prepares for His people. Clement of Rome (chap. 34), it may be noted, makes a like application of the words, giving those who wait for Him (as in Isaiah), instead of those who love Him.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. Since the beginning of the world Or, beginning of Israel’s history.
Men have not heard Men of other nations have not witnessed, by ear or eye, such displays of divine power in relation to Israel, nor did mind ever conceive of them. This proverbial style (for such it is) is applied by St. Paul (1Co 2:9) to the Gospel as a mystery, or something hidden till revealed by the Holy Spirit.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 64:4. For since the beginning, &c. See 1Co 2:9. The meaning of the phrase, Neither hath the eye seen, O God, besides thee, is, “no one can relate or explain, as no one hath seen, what is known only to God, in all his wonderful operations, whose mighty wisdom far transcends human thought and counsel.” St. Paul has expressed this paraphrastically, Neither have entered into the heart of man the things, &c. Comp. ch. Leviticus 8, 9.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Isa 64:4 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.
Ver. 4. For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, ] scil., The mysteries of the gospel revealed by the Spirit; whereunto the angels also desire to look, as the apostles witness. 1Co 2:9 1Pe 1:12
Neither hath the eye seen, O God, besides thee.
For him that waiteth for him.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
since the beginning of the world = from of old.
men have not heard. Quoted in 1Co 2:9. Compare Psa 3:19.
nor. So, some codices, with two early printed editions, Syriac, and Vulgate. But others read “have not perceived”.
God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4.
hath prepared = could work, or will do.
him that waiteth = the man who waited.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
have not: Psa 31:19, 1Co 2:9, 1Co 2:10, Eph 3:5-10, Eph 3:17-21, Col 1:26, Col 1:27, 1Ti 3:16, 1Jo 3:1, 1Jo 3:2, 1Jo 4:10, Rev 21:1-4, Rev 21:22-24, Rev 22:1-5
seen: etc. or, seen a God besides thee, which doeth so for, etc. prepared. Psa 31:19, Mat 25:34, Joh 14:3, Heb 11:16
waiteth: Isa 25:9, Gen 49:18, Psa 62:1, Psa 130:5, Lam 3:25, Lam 3:26, Luk 2:25, Rom 8:19, Rom 8:23-25, 1Co 1:7, 1Th 1:10, Jam 5:7
Reciprocal: 1Ki 10:7 – I believed Isa 8:17 – I will Isa 26:8 – in Isa 49:23 – for they Isa 66:8 – hath heard Luk 12:36 – men Joh 9:32 – the world 2Co 4:17 – far Jam 1:12 – which 1Jo 4:16 – we
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
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It is striking how verse Isa 64:4 follows what we have dwelt upon in the first three verses. Isaiah desired a mighty display of the power of God such as had been manifested at the outset of Israel’s history: yet he was conscious that God had in reserve things beyond all human knowledge, and prepared for those who waited for Him to act.
To this verse the Apostle Paul referred in 1Co 2:9, showing that though in ordinary matters men arrive at knowledge by the hearing of the ear – tradition – or by the eye – observation – or by what we may call intuition, these things can only reach us by revelation from God by His Spirit. Isaiah knew that there were things to be revealed. Paul tells us that they have been revealed, so that we may know them.
In keeping with this, the Apostle Peter has told us in his first Epistle that when the Spirit of Christ testified through the prophets, they “inquired and searched diligently,” concerning what they had written, and they discovered that they were predicting things, only to be made known to such as ourselves who are brought into the light of what Christ has accomplished. So again we have to remind ourselves how great are the privileges that are ours. God has indeed “come down,” but in grace and not, for the time being, in judgment.
The prophet foresaw that when the prepared things were made known they would only be received if a certain moral state were found. There must be not only the waiting for Him but also a rejoicing in righteousness and working the same, as well as a remembrance of God in all His ways. Thus the godly remnant of Israel are described here. It will be so in a future day, and so it is today, since it is only by the Spirit that we perceive and receive the wonderful things now revealed. When, having been received, the Spirit of God is in control, we enter into the enjoyment of the things that God has prepared for those who love Him.
Now at that moment the necessary state did not exist amongst the people, hence we have the words, “Behold, Thou art wroth; for we have sinned.” This confession is placed in brackets, in Darby’s New Translation, so that the following words spring out of the beginning of the verse. In righteousness and remembrance is to be “continuance, and we shall be saved.” Isaiah had previously presented to us, “a just God and a Saviour” (Isa 45:21); thus the people whom He saves must be brought into conformity with Himself.
Verses Isa 64:6-7, continue the confession of sin that was interjected in verse Isa 64:5. Notice the four figures that are used to express their sorrowful state. First, unclean, as a leper is unclean, in the sight of the law. Second, their “righteousnesses,” that is, their many doings which they considered to be acts of righteousness, were but “filthy rags” in the sight of God. Third, as a consequence of this they were all fading, dying things, like autumn leaves. Fourth, their sins were like a wind that blew them all away.
Are things different today? Has the spread of a civilisation based upon Christian ideals altered things? It has not, and things are just the same. The leprosy of sin is just as virulent; the outward righteousnesses of mankind are just as spurious; death is just as busy; the wind of God’s judgment on sin will soon sweep all away.
Further the prophet had to complain that no one was rightly moved by this state of things, so as to call upon the name of God; no one was found to take hold of God in supplication and prayer. The fact was that God had hid His face from them in His holy government. It was a sad state of affairs when no one was stirred to take the place of an intercessor.
And without a doubt we may say the same as we look on the state of Christendom today. Bright spots there are, thank God! – spots where the Spirit of God is manifestly at work. But in spite of this, the picture over-all is a dark one. Evil abounds under the profession of Christ’s name, and even where the Spirit of God is working, wholehearted servants of God are all too few. Who stirs himself up to take hold on God as to it? Who prays to the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth labourers into His harvest? – as the Lord Himself directed in Mat 9:38. May God Himself stir us up, instead of hiding His face from us, if we fail to stir ourselves up in this matter.
Now, in our chapter, comes the touching appeal to Jehovah. The very first words of Isaiah’s prophecy were, “The Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me.” Very well then Jehovah had taken the place of Father to Israel, and upon that the faith of the prophet counted, and on it he based his appeal. Moreover Jehovah was not only Father to them but He was as a Potter also. Israel was but the clay in His hand.
That this was so, and that God acknowledged it to be so, was made manifest a little later in the days of Jeremiah. In Jer 18:1-23 we read how he was instructed to go down to the potter’s house and receive a lesson there. He saw the clay vessel “marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.” The Lord proceeded to tell Israel that they were in His hand as clay is in the hand of the potter, so He could do with them as seemed good in His sight. Confining our thoughts to Israel, we know that God will make another vessel, which is what the Lord Jesus was showing Nicodemus, as narrated in Joh 3:1-36. That which is born of the flesh – even Abrahamic flesh – is flesh. Only that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Only a born-again Israel will enter the Kingdom.
In Isaiah’s day the point as to “another vessel,” made known to Jeremiah, had hardly been reached; hence here we have further pleadings with God on behalf of the marred vessel as we see in the four verses that close the chapter. “We are all Thy people,” says the prophet, though about that time, or very soon after, Hosea’s son had to be called “Lo-ammi: for ye are not My people, and I will not be your God” (Hos 1:9). These closing verses of appeal seem like a last cry to God, before the sentence of repudiation was given to Hosea.
The iniquity marking the people is confessed, but mercy is sought. The desolations mentioned in verses Isa 64:10-11 strike us as being stated prophetically, for though the king of Assyria ravaged the cities of Judah in the days of Hezekiah, he was not allowed to take Jerusalem nor burn the temple. Jeremiah it was, who actually saw these things fulfilled. Even in Hezekiah’s day however, it was certain that these terrible desolations would come to pass, as we saw when reading the end of chapter 39 of this book. When they were accomplished Israel was set aside for the time being, and the times of the Gentiles began.
The two verses that commence Isa 65:1-25, are in exact harmony with this. They are quoted by the Apostle Paul in Rom 10:20, Rom 10:21 after he had shown that even Moses had upbraided the people and predicted that God would turn from them to others. Then he prefaced his quotation from our chapter by Saying that, “Esaias is very bold…”
Yes, Isaiah does speak with great boldness for he speaks as the very voice of Jehovah rather than speaking about Him. He does not say, “He is sought… He is found… He said…” but rather, “I am sought…I am found…I said…” How comes it, we may enquire, that people who never asked after God should be seeking Him? The answer seems obvious. It must take place as the result of God seeking after them. This is exactly what has taken place in this Gospel age. Israel being set aside, God goes out in sovereign mercy to Gentiles, as Paul goes on to explain in Rom 11:1-36. Has the wonder of this mercy penetrated our hearts in any substantial measure?
God’s dealings with Israel, in setting them aside for this long period, is justified by what we read in verse Isa 64:2. The people had been rebellious, following “their own thoughts,” instead of God’s thoughts, as expressed in His holy law, and these thoughts of theirs led their feet into a way that was not good. God had condescended to entreat them “all the day,” and that “day” had been a long one, extending over centuries of time. To these entreaties they had not responded.
The following verses lay specific evils to their charge, but before we consider them let us pause a moment to consider whether we have been guilty of pursuing our own thoughts instead of God’s in that which has been revealed to us. His mind for us as individual Christians, and also as members of the body of Christ – the church – is plainly stated in the Epistles of the New Testament. Now it is sadly easy to slip away from these and walk after our own thoughts; and more particularly so in regard to church matters; easy to say, “That was doubtless right enough for the first-century Christians, but hardly practicable for us today.” But it is God’s thoughts and ways that are perfect, whilst our own thoughts lead us into “a way that was not good.”
The evil ways of Israel were largely connected with idolatrous practices, as verses Isa 64:3-7 show. The opening words of Deu 12:1-32 are, “These are the statutes and judgments, which ye shall observe to do in the land,” and there follow prohibitions against the high places and groves, or gardens, and altars which the heathen nations had made. So God’s way for them was that they should bring all their offerings to His place in Jerusalem; offering as He had commanded. But they preferred to worship according to their own thoughts with the result that is described in these verses. Their sacrifices were wrong; their altars were wrong; the food they ate was wrong; and to crown all this they affected a sanctimonious piety, which led them to say to others, “Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou.”
This plainly indicates that the evil of Pharisaism began early in Israel’s history. The spirit of it is plainly visible when we read the prophecy of Malachi. It reached its fullest and worst expression in the time of our Lord, furnishing the main element which led to His crucifixion. We may remember how He charged them with, “Teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mat 15:9). So this quite agrees with what we have just seen stated by Isaiah. They preferred to walk after their own thoughts, rather than by the word of God. The same evil principle has persisted through the years, and it is all too evident today within the circle of Christian profession. Though their positions, both doctrinally and ecclesiastically, may widely differ, there are found those who demand separation – “Stand by thyself, come not near to me,” – based on a claim of superior sanctity or spirituality as the case may be. Such separatists are as offensive to God as, “smoke in My nose, a fire that burneth all the day.”
Now this state of things in Israel demanded a recompence of judgment from the hand of God. It would seem that this spurious sanctity on top of their rebellious disobedience was their crowning sin. It brought upon them the seventy years of captivity in Babylon; and, when those years had passed and a remnant came back to the land, the same hypocrisy sprang up in their midst again, rendered worse, if anything, by the very mercy that had been shown to them. They crucified their Messiah saying “His blood be on us, and on our children.” Thus it has been through their long centuries of trouble, and will yet be in the far worse sorrows of the great tribulation.
The lesson for us is that God desires obedience to His thoughts, expressed in His word, If that be our aim, we shall soon realize how little we apprehend them, and even more feebly carry them out, and this will produce in us a spirit of humility – the complete opposite to that of a spurious sanctity such as is revealed here.
Another note is struck when we reach verse Isa 64:8. Under the figure of sparing a cluster of grapes, because it is of value for wine producing, God declares that He will spare a remnant of the people, though judgment must fall on the mass. This He will do, “that I may not destroy them all.” This remnant is spoken of as, “My servants,” and in the next verse as, “a seed out of Jacob,” and also as, “Mine elect,” who will inherit the land.
We may remember how our Lord Himself was predicted as “Seed” of the woman, in Gen 3:1-24, and again as the “Seed” of Abraham, concerning which the Apostle wrote “He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy Seed, which is Christ” (Gal 3:16). When considering Isa 53:1-12, we also saw that the risen Christ is to “see His seed,” as the fruit of the travail of His soul; and the same thought meets us at the close of the other great prediction of the sufferings of Christ in atonement – “A seed shall serve Him” (Psa 22:30). He, who is pre-eminently the “Seed,” is to have a seed of His own order in His risen life. This thought underlies the verses we are considering.
Two further things may be pointed out before we leave these verses. First, it was to this godly seed that the Lord Jesus referred at the beginning of His well-known, “Sermon on the Mount.” The prophet speaks of, “an inheritor of My mountains,” and says, “Mine elect shall inherit it.” The third beatitude is, “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth” (Mat 5:5). Now this enlarges the promise, so that it applies beyond the confines of Jacob and Judah. It is the meek of all peoples who will inherit the earth, when Heaven’s kingdom is at last universally established.
The second thing we have to remember is that this remnant according to the election of grace, called out from the mass of the Jews, exists today, though by the very fact of its calling it is severed from Judaism and its earthly hopes. That it exists is made plain by the Apostle Paul in the opening verses of Rom 11:1-36, and he cites his own case as the proof of it. We have to read Eph 2:1-22, particularly the latter part of it, to learn the new position of heavenly favour and blessing into which they are brought in association with those called from among the Gentiles by the Gospel that is being preached today.
In our chapter earthly blessing is before us, as verse Isa 64:10 makes very plain. The valley of Achor, was a place of judgment, as narrated in Jos 7:24-26. That place of judgment is to become, “a door of hope,” according to Hos 2:15. Our verse reveals it as a place of rest for flocks and for men. Is there not a parable in this? Where judgment has been executed, there hope is to be found, and rest is the final result.
We leave this beautiful picture when we read verses Isa 64:11-12. God cannot forget the existing state of departure and sin that marked the people in Isaiah’s day They had forsaken Jehovah; they had forsaken His holy mountain, whereon stood His temple. And to what had they turned? The rest of the verse reveals it, though the translation is rather obscure. In Darby’s New Translation we find “Gad” substituted for “that troop,” and “Meni” for “that number,” with footnotes giving an explanation to the effect that the former word indicates, “Fortune, or the planet Jupiter,” and the latter word, “Number, or Fate, or the planet Venus.”
The people had turned aside to worship the heavenly bodies, and connected their false worship with the gambling instincts, which are so strong in fallen humanity. If things went well it was Fortune. If badly, it was Fate. In the minds of the people these were deities to whom they made offerings of food and drink. As so often “table” is a figure indicating solid food, as on the table of showbread, and wine furnished the drink. This throws some light on the Apostle’s words in 1Co 10:21, where he mentions, “the cup of devils,” and “the table of devils.” The devils of this verse were of course demons; and demon power lay behind the “Gad” and the “Meni,” mentioned here.
When in verse Isa 64:12, God says He will “number” them to the sword, there is an allusion to the name “Meni,” which means number. The people are plainly told that judgment and death lay before them. They were rejecting the law of God. We are living in an age when men are rejecting the grace of God; and to do this is more serious than to reject law, as we are told in Heb 10:20. When the Gospel is preached, let this be made very plain.
Fuente: F. B. Hole’s Old and New Testaments Commentary
64:4 For since the beginning of the world [men] have not {c} heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, besides thee, [what] he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.
(c) Paul uses the same kind of admiration, 1Co 2:9 marvelling at God’s great benefit showed to his Church, by the preaching of the gospel.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Isaiah respected Yahweh because he knew who Yahweh was, but so many of his contemporaries were spiritually blind and deaf that they could have profited from a dramatic revelation (cf. Psa 31:20; Mat 13:17; 1Co 2:9).