Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 43:25
I, [even] I, [am] he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
25. Since Israel has neither brought sacrifices, nor even offered prayer acceptable to Jehovah, He himself must take the initiative in the work of redemption, blotting out its transgressions “for his own sake.” In accordance with O.T. analogies, the act of forgiveness is described simply as “not remembering” sin; but the actual working out of forgiveness in history calls into exercise the resources of Omnipotence; it includes all Jehovah’s dealings with His people, His handing them over to the dominion of the heathen ( Isa 43:28), and saving them again in His marvellous providence. The verse, moreover, contains only one half of the prophet’s teaching about forgiveness; the other half is the process by which the people are brought to repentance, and this is the work of the Servant of the Lord, as described in ch. 53.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
I, even I, am he – This verse contains a gracious assurance that their sins would be blotted out, and the reason why it would be done. The pronoun I is repeated to make it emphatic, as in Isa 43:11. Perhaps also God designs to show them the evil of the sins which are mentioned in the previous verses, by the assurance that they were committed against him who alone could forgive, and who had promised them pardon. The passage also reminds them, that it was God alone who could pardon the sins of which, as a nation, they had been guilty.
That blotteth out thy transgressions – This metaphor is taken from the custom of keeping accounts, where, when a debt is paid, the charge is blotted or cancelled. Thus God says he blotted out the sins of the Jews. He cancelled them. He forgave them. Of course, when forgiven, punishment could not be exacted, and he would treat them as pardoned; that is, as his friends.
For mine own sake – Not because you deserve it, or have any claim, or that it would not be right to punish you. Not even primarily to promote your happiness and salvation, but for my sake;
1. To show the benevolence of my character;
2. To promote my glory by your forgiveness and salvation (see Eze 36:22).
And will not remember thy sins – They shall be forgiven. Hezekiah Isa 38:17 expresses the same idea by saying thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. We may learn from this verse:
1. That it is God only who can pardon sin. How vain, then, is it for man to attempt it! How wicked for man to claim the prerogative! And yet it is an essential part of the papal system that the Pope and his priests have the power of remitting the penalty of transgression.
2. That this is done by God solely for his own sake. It is not
(a) because we have any claim to it, for then it would not be pardon, but justice. It is not
(b) because we have any power to compel God to forgive, for who can contend with him, and how could mere power procure pardon? It is not
(c) because we have any merit, for then also it would be justice, and we have no merit. Nor is it
(d) primarily in order that we may be happy, for our happiness is a matter not worthy to be named, compared with the honor of God. But it is solely for his own sake – to promote his glory – to show his perfections – to evince the greatness of his mercy and compassion – and to show his boundless and eternal love.
3. They who are pardoned should live to his glory, and not to themselves. For that they were forgiven, and it should be the grand purpose of their lives so to live as to show forth the goodness, compassion, and love of that merciful Being who has blotted out their sins.
4. If people are ever pardoned, they must come to God – and to God alone. They must come, not to justify themselves, but to confess their crimes. And they must come with a willingness that God should pardon them on just such terms as he pleases; at just such a time as he pleases; and solely with a view to the promotion of his own glory. Unless they have this feeling, they never can be forgiven, nor should they be forgiven.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 43:25
I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions
Pardoning mercy made radiant
As in olden times jewellers were wont to set their most precious gems in casings of a very inferior nature–and that wisely, in order that the intrinsic lustre of the jewel might shine forth more brilliant from the contrast–so doth the Word of God delight to place the long-suffering mercy of our God in the settings of mans iniquity and ingratitude, in order that the most lustrous jewel in Gods all-radiant diadem–even mercy–might glitter the more brilliantly from its immediate contact with the black foil spots of mans sin.
(F. F.Goold, M. A.)
Forgiveness
I. THE RECIPIENTS OF MERCY. Look at the 22 nd verse, and you will see–
1. That they were prayerless people.
2. They were despisers of religion. Thou hast been weary of Me, O Israel.
3. Thankless people. Thou hast not brought Me the small cattle of thy burnt-offerings.
4. A useless people. Neither hast thou filled Me with the fat, etc.
5. There are some who may be termed sanctuary sinners–sinners in Zion, and these are the worst of sinners.
6. We have here men who had wearied God: Thou hast made Me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied Me with thine iniquities.
II. THE DEED OF MERCY. It is a deed of forgiveness.
1. A Divine forgiveness. I, even I, am He. Divine pardon is the only forgiveness possible; for no one can remit sin but God only.
2. Surprising forgiveness; for the text speaks as if God Himself were surprised that such sins should be remitted: I, even I; it is so surprising that it is repeated in this way, lest any of us should doubt it.
3. A present forgiveness.
4. A complete forgiveness. The bond is destroyed, and He will not demand payment again.
III. THE REASON FOR MERCY. Says one poor sinner, Why should God forgive me? I am sure there is no reason why He should, for I have never done anything to deserve His mercy. Hear what God says, I am not about to forgive you for your own sake, but for My own sake. But, Lord, I shall not be thankful enough. I am not about to pardon you because of your gratitude, but for My names sake. But, Lord, if I am taken into Thy Church, I can do very little for Thy cause in future years, for I have spent my best days in the devils service; surely the impure dregs of my life cannot be sweet to Thee, O God. I will not engage to forgive you for your sake, but for My own; I do not want you, says God; I can do as well without you as with you. I forgive you, therefore, for My own sake. Is there no hope for a guilty sinner here?
IV. THE PROMISE OF MERCY. I will not remember thy sins. Is it possible for God to forget? Not as to the absolute fact of the committal of the deed, but there are senses in which the expression is entirely accurate.
1. He will not exact punishment for them when we come before His judgment bar at last. The Christian will have many accusers. The devil will come and say, That man is a great sinner. Let all the demons of the pit clamour in Gods ear, and let them vehemently shout out a list of our sins, we may stand boldly forth at that great day and sing, Who shall lay anything to the charge of Gods elect? The judge does not remember it, and who then shall punish?
2. I will not remember thy sins to suspect thee. There is a father, and he has had a wayward son, who went away that he might live a life of profligacy; but after a while he comes home again in a state of penitence. The father says, I will forgive thee. But he says next day to his younger son, There is business to be done at a distant town to-morrow, and here is the money for you to do it with. He does not trust the returned prodigal with it. I have trusted him before with money, says the father to himself, and he robbed me, and it makes me afraid to trust him again; but our heavenly Father says, I will not remember thy sins. He not only forgives the past, but trusts His people with precious talents.
3. He will not remember in His distribution of the recompense of the reward. The earthly parent will kindly pass over the faults of the prodigal; but you know, when that father comes to die, and is about to make his will, the lawyer sitting by his side, he says, I shall give so much to William, who always behaved well, and my other son he shall have so-and-so, and my daughter, she shall have so much; but there is that prodigal, I spent a large sum upon him when he was young, but he wasted what he received, and though I have taken him again into favour, and for the present be is going on well, still I think I must make a little difference between him and the others; I think it would not be fair–though I have forgiven him–to treat him precisely as the rest. And so the lawyer puts him down for a few hundred pounds, while the others, perhaps, get their thousands. But God will not remember your sins like that; He gives all an inheritance. He will give heaven to the chief of sinners as well as the chief of saints. (C. H.Spurgeon.)
Sin forgiven and forgotten
Free grace blots out our transgressions–
I. FROM GODS BOOK.
II. WITH GODS HAND.
III. FOR GODS SAKE.
IV. FROM GODS MEMORY. (H. G. Guinness.)
Evangelical religion
Because of texts like this, the early Church called Isaiah the Evangelical Prophet. What does Evangelical mean? A good angel, a good messenger, bringing good tidings of great joy. All who bring the good tidings from God to sinners are evangelical preachers. All the Bible prophets were evangelical, else they would not have been there. Moses himself was evangelical; even law in the Old Testament has evangelical issues, and Moses was a schoolmaster to lead us to Christ.
I. THE NAME WHICH GOD GIVES HIMSELF. I, even I, am He. You do not find this style save in the Bible. This was Gods manner of speech. Baal could not say this, nor the gods of Egypt. God speaks to you as a man amongst men: I have something to say to you. When He singles you out, that is often the beginning of personal religion. God speaks to you and me personally; there is none save Jesus Christ between God and myself.
Whatever your name is, put it into this text, and lift up your soul in every sentence, making them petitions. Israel had grown weary of God, and had got broken and scattered. Are there not those who are weary of Sabbath services, and wish Monday had come to get back to business? They love entertainments and social gaieties; but tire of Sabbath preaching. Another of Israels sins is found in the context, Thou hast bought Me no sweet cane with money. Did God indeed care for sweet cane? If you go back to chapter 3. you will find a list of the ornaments and dresses, and what they spent their money upon. Read this and digest it. Bring your bank books and drink books and tobacco books; compare them with what you have contributed to the upholding of evangelical religion. Take your sins to God, and He will blot them out.
II. FOR MINE OWN SAKE. Not for thy sake; that rather takes a man down. It is all owing to grace. I quite agree to the terms. Pardon my preachings, my sermons, and take me in a pauper. How does that suit your views?–it suits me. In the New Testament we have it put for Jesus sake; it is the same thing at bottom.
III. WILL NOT REMEMBER THY SINS. How God forgets, I cannot tell. Isaiah says our sins will never again come up to mind, but I cannot imagine how I can forget my own sins. Some men say they have forgiven you; your offence is dead. Its all past; but you see from the mans eyes that it isnt past, and other people know about it. Take some examples of Jesus way of forgiveness. You might have said, had you not known, that the first to meet Him after His resurrection would have been the Virgin, or the women of substance who ministered unto Him. But it was the Magdalene that was the first to gaze on His resurrection form! This was just like Himself. And if Judas had not fallen utterly, and gone to his own place, might he not have been chosen to preach the great coronation sermon of Jesus? Peter, the next great sinner, was chosen. Look how Jesus did: He gets the best service out of sinners, such as I. (A. Whyte, D. D.)
Forgiveness
There is one thing that God always does with sin. He removes it out of His presence. God cannot dwell with sin. When He casts away the guilty soul into an unapproachable distance, and when He pardons a penitent soul, He is doing the same thing in both cases–removing sin.
I. THE AUTHOR OF FORGIVENESS. The expression, I, even I, is not a very unfrequent one in Scripture; but wherever it occurs–whether in reference to justice or mercy–it is the mark of the Almighty, at that moment taking to Himself, in some special degree, some sovereign prerogative. Here, the magnificent repetition of that Name, first given in the bush, was evidently intended to show one characteristic feature of Gods love. He forgives like a sovereign. All His attributes are brought to bear upon our peace.
II. THE NATURE OF FORGIVENESS.
1. As to time. The verb runs in the present tense–blotteth out.
2. As to degree. You could not read–Satan could not read–a trace where Gods obliterating hand has once passed.
3. As to continuance. The present swells out into the future. Will not remember
III. THE REASON OF FORGIVENESS. (J. Vaughan, M. A.)
Forgiveness
In the foregoing verses we have a heavy accusation drawn up against the Jews. But no severity follows hereupon; but, I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. The like parallel place we have concerning Ephraim Isa 57:17-18). Here is the prerogative of free grace: to infer pardon where the guilty themselves can infer only their own execution. It is the guise of mercy, to make strange and abrupt inferences from sin to pardon.
I. Here is THE PERSON that gives out the pardon, i.e., God. God seems more to triumph in the glory of His pardoning grace and mercy than He doth in any other of His attributes. I, even I, am He. Such a stately preface must needs usher in somewhat wherein Gods honour is much advanced.
II. As for THE PARDON itself; that is expressed in two things: blotteth out; will not remember.
1. Blotting out implies
(1) That our transgressions are written down. Written they are in a twofold book–Gods remembrance; our own conscience.
(2) A legal discharge of the debt. A book that is once blotted and crossed stands void in law. I will not remember thy sins.
III. THE IMPULSIVE CAUSE, that moves Gods hand, as it were, to blot out our transgressions. For Mine own sake.
1. That is, because it is My pleasure.
2. Because of that great honour and glory that will accrue to My great name by it. (E. Hopkins, D. D.)
Remission of sin
1. Remission of sin is no act of ours, but an act of Gods only.
2. Remission of sin makes sin to be as if it had never been committed.
3. Upon remission of sin God no longer accounts of us as sinners, but as just and righteous.
4. Pardoning grace can as easily triumph in the remitting of great and many sins as of few and small sins. (E. Hopkins, D. D.)
The forgiveness of sins
That article in the Creed, I believe in the forgiveness of sins, is too little thought of. Men flippantly declare that they believe in it when they are not conscious of any great sin of their own; but when his transgression is made apparent to a man, and his iniquity comes home to him, it is quite another matter. No stocks can hold a man so fast as his own guilty fears. With the desponding, I shall try to deal.
I. THERE IS FORGIVENESS.
1. This appears in the treatment of sinners by God, inasmuch as He spares their forfeited lives.
2. Why did God institute the ceremonial law, if there were no ways of pardoning transgression? The evident design of the whole Mosaic economy was to reveal to man the existence of mercy in the heart of God, and the effectual operation of that mercy in washing away sin.
3. If there is no forgiveness of sin, why has the Lord given to sinful men exhortations to repent?
4. There must be pardons in the hand of God, or why the institution of religious worship among us to this day?
5. Why did Christ institute the Christian ministry, and send forth His servants to proclaim His Gospel?
6. Why are we taught in that blessed model of prayer which our Saviour has left us to say, Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us? It is evident that God means us to give a true absolution to all who have offended us. But then, He has linked with that forgiveness our prayer for mercy, teaching us to ask that He would forgive us as we forgive them. If, then, our forgiveness is real, so is His.
7. God has actually forgiven multitudes of sinners.
II. THIS FORGIVENESS IS TANTAMOUNT TO FORGETTING SIN. He wishes us to know that His pardon is so true and deep that it amounts to an absolute oblivion, a total forgetting of all the wrong-doing of the pardoned ones.
1. To speak popularly, a man lays up a thing in his mind; but when sin is forgiven it is not laid up in Gods mind.
2. In remembering, men also consider and meditate on things; but the Lord will not think over the sins of His people.
3. Sometimes you have almost forgotten a thing, but an event happens which recalls it so vividly that it seems as if it were perpetrated but yesterday. God will not recall the sin of the pardoned.
4. This not remembering means that God will never seek any further atonement. Under the old law there was remembrance of sins made every year on the day of atonement; but now the blessed One hath entered once for all within the veil, and hath put away sin for ever by the sacrifice of Himself, so that there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin.
5. When it is said that God forgets our sins, it signifies that He will never punish us for them; next, that He will never upbraid us with them.
6. What does it mean but this–that He will not treat us any the less generously on account of our having been great sinners? Look how the Lord takes some of the biggest sinners, and uses them for His glory.
III. FORGIVENESS IS TO BE HAD. How? Through the atoning blood. Come for it in Gods appointed way. Repent. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The forgiveness of sins
I. THE SPEAKER. Whose voice thus proclaims obliteration of transgressions? A silver trumpet thus introduces the word: Thus saith the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King. Jehovah speaks from His high throne. If other lips had thus addressed offenders, the word might have been empty, vain, and even worse: it might have relieved no doubts, healed no wounds, diffused no peace. Sin is terrible, because it is an offence against God. Who can forgive sins but God alone? To the Lord our God, and to the Lord our God alone, belong mercies and sorgivenesses.
II. THE REPETITION. I, even I, am He. The Person who forgives twice shows Himself. This reduplication cannot be without strong cause, for there are no superfluous words from Divine lips. It is at once apparent that our God, in the riches of His grace, desires thus to awaken attention, to rivet thought, to banish apprehension, to deepen confidence, to inscribe the truth deeper on the heart. Hence the timidity of doubt assumes the aspect of impiety: incredulity becomes insult. This important view is powerfully established by the context. The preceding verses exhibit Jehovah arrayed in robes of majesty. As Creator He claims service from the creatures of His hands; He demands the due revenue of adoration: This people have I formed for Myself: they shall show forth My praise. The scene then changes; and He confronts them with appalling charges. In these, as in a mirror, the vileness of the human heart is seen. Worship is not rendered; prayer is withheld; communion is shunned. The charge is unanswerable. What can the issue be? Will patience cease to forbear? Will indignation blaze? The sentence follows. I, even I, am He, etc. What exquisite pathos: what marvellous grace! How Godlike: how unlike the utterance of man!
III. Thus the focal lustre of the word is reached–THE COMPLETENESS OF FORGIVENESS. God ordains forgiveness absolute, unrestricted, unfenced by boundaries, unconfined by barriers. He blotteth out. It is true that the word has different shades of meaning, according to its context; but its main purport is neither vague nor obscure. It generally places sins in the most formidable light as recorded debts. It displays them as written in the pages of a book of reckoning, rigidly, exactly,–without extenuation; and then leads to the fact that they are completely erased,–expunged–Not merely crossed, for then they might be read again, and subsequent demand be made; but so eradicated that no trace can be discerned. But the vexing thought may intrude, that memory will continually recall his many and mighty sins. He tremulously may reason, If I cannot forget, will not God remember too? Amid all tokens of Divine love, will not my mind revert to former scenes, and be downcast? I shall see, or think I see, amid heavens smiles, a reminder of my sinful course on earth. Let such thought be cast into oblivions lowest depths. It is unscriptural: it is derogatory to the glorious Gospel of free grace. Mark how the word contradicts it: I will not remember thy sins (Jer 31:34). Let none say, How can this be? Let it not be objected, such mental process is contrary to all experience: it is alien to the properties of retentive thought. Let it be remembered that we are now dealing with God: His ways are not our ways.
IV. THE MOVING CAUSE. Man reaps eternal benefit; but the spring from which the blessing flows is high in heaven. Man and mans deeds are universal provocation: in him there is no moving merit. If God did not originate forgiveness for the glory of His name, no sin could have been blotted out. But Gods glory is His final end; therefore He blots out transgressions for His own sake. Thus heaven shall re-echo with His praise, and eternity prolong the grateful hallelujah. (H. Law, M. A.)
Free pardon
The remarkable point is not merely that the absolution contained in the text is preceded and succeeded by verses of accusation, but that it breaks in upon the connection, and cleaves the sense right in the middle. The kings messenger of mercy rides through the ranks of the men-at-arms in hot haste, sounding his silver bugle as he clears his way; he cannot linger, his message is too precious to be made to tarry. We may conclude that men know and prize Divine mercy most when they most feel the weight of their sins.
I. THE NATURE OF THE PARDON WHICH IS HERE SO GRACIOUSLY ANNOUNCED.
1. It is a pardon from God Himself, from Him who is offended. This is the more delightful because we know that only He could forgive. Inasmuch as the pardon comes from God, He alone it is who knows the full extent of sin.
2. The reason why it is given. For Mine own sake. The entire motive of God for forgiving sin lies within Himself. No man has his sins forgiven because they are little, for the smallest sin will ruin the soul, and every sin is great. Each sin has the essence of rebellion in it, and rebellion is a great evil before God. Again, no mans sin is forgiven on the ground that his repentance is meritorious. By Gods grace, forgiven men are made to do better; but it is not the foresight of any betterness on their part which leads God to the forgiveness. That cannot be a motive, for if they do better their improvement is His work in them. The only motive which God has for pardoning sinners is one which lies within Himself: for Mine own sake. And what is that motive? The Lord knows all His motive, and it is not for us to measure it; but is it not first, that He may indulge His mercy? Mercy is the last exercised, but the most pleasing to Himself, of all His attributes. He has this motive, too, which is within Himself, that He may glorify His Son, who is one with Himself. What a comfort this is; for if, when looking into my soul, I cannot see any reason why God should save me, I need not look there, since the motive lies yonder, in His own gracious bosom.
3. It is noteworthy in this glorious text how complete and universal the pardon is. The Lord makes a clean sweep of the whole dreadful heap of our sins. Our sins of omission are all gone. Those are the sins which ruin men. At the last great day the Judge will say, I was an hungred, and ye gave Me no meat, etc. Those on the left hand were not condemned for what they did do, but for what they did not do. Then He mentions actual sins. Thou hast made Me to serve with thy sins; but He blots them out, transgressions and sins, both forms of evil. This m the very Icy and glory of Gospel absolution. The believer knows that his sins are not in the process of being pardoned, but are actually pardoned at this moment. The pardon is noteworthy on account of its being most effectual. It is described as blotting out. Blotting out is a very thorough way of settling a thing. If an account has been standing in the ledger a long time, and the pen is drawn through it, it remains no longer. And then mark the wonderful expression, I will not remember thy sins. Can God forget? Forgetting with God cannot be an infirmity, as it is with us. We forget because our memory fails, but God forgets in the blessed sense that He remembers rather the merit of His Son than our sins.
II. THE EFFECT OF THIS PARDON WHEREVER IT COMES WITH POWER TO THE SOUL. Timid persons have thought that the free pardon of sin would lead men to indulge in it. No doubt some are base enough to pervert it to that use, but there was never a soul that did really receive pardon from God who could find in that pardon any excuse for sin or any licence to continue longer in it; for all Gods people argue thus: Shall we sin that grace may, abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? At first, mercy fills us with surprise; then, with holy regret. We feel, What, and is this the God I have been standing out against so long? It next creates in us fervent love. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Subdued by forgiveness
Many years ago in Russia a regiment of troops mutinied. They were at some distance from the capital, and were so furious that they murdered their officers, and resolved never resubmit to discipline; but the emperor, who was an exceedingly wise and sagacious man, no sooner heard of it than, all alone and unattended, he went into the barracks when the men were drawn up, and addressing them sternly, he said to them, Soldiers, you have committed such offences against the law that every one of you deserves to be put to death. There is no hope of any mercy for one of you unless you lay down your arms immediately, and surrender at discretion to me, your emperor. And they did it there and then, though the heads of their officers were lying at their feet. They threw down their arms and surrendered, and he said at once, Men I pardon you; you be the bravest troops I ever had. And they were, too. That is just what God says to the sinner. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The surprise of Gods mercy
If you have a dog at the table, and you throw him a scrap of meat, he swallows it directly; but if you were to set the whole joint down on the floor before him, he would turn away. He would feel that you could not mean to give a fine joint of meat to a dog. He would not think of touching it; at least, few dogs would. And it seemed to me as if the Lord could not have meant all the wonders of His love for such a dog as I was. I was ready to turn away from it through the greatness of it. But then I recollected that it would not do for God to be giving little mercy. He was too great a God to spend all His power in pardoning little sinners and granting little favours; and I came back to this–that if His grace was not too big for Him to give, I would not be such a fool as to refuse it because of its greatness. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 25. I, even I, am he] The original is extremely abrupt: anochi anochi hu, “I, I, He.” Is there any mystery in this form? Does it refer to a plurality of persons in the Godhead?
For mine own sake] In the pardon of sin God can draw no reason but from his own infinite goodness.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
I, even I; I whom thou hast thus despised, and wearied, and provoked to destroy thee.
That blotteth out thy transgressions out of my book, in which they were all written, and to be lead unto thee and charged upon thee another day. See Jer 17:1; Rev 20:12. Sins are oft compared to debts, Mat 6:12,14, &c., which are written in the Creditors book; and crossed or blotted out when they are paid.
For mine own sake; being moved thereunto not by thy merits, but by my own mere goodness and free mercy.
Will not remember thy sins; so as to punish them, and destroy thee for them, as thou deservest.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
25. I, even Ithe God againstwhom your sin is committed, and who alone can and will pardon. (Isa44:22).
for mine own sake(Isa 48:9; Isa 48:11).How abominable a thing sin is, since it is against such a God ofgrace! “Blotted out” is an image from an account-book, inwhich, when a debt is paid, the charge is cancelled or blottedout.
not remember . . . sins(Jer 31:34). When Godforgives, He forgets; that is, treats the sinner as if He hadforgotten his sins.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
I, even I am he, that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake,…. The same with “sins” in the next clause; original sin, and actual sins; which are transgressions of the law of God, of which the law accuses, for which it pronounces guilty, curses, and condemns; which are contrary to the nature of God, strike at his deity, and must be abominable to him; they are many, yea infinite, and yet all pardoned for Christ’s sake; which is here expressed by a “blotting” them out, in allusion to the blotting of a debt book: sins are debts, and these are many, and which cannot be paid by the sinner; Christ has made full payment; as the surety of his people: upon this the debt book is crossed; these debts are remitted for his sake: or as a cloud is blotted out, dispelled by the wind, or scattered by the sun; see
Isa 44:22, so as to be seen no more with the eye of avenging justice, or to be charged against the sinner to his condemnation. The author of this blessing of grace is the Lord, “I, even I am he”; who had been so ill used, and maltreated, as before declared; whose law had been broken in such a manner; and who is the Lawgiver that is able to save and to destroy; and who hates and abhors sin, and is strictly just; and yet, notwithstanding all this, forgives it; and which he repeats for the confirmation of it, and seems to express it with the utmost pleasure, and as glorying in it, and as if it was an honour to him, and a jewel in his crown; and indeed it is his sole prerogative; none can forgive sins but him: and this he does for his own sake; it is not procured by anything of the creature; not by riches, nor by righteousness, nor by repentance, nor by faith, nor by obedience to any ordinance; it is not for the sake of these that the Lord forgives sin, but for his own sake, and his Son’s sake, which is the same; it is an instance of unmerited and distinguishing grace; it flows from the free grace of God; it is a branch of the covenant of grace; it is through the blood of Christ, and yet according to the riches of grace; and it is for the glory of all the divine perfections, justice, truth, and faithfulness, as well as grace and mercy; and after such a list of sins of omission and commission, to hear such language as this is surprising grace indeed!
and will not remember thy sins; God forgives and forgets; God will not remember the sins of his people against them; having forgiven them, he will never punish them for them, which is meant by remembering them; see Jer 14:10.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Nevertheless, the sustaining power of divine love is greater than the gravitating force of divine wrath. “I, I alone, blot out thy transgressions for my own sake, and do not remember thy sins.” Jehovah Himself here announces the sola gratia and sola fides . We have adopted the rendering “I alone,” because the threefold repetition of the subject, “I, I, He is blotting out thy transgressions,” is intended to affirm that this blotting out of sin is so far from being in any way merited by Israel, that it is a sovereign act of His absolute freedom; and the expression “for my own sake,” that it has its foundation only in God, namely, in His absolute free grace, that movement of His love by which wrath is subdued. For the debt stands written in God’s own book. Justice has entered it, and love alone blots it out ( m achah , , as in Isa 44:22; Psa 51:3, Psa 51:11; Psa 109:14); but, as we know from the actual fulfilment, not without paying with blood, and giving the quittance with blood.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
25. I, I am he. (170) He concludes the former statement by this exclamation, as if he had said, that he may boast of his right, that he blots out the iniquities of his people, and restores them to freedom; for they have no merits by which they could obtain it, since they deserve the severest punishment, and even destruction. The same word is twice repeated by him, that he may more sharply rebuke the ingratitude of men who are wont to rob him of that honor which belongs to him alone, or in some way to throw it into the shade.
He that blotteth out thy iniquities. הוא ( hu) is the demonstrative pronoun He, used instead of a noun, as in many other passages. It is but a poor and feeble meaning that is attached to the words of the Prophet by those who think that God claims for himself the privilege and authority of pardoning sins, for he rather contrasts his mercy with all other causes, as if he declared that he is not induced by anything else to pardon sins, but is satisfied with his mere goodness, and, consequently, that it is wrong to ascribe either to merits or to any sacrifices the redemption of which he is the Author by free grace. The meaning may be summed up by saying, that the people ought to hope for their return for no other reason than because God will freely pardon their sins, and, being of his own accord appeased by his mercy, will stretch out his fatherly hand.
The present subject is the pardon of sins; we must see on what occasion it has been introduced. Undoubtedly the Prophet means that there will be a freely bestowed redemption, and therefore he mentions forgiveness rather than redemption, because, since they had received a severe punishment for their sins, they must have been pardoned before they were delivered. The cause of the disease must be taken away, if we wish to cure the disease itself; and so long as the Lord’s anger lasts, his chastisements will also last; and consequently his anger must be appeased, and we must be reconciled to God, before we are freed from punishments. And this form of expression ought to be carefully observed in opposition to the childish distinction of the Sophists, who say that God does indeed pardon guilt, but that we must make satisfaction by penances. Hence proceeded satisfactions, indulgences, purgatory, and innumerable other contrivances.
The Prophet does not only speak of guilt, but speaks expressly of punishment which is remitted, because sins have been freely pardoned. This is still more clearly expressed by the addition of the phrase for mine own sake. It is certain that this limitation is contrasted with all merits, that is, that God pays no regard to us, or to anything that is in us, in pardoning our sins, but that he is prompted to it solely by his goodness; for if he had regard to us, he would be in some respects our debtor, and forgiveness would not be of free grace. Accordingly, Ezekiel explains the contrast,
“
Not for your sakes will I do this, O house of Jacob, but for mine own sake.” (Eze 36:22.)
Hence it follows that God is his own adviser, and is freely inclined to pardon sins, for he does not find any cause in men.
Therefore I will not remember thy sins. The Prophet added this for the consolation of the godly, who, oppressed by the consciousness of their transgressions, might otherwise have fallen into despair. On this account he encourages them to cherish good hope, and confirms them in that confidence by saying, that although they are unworthy, yet he will pardon their sins, and will thus deliver them. Hence we ought to draw a useful doctrine, that no one can be certain of obtaining pardon, unless he rely on the absolute goodness of God. They who look to their works must continually hesitate, and at length despair, because, if they are not deceived by gross hypocrisy, they will always have before their eyes their own unworthiness, which will constrain them to remain in doubt as to the love of God.
When it is said that ministers also forgive sins, (Joh 20:23,) there is no inconsistency with this passage, for they are witnesses of this freely bestowed forgiveness. The ordinary distinction is that God forgives sins by his power, and ministers by their office; but as this distinction does not explain the Prophet’s meaning, we must keep by what I have stated, that God not only forgives sins in the exercise of his authority, but that all the blessings for which we ought to hope flow from the fountain of his absolute bounty. Thus the Lord adorned the preaching of the gospel, and its ministers, in such a manner as to reserve the full authority for himself.
(170) “ Ce suis-je, ce suis-je.” “It is I, it is I.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(25) I, even I . . .As in Isa. 1:2; Isa. 1:18, the analogy with which may be noted as evidence of identity of authorship, the incisive words that prove the guilt of Israel are followed by the fullest offer of pardon on repentance. And this he does for His own sake, to manifest the everlasting righteousness which is also the everlasting love. The blotting out finds an echo in Col. 2:14.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
25. I
am he that blotteth out thy transgressions
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 43:25-28. I, even I, am he that blotteth out In the 25th verse the prophet declares, in words truly evangelical, that the divine grace alone, freely forgiving transgressions and sins, is the cause of the blessings and benefits predicted and promised. He then urges, Isa 43:26 the conviction begun, Isa 43:22. He offers to the Jews in the name of God, the condition of publicly disputing before just judges, and at the same time of choosing that side of the argument which they should judge most favourable to them. Put me in remembrance of thy merits; let us plead together in judgment: do thou begin to plead, that thou mayest be justified: but when, unable to urge any thing, they were utterly silent, God himself brings his action against them, accuses them of revolt, and not them only, but their teachers, and the high-priest, the first of their teachers; for by thy first father in the 27th verse is meant the high-priest; particularly Urijah, who was high-priest in the time of Ahaz; (see 2Ki 16:10-11.) the consequence of whose sins, he declares in the 28th verse, should be the severe sentence of the divine judgment, whereby they should be devoted as an accursed thing to destruction: Therefore I will profane the chiefs of the sanctuary, and give Jacob to Anathema, or the curse, &c. See Jer 32:31-32 and Vitringa.
REFLECTIONS.1st, The gracious prophesy contained in this chapter, in its primary sense probably respects the recovery of the Jews from their captivity in Babylon, but most eminently refers to the Gospel-days; when the church should, amidst all persecutions, rise great and glorious, and be increased with converts on every side.
1. God encourages them, from the most endearing views of his regard for them, and relation to them. But now, thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, created thee anew in Christ Jesus, and he that formed thee, O Israel, the spiritual and therefore peculiar work of his hands, fear not under any trials or discouragements; for I have redeemed thee by the blood and infinite merit of Jesus; I have called thee by thy name, called thee with power, and written my own name upon thy heart: thou art mine, in the most precious bonds of divine love.
2. He assures them of his constant support under every trial. However threatening, violent, or severe their sufferings, his presence and power shall both strengthen, comfort, and deliver them, so that they should receive not the least hurt or damage. Note; If God be for us, and with us, then in the midst of dangers we are safe; and even in the jaws of death can triumph.
3. He mentions the former instances of his care as the earnest of his present salvation of them. He calls himself their God, their Saviour from every foe. As of old he had destroyed Egypt for their sake, and done various other wondrous works, such should be still his regard towards them, that their enemies shall be all destroyed, because they were precious in his sight, through that Saviour in whom they were accepted, and honoured with the highest titles, the sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty, and as such beloved by him.
4. He promises a great increase of converts under the preaching of the Gospel. They need not fear, however diminished or brought low, for God is with them; and at his word, from the four quarters of the earth converts shall, as doves to their windows, flock into his church, being renewed by his Spirit, and fitted to shew forth his praise in all holy conversation and godliness. This may be applied particularly to the collecting of the Jews from their captivity, but seems more gloriously fulfilled in the conversion of the Gentiles by the preaching of the Gospel. Note; (1.) Every one called by Christ’s name is bound to set forth his glory. (2.) The work of regeneration is God’s own, wrought in the soul that believes in Christ; to GOD alone, therefore, must all the glory be given.
2nd, The worshippers of idols are called to appear and confront God’s witnesses, if they dared maintain their wretched cause. God calls them the blind that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears, because, though they have the fashion of men, by such abominable idolatries they seem to have lost their reason and faculties. They cannot prove the divinity of their idols to justify their worship; they are the work of men’s hands, and blinder and more impotent than their foolish votaries. But let God’s witnesses appear, his Israel, and his servant, either the prophet Isaiah, or rather the Messiah, emphatically so called, chap. Isa 42:1 with all the preachers of the Gospel and all true believers, to prove his unrivalled godhead and glory; he alone was from eternity; the sole existent, self-existent God and Saviour; and besides him, there neither is nor can be any other. In proof of which, two arguments are urged, drawn from his prescience and his power. [1.] He hath declared things to come; his people’s deliverance of old from Egypt, when as yet no strange God was among them, and now from Babylon, with numberless other things concerning the coming of the Messiah and his church; and surely none of the idols can pretend to such foreknowledge. [2.] He hath saved his people; from his hand, none can deliver; and when he works, none can let, whilst all the idols of the heathen are unprofitable and vain; unable in the least to assist or protect their worshippers. This they should observe to their conviction, and say, it is truth, acknowledging the folly of trusting to other gods, and giving the Lord alone the glory due unto his name.
3rdly, Great was the deliverance from Egypt, great the recovery from Babylon, but greater far the recovery of lost souls by Jesus Christ, whose redemption is here spoken of.
1. For the encouragement of his believing people, God calls himself their Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, their Creator, their King. For though they seemed now cast off, their state dissolved, and their kingdom destroyed, yet God calleth the things that are not, as though they were, because he only speaks, and it is done.
2. He tells them what he intended to do for their sakes, which he speaks of as already accomplished; even to destroy the Babylonians, who fly in vain to their ships to escape; or, bound captives by the Medes and Persians, with bitter cries were transported far away.
3. He reminds them of what he had done for them, when, at the Red Sea, the chariots and horses of Pharaoh were utterly overthrown, and such would be the case of their present enemies; and as then he opened a path in the Red Sea for their passage, so would he, amidst all difficulties, bring them safe once more to their own land. Note; In our deepest affliction we should remember God’s wonders of old time, and wait in faith for his salvation.
4. Yet greater things than these would he do for them: such miracles of grace as would obliterate, as it were, the remembrance of all that was past. Behold, I will do a new thing, which would astonish and surprise them, even the incarnation of Jesus Christ; now it shall spring forth as a branch in a short time; shall ye not know it, and thankfully receive this great Redeemer? In consequence of whose appearing, a wondrous change will be wrought in the world; the Gentile nations, before like a wilderness, impassable, uncultivated, and barren, shall be laid open for the Gospel, and become fruitful like a well-watered land. Men, whose tempers before were savage as the beasts, fierce as the dragons, and stupid as the owls, shall be renewed and turned to the worship and service of the true God; and, in this once desolate world of heathenism, there shall be a plentiful effusion of Gospel-grace, like the waters of a river, and God will own the Gentile converts as his people, formed by his Spirit for his glory, and called to shew forth his praise. Note; (1.) Man does not naturally differ more from the beasts, than man does from man, when divine grace hath changed his heart. (2.) Wherever the Gospel comes, powerful and blessed are its effects: the wilderness then becomes a fruitful field. (3.) All that is good in the hearts of men, is God’s own work in believing souls, and designed for his own glory. (4.) It must be our labour, study, and prayer, to correspond with the divine intentions, and to shew forth his praise who hath called us out of darkness into his marvellous light.
4thly, The unworthiness of the sinner the more exalts and magnifies the glory and grace of the Saviour. We have,
1. A heavy charge brought against Israel. They had neglected prayer and the worship of God; yea, had counted his service wearisome, and wanted to be rid of it. Though dwelling in a land of plenty, they grudged the expence of God’s temple, withheld their burnt-offerings and sacrifices, and prepared no sweet cane for the holy anointing oil and the sweet incense. Yet God had not caused them to serve with an offering, nor wearied them with incense, and did not exact from them difficult or burdensome services: the idolaters paid much greater honours and offered more expensive sacrifices to their false gods, than they were required to offer to the living Jehovah: whereas they not only neglected his worship, but openly violated his laws; till, weary with their iniquities, nothing seemed to await them but just and condign punishment.
2. A wondrous promise comes in. When we might have expected to hear, I, even I, am he that blotteth out their name from under heaven, God, in mercy transcendently glorious, declares, I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. Note; (1.) Forgiveness of sin is the great glory of the Gospel; of all sin; and the vilest need not despair. (2.) It is an act of free and unmerited grace in God to forgive sin; the least sin is in its nature deadly, and nothing we can do could ever save us from eternal ruin, unless his rich mercy interposed to pardon us.
3. God commands his people to put him in remembrance, and plead his promises with him, that they may be justified. But others understand this as a reproof to the self-righteous, challenging them to produce the good works on which they depend for justification; the vanity of which would be manifested, and they reduced to seek the free pardon offered, or perish in their pride.
4. He reminds them that all their sufferings proceeded from their sins; to repent of which, his gracious promises were the greatest encouragement. Thy first father hath sinned, Adam, or their more immediate ancestors, or rather their high-priest, and thy teachers have transgressed against me; they who should have directed others, erred themselves, and led their brethren astray. In consequence of which, God had afflicted them, or would; for it seems spoken of their captivity in Babylon, or their last visitation by the Romans. Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, the priests and Levites, and have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches, under which they still lie, monuments of God’s righteous judgments, till the Spirit shall be poured on them from on high; and at last they will return to him, from whom they have so greatly departed, and find that pardon and grace in Jesus which they have despised.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
What a verse of mercy, grace, and goodness is here! One might justly have been led to expect, after what the Lord had said in the preceding paragraph, that for such baseness and ingratitude, punishment and correction would have followed. But God’s ways are not our ways; nor our thoughts his thoughts: truly, as the apostle hath said, where sin aboundeth, grace doth much more abound, Rom 5:20 ; and all the ways of grace are of this kind, and constrain every soul that is made a rich partaker of it, to cry out, with the Prophet, who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? Mic 7:18-19 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 43:25 I, [even] I, [am] he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
Ver. 25. I, even I, am he. ] Gratuitam misericordiam diligentissime exprimit. God diligently setteth forth his own free grace, and greatly glorieth in it, showing how it is that he freeth himself from trouble and them from destruction, viz., for his own sake alone.
That blotteth out thy transgressions.
For mine own sake.
And will not remember thy sins.
a Dulcis Metaph. One may with a pen cross a great sum as well as a little.
b Peccata non redeunt.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Isa 43:25-28
25I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake,
And I will not remember your sins.
26Put Me in remembrance, let us argue our case together;
State your cause, that you may be proved right.
27Your first forefather sinned,
And your spokesmen have transgressed against Me.
28So I will pollute the princes of the sanctuary,
And I will consign Jacob to the ban and Israel to revilement.
Isa 43:25 I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake God’s forgiveness is an act of pure grace, not merit (cf. Isa 37:35; Isa 48:9; Isa 48:11; Eze 36:22-38).
I will not remember your sins When God forgives, God forgets (cf. Isa 1:18; Isa 38:17; Isa 44:22; Psa 103:12; Mic 7:19). What a needed truth in light of Satan’s continuing condemnations! Oh the mercy and grace of God!
SPECIAL TOPIC: WORDS FOR FORGIVENESS
Isa 43:26 let us argue our case together This reflects a legal metaphor of a court room (cf. Isa 1:18; Isa 41:21; Rom 8:31-39). This verse has a series of commands by the judge.
1. put Me in remembrance – BDB 269, KB 269, Hiphil IMPERATIVE
2. let us argue our case together – BDB 1047, KB 1627, Niphal COHORTATIVE
3. state your case – BDB 707, KB 765, Piel IMPERATIVE
Isa 43:27 Your first forefather sinned Literally it is father. It could refer to Adam or Jacob or any Jewish ancestor. It shows that God’s love is undeserved. The OT does not dwell on the origin of sin, but acknowledges its presence and pervasiveness. Some rabbis, like Paul, emphasize Genesis 3, but others emphasize Genesis 6. See Special Topic: The Fall .
spokesmen This is a reference to either
1. the prophets
2. the priests
3. the politicians
Isa 43:28 I will pollute the princes of the sanctuary The VERB pollute (BDB 320 III, KB 319, Piel IMPERFECT) can mean pollute, defile, or profane. The NEB and REB slightly change the Hebrew consonants to your princes profaned my sanctuary, which follows the LXX.
It is uncertain whether the two VERBS of Isa 43:28 refer to the past or the future. The Hebrew text links Isa 43:27-28. Isa 43:28 obviously refers to the past. Most of chapter 43 deals with YHWH’s current deliverance of Israel from exile. Hebrew TENSES do not give time, just action; time must be ascertained from the context.
the ban This is from the word herem (BDB 356). Something was holy, so unusable by fallen humanity, therefore, it must be destroyed. An example would be Jericho (cf. Joshua 6).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
transgressions = rebellions. Hebrew. pasha’.
for Mine own sake. He does not go out of Himself for the reason which flows from grace.
will not remember. He remembers our infirmities (which man forgets. Psa 103:14), but will forget our sins (which man remembers).
remember. Figure of speech Anthropopatheia.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Isa 43:25-28
Isa 43:25-28
“I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake; and I will not remember thy sins. Put me in remembrance; let us plead together: set thou forth thy cause, that thou mayest be justified. Thy first father sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against me. Therefore, I will profane the princes of the sanctuary; and I will make Jacob a curse, and Israel a reviling.”
Isa 43:25 does not mean that God is forgiving Israel’s sins without regard to their penitence; but it calls attention to the truth that only God can forgive their sins. The mention of the sins of “their first father,” evidently Jacob, is apparently brought in here to demonstrate that the whole history of the Jews has been a dreary account of their wickedness and rebellion against God. Will God actually overlook all this and forgive the fleshly descendants of Abraham no matter what they do? Who could believe such a thing?
Adam Clarke commented on this final verse thus:
“Alas! What a curse does the old Israel still bear, and what reproach do they still suffer? No national crimes have ever equaled those of the Jewish nation; for no nation ever had such privileges to neglect, despise, and sin against. When shall the severity of God toward this people have an end? Answer: Whenever, with one heart, they turn to him, and receive the doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ; and not till then.
Isa 43:25-28 To PARDON: Jehovah is going to perfect (bring to fruition or completion) from the Israel of Isaiahs day, a pardoned Israel. There is a very interesting three-fold repetition of the personal pronoun I, I, I am, in the Hebrew construction of Isa 43:25, translated I, even I, am he . . . It means emphatically that Jehovah alone is responsible for any blotting (makhah, taking away even down to the very core or marrow) out of transgressions. Jehovah does it exclusively from His own graciousness, for His own names sake. He does it because of Who He Is-not from any merit of mans person. The rest of the context indicates this is the emphasis. Jehovah wills to pardon man and Jehovah accomplishes mans pardon by His work and Jehovah decrees the terms of acceptance. Man is left free to accept or reject the divinely procured pardon according to mans willingness to obey the divinely decreed terms. One thing is certain; standing before the tribunal of God, no man can claim self-justification. Jehovah warns Israel to remember Who He Is! He knows their sins (cf. Amo 5:12; Amo 5:8; Eze 8:12; Eze 9:9, etc.). The first father of Israel, Abraham, called father of the faithful and friend of God, sinned. All the teachers (prophets, priests and kings) of Israel sinned (Isa 53:6; Psa 14:2-3; Psa 53:3)-all have sinned. Therefore, Jehovah would have to take away Israels priests (because they were leading Israel to sin) into captivity. Israels access to God through its priesthood and its sanctuary would be suspended until she repented. Jacob (Israel) was to be made a curse (kherem in Hebrew, literally, devoted or banned, or outlawed). Israel was to suffer the ban of God and become an outlaw (read Deut. ch. Isa 28:15 f), and instead of being respected by vile pagan nations, Israel would be reviled. God called her from the beginning to show forth His wonderful grace and forgiveness through covenant relationship, but she rejected His covenant and His grace. Now she must be allured back to pardon in a new covenant relationship, but through trouble (see Hos 2:14-15). Israels pardon will be perfected when she brings forth her Messiah, but she must be prepared for that by chastening.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
even I: Isa 43:11, Isa 1:18, Isa 44:22, Psa 51:9, Jer 50:20, Mic 7:18, Mic 7:19, Mar 2:7, Act 3:19, Rom 5:20
for mine: Isa 37:35, Isa 48:8-10, Psa 25:7, Psa 25:11, Psa 79:9, Eze 20:9, Eze 20:14, Eze 20:22, Eze 36:22, Eze 36:32, Eph 1:6, Eph 1:8
will not: Psa 79:8, Jer 31:34, Heb 8:12, Heb 10:17
Reciprocal: Num 5:23 – blot Deu 9:27 – look not Deu 9:28 – Because 1Sa 12:22 – for his great 2Sa 19:19 – remember 2Ki 19:34 – for mine 2Ch 6:21 – forgive Neh 4:5 – their sin Psa 32:1 – transgression Psa 51:1 – blot Psa 103:3 – forgiveth Psa 103:12 – so far Psa 109:14 – blotted Isa 6:7 – thine iniquity Isa 38:17 – thou hast cast Isa 40:2 – that her iniquity Isa 46:4 – even to your Isa 48:9 – my name’s Isa 51:12 – am he Isa 55:7 – for Isa 57:18 – have Jer 30:11 – I am Jer 32:36 – now Eze 18:22 – his transgressions Eze 33:16 – General Amo 8:7 – I will Zec 3:4 – Take Mat 9:6 – that the Luk 5:21 – Who can Luk 7:42 – he Luk 11:4 – forgive us Rom 5:16 – but the free Rom 11:27 – when 2Co 5:19 – not Eph 1:7 – the forgiveness Col 2:14 – Blotting 1Ti 1:16 – for this Heb 10:2 – once
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
DIVINE FORGIVENESS
I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
Isa 43:25
There is one thing that God always does with sin. He removes it out of His presence.
I. Consider the Author of forgiveness.The expression, I, even I, is not a very unfrequent one in Holy Scripture; but wherever it occurswhether in reference to justice or to mercyit is the mark of the Almighty.
II. The nature of forgiveness.(1) As to time. (2) As to degree. (3) As to continuance. In the text the present swells out into the future. He blotteth out and will not remember.
III. The reason of forgiveness.Look back and find it in that eternal counsel, wherein, before all worlds, God gave to His dear Son a kingdom and a people. Seek it in that unfathomable love in which He is the Fatherthe loving Fatherof every creature He has made.
Rev. James Vaughan.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Isa 43:25. I, even I Whom thou hast thus despised, and wearied, and provoked to destroy thee; am he that blotteth out thy transgressions Out of my book, in which they were all written, to be read unto thee, and charged upon thee at a future day. Sins are often compared to debts, (Mat 6:12, &c.,) written in the creditors book, and crossed or blotted out when they are paid. For mine own sake Being moved thereunto, not by thy merits, but by my own mere goodness and free mercy. And will not remember thy sins So as to punish them, and destroy thee for them, as thou deservest.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Lord Himself (cf. Isa 43:11) would forgive His people for His own sake, not because they had earned forgiveness with their worship. Forgiveness of sin is a divine prerogative (cf. Mat 9:2-6). He pictured forgiveness as erasing something previously written on a record (cf. Isa 44:22; 2Ki 21:13; Psa 51:1; Psa 51:9). Another figure, forgetting sins committed against Himself, strengthens the promise of forgiveness (cf. Jer 31:34; Mic 7:18-19). Since God is omniscient He never forgets anything, but in this promise He compared Himself to a person who does forget things (an anthropomorphism, cf. Isa 43:24) to illustrate the fact that He would not hold their sins against them. He would not call their sins to mind with a view to punishing them. It was sin, not captivity, that was the root trouble that needed dealing with. Later, Isaiah revealed that God would deal with it through His Servant’s ministry (Isa 53:10-12).