Isaiah 63:7 - Meaning and Application

The prophet is speaking here for the church. He looks back and gives thankful notice of all God has done for his people since he first founded them. Then, in the rest of the chapter and the next, he will stand like a watchman on the wall and urgently ask God to show mercy in their sad condition. God’s people often prayed this way, remembering past grace before asking for help again.

Here is a general confession of God’s goodness to them through all the years, Isaiah 63:7. In Isaiah 62:6, the Lord’s people are said to make mention of him. Here we see what they especially remember and praise in him, his goodness. The prophet speaks of it as if he could never say enough. He mentions God’s kindness, the kindness that shines most clearly in his love for people when he sent his Son to save us (Titus 3:4). He also speaks of God’s loving-kindnesses, in the plural, because his mercy comes in many forms and from many streams. If we tried to count the fruits of that mercy, they would be more than the sand.

With his loving-kindnesses, he also mentions his praises, that is, the thankful words spoken by the saints, and by the angels too. It should be said, to God’s honor, how much praise he receives from all his creatures because of his kindness. The prophet speaks at length about two things: the good things that come from God, and the goodness that is in God himself. He has given us many gifts for life and godliness, both in our own lives and in our families. Every person should speak for himself and admit how much he has received from God’s generosity. We should also bless God for the mercies given to his church, the great goodness he has shown to the house of Israel.

We must thank God for the mercies enjoyed by others as well as for our own. What is given to his church should count as given to us too. But we must also speak of the goodness that is in God himself. God does good because he is good. What he has given us must be traced back to his own mercy, not to our merit, and to the greatness of his loving-kindness, which can never run out. So we should honor God’s goodness, and speak well of it, not only when we ask for it, as David did (Psalm 51:1), but also when we praise it.

Now the prophet gives special attention to the steps of God’s mercy toward Israel ever since they became a nation. First, God had expectations for them, that they would live faithfully, Isaiah 63:8. When he brought them out of Egypt and made his covenant with them, he said, in effect, “Surely they are my people.” He was willing to hope they would prove themselves true children, children who would not lie, who would not pretend loyalty while turning away in broken covenant. They had often promised, “All that the Lord says, we will do, and we will obey,” and for that reason God took them as his special people. He dealt honestly and faithfully with them, and so he rightly expected them to deal honestly with him.

They were children of the covenant (Acts 3:25), and children of those who had held fast to the Lord. So there was reason to hope they would follow their fathers’ example of steadfastness. God’s people are children who do not lie, because those who do lie are not his children, but the devil’s. Second, God showed them favor while looking to these expectations. He was their Savior from the slavery of Egypt, from the troubles of the wilderness, and from many later dangers. Isaiah 63:9 says more clearly what he did for them as their Savior.

The first thing to notice is the love and pity that moved him to save them. He did it out of deep compassion and tender affection, not because he needed them or could gain anything from them. The verse says, “In all their affliction he was afflicted.” This does not mean that God, in his eternal being, can suffer pain or loss. God cannot be afflicted in that way. Rather, it shows how fully he shares in the troubles of his people. He treats what is done to them as if it were done to himself, and he will deal with it that way. Their cries move him (Exodus 3:7), and he acts for them with strength, as if he were himself in pain. That is why Jesus later said, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

This is a great comfort to God’s people in trouble. He does not willingly bring grief (Lamentations 3:33). If they humble themselves under his hand, he is touched by their suffering, like loving parents are touched while the doctor must do hard things for a sick child. There is another way to read the line, “In all their affliction there was no affliction.” That means their suffering was changed by God’s grace for their good. Its harshness was lessened, mercy was mixed in, they were supported and comforted, and it ended well and did not last forever. In that sense, it became as if it were no affliction at all.

The troubles of the saints are not what they are to other people. For believers, they are not merely burdens, but medicines. With heaven in view, they can call them light and momentary, and almost make nothing of them. The next thing to notice is the person God used in their salvation, the angel of his face, or presence. Some understand this as a created angel, and even the highest angel in heaven, the one who stands nearest God’s throne, is not thought too great to be sent on such a task. In that sense, the angels of little children are said always to see the face of our Father (Matthew 18:10). But this is more likely speaking of Jesus Christ, the eternal Word, the angel God promised to Moses (Exodus 23:20-21), whose voice Israel was to obey. He is called Jehovah in Exodus 13:21 and 14:21, 24. He is the angel of the covenant, God’s messenger to the world (Malachi 3:1). He is the angel of God’s face, because he shows the very image of God’s person, and God’s glory shines in the face of Christ. The one who later secured eternal salvation first worked out the temporary rescues that pointed to it.

He did not only redeem them from slavery, but he also carried and supported them all through the years long ago. They were weak, yet he upheld them by his power and sustained them by his kindness. When they were burdened and ready to fail, he lifted them up. In their wars against the nations, he stood with them and brought them through. Though they were stubborn, he put up with them and bore with their ways (Acts 13:18).

He carried them like a nursing father carries a child, even though they would have worn out any arms but his. He carried them like an eagle carries her young on her wings (Deuteronomy 32:11). And he did this for a long time, all the days of old. His care did not end when they grew up and settled in Canaan. All of this came from his love and pity, from his own free goodness. He loved them because he chose to love them, as he says in Deuteronomy 7:7-8.

But they rebelled, and that brought trouble on themselves (Isaiah 63:10). Things had looked very hopeful. One would have expected them to remain faithful children of God, and then there would have been no doubt that he would continue as a gracious Father to them. But there was a sad change on both sides, and they were the ones who broke the bond. They turned away from their loyalty to God and rose up against him. They rebelled and vexed his Holy Spirit with their unbelief and complaining, besides the sin of the golden calf. This had been their pattern ever since. Though he had seemed ready to say of them, “They will not lie,” because he had done so much for them, they still treated him badly, like foolish and unwise people (Deuteronomy 32:6). This grieved him (Psalm 95:10). The ungrateful rebellions of God’s children are a real grief to his Holy Spirit.

So he justly withdrew his protection. More than that, he made war against them, as a prince rightly does against rebels. The One who had been such a friend to them became their enemy and fought against them, sending one judgment after another, both in the wilderness and after they settled in Canaan. Here we see how evil and harmful sin is. It makes God an enemy even to those for whom he has acted as a true friend, and it angers the One who is full of love and pity. We also see the foolishness of sinners. They willingly lose the most desirable friend, and they make themselves an enemy of the most fearsome foe. This especially points to the troubles recently brought on them through captivity in Babylon for their idolatries and other sins. The root of their troubles, and the great thing that made them worse, was that God had turned to be their enemy.

Then there is a special reflection, made in this setting, on what God did when he first formed them into a people: then he remembered the days of old (Isaiah 63:11). This can be understood in two ways, either of the people or of God. We may take it to mean the people. Israel, spoken of here as one person, remembered the days of old, looked back into their Scriptures, and read again the story of how God brought their fathers out of Egypt. They thought about it more deeply than before and reasoned from it, as Gideon did (Judges 6:13). They asked, in effect, “Where are all the wonders our fathers told us about? Where is the one who brought them up out of Egypt? Is he not just as able to bring us up out of Babylon? Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah? Where is the Lord, the God of our fathers?” They used this as a reason to repent and return to him. Their fathers had been stubborn, yet God had still pardoned them, and they hoped he might do the same for them if they returned. They also used it as a prayerful appeal for the turning back of their captivity, like the plea in Isaiah 51:9-10. When the present time is dark and cloudy, it is good to remember the days of old. We should recall our own and others’ experiences of God’s power and goodness, look back on the years of the Most High’s right hand (Psalm 77:5, Psalm 77:10), and remember that he is God and does not change.

Or we may take it to mean God remembered the days of old. He called to mind his covenant with Abraham (Leviticus 26:42), and he said, “Where is the one who brought Israel up out of the sea?” This stirred him to come and save them. It was as if he were saying, “Why should I not help them now, as I did for their fathers, who were no more deserving, and just as much undeserving, as they are?” This shows how far divine mercy can reach. It looks far back in time to find a reason to do good to his people, even when the present only seems to argue against them. More than that, it turns what could have been a reason to leave them to themselves into a reason to help them. He might have said, “I have delivered them before, but they have again brought trouble on themselves (Proverbs 19:19). I will not deliver them again” (Judges 10:13). But mercy triumphs over judgment and turns the argument around. “I have delivered them before, and therefore I will now.”

Whichever way we take it, whether the people are pleading with God or God is reasoning within himself, the details fit well with the confession and prayer made by the children of the captivity on a solemn fast day (Nehemiah 9:5 and following). That passage helps explain these verses, which call to mind Moses and his people, that is, what God did through Moses for his people, especially in bringing them through the Red Sea. That work is especially emphasized here, because God greatly gloried in it, and his people could draw special comfort from remembering it. God led them by the right hand of Moses and the wonder-working rod in his hand (Isaiah 63:12). “You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses” (Psalm 77:20). It was not Moses who truly led them, any more than Moses fed them (John 6:32). God led them through Moses, because he equipped Moses, called him, and helped him in that great task. Moses is here called the shepherd of his flock. God was the owner of the flock and the chief shepherd of Israel (Psalm 80:1), but Moses was a shepherd under him. He had been trained in labor and patience while keeping the flock of his father Jethro, and that prepared him for this care. In this, Moses was a picture of Christ, the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep, which was more than Moses did for Israel, though Moses did much for them.

God also put his holy Spirit within Moses. The Spirit of God was among them, and it was not only God’s providence but also his grace that worked for them. “You gave your good Spirit to instruct them” (Nehemiah 9:20). The spirit of wisdom and courage, as well as the spirit of prophecy, was given to Moses to fit him for that service. Some of his spirit was also given to the seventy elders (Numbers 11:17). This was a great blessing to Israel, because they had among them not only inspired writings, but inspired men.

He brought them safely through the Red Sea, and in that way saved them from Pharaoh’s hand. First, he split the water in front of them (Isaiah 63:12). So the sea gave them not only a path, but also protection. It did not just open a lane for them, it became a wall on both sides.

Second, he led them through the deep like a horse going through the wilderness, or across open ground (Isaiah 63:13). They, along with their wives, children, and all their belongings, went through the bottom of the sea as easily as a horse walks on level land. They did not stumble, even though this was a path no one had ever traveled before. If God makes a way for us, he will also make it clear and level. The road he opens for his people is the road he leads them on.

Third, to finish the mercy, he brought them up out of the sea (Isaiah 63:11). The climb was likely very steep, muddy, slippery, and hard to manage, especially for the women and children, and even for the men, since they were carrying so much and were already tired (Exodus 12:34). Yet God, by his power, brought them up from the depths, and it was like a resurrection for them, like life from the dead.

He also brought them safely to a place of rest. As a beast goes down into the valley carefully and step by step, so the Spirit of the Lord caused him to rest. Many times during their journey through the wilderness, they were given resting places by the Spirit of the Lord working through Moses (Isaiah 63:11). In the end, they were brought to final rest in Canaan, and the Spirit of the Lord gave them that rest according to the promise. It is by the Spirit of the Lord that God’s people are brought back to God and made to rest in him as their safe place.

He did all this by his own power and for his own praise. First, it was by his own power, as the God of nature, who has all the powers of nature under his command. He did it with his glorious arm, that is, his powerful arm. It was not Moses’s rod, but God’s own mighty arm that did it. Second, he did it for his own praise, to make himself an everlasting name (Isaiah 63:12), a glorious name (Isaiah 63:14), so that he would be honored forever for it. This is what God is doing in the world with his glorious arm, he is making for himself a glorious name, and it will last forever, while the most famous names on earth will one day lie in the dust.