Pleading For God's Mercy Series

In our text Isaiah is praying. Praying is a normal thing for us, but let’s appreciate what the prophet is doing here. In this book of prophecy, there’s all kinds of different styles of writing. In Isaiah there are speeches, parables, lamentations, hymns of praise, predictions of the future, historical records—but few prayers. Maybe we wouldn’t even expect prayer in a book like this.

But that’s what this passage very clearly is. Isaiah prays to God, “Oh, that you would rend the heavens! That you would come down!” (64:1). It’s a continuation of the prayer that he started back in chapter 63, where he asks God to “look down from heaven, and see from your habitation, holy and glorious” (v 15). He is very eager for God to take notice and to act.

And what kind of prayer is it? What’s the mood of Isaiah’s petition? We’re about to see that it’s a prayer offered from the depths, from a pretty low place: ‘Lord, please have mercy. Save and restore us.’ We’ll see why Isaiah, and God’s people with him, are feeling so helpless. They’re desperate for the LORD to draw near and do something.

That’s how we all should pray sometimes, when we just have to make a genuine plea for the Lord’s mercy and can do nothing else. Such a prayer comes from realizing that here is something we cannot change or fix, that we need God’s grace, for we’re sinful and weak.

Of course, everyone agrees with that: ‘Yes, I’m a wretched sinner too.’ But maybe it’s not often that this truth hits home for us. And we just carry on, pretty comfortable with our life and what we’re able to do. Until in a moment of truth, we realize that we can’t solve this problem in our family. We cannot atone for the terrible ways in which we’ve failed. And we can’t keep the church on the right track by our own efforts.

So we finally pray, ‘O God, please do something. Make this better. You’re our only hope, our only help.’ And God, our Father in Christ, has promised to answer the pleas of his people. I preach God’s Word to you on this theme from Isaiah 64,

The LORD’s helpless people can only plead for mercy:

1) awestruck by God’s glory

2) humbled because of sin

3) yet hopeful for restoration

1) awestruck by God’s glory: Let’s begin with the very last verse, for it gives a sense of the dark mood of Isaiah’s prayer, “Will you restrain yourself because of these things, O LORD? Will you hold your peace, and afflict us very severely?” (64:12). Literally, Isaiah asks God, ‘LORD, are you going to stay silent?’ His people are in deep trouble, and will God be passive? He seems very far away, like He’s on the far side of a vast canyon and looking the other way. There’s nothing worse than to feel like God doesn’t care, that He’s out of touch.

He does care, and we’re never out of the Father’s reach. Prayer is about having that sense of real communion with God. That’s what we desire when we draw near to him. Especially if we’ve gone through a time where God has seemed far away, then just his presence is enough to change our world.

And this is what Isaiah prays for: God’s presence. “Oh, that you would rend the heavens!” (v 1). To ‘rend’ something is to tear it apart—like shredding the wrapping paper on your birthday presents. From Isaiah’s perspective right now, God is hidden from view, at a distance because of his great holiness. If only God would “tear a hole in the heavens” so He can come down and have mercy!

Because when God draws near, that’s when things begin to happen. Look at everything happening in verses 1-2. “Come down…that the mountains might shake at your presence” (v 1). And when He draws near, it will be “as fire burns brushwood, as fire causes water to boil” (v 2). Think of how a bushfire can sweep quickly across the hills, or how a pot of ice cold water is soon transformed to bubbling and steaming—that’s what the coming of God can be like: immediate and drastic change.

One of the things on Isaiah’s mind in this prayer is the power of Judah’s enemies. They have been so cruel—the land was in shambles, the king was powerless, and still there was the coming exile to dread and all the pain of captivity. So Judah would love to see God’s fire sweep through the nations and consume their foes. Verse 2: “Make your name known to your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at your presence!”

Isaiah has spoken often about the Gentile nations. He’s told of a time when they come to Zion for salvation. But now there’s a different message, for some people will aways hate God and his people. Isaiah prays that God’s presence will make the unbelieving Gentiles tremble in fear.