NOTES for Isa 64:1-12

Perhaps it is in prayer that the essence of a person is revealed most deeply. In this prayer of Isaiah we see the heart of an Old Testament prophet, a person standing at the very center of the whirlpool of sacred history. Every aspect of Old Testament revelation is reflected in it, yet this is not abstract theology — it is prayer, a living bond, a living impulse toward the living God to Whom this history is directed.

Knowledge about God is not enough for the human heart; faith is not enough, nor is hope enough. Yes, He is the Creator of the world, the Lawgiver, the Judge... but this is not enough: He is the Father Who loves His children... yet even this is not enough — “Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down!”...