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Isaiah 64
1Oh that you would tear the heavens, that you would come down, that the might quake at your presence—
2as when fire kindles the brushwood, and the fire causes the water to boil. Make your name known to your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at your presence!
3When you did awesome things which we didn’t look for, you came down, and the quaked at your presence.
4For from of old men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen a God besides you, who works for him who waits for him.
5You meet him who rejoices and does , those who remember you in your ways. Behold, you were angry, and we sinned. We have been in sin for a long time. Shall we be ?
6For we have all become like one who is unclean, and all our is like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
7There is no one who calls on your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have consumed us by means of our iniquities.
8But now, LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay and you our potter. We all are the work of your hand.
9Don’t be furious, LORD. Don’t remember iniquity forever. Look and see, we beg you, we are all your people.
10Your holy cities have become a . Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
11Our holy and our beautiful house where our fathers praised you is burned with fire. All our pleasant places are laid waste.
12Will you hold yourself back for these things, LORD? Will you keep silent and punish us very severely?
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Questions this passage answers
Who is God?
God is the one living Creator who made everything and depends on nothing, and Scripture answers this question mainly by telling us his character rather than by defining his substance. When God described himself to Moses he said he is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abundant in loving kindness and truth, and yet will by no means clear the guilty. The New Testament adds that this God is finally known in Jesus Christ, who has made him known.
Can the Bible be trusted?
Scripture claims to be true and invites examination rather than avoiding it. It says God's word is truth and that it stands when everything else fades, and the New Testament writers appeal to eyewitnesses, named places and public events rather than to private experience. Trust in Scripture is finally trust in the God who speaks in it, and the clearest reason a Christian gives for that trust is that Jesus treated these writings as God's own word.
What is sin?
Scripture defines sin as lawlessness, as falling short of God's glory, and as failing to do the good we know we should do. It is not only a list of bad actions but a condition of the heart that produces them, and it is first against God rather than only against people. Scripture also says all have sinned, that its wage is death, and that God is faithful to forgive those who confess.
What does the Bible say about fear?
Scripture never tells a frightened person that fear is imaginary. It says do not be afraid hundreds of times, and almost always attaches a reason rather than a technique: I am with you, I have redeemed you, you are of more value than sparrows. It also distinguishes the fear that must go from the fear of the Lord, which is commanded and which shrinks every smaller fear.