Isaiah 63

Wesley: now the prophet begins to expostulate with God, from the goodness of his nature and the greatness of his works. Look down—his throne is in heaven; behold with regard thy poor people. Where—what is become of that love which of old would not let thee suffer thy people to be wronged? The sounding of his bowels is spoken of God after the manner of men.

Prayer that the Father would show the zeal he seems to hold back. God is not ignorant, surprised, or learning. Israel first; the church still asks him to look down. Shared ground with Calvin: zeal and compassion belong to him.

Calvin: although he seems shut up in heaven, look down from the habitation of his holiness. His power is not diminished. Believers acknowledge a powerful and kind God even when they perceive no tokens of it; he never ceases to care about his people. God is always compassionate, because he does not change his nature; they expostulate familiarly for shutting up his bowels, yet impute the severity to their sins.

“Zeal”—anthropopathism, not a finite God holding back from ignorance. Prayer that he would show the face he seems to hide. Same plea as Wesley; the accent is that he is always like himself.

Wesley: Abraham was our father after the flesh, though he be dead, and so ignorant of our condition. Redeemer—another argument for pity, because their Father was their Redeemer. From everlasting—thou hast been our Redeemer of old.

He is Father though ancestry cannot help. Israel’s plea; the gospel church still names him Father and Redeemer. Shared ground: you are our Father; Redeemer from everlasting is your name.

Calvin: he calls God Father in the name of the Church; it is the Church’s peculiar privilege. In no other way than through Christ can God be called Father. Though our fathers deny us, yet God will reckon us as children; sooner shall the rights of nature perish than the sacred adoption founded on his unchangeable decree. They rely on God alone, not on the intercessions of Abraham or Jacob.

God as Father of the Church beyond blood. Same Father as Wesley; the accent is unchangeable adoption.

Wesley: made us—suffered us to err. Hardened—suffered it to be hardened. Thy fear—the fear of thee. Servants’ sake—for our sakes, that little remnant that are thy servants. Inheritance—the land of Canaan, which God gave them as an inheritance.

Judicial permission after they wandered; God suffered the heart to harden, and the remnant may still return. He is not surprised into hardening, and they do not charge him with authoring their sin. Tribes first; the church still prays, Return.

Calvin: they acknowledge their own fault; they do not free themselves from blame. God is said to harden and to blind when he gives men up to Satan, the minister and executioner of his wrath. Yet God is not the author of sin: he punishes ingratitude by blinding. Return on account of thy servants—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as ministers of the covenant, not living intercessors.

Just judgment and secret counsel, not God learning their wander. Same prayer to return; the accent is righteous vengeance they confess, not a surprise in heaven.

Wesley: people—the people set apart for his servants. A little while—comparatively to the promise, which was for ever. Sanctuary—the temple.

Temple trampled; the forever promise still stands. Gospel church still grieves a profaned house. Shared ground with Calvin: adversaries have trodden down what he consecrated.

Calvin: fourteen hundred years was a little time compared with the everlasting inheritance promised to Abraham’s seed. Heavier still: wicked men had profaned the land the Lord consecrated. The end of redemption is a people that worships him in a right manner.

“Sanctuary”—short beside eternity; the complaint is for his name in the holy place. Same trampled sanctuary; hope rests on the promise.

Wesley: thine—we continue so; we are in covenant, which they never were; and thus it is an argument they use with God to look upon them. Never—not in that manner thou didst over us. They—neither owned thee, nor were owned by thee.

We are still thine, though we look like the unruled. Israel’s last plea in the unit; the church still asks to be owned. Shared close with Calvin: his name is called upon his people.

Calvin: they complain that they seem not to differ from unbelievers, receiving no relief in adversity. The Church is distinguished by this mark, that his name is called upon her. Unbelievers cannot call upon him; there is no access but through the word.

Calling on his name is the Church’s mark. Same plea as Wesley; they ask him to show how wide a difference there is between his people and strangers.