And All Our Righteousnesses Are Like Filthy Rags

This is written from the point of view of a repentant people who also understand their heritage and inheritance in God. It first recognize the awesome power of God that can cause nations to tremble and shake mountains. Then the people declares that they have sinned and their righteousness are like filthy rags. Then they recognize God as their Father and that they are like clay to God the Potter. Finally it calls on God end His fury and have favour on them. They describe their present condition in whihc Jerusalem is desolate and that the Temple is in ruins.



Isaiah 64

1 Oh, that You would rend the heavens!
That You would come down!
That the mountains might shake at Your presence—
2 As fire burns brushwood,
As fire causes water to boil—
To make Your name known to Your adversaries,
That the nations may tremble at Your presence!
3 When You did awesome things for which we did not look,
You came down,
The mountains shook at Your presence.
4 For since the beginning of the world
Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear,
Nor has the eye seen any God besides You,
Who acts for the one who waits for Him.
5 You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness,
Who remembers You in Your ways.
You are indeed angry, for we have sinned—
In these ways we continue;
And we need to be saved.
6 But we are all like an unclean thing,
And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;
We all fade as a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind,
Have taken us away.
7 And there 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 because of our iniquities.
8 But now, O Lord,
You are our Father;
We are the clay, and You our potter;
And all we are the work of Your hand.
9 Do not be furious, O Lord,
Nor remember iniquity forever;
Indeed, please look—we all are Your people!
10 Your holy cities are a wilderness,
Zion is a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and beautiful temple,
Where our fathers praised You,
Is burned up with fire;
And all our pleasant things are laid waste.
12 Will You restrain Yourself because of these things, O Lord?
Will You hold Your peace, and afflict us very severely?

The Mountains Skipped Like Rams

A brief account of God delivering His people out of Egypt. The emphasis here seemed to be more than a historical reminder but rather that God is the personal God of His chosen people Israel, that is the descendants of Jacob.

As God led the children of Jacob out of Egypt, nature had to obey God such as the sea parting to let the Israelites through. The mountains and hills also skipped to make way for God's people. The rock in the desert had to turn to water for the provision to the people. So God's creation had to obey God and make way for the Israelites coming through.



Psalm 114
The Power of God in His Deliverance of Israel

1 When Israel went out of Egypt,
The house of Jacob from a people of strange language,

2 Judah became His sanctuary,
And Israel His dominion.

3 The sea saw it and fled;
Jordan turned back.

4 The mountains skipped like rams,
The little hills like lambs.

5 What ails you, O sea, that you fled?
O Jordan, that you turned back?

6 O mountains, that you skipped like rams?
O little hills, like lambs?

7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the God of Jacob,

8 Who turned the rock into a pool of water,
The flint into a fountain of waters.

Psalm of Creation

The LORD is described here with details of His creation. From the mountains to the waters of the deep and the water that cover the earth. He is the God who provides water by directing the springs to the animals and to water the Earth. It is written beautifully that: "The earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works. "

God had worked wonderfully in His creation, supplying all that is needed to His creatures, the plants and man. There is also a reference to the Leviathan - which some believe may be some large sea creatures mentioned in various myths.

This is a wonderful testimony of the God's handiwork in His creation. Everything from the celestial objects to the Earth and all the living things are beautifully designed by Him. In verse 29 and 30, a very important point is revealed that "You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. You send forth Your Spirit, they are created;"


Psalm 104
Praise to the Sovereign LORD for His Creation and Providence

 1 Bless the LORD, O my soul!
         O LORD my God, You are very great:
         You are clothed with honor and majesty,
 2 Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment,
         Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.
       
 3 He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters,
         Who makes the clouds His chariot,
         Who walks on the wings of the wind,
 4 Who makes His angels spirits,
         His ministers a flame of fire.
       
 5 You who laid the foundations of the earth,
         So that it should not be moved forever,
 6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
         The waters stood above the mountains.
 7 At Your rebuke they fled;
         At the voice of Your thunder they hastened away.
 8 They went up over the mountains;
         They went down into the valleys,
         To the place which You founded for them.
 9 You have set a boundary that they may not pass over,
         That they may not return to cover the earth.
       
 10 He sends the springs into the valleys;
         They flow among the hills.
 11 They give drink to every beast of the field;
         The wild donkeys quench their thirst.
 12 By them the birds of the heavens have their home;
         They sing among the branches.
 13 He waters the hills from His upper chambers;
         The earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works.
       
 14 He causes the grass to grow for the cattle,
         And vegetation for the service of man,
         That he may bring forth food from the earth,
 15 And wine that makes glad the heart of man,
         Oil to make his face shine,
         And bread which strengthens man’s heart.
 16 The trees of the LORD are full of sap,
         The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,
 17 Where the birds make their nests;
         The stork has her home in the fir trees.
 18 The high hills are for the wild goats;
         The cliffs are a refuge for the rock badgers.[a]
       
 19 He appointed the moon for seasons;
         The sun knows its going down.
 20 You make darkness, and it is night,
         In which all the beasts of the forest creep about.
 21 The young lions roar after their prey,
         And seek their food from God.
 22 When the sun rises, they gather together
         And lie down in their dens.
 23 Man goes out to his work
         And to his labor until the evening.
       
 24 O LORD, how manifold are Your works!
         In wisdom You have made them all.
         The earth is full of Your possessions—
 25 This great and wide sea,
         In which are innumerable teeming things,
         Living things both small and great.
 26 There the ships sail about;
         There is that Leviathan
         Which You have made to play there.
       
 27 These all wait for You,
         That You may give them their food in due season.
 28 What You give them they gather in;
         You open Your hand, they are filled with good.
 29 You hide Your face, they are troubled;
         You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
 30 You send forth Your Spirit, they are created;
         And You renew the face of the earth.
       
 31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
         May the LORD rejoice in His works.
 32 He looks on the earth, and it trembles;
         He touches the hills, and they smoke.
       
 33 I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
         I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
 34 May my meditation be sweet to Him;
         I will be glad in the LORD.
 35 May sinners be consumed from the earth,
         And the wicked be no more.
       
         Bless the LORD, O my soul!
         Praise the LORD!

We Shall Be Satisfied with the Goodness of Your House

This psalm describes the Lord God who is the Provider. Spiritually, God provides for the atonement of our transgressions. The ones chosen by him can have satisfaction and contentment. He provides confidence and salvation.
For physical illustration, the psalm shows God as one who establishes the mountains, calms the seas and waves (as shown by Jesus), provides water for the earth and the grain and the pastures and valleys.


Psalm 65
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song.

 1 Praise is awaiting You, O God, in Zion;
         And to You the vow shall be performed.
 2 O You who hear prayer,
         To You all flesh will come.
 3 Iniquities prevail against me;
         As for our transgressions,
         You will provide atonement for them.
        
 4 Blessed is the man You choose,
         And cause to approach You,
         That he may dwell in Your courts.
         We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
         Of Your holy temple.
        
 5 By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us,
         O God of our salvation,
         You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth,
         And of the far-off seas;
 6 Who established the mountains by His strength,
         Being clothed with power;
 7 You who still the noise of the seas,
         The noise of their waves,
         And the tumult of the peoples.
 8 They also who dwell in the farthest parts are afraid of Your signs;
         You make the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice.
        
 9 You visit the earth and water it,
         You greatly enrich it;
         The river of God is full of water;
         You provide their grain,
         For so You have prepared it.
 10 You water its ridges abundantly,
         You settle its furrows;
         You make it soft with showers,
         You bless its growth.
        
 11 You crown the year with Your goodness,
         And Your paths drip with abundance.
 12 They drop on the pastures of the wilderness,
         And the little hills rejoice on every side.
 13 The pastures are clothed with flocks;
         The valleys also are covered with grain;
         They shout for joy, they also sing.