Isaiah 64:1-9
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- Reading the Text:
- NRSV (with link to Anglicized NRSV) at Oremus Bible Browser.
- The Bible Gateway: NIV, NASB, CEV, The Message, KJV, etc.
- The Blue Letter Bible. KJV, alternate versions, Hebrew text with concordance, commentaries.
- The World Wide Study Bible includes commentary, exposition and sermons.
- Historical References, Commentary and
Comparative Texts:
- "Pride and Egotism," Comparative World Scriptures from United Communities of Spirit.
- Chapter XIX of the Epistle of Barnabas. (ca. 130)
- Chapter XXV, Dialogue With Trypho, Justin Martyr. (c 160)
- V.XXXVI.3, Adversus Haereses, Irenaeus of Lyons. (c. 180)
- Chapter VIII, Exhortation to the Greeks, Clement of Alexandria (c 200)
- II.4, V.14, Stromata, Clement of Alexandria (c 200)
- Chapter X, On Patience, Tertullian (c. 202)
- III.VI.4, First Principles (De Principiis), Origen. (c.225)
- V.XIX, V.XXI, The Refutation of all Heresies (Philosophumena), Hippolytus of Rome. (c. 225)
- Rashi's Commentary, c. 1075. chabad.org.
- Chapter XXV, Chapter XXVI, Proslogium, Anselm of Canterbury, 1077-1078.
- From the Geneva Notes.
- "Even though O Lord by your just judgment you may utterly destroy us as the potter may his pot, yet we appeal to your mercies, by which it has pleased you to adopt us to be your children."
- From
Matthew Henry's
Commentary.
- "The happiness of his people is bound up in what God has designed for them, and is preparing for them, and preparing them for; what he has done or will do."
- From
Wesley's
Notes.
- "Rent - A metaphor taken from men, that when they would resolutely help one in distress, break and fling open doors and whatever may hinder."
- From the
Commentary on the Whole Bible
(Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
- "Oh, that Thy wrath would consume Thy foes as the fire. Rather, "as the fire burneth the dry brushwood" [GESENIUS]."
- "Exposition of Isaiah
63-64," Charles H. Spurgeon, 1892.
- "He is as terrible to his foes as he is precious to his friends. He stands before us as the one hope of his ancient church."
- Contemporary Commentary, Studies and Exegesis:
- Commentary, Isaiah 64:1-9, Elna K. Solvang, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2011.
- "Their appeal is for God's intervention -- to heal the alienation and to halt the damage of their sins. The people's pain is clear. How God will respond is not."
- "Shattering Skittishness," Fr. Rick Morley, a garden path, 2011.
- "Begging for God's Presence," Russell Rathbun, The Hardest Question, 2011.
- "How long are we supposed to wait for God to show God's face around here again?"
- Commentary, Isaiah 64:1-9, Samuel Giere, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2008.
- "This pericope is simultaneously rooted in the rich memories of God's saving acts and mired in the muck of dashed expectations and the experience of God's absence."
- Comments (commentary) and Clippings (technical notes for in-depth study), Chris Haslam, Anglican Diocese of Montreal.
-
"Isaiah 64:1-9,"
Commentary, Background, Insights from Literary Structure, Theological
Message, Ways to Present the Text. Anna Grant-Henderson, Uniting Church in
Australia.
- "The writer/speaker is calling on the past experience of the people to remind them of the power and presence of God in their lives."
-
The Old Testament Readings:
Isaiah 64:1-9. Weekly Comments on the Revised Common
Lectionary, Theological Hall of the Uniting Church,
Melbourne, Australia.
- "We pray constantly for him to ?tear open the heavens and come down? into our world which, in its pain and hurt, forever needs the touch of heaven. But we know also that the one who will/does come will not do so simply at our call and to our demands..."
-
"Going Against the Stream,"
William Willimon, The Christian Century, 1984. At Religion Online.
- "Let us not be too harsh on the royal theology which we created. In our own lives, in our yuletide overspending, overdrinking, overhoping, overgetting and overgiving we act out a sad seasonal ritual: oh, that a new video recorder or a new car might fill the emptiness. Yet, we know that in the cold gray of January the bills come, the radio evicts Bing Crosby and we find that, alas, the ?Peace on Earth and Good Will? of the TV Christmas specials barely lasted until New Year?s."
-
"Drinking
Tears by the Bowlful: Waiting,"
The Journey with Jesus: Notes to Myself, Daniel B. Clendenin, Journey with
Jesus Foundation.
- "We wait in patience knowing that not every act of God reverberates like a pounding sledge hammer. In Isaiah's metaphor, God does not always split open the heavens."
-
Isaiah 6:16b-17; 64:1-8, Isaiah in Advent: The Transforming Word, Diane
Jacobson, Texts in Context, Word & World, Luther Northwestern
Theological Seminary, 1990.
- "This lament sets Advent in the context of a real world in which things are not going well. The world is not a perfect place; people are disillusioned."
- Isaiah 64:1-9, Studies on Old Testament texts from Series B, Ralph W. Klein, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.
-
"Lament Song," Larry Broding's Word-Sunday.Com:
A Lectionary Resource for Catholics.
- "When did you experience "bad times?" How did God give you hope?"
- Environmental &
earth-centered reflection, Rev Helen Hanten, from the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota Environmental
Stewardship Commission.
- "We need the "acts of God" to remind us that God is God, CREATOR GOD, and we are among the creatures invited to live lives in God's presence."
- A Prayer of Hope: Verse Commentary
on Isaiah 64:1-12, Dennis Bratcher, Christian Resource Institute.
- "Throughout history, God's people have spent most of their time waiting. It is an expectant waiting, anticipating God's new activity to bring justice, deliverance and the kingdom of God to the world (Psa 25, 37, 130; Rom 8:18-25). But it is not a waiting that only has the future in view. Neither is it an idle, self-centered waiting, as seen in those who sell everything they have and then sit on a mountain waiting for God to come."
-
Isaiah 63-64, The Dark Side of God: Considerations for Preaching and
Teaching, Richard Nysse, Texts in Context, Word & World, Luther
Seminary, 1997.
- "The speaker of this text places the community (the speaker included) and us in the same place as Pharaoh."
- Articles & Background:
- Recommended articles
from ATLAS, an online collection of religion and theology journals, are
linked below.
ATLAS Access options are available for academic institutions, alumni of
selected theological schools, and clergy/church offices. Annotated list of "starting place" articles at ATLAS for this week's texts (includes direct links).
- Bautch, Richard J., "An Appraisal of Abraham's Role
in Postexilic Covenants," Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 2009.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Burnett, Joel S.,
"The Question of Divine Absence in Israelite and West Semitic Religion,"
The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 2005.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Howard, Roy W., "Isaiah 64:1-9, Between Text &
Sermon," Interpretation, 2008.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Jacobson, Diane, "Isaiah in Advent:
The Transforming Word," Word & World, 1990.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Montgomery, Stephen R., "Beyond Fear,
Fundamentalism, and Fox News: The Active Hope of Advent," Journal for
Preachers, 2005.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Niskanen, Paul,
"YHWH as Father, Redeemer, and Potter in Isaiah 63:7-64:11,"
The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 2006.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
- Norris, Kathleen,
"Apocalypse Now," The Christian Century, 2005.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Nysse, Richard, "The Dark Side of
God: Considerations for Preaching and Teaching," Word & World,
1997.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Reid, Stephen Breck, "A Time for Dangerous Memory,
Isaiah 63:7-64:11," Brethren Life and Thought, 2007.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Webster, Edwin C.,
"The Rhetoric of Isaiah 63-65," Journal for the Study of the Old
Testament, 1990.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Willimon, William, "Going against the
Stream," The Christian Century, 1984.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
- Bautch, Richard J., "An Appraisal of Abraham's Role
in Postexilic Covenants," Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 2009.
- Sermons:
- The Waiting Place -- William L. Self, SermonStudio
- Reviews:
- Review: Leszek Ruszkowski, Volk und Gemeinde im Wandel: Eine Untersuchung zu Jesaja 56-66. (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2000) Review by Roy D. Wells in SBL's Review of Biblical Literature. (Review is in English.)
- With Children:
- Worshiping with Children, Advent 1B, Including children in the congregation's worship, using the Revised Common Lectionary, Carolyn C. Brown, 2011.
- "Children's Literature: A Resource for Ministry," November 27, 2011, Union Presbyterian Seminary. Connections: Isaiah 64:1-9 and Snook Alone by Marilyn Nelson.
- "Be a Spark that Starts a Fire," Sunday School Lessons: Family Bible Study, art projects, music, stories, etc.
- Drama:
- "The Pottery, Pliable," Glenn A. Hascall, dramatix.
- "Potter," Matthew Pole, Christian Drama and Mime.
- Graphics & Bulletin Materials:
- Hymns and Music:
- “Open Wide Your Heavens!,” an original hymn by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette on Isaiah 64. This hymn was commissioned by The Presbyterian Outlook magazine for new Advent hymns to Christmas carol tunes. Tune: CRANHAM (“In The Bleak Midwinter”).
- Contemporary/Praise Song suggestions, Together to Celebrate, David MacGregor.
- Hymns with Scripture Allusions: Isaiah 64:6, 8. The Cyber Hymnal.
- At Digital Hymnal (midi files, guitar chords, karaoke files, projection text):
- Fine Arts Images Linked at The Text This Week's Art Index:
- Study Links and Resources for the Book of Isaiah
