the person
of the Jews at the time when, for their sins, they were given up to
their enemies.

63:16. For thou art our father, and Abraham hath not known us, and
Israel hath been ignorant of us: thou, O Lord, art our father, our
redeemer, from everlasting is thy name.

Abraham hath not know us, etc... That is, Abraham will not now
acknowledge us for his children, by reason of our degeneracy; but thou,
O Lord, art our true father and our redeemer, and no other can be called
our parent in comparison with thee.

63:17. Why hast thou made us to err, O Lord, from thy ways: why hast
thou hardened our heart, that we should not fear thee? return for the
sake of thy servants, the tribes of thy inheritance.

Made us to err, etc. Hardened our heart, etc... The meaning is, that God
in punishment of their great and manifold crimes, and their long abuse
of his mercy and grace, had withdrawn his graces from them, and so given
them up to error and hardness of heart.

63:18. They have possessed thy holy people as nothing: our enemies have
trodden down thy sanctuary.

63:19. We are become as in the beginning, when thou didst not rule over
us, and when we were not called by thy name.

Isaias Chapter 64

The prophet prays for the release of his people; and for the remission
of their sins.

64:1. O that thou wouldst rend the heavens, and wouldst come down: the
mountains would melt away at thy presence.

64:2. They would melt as at the burning of fire, the waters would burn
with fire, that thy name might be made known to thy enemies: that the
nations might tremble at thy presence.

64:3. When thou shalt do wonderful things, we shall not bear them: thou
didst come down, and at thy presence the mountains melted away.

64:4. From the beginning of the world they have not heard, nor perceived
with the ears: the eye hath not seen, O God, besides thee, what things
thou hast prepared for them that wait for thee.

64:5. Thou hast met him that rejoiceth, and doth justice: in thy ways
they shall remember thee: behold thou art angry, and we have sinned: in
them we have been always, and we shall be saved.

64:6. And we are all become as one unclean, and all our justices as the
rag of a menstruous woman: and we have all fallen as a leaf, and our
iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Our justices, etc... That is, the works by which we pretended to make
ourselves just. This is spoken particularly of the sacrifices,
sacraments